25 Music Jobs That Most People Don't Know About

You may have heard that music jobs are almost impossible to find, especially if you're young and just starting out. While it may be true that few aspiring musicians will reach the top of the charts, there are hundreds of thousands of music jobs available. Some are for performers, some for teachers, and some for support staff for musicians and performers.

Musicians and others in the music industry may work in production, performance, promotion, and education - even medicine. I promised you 25 music jobs that most people don't know about - but that's not technically true. Many of these are jobs that people know about - but don't consider when they think of 'music jobs'. Ready for the list? Here we go:

Music Jobs for Songwriters:

A Staff Songwriter works for a record or media company and writes songs for the artists signed by the label.

A Freelance Songwriter writes and markets his or her own songs. Your hours are your own, but you'll have to work a lot of them to get your songs heard.

A Lyricist writes just the words to songs. He may team up with a composer, or be teamed up with one by a music production company.

A Jingle Writer writes those catchy ads that you hear on the television and radio - you know, the ones that get stuck in your head for days. A jingle writer may not become a famous household name - but he or she will always find work.

Music Jobs in Publishing:

A Music Publisher finds and acquires the copyrights to songs with the intent of licensing or selling them to record companies and musicians.

A Copyright/Licensing Administrator ($20,000 - $60,000) manages the licensing and copyrights for a music publishing company.

A Music Editor ($20,000 - $60,000) works closely with the composer to document, organize and time cues for the musicians in a project.

A Notesetter ($15,000 - $50,000) transcribes music from audio to the page.

Music Jobs in the Record Business

An A&R Coordinator (artist and repertoire) finds talent for a record company to sign. His boss is the A&R Administrator, a position that includes planning budgets for artists, managing reps and coordinators and monitoring the expenses on production.

Public Relations music jobs range from assistant publicist to director of public relations. The PR department is responsible for getting the names of the artists on a record company label out in front of the public often. Pay ranges from nothing for an intern to three figures for highly experienced public relations managers.

An Artist's Relations Representative is responsible for maintaining communication and cooperation between the record company and an artist or band.

A Promotional staffer works with radio stations and video stations to get airplay for a label's records.

Campus representatives are promotional agents - but they work directly to promote a record label's products to college students and music retailers. Working as a campus representative is a great way to get your foot in the door at a record label.

Music Jobs in Education

A music teacher teaches music to classes from pre-school through college, with duties varying depending on the age of the classes. In the elementary grades, the music teacher may concentrate on teaching music appreciation and theory, with some teaching of instruments and performance theory. By high school, the job duties are more varied, and may include directing student performances and organizing and directing a band or choir.

A Music Director or Supervisor is responsible for managing and setting policy for music instructors hired by the school department.

Music Jobs in the Ministry may include part time work as an organist to full time work directing a professional choir and the entire music worship for a parish or citywide.

Now's The Time To Start Your Own Music Publishing And Record Label!

A few years ago, the very notion of starting a music publishing or record label, would have been an absurdity to anyone lacking in enterprise and substantial capital. Back in the nineties and earlier getting any kind of company started in the music industry took an awful lot of courage and vision. Many lost thousands, even hundreds of thousands, before seeing a small glimmer of light in a very long tunnel. From the profits many were able to start small record labels that went on to make millions for their owners.

In today’s world of super technology, most people can start a music publishing company and a record label for little more than the price of a reliable computer. The running costs are so low, just about anyone can do it. Good news for songwriters, producers, artist management and anyone else looking to release, sub publish and sub license their own product, as well as other people’s, globally. Anyone can do this and make substantial money.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog. If you'd like more information on starting a record label, and or a music publishing company, simply drop me an email at info@christelmusic.com for free details.

How To Be Successful In The Music Industry!

There is no question the entertainment industry offers a great field of opportunity to anyone with an inclination to music. The big question is, can you make any serious money?

The answer is, yes, provided you know what you’re doing. It’s not just a case of specializing in a particular style of music. Other factors such as promotion, licensing and understanding global markets play a crucial and decisive role.

Many people come into the industry ill prepared thinking they’re going to “make a killing”, and end up making nothing, often using up their own money or their investors.

Here’s a tip: If you have, or are thinking of starting a record label, artist management, or production company, consider starting a music publishing company as well. Curiously, music publishing is the most lucrative field in this industry and one of the least costly to put together and operate, along with a digital label. The hourly streams of revenue generated from a few modest copyrights has been the difference between bankruptcy and survival for many individuals and corporations alike. Check out the statistics for yourself. No successful person or corporation in entertainment exists without owning or having an investment in a music publishing company.

The strategy of operating artist management from that of a music publishing company, is as different as white knight to black horse. Artist management, for example, may require you to work on two or three performer songwriters only, whereas music publishing is all about building catalogues of songs (and theme music) from hundreds, thousands and even hundreds of thousands of works.

Forming and operating a digital record label today is also easily within reach of most songwriters, producers, artist management. Just a few years ago, the notion of a physical record label at around $350,000, would have been unthinkable for many new corporations, much less individuals.

Today, people are making not just a basic living in the entertainment industry, but a huge living, and it’s being done by individuals from all age groups. You can do the same, provided you understand the basics.