What are the possibilities of getting a job in music industry?

[pr0mixer]

Hi,
I am thinking about getting into a Composition course with alot of musical experience, but I'm not sure if this path can bring enough bread home to keep me alive. Many do this as a hobby, but I would like to earn money from it. Besides being a rockstar what can we do to get money out of music production? What is the most requested kind of guy in studios, or what is usually the best thing to do in this situations, where to start?

[DocBop]

All the job in the industry have long lines of people trying to get them. Getting in your odd are better than becoming a rock star, but still long odds.

I would say study film scoring and all the related work that goes with it. Then get to know student film makers to get a start, and then subsidize with Music Preperation work. Most risky but best pay off is songwriter. It is about as tough as rock star. You have to learn to crank out the types of tunes that are currently popular and make very generic sounding demos. Have to make a lot of contacts to so your are submiting your songs to people who actually can get it to producers. But write a three or four nationwide hits and you probably won't be worry about paying your bills again. Except for all the people downloading your song and you don't get your royalities.

Hardest thing for people to learn is Music is a business and being a smart business person is as important and probably more important than talent.

IF you really want to do it the key is persistence. You find most your overnight sensations have been around the business a long time before they suddenly got discovered.

[Brad Maestas]

Originally Posted by DocBop

Hardest thing for people to learn is Music is a business and being a smart business person is as important and probably more important than talent.

Exactly, I've found that the hardest part for people getting into the actual industry is abandoning the idea that music is about anything more than product sales and profit margins because that's how the corporations that you'll be working for see it. As musicians perceive it, it's very much akin to musical castration. Much the same decision that politicians and news anchors must make when they enter those workplaces.

Not that it's all bad. But if you want to get into the mainstream stuff, that's certainly one of the compromises you're expected to make. I majored in Music Theory and Composition and minored in percussion and string bass performance. All along I knew that I was taking those classes to help me further my art and my life. I wasn't interested in copying manuscripts in a vault somewhere, writing songs for the radio or playing in a symphony orchestra necessarily. I wanted to use that knowledge for my projects and for all the other groups that I would eventually play in.

It all depends on what you want to do with it. I've known many hundreds of performance and composition majors in my life and how many of them have actually secured positions in prestigious symphonies/orchestras or publishing firms? Only a handful at best.

The most requested guy in studios? A guy who's level-headed, shows up on time, communicates and works well with others and can play many different instruments in many different styles, authentically. In the hip-hop realm, anyone who can make fat beats, play keyboards and knows their way around a DAW is also held in high regard.

If you really want to get some studio experience, ask local studios if they're accepting interns and start from the bottom up. If you want to approach the song-writing/compositional side, you're gonna have to become your own businessman and distinguish yourself amongst the many thousands of writers out there. Get to know real artists. Work with them closely and develop strong relationships with them. Live life and I believe you will find your unique voice and your calling!

[JimmyM]

I once read something Jonas Hellborg said. He said, "If you're going into to music to make money, don't. If you want to make money, go make money." Pretty wise for a guy not known for his wisdom.

[chicagodoubler]

Why not do it all?

Composing is tricky finacially, but everybody needs a bass player!

Alot of my income is due to the fact that guys call *me.* They don't just call a bass player. They say they want *me* on the gig. They don't say they need a bass player. They say they need a guy who markets well, brings awesome charts to the gig, has a great PA, can record the gig, knows the head to 1,000 tunes, owns the right gear, has good ears for harmony, sings background vocals, has a great attitude, can lead the band, can scream chord changes at the guitarist even in strange keys, heards the guys up when the break is done, dresses well, plays other instruments, is cool to hang with and drives a nice enough car to leave outside a high end club.

If they just wanted a bass player, they could call any number of other players.

To get a (nonteaching) career these days you gotta be mr. everything.

Btw I teach 15-20 people a week too, produce and engineer tunes for nationals, and play sessions for everything from classical to major tv spots.

It's not easy. Be realistic, work hard, and be better than your teacher. That's a good start.

Oh yeah

My first paragraph was not intended to be bragadacious. Just to let you know all the crap I gotta go through to have enough money to pay rent in Chicago and take pretty girls out on dates!!!!!!

pps learn how to read, get weekly lessons with the highest earning bassist in your area, learn the complete rep, including jazz, classic rock, motown, etc. Learn how to write music. Write songs for the artists you work with. Be the baddest cat in any and every band you play with.