Almost every young student I’ve ever taught has asked me about the feasibility of having a career in music. And most of them are already discouraged by family, friends, even other teachers. They think that the only viable options are to play your instrument, or teach, and that both pay poorly. And this makes perfect sense, because the only visible music careers for young musicians involve performing (what you hear on the radio or see on tv) or teaching (the music teacher you see every day of your school life). However, there are a hundred other careers out there connected to music and all with varying degrees of income, from studio engineers to music lawyers, and from video game composers to music-based therapists. How about we dispel some of the myths surrounding music careers and pay?
Performance
If you think that to be a performer you must play only the classical music you play in band, cheer up because that’s only one of thousands of performance options out there. There are countless styles of music and bands that play them, and more venues and outlets that bring it to people than you can imagine. This is one of my areas of expertise so I’ll write a little more in depth about it. I’ll group performers into two (very general) categories:
To be a performer is to have an open mind. Whether you freelance or play regular sessions, you never know what kind of gig you’ll be on. For example, in one month you might play with a big band, a brass quintet, a Broadway pit orchestra, a reggae band, the circus, and a klezmer band. Knowledge of genres and style is a must. The average performer will have decent to flawless sightreading abilities.
Pay will be totally mixed, anywhere from free to $250, depending on many factors, like type of band, venue, and event. If you are the bandleader, you can make more, particularly after you pay off your initial investments. Higher-paying gigs tend to be tougher to get, like film score sessions and Broadway shows, because there are less of them and less positions, but with patience and hard work it’s totally possible to break into that scene.
The players who have those gigs tend to keep them for a while. Many people are confused or upset by this, but there is really nothing nefarious happening here. Imagine that you are a band leader and you have to get a recording session put together every few weeks. One week you end up with a really good lineup in your band. They are all great players and really nice people. In two weeks, do you have any reason at all to not call them back again? Why take the chance on someone you haven’t heard before? This isn’t to say that the next ten people in line for that percussionist spot aren’t fantastic players. They probably are! But this is the nature of a social business, and it’s something you should understand.
The more you play though, the more money you make, the more people to meet, the more opportunities continue to open up, the more referrals you get, and the better you get. Your career is always continuing and your knowledge and skill always growing. You can always try to supplement your income in various ways, including private instruction and/or day jobs (connected to music or not, from instrument repair shop technician to computer programmer).
You can be from any background and play any instrument, and if you keep an open mind and love music, performing is a completely viable way to make a living and enjoy doing so. Eventually you can learn other skills and branch out into other areas for other sources of income, but you have to love your instrument and love music to get started.
Writing
Writing is my main area of expertise. When it comes down to it, being able to express abstract thoughts and feelings in my brain by translating to music notation and having it further translated by instrumentalists so that an audience can hear what I hear, totally owns. I’ll take any job involving notes on a page, and here and a few:
Sometimes I do copy work. That means someone wrote something out, often by hand, and they need parts made for their ensemble. This requires wide-ranging knowledge of notation rules, orchestration (because not every composer knows what range to put their melody in for a french horn to play it), and most likely lightening speed efficiency and accuracy in notation software. It’s often tedious, but if you get to work on a good piece of music you can learn some cool things. Copyists charge by the bar, line, page, or hour, usually at rates set by the musician’s union. You should also be prepared to do things by hand, a lost art that is important to be proficient in nonetheless. A single job could pay anywhere between $20 and $2,000 depending on the size.
I also do a lot of arranging. That means that bands call me up and send me some music and say “make this a thing, but with five horns and a harp and dolphin whistles,” and I do just that. I often do this digitally, so I get an mp3 and I send back pdf parts made in Finale. The pay range is quite wide here and there aren’t many standards to go by. You have to have mastery of orchestration for various styles and ensemble makeups. A job could be anything from rhythm section parts for a rock band to parts for a fifty piece orchestra.
