Five Reasons You Should Work In The Music Industry

How to be that person who loves their job.

The music industry is the greatest industry in the world, and I’ll stand by that. If we’re being honest, I bet you already know that too. But since you’re here, I imagine you need a little convincing.

Maybe you’re hesitant because you can’t play music, or you don’t know where you fit in. Maybe you’re just looking for proof to print out and show your parents so you can convince them it’s a viable job option.

Whatever the reason, we hope you come away from this list with great reasons to make you feel good about pursuing a career in music, and at the very least some talking points to bring up in conversation with your wall street buddies.

1. It’s your passion

I’ll start start here because it is the most important aspect for why you should become a music industry professional. Music is your passion. It always has and it always will be. Besides, what’s that saying “If you’re good at something, never do it for free.” On top of that, if there’s something you love, why not get paid to do it.

For me, I knew I wanted to so something around music early on. I’m not sure there was a eureka moment when I was a kid, as much as a sort of an expectation that grew with me as I got older. I loved listening to music and was always in music lessons learning new instruments so the passion only got stronger as I grew. I never lost that love of music. When it came to choosing a major in school, music seemed like an obvious decision.

2. There are almost endless career paths

Actually being a musician isn’t everything, you know. Just because you aren’t a rockstar doesn’t mean you won’t feel fulfilled. Working in music and being a musician are two different things. On one hand, you are the one writing and performing songs, and on the other, you are supporting that music and getting it out there for the world to hear and enjoy.

The music industry is just like any creative industry. Take advertising, for example. There are those in advertising who make the creative, and those who do all the behind the scenes stuff like marketing, sales, licensing and so on. Music is no different. Where you end up in the industry very much depends on your skills and where your interest lies. That being said, just because you aren’t a touring artist doesn’t mean you can’t be a musician for a living. There are many jobs like songwriting, producing and production music writing that you could do.

3. Work With Your Heroes

The music industry is similar to working in TV and movies in that you get to meet people you’ve come to know and love through their art. At some point in the industry you’ll get to meet and work with someone who’s music or work you admire. When that happens and you actually get to work side by side as equals, it’s an incredibly surreal moment. The first time that happened to me I had this thought “this is exactly where I’m supposed to be”.

On that note, don’t believe that quote of “never meet your heroes”. I’ve heard that so many times, and I don’t buy it. Sure, some artists can be demanding divas who expect everyone around them to bow down, but that really isn’t the case for most artists. The reality is that artists are just regular people, with regular lives. Most of them have families and homes to go back to and they treat the people they work with like any other colleague. I worked at a radio station for a couple years and met hundreds of famous artists. Most of them were kind, considerate and easy-going people. From time to time we would have someone in who was really difficult to work with, but that’s to be expected.

4. You Can Actually Make Money

Believe it or not, there’s money to made in the music industry, and lots of it. 2017 was the third year in a row that the music industry’s average profits grew, bringing in a whopping $8.7 billion in the U.S. alone. With major music labels finally embracing streaming platforms like Apple Music, Spotify and TIDAL, we’re finally starting to see the cogs working together again. Artists are selling tickets because of interest gained through streaming platforms and are travelling to new places. That shift causes a trickle-down effect in the industry, supporting all the people who work at labels, in artist management as well as music licensors, road crews, venue staff, radio stations and so on. With music consumption at an all time high, there’s a need for more people to fill the growing job list that the music industry has to offer.

5. It’s Not Hard To Start

There are hundreds of ways to get involved in the industry right now. The music scene is very much a “not what you know, but who you know” kind of place. That’s why the most important thing is to get your foot in the door where you can. I’d recommend checking out our post on [INSERT LINK HERE ]How to land a job in the music industry[END HYPERLINK] for our full list of ways to get started. Just be sure you have a general idea of where you want to work, start networking, get involved, and start making your place in the industry.

Getting started is much easier than you think too. I got my start as an intern at a radio station before they hired me on full time. All you need to do is do some research of places you want to end up and reach out. A simple email with your resume demonstrating your passion for what they do and the industry goes a lot farther than you might think.

So what are you waiting for? Let us know your dream music job in the comments, and how you plan on getting involved.