Careers in the Music Industry
Let's break down how to find success in all areas of the music industry.

The music industry is one of the biggest and most profitable industries in the world. As a result, there’s a huge number of opportunities for you to enjoy. Many young lovers of music shy away from chasing a career in music because they can’t be stars. They don’t believe they can succeed as musicians so they end up settling for a career that leaves them feeling dissatisfied at best and miserable at worst.

If you’re struggling with a similar feeling, I have good news for you. That you can’t be the star of the show doesn’t mean you can’t build an amazing career in the music industry. There’s much more to music than the stars we see. In this article, I’ll try to open your eyes to the possibilities ahead of you.

Are you ready? Let’s have a look!

A&R Agent

Are you super interested in helping young artists find their path to establishing amazing careers and making the right impact? Would you enjoy the thrill of discovering the next big artist? You’d make a great A&R agent. Record labels are always in search of talents and they have an entire department dedicated to finding and nurturing the next generation of artists. They call it the Artists and Repertoire department.

As an A&R agent, your job will be to scour the internet for talent and receive demos from various upcoming artists. You must then decide whether or not the artist has the potential to become the next big thing.

Instrumentalist

Without instruments, there’s hardly any music. You don’t have to be a singer to be part of the onstage action. If you develop your playing ability, you can become a part of the crew or band and focus on making great music. Pick an instrument and get awesome at it. You’ll find yourself a man in demand.

Whether it’s the guitar, drumset, piano, or any other instrument that’s your drug, you can turn that into a career. You can even play in an orchestra if you choose to go with classical instruments like the flute and French horn.

Producer

When a new song drops, we all enjoy the amazing singing of the artist, but that’s only one part of what makes a song. The vocals must be nice, but the accompanying music has to be great as well. That’s where the producer comes in. The producer’s job is to bring together different elements of music into a single beautiful masterpiece. If you understand music on that technical level, you would make a great producer.

You’ve probably heard of great producers like Dr. Dre who have been massively influential on the music scene. As a producer, you’ll play a huge role in the music despite not being the actual face of the team.

Songwriter

We all love awesome vocals, but we love them even more when the lyrics are deep, relatable, artistic, and creative. Behind the music, there’s the producer. Behind the lyrics, we have songwriters. If you’re super creative with words and poetry, you can build a career writing songs for artists and get paid for that. It’s one of my personal favorites because you can earn a good living and still be part of any further success the song enjoys.

Even better, you can become an artist yourself later on. Some songwriters who’ve become prominent artists include Jon Bellion, Frank Ocean, and Sia among others. It’s a truly massive opportunity if you have the required talent.

Sound Engineer

Music is really just a jumble of different sounds put together to make a beautiful sound. If done wrongly, music can be quite unpleasant to hear. The sound engineer is responsible for making sure all the different sonic elements combine as they should. They know what to plug in and where to plug it in. In a live performance, they’re responsible for making sure the microphones, speakers, and other equipment are working properly.

You need training to qualify as a sound engineer, but if you’re a “nerd� and you don’t think you can hack it onstage but still want to be involved, you can apply your analytical skills to the technical side of the music industry.

Video professionals

We love listening to songs, but nothing brings a song to life like a music video. It tells the story of the song and if done well, can blow the song up even more. For example, NF’s song, Hope, is awesome to listen to. When you watch the video and see how he’s moving from old Nate to new Nate, you appreciate the song even more.

Video professionals make that possible. They know how to record and edit videos to make them awesome pieces of art. And they make good money too.

Record Label

Music is an art, but it’s also a business. For example, Simon Cowell is one of the biggest names in the music industry. He’s a Sony Music executive and he has his own entertainment company called Syco. I don’t imagine he has a nice voice to stand on stage and sing, but he’s the founder of several singing competitions. He understands the business side of music.

You might be like Simon Cowell. Maybe you’re the guy who knows exactly what needs to be done to make an artist profitable. You can be what I call the record label. It doesn’t mean you have to be part of the traditional labels, but you can be the brains behind the business while someone else is the face onstage.

Content Creator

Believe it or not, I have a career in the music industry, and you don’t ever want to hear me sing. I create content about music and post for people to enjoy. This article is an example of music content one can create. Content creators are the ones who can take everything awesome about the artist into a package that fans will love.

TikTok videos, blog articles, and all sorts of social media posts are different kinds of content. So if you’re skilled and making online content and you love music, what are you waiting for?

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, you don’t have to be a singer or the star of the show to build a rewarding career in music. There’s a place for everybody regardless of your background, training, or skill set. All you must have is a genuine love for music.

So which of these careers would you like to work in?