Not A Real Job?

When I finally decided that music would be my life's work, I was very careful about who I shared that information with. There were two reasons for that: One because I hadn't planned it out in detail , and two because people don't really see working in the music industry as an obtainable career. When I first brought the idea to my mother, her reply was something along the lines of "There's no guaranteed money in that". She was right. The life of a musician is tough when you're trying to make it on your own and trying make ends meet because you get paid according to how many shows or "gigs" you do. I gave this a great deal of thought and I came up with phase one of what I knew would develop into a master plan. I figured since I'm talented in the area of composing, why not combine that with honing skills in songwriting and production. More recently after doing a bit of research I decided that it would be better to try and build an entertainment company from the ground up instead of trying to get discovered by a major label. Major labels have a music monopoly going and the only music they are endorsing is the materialistic, decadent side of rap music. I think fans are getting fed up and up and coming artists are starting to push the genre in another direction. Now that I am a college graduate I can focus on a career in music but it's going to require a lot of hard work and dedication. I searched the web to look up the salaries for different occupations in the music industry and i found a career guide from Berkeley College of Music in Boston, MA. An A&R representative makes between $25,000 and $85,000 a year. They are responsible for scouting talent and trying to sign the prospect to the label they work for. An audio engineer makes between 25,000 and 150,000 a year. They are responsible for helping with planning how an artist's project should sound. A Record Producer makes between 25,000 and 1,000,000 a year. They are responsible for assisting an artist with all details of a project. 

These were just three of the many jobs in the industry that aren't your typical 9 to 5s. My advice to anyone with a passion in music is to aim high. You never know, people may aspire to be you someday. 

Berkley Salary Guide