Do you absolutely love music? Are you more passionate about music than anything else in your life? If this sounds like you, you may be wondering how to turn your love and passion for music into a legitimate career. One that can sustain you and perhaps your family if you have one. Many of us spend our youth dreaming of being a rock star, a stage legend, a king or queen of the microphone. And some of us hold onto that dream well into our adulthood. Not everyone can be Bad Bunny, Michael Jackson, or Prince, though.
Luckily, you don’t have to be a star to get paid to be involved in the music industry. It might not necessarily be easy, and like with any career – putting in the time, learning, and being consistent is the best way to rise. Additionally, networking and socializing with the right people is always helpful in any field and specifically creative fields. If you want to dedicate your life to music and make a career out of it along the way, these are some of the best jobs worth exploring.
Video and Sound Engineering
Video and sound engineers are some of the most important people in making live concerts happen, as well as creating the universe and characters in video games and films. Video and sound engineers deal with mapping the sound effects and character voices in these various digital and virtual experiences.
This is a rather technical aspect and definitely requires a bit of education to get into. However, these positions are often very lucrative and can make for a very fulfilling and versatile career. Sometimes video and sound engineers are even tasked with scoring and composing for video games, films, tv shows, or other pieces of media.
Recording Engineering
Dr. Dre is one of the most well-known producers of the generation. Anyone who watched last year’s super bowl halftime show saw the reason why he remains a hip-hop icon. What maybe you didn’t know is that producer is just another term for recording engineer.
Recording engineers spend their time recording, editing, and mixing sounds for artists. This can be in the context of a producer like Dr. Dre, or it could be in the context of an in-house recording engineer for a sound studio. Either way, the recording engineer manages both the artistic and technical aspects of the recording session and often helps with editing and fine-tuning tracks in post-production.
Besides deep in the studio world of mixing, recording engineers can also work for television, film, or concert production studios.
Directing and Conducting
Directing and conducting is another great way for music lovers to immerse themselves in the world of music. Although, this is a relative niche market, especially in today’s day and age. Most conductors and directors work for schools, or youth programs, although some have the honor of leading programs like the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, or conducting a live orchestral performance at a broadway musical.
Though reaching these heights as a conductor might be just as hard as being one of the star musicians themselves.
Teaching Music
In a similar vein to conducting and directing, teaching music is one of the most popular and accessible ways for someone to cement a career in the field and world of music.
From elementary and grade school programs all the way up through high school and universities, music teachers of all skills and knowledge levels are more than necessary. By getting a degree in music education, you’re opening yourself up to a whole world of possibilities as far as working in the world of music goes.
Journalism, Writing, and Music News
Another way to get involved in music without being the star of the show is through publicity. This involves journalism and content production in, about, and around music. This is also a very versatile way for a music-lover to make a career out of their passion.
Music journalists can cover any range of music topics that interest them as long as they can find an interesting angle and an audience for the article. And since most artists worth writing about have at least some sort of following; this makes for a direct and easy instant target audience for those pieces.
Being an Agent
Finally, being an agent or getting into music distribution are two of the other popular career paths that people can take to stay involved in the music scene. Being an agent involves signing artists and garnering opportunities for them, while music distribution is about putting the artists’ music in front of listeners all over the world.
Wrapping up on Careers for the Music Lover
There are a variety of ways that music lover can take their passion and turn it into a career. From music education and teaching opportunities to becoming an agent or getting involved with music distribution, there’s a career path in music for anyone who wants to take one.
