Music Career Finder

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Female DJ using mixer during live DJ set

DJ

Asian female singer in studio with mic

Singer

Music Director with headphones around her neck in the on-air studio at the radio station

Music Director

Closeup on an Orchestrator's hand writing notes on sheet music

Orchestrator

Young Black male Drummer playing the drums

Drummer

Young female Audio Engineer with soundboard in recording studio

Audio Engineer

Young female Pianist at piano

Pianist

Young black male Music Producer in recording studio

Music Producer

Mastering engineer using mixing console in recording studio

Mastering Engineer

Record Producers working in a music studio

Record Producer

Female Guitarist in recording studio

Guitarist

Songwriter with acoustic guitar writing lyrics in notebook

Songwriter

Lyricist listening to music and writing ideas in her notebook

Lyricist

Ceiling of opera theatre with crowd taking their seats

Opera Singer

Personal Manager in the recording studio with the band he manages

Personal Manager

Young female Bassist with her band

Bassist

Music Teacher showing bass to young male music student

Music Teacher

Concertmaster playing his violin

Concertmaster

Close up on a Composer's hands playing the piano

Composer

Director of A&R wearing headphones

Director of A&R

If you want to make a career in music, you’ll need to know the basics of the music industry.

 It can also be helpful to see how many more opportunities you have then musicians did “back in the day.” So let’s talk about where the music industry used to be, where it is now, and how you can use that info to pursue a music career.

8 Key Factors in Today’s Music Industry

The music industry has many moving parts, and building a career in music has even more. But below are eight of the most important factors in today’s music world.

What is the music industry?

Caleb J. Murphy (CareersInMusic)

The “music industry” usually refers to the overall revenue generated from music, but it also can include the progression of music technology, trends, and the general zeitgeist of the music world. Anyone involved in music at any stage is considered to be in the music industry, from songwriters to artists to publishers to music lawyers.

Why is the Music Industry important?

Tom Stein

Music is an economic driver for communities that provides jobs and social cohesion, can strengthen a city’s brand, and fuels growth and economic activity in other areas such as tourism, hospitality, media, and all the creative industries. Many municipalities, states, and even countries have policies designed to help the Music Industry, since they understand that it supports economic activity, creates good jobs, and increases the tax base.

For example, in the UK the top Musicians paid over $60 million in taxes back in 2019. That pays for a lot of police officers, road repairs, doctors, and nurses. In the same year, the overall music industry provided 200,000 jobs and paid several hundreds of million British Pounds in taxes. The Music Industry creates a significant economic impact in places all across the globe. It also improves the quality of life for millions of people through increasing social ties and by providing cultural opportunities for millions of audience members.

Social Media

Social media is a cornerstone of the modern music industry, profoundly influencing the way artists connect with their audience and promote their work. Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok are the go-to promotional tools for musicians and record labels

The immediacy and global reach of social media have democratized access to audiences, meaning artists can connect directly with fans instead of going through a label.

Basically, social media is not just a promotional tool but a very important force that has reshaped how artists share and create music. It’s the best thing that has happened for independent musicians.

How big is the Music Industry?

Tom Stein

No one really knows how big the industry is, and it’s hard to make an accurate estimate, since it’s impossible to track every transaction. There’s a variety of estimates from various organizations and researchers who track what they can, and then extrapolate from the findings. I’ve already mentioned a few of these above.

According to the Music Business Association, the global Live Music Industry alone will be worth $31 billion in 2022, while global revenues from Recorded Music should rise to $26 billion. A detailed analysis of government data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and other third-party sources shows that directly or indirectly the music industry creates almost two million jobs in the US alone.

Most of the jobs in the Music Industry are not for performers. There’s a wide array of jobs available for those seeking careers in Music, such as ManagerMusic ProducerBooking AgentMusic PublisherMusic Arranger, and Music Educator, just to name a few.

Action Step: Make a list of the jobs in music that interest you, and seek out information about each one.

Recorded Music

Decades ago, it was very difficult for musicians to record music on their own. You needed to reserve a professional studio and hire an audio engineer. But fortunately, technology has advanced to the point where a teenage kid can make a song in his bedroom with a laptop and that song can give him a music career.

