“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.”
-Plato
The above quotation was given by the very famous and well-appreciated philosopher, Plato who put down his views on music and considers it to be a law functioning within the universe which provides a life to it as well as has its own charms.
Music speaks to the soul of many and many a person would like to opt for music as their career option for this sole reason. While a number of people can sing and compose, significant others cannot and still want to enter this field. Although it is an unconventional career option to choose but it definitely has a huge scope which enables a number of people with diverse qualities to be a part of it, having indefinitely one common quality, which is passion for music.
Photo Credits: Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Music as a field of career is not limited to certain options but is extremely wide-ranging and opens up plethora dimensions for its takers. One does not have to necessarily learn how to sing or play a particular instrument but can also enter the field through majors in psychology, law, management, etc.
Some of things that you should keep in mind while looking for a career in Music
Patience: You need to be patient enough to reap results out of your effort. Do not leave any opportunity that comes on your way and be adamant about your passion and career in music. This is an industry which doesn't give immediate results but when it awards then the rewards are huge.
Define your Goals: As the results are not immediate so you need to define your macro goal as in what exactly do you want to achieve, do you want to be best in the industry, to whom do you want to cater, how much do you want to earn. When your mindset and goals are clear you will be in a better position to absorb the smaller shocks that comes on your way.
Be Flexible and Stay Updated: Keep yourself updated about the happenings in the industry, attend related events, explore new options for yourself. If required change your style of working as per the demand in the industry.
Various Career Option in Music
Like noted above, there are a number of options that one can choose from in order to get into this field. Let us explore some of these options-
1. Music Composition
One starts to walk the path of composing music by having a flair for writing music. Then one can focus upon getting an education with special emphasis on music to gain more technical knowledge such as certificate courses on music composition. He should then just make his music available to the industry and work towards a break! Composers are the true creators of music. Within this field of music a musician can be an arranger, copyist, orchestrator, conductor or transcribers. Courses in Music
Composing - Video Game Audio- It is one of the fastest growing careers and the earning potentials are high with it
2. Music Teacher
One can also opt to teach music if they have a flair for teaching. He can teach in schools, colleges or higher universities. He can also act as a mentor to the budding talent in their institutions and hone the skills of these students thus, helping them to achieve greater heights.
Music Supervisor For TV/ Films- Music supervisors job is to select tunes to be used in motion picture projects. It is one of the fastest growing careers and the earning potentials are high with it
3. Music Writing
While composition involves putting down different sounds together, writing and production involve adding words to the musical melodies in order to let the music sink into the soul of its listeners. There are also other options available within this category of music. One can choose to become a songwriter, jingle composer, etc. To know more about how to become a lyricist>> Read
4. Music Business/management
For someone who isn’t too interested in being an artist i.e. composer/singer/instrument player themselves, they can opt to become managers to these artists. He is supposed to maintain a record of when and where the artist performs and his music-related gigs. A personal manager, can also advise the artist on all music related business ventures.
Booking Agent :A person can also be a part of the business by being a booking agent or a promoter/publicist.He can earn good commission for booking the shows.
Entertainment Attorney: A person can also be an Entertainment Attorney who looks after the legal aspects like copyrights, legal contract negotiation for an artist’s music career.
5. Label Recording
One of the best ways to stay in the industry for a long time is to own a record label which produces albums and gives opportunities to budding and established artists to showcase their talents. Related link: How to start your own record company
Within the record label also there are a number of job profiles such as-
- Director of publicity who looks after the publicity aspect of the record label and the artists they are producing.
- Artist and repertoire coordinator who is responsible for coordinating between the artists and other parties involved with the record label.
- Artist Representative is the one who takes charge of the relations that an artist is supposed to have with the record label and other parties involved in the music business.
- Salesperson is the one responsible for the enhancing the sales record of the label as well as manage the sales track of the label.
6. Music Publisher
These are the individuals responsible for acquiring copyrights to an artist’s work and then further publishing it. He basically acts as a copyrights administrator.
Related Link: How to start your Music Publishing Company
7. Sound technician
A sound technician has the primary job of maintaining, coordinating and managing equipment which are to be used by the artist during his performance or recording. The work of a sound technician is fairly technical and is mainly to check the sound system instead of actually being involved in creating or producing music. One can also take up a course on sound engineering to enter this field.
This is usually seen as an unusual job title, however, is extremely effective and can have an everlasting effect. Music therapy involves treatment of disorders or relieving one of stress and ailments through the use of music.Music therapists can be employed in the different setting such as private counselling, hospitals; academic institutions, prisons etc. like any other therapist, a music therapist can only succeed if he has a genuine interest in people’s problems and is honestly willing to work towards alleviating those problems.
He or she is supposed to use music effectively in coherence with the conditions of their patients in order to lift them out of their problems and help them in attaining a better lifestyle. Institutes for Music Therapy are
- Chennai Music Therapy
- The Music Therapy Trust
9. Music journalism
This field of music is generally just concerned with reporting and criticism of music and different artists. However, the job of a music journalist has also widened with focus on the role played by media in the music industry.
A music journalist is also responsible for creating different lists such as top 10 music artists, songs, bands etc. which was conventionally not a part of this career.
Course in Music journalism
Apart from these specific job descriptions within the field of music, there are the more conventional options such as singer or musician who excel in either singing songs or playing one or more instruments in order to create music and leave its impact. There are courses offered by several universities in this field, most prominent is the Delhi University Course
There are a wide ranging pros and cons to be in the music industry. While the cons are that the industry is relatively unstable in terms of the growth and sustainability of the artist, it is also persistent industry in terms of providing numerous job opportunities for people to get involved with something they love even when they cannot be a part of the mainstream industry. It cannot be disregarded that the industry has been growing since its inception and reflects huge scope of further growth.
With the availability of plethora options, this industry is no less than any other and thus should be taken up by students who have made music a part of life instead of just a recreational activity.
Photo Credits (Cover Pic)-Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