Sometimes it’s not enough to just send in parts, so sometimes I’ll come in to conduct. Some conductors work full time with large orchestras, or with a series of smaller ones. They can work in studios on soundtrack recording sessions or with live bands at concert halls. I don’t conduct full time, but the few times I do, I use my knowledge of patterns and orchestra placement, and my understanding of the score, to get the job done. Conductors will study for many years with other conductors and lower-scale ensembles, mastering famous pieces along the way. The ultimate job of the conductor is to understand the music and communicate the pertinent information to the right players, and generally ensure that everyone knows what’s going on. They are more important in ensemble preparation than at a live performance (any band that isn’t ready to play something live will not be saved by a guy waving his arms around!). Conducting salaries range anywhere from minimum wage to six figures.
I mostly write for live bands and orchestras, but you could also write for commercials, TV shows, movies, video games, and more. It helps to be in L.A., New York City, or other major entertainment bases. A knowledge of orchestration is very helpful, but you could also work with electronic music and samples to create great scores, which is true in the performance world as well (that is to say, electronic music was forever ago established as artistically viable). The pay is all over the place here, but it’s a good living if you are in it.
One final composition-based career is songwriting. Normally songwriting is the hybrid between composition and performing (not to say that many instrumentalists do not write. See: Chris Thile, Lars Horntveth, the history of jazz, etc). However, for the purposes of this article, songwriters can pitch songs (as opposed to compositions or backing scores) for placement in movies, games, commercials, etc. This can make for good income, especially if you are concurrently performing live. Many songwriters can also go on to write songs to be performed by other artists, who can possibly use greater resources to promote and sell your composition.
After that, my expertise starts to give way. However, I’d like to point you in the direction of Berklee College of Music’s music salary guide for 2012, which is fairly comprehensive not only regarding salaries, but also regarding the kinds of music jobs that are out there. In it, you might discover for the first time that there are jobs all over the music publishing and recording industries, from copyright specialist to music lawyer to web designer. Or that there are jobs all over the concert world like booking agent, promoter, or venue marketing director. Or that there are jobs in the audio engineering world, like sound designer, record producer, or audiologist. You might be surprised to know that besides band director, you could still be in music education as a college professor or clinician. The still-burgeoning field of music therapy has various paths for careers. There are countless specific jobs out there, and many more general jobs that you probably haven’t even thought of yet, so get an idea by checking out that chart.
It’s good to know about all the different kinds of careers that are out there and what they pay. If you are approaching college, this can help you specify your goals. If you are ending college or starting out in the working world, the chart can help you get an idea of what to expect out there, since many jobs don’t have standardized salaries waiting for you. If you are still getting started learning an instrument, this chart exists to prove to you that music is completely viable as a career and that you have options.
More important than any of that though…
Look, this economy we’re in isn’t great. Seriously, many economic factors in this country has gotten worse and worse for decades now, with wages staying put or dropping relative to rising levels of worker productivity, and with American workers having less benefits than many other developed countries, less vacation time, etc. Don’t worry about money. Yes, there are always high-paying jobs out there if you really want one, but you might have to decide what is more important: money, or happiness?
When you choose your career (or as it often happens, the career chooses you) you absolutely must love it. Please, find a job that is satisfying. Do work that you love. The world needs more people who love their work and transfer that happiness into the rest of their world. The money thing will always work itself out, especially if you work hard, have great patience, and stay creative. Success in music isn’t restricted to TV Talent Show gimmick contestants and high school band directors (not to compare the two, as band directors are quite important and often very inspirational). If you want to do it, DO IT.
Check out my article on goals, which does not necessarily have to be relegated to instrument studies only. It also might be worth checking out The Artist’s Way, and other similar resources, if you need help figuring out just what it is you want to do. Just remember, do what you love, and the rest works itself out. Answer this question: Do I love music? If yes, then get out there, learn as much as you can, and let the jobs work out naturally. Good luck!