From 2017 to 2022, revenue from recorded music has nearly doubled, according to RIAA, which says it represents about 85% of all recorded music in the United States.

Recorded music is the main way people listen to music. It’s one of the most, if not the most, factors in today’s music industry.

What are the highest paying jobs in the Music Industry?

Tom Stein

Going against the conventional wisdom, or what people tend to believe, there are actually quite a few well-paid careers in the Music Industry. For example, Music Educators earn fairly high incomes, whether at entry level Teaching in a public school or at the Professor level. The median salary for middle school Music Teachers is about $60,000 and some Music Professors earn six figure salaries. Music DirectorsComposersPublic Relations SpecialistsVideo and Film EditorsAudio Engineers, and Event Planners in the Music Industry can also earn enough to support a solid middle-class lifestyle.

The top performers, songwriters, producers, and music attorneys are all millionaires. (This is true for just about all professions.) To become truly wealthy, you must painstakingly build a sustainable career over a long time. It’s not only how much you earn, but also how much you spend. Saving a portion of what you earn and investing it wisely over a long time (with a little luck) is how people of all income levels manage to become rich.

Music Streaming

Music streaming is how most people listen to music. As of this writing, Spotify claims 574 million users and Apple Music has 88 million users – the two biggest streaming platforms in the world.

Yes, people still buy vinyl records, CDs, and download music. But streaming is by far the most common way people listen to music.

Live Performance and Touring

Live performances and touring remain integral to the music industry. Live music provides crucial revenue streams for musicians. And it gives fans an experience like no other. I’m a firm believer that live music will never die.

Beyond the emotional impact on audiences, live shows contribute significantly to an artist’s income. Many artists rely fully on performing and others rely on it as one of their income streams. Successful tours also help enhance an artist’s visibility, which can drive album and merchandise sales.

How do I start a Music Business career?

Tom Stein

Every human accomplishment started with thinking. You should start by carefully considering your options, and consulting with others who are more knowledgeable than you. Do your research! Read, study, listen, watch, and consider what’s right for you. When it’s time to make a decision, make a list of pros and cons. Take each decision with confidence.

Getting into the Music Business as a career will look different for most everyone. The important thing is to get specific about your goals and how you intend to achieve them. The Music Business is highly competitive, but so are most industries, and there are people making it happen every day.

Think about the steps you might take to get you moving in the direction you want to go. Consider and study up on the various roles, such as Songwriter, Performer, Music ProducerArranger, Educator, or Orchestrator and learn as much as possible from others who have achieved success about how they did it.

Build your Professional Network, find a mentor, pursue an education, get an internship, be creative and learn the business from the ground up. Boost your online presence so others can find out about you, and do everything you possibly can to prepare for your Music Business career. Remember the “Four Ps:” Persistent Practice leads to Perfect Performance.

Sync Licensing

Sync licensing is when music is paired with visual media, like TV shows, commercials, movies, and video games. And it has provided a lucrative path to success for many musicians.

Licensing also offers a chance for artist exposure. As an artist, if your music is prominently featured on a TV show, for example, that can drive streaming numbers and overall audience growth.

For content creators, sync licensing (specifically micro licensing) offers an easy way to enhance the emotional impact of their videos by using carefully selected and legally licensed music.

The licensing industry has evolved into a dynamic and mutually beneficial collaboration between the music and entertainment industries. So hopefully, it will thrive for years to come.

What is the Big 4 music industry?

Caleb J. Murphy (CareersInMusic)

“The Big 4” in the music industry refers to the four major record labels, which represent about 85% of the music created today. The four major labels are EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group.

Music Publishing

Music publishers are responsible for licensing and collecting royalties for the public performance, reproduction, and distribution of musical compositions. Basically, they collect money for the songwriters and artists who should get paid for a song.

Music publishers often secure sync licensing placements, see opportunities for songwriter and artist collaborations. But they’re main responsibility is to collect payments and royalties for artists and songwriters.

In other words, music publishing is part of the foundation of a healthy music industry.

Artist-Fan Connection

This is possibly the most important factor of the music industry. It’s a transformative and necessary force for any artists looking to make a career in music.

