Music Related Salesperson Jobs

About This Music Career

A record company salesperson is responsible for completing sales of the label's CDs, DVDs, and videos. To make a sale, the Salesperson visits accounts, makes phone calls, and mails out letters and other collateral. Accounts include retail stores, rack jobber, one-stops, and online venues. To keep accounts satisfied and in order to make sales and meet quotas, the Salesperson must constantly visit his or her accounts. In order to maintain credibility, the Salesperson but also have a total and complete understanding of the company's catalog. This includes all new releases, along with previously released albums that could be re-released on CD.

After a sale is made, the Salesperson must inform the purchaser of costs, the available discounts, and how much volume must be purchased in order to qualify for the discount.

A typical day calls for a Salesperson to visit a number of different accounts each day, and certain days may only involve catching up on correspondence and/or phone work. Depending on the size of the record label, the Salesperson might also be asked to take record store inventory of CDs and videos, while suggesting which products need to be ordered, setting up promo displays, and more. A Salesperson's job is not complete once a sale is made, as a good salesperson follows up to make sure orders were received and fulfilled as promised.

The Salesperson works directly with the Regional Sales Manager, meeting regularly to discuss a number of different things such as strategy, etc.

Salaries
As is the case with most sales positions in a variety of industries, Salespeople can be compensated in a number of different ways, usually earning a straight salary, a salary plus commission on completed sales, or a commission against a basic salary. Because of all of this, and taking into consideration the many different sizes of record companies, it is difficult to estimate the yearly earnings of a Salesperson. But generally, earnings for a Salesperson might range from $30,000 to $50,000 plus per year.

Employment
For a salesperson, employment prospects are fair, because of the fact that good salespeople are hard to find in any industry, and Major and smaller, independent record companies employ large numbers of salespeople across a variety of music markets, including big cities like Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Nashville, Atlanta, Miami, among others.

Advancement
Similarly, if a successful salesperson with superior skills can be promoted to Regional Sales Manager, or even to another supervisory position. A Salesperson's skills speak for themselves, as it leads to sales, and quotas being met.

Education and Training

Educational requirements vary widely for Salespeople. Smaller labels may only require a high school diploma, while major labels generally require their salespeople to hold a college degree. Useful majors to prepare an individual for a sales job include marketing, communications, and advertising. Now, more and more, you see colleges offering music business and music merchandising degrees.

Experience, Skills, and Personality
To be a successful salesperson, you must have a very specific skill set consisting of aggressive, but articulate communication and interpersonal skills. He or she must also be able to meet deadlines, and work under heavy pressure to meet sales quotas. They must have a knowledge of music and records in order to be successful.

Unions and Associations
Salespeople might be members of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), which is an association that offers a forum for those in the music business.

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