Earning a living in the music industry: How is it done?
Orientation
- How can you earn a living through music?
- How many different music-related jobs can you think of?
- What would you need to do to pursue one of these careers?
Do you know any musicians?
- Music teachers
- Instrumental/singing teachers
- Professional performers
- Buskers, music producers
- Agents
- Composers
- DJs
- Sound Engineers
- Music Therapists
Ask your teacher if you can invite them to come into the school and give a short talk or performance.
What questions would you ask your guest?
What do they do?
What training did they need?
Do they have any tips or advice for you or your classmates who might like to follow a similar career path?
Homework Activity
Watch some of the videos below. Each of the videos introduces a different way in which people are able to make money through music.
Above: A guide to setting up your own Radio Station.
Below: A short film about the most important things to consider if you would like to become a DJ.
Right: A video about how much money you can expect to make as a busker, by a professional US busker named ‘Skeet’.
Right: A video by Tom Hess, who coaches music teachers. He speaks about technical skills, being inspirational, financial consideration.
Below: In this video, Tom Hess speaks more generally about building a career in music.
Talent Agents: A video about finding a talent agent with many useful pointers about the profession.
An advert for a website that aims to help aspiring rappers/hip-hop artists.
David Kelly speaks about some of the equipment music producers need to start off their careers.
Questions
How many of these musicians did several related jobs (e.g. being a composer and a composition teacher)?
The majority of musicians face financial difficulties, and have ‘portfolio’ careers. What is a portfolio career?
Consider the following statements:
Making money out of music is not just about being a good musician.
You also need hard work, and you need to demonstrate perseverance, knowledge of the industry and a clear understanding of your market (the people that you want to pay you or buy from you).
This means tailoring your abilities, products and marketing in a way that will get an audience interested – and willing to pay for what you are offering them.
How to become a music producer: a clip about David Kelly, who started playing the guitar, joined a band, went to study music at college, started working on film music, then became a music producer.
Group Task
In groups of three, research one particular music-related job. Consider the following:
Skills:
What skills are required for the job?
How could I develop these skills?
What should I be doing now?
In addition to music, what school subjects should I specialise in?
Equipment:
What equipment is necessary for this job?
Time-commitment:
How long will it take me to succeed in this profession?
Financial questions:
how much will training/equipment cost?
How much money will you need to start out?
How much money can you expect to earn?
Contacts:
Who could help you?
Market:
Who is your target market? How can you make sure you respond to your market?
Entrepreneurship:
How can you be different? How can you launch yourself?
International aspects:
Where could I work with this job? Could I travel? How does this job vary in different countries?
Assessment Task 1
- In your group, create a five minute ‘How To’ video or podcast about the job area you have been researching.
- Present your research as if you are an expert careers counselor advising students on how to get into this area of work.
- Speak about the required skills, equipment, time, money, contacts, market, entrepreneurship and international considerations, and, at the end of the presentation, come up with three key pieces of advice for aspiring music professionals.
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