Thanks to social media, subscription platforms, and live performances, artists and fans can connect directly with each other in real-time. It’s more like a personal relationship than a seller-buyer relationship (or it should be).

If an artist and their team properly handles the relationship with the fans, it can ensure they have a career in music while the fans have positive life-changing experiences through the music.

What a Music Career Looked Like Through the Years

Let’s take a quick look back at the music industry – what it used to look like for artists and what it looks like today.

The 1960s-2000: The Record Label Era

This is when the big record labels, like Sony, Universal, and Warner, owned the industry. You couldn’t get any music out to the world without them. But if you go discovered by one of these labels, they would promote you on a massive scale. So there were fewer blue-collar musicians and more superstars. 

The labels offered artists financial support, artist development, recording resources, and wide-reaching distribution and marketing channels. The core revenue streams back then were all physical – vinyl records, cassette tapes, and later CDs.

But that all changed with the rise of the internet…

What are the four main areas of the music industry?

Caleb J. Murphy (CareersInMusic)

It really depends on who you’re talking to. If I had to whittle down the music industry to four aspects, they would be creative (those who create and record the music), performance (performers, venues, bookers, etc.), business (including marketing), and legal.

2000-2009: The Collapse of the Industry, the Emergence of DIY

The early 2000s is when the internet started to become more widely available. In 1998, CD Baby launched as the first music distributor, primarily focusing on distribution of CDs to record stores. In 2001, iTunes made its debut, becoming part of Apple’s ecosystem. And CD Baby then offered digital distribution to iTunes, democratizing distribution for indie artists. 

However, despite iTunes’ success, it struggled to compete with the allure of free and unlimited music – namely, piracy. This is when the traditional music industry faced a decline. Physical distribution and download-to-own services succumbed to the challenges posed by online piracy. 

By 2008, approximately 95% of all digital music was estimated to be downloaded illegally, according to IFPI. Simultaneously, the emergence of new-era digital platforms like Myspace (2003), Facebook (2004), Youtube (2005), and Soundcloud (2007) introduced novel ways to gauge success, shifting the industry’s focus to metrics like play counts and likes.

In this chaotic, rapidly changing environment, it was difficult to find footing as an independent musicians. But it also gave no-names a chance to become superstars, like Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, Soulja Boy, and Colbie Caillat. 

2009-2019: Everyone for Themselves

Between 2010 and 2015, the music industry experienced a historic low, with recording industry revenues falling below $15 billion in 2010 and remaining at that level throughout this five-year period.

However, amidst this downturn, the industry found its response to digital piracy. Spotify formed in 2008 and launched in the U.S. in 2011. From there, streaming saw a remarkable 700% growth from 2010 to 2015. Apple Music launched in 2015, which only helped fuel the flames of music streaming.

Over these years, social media started to have an even more significant presence. It began to be the main way artists were sharing and promoting their music.

2020-today: The TikTok Era

Then came TikTok. Even though it launched in the U.S. in 2018, it didn’t start gaining massive popularity until about 2019-2020. 

The platform’s short-form video format, user-friendly interface, and algorithm-driven content discovery made it a breeding ground for viral music trends and challenges. Songs started going viral. Indie musicians found themselves a career-defining fanbase off of one video. So even more musicians flocked to the platform, growing by nearly 200 million users from 2020 to 2021.

The other social media platforms saw how engaged users became, so they started changing their algorithms to work similarly. So nowadays, everything is about short-form content. Artists are trying to go viral, or simply just find their audience, through short videos.

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What a Music Career Looks Like Today (7 Ways To Make Money)

A music career today usually involves multiple streams of revenue. And there’s a good chance you will be a middle class musician, not a superstar.

But that’s fine. As long as you are making progress toward your ideal music career, you’re succeeding. Those who succeed are the ones who don’t quit.

More specifically, here are some of the main ways musicians are making a living in today’s music industry…

How is the music industry now?

Caleb J. Murphy (CareersInMusic)

If this is referring to the revenue generated within the music industry, it’s doing well. In 2022, recorded music revenue jumped to $10 billion, up from under $5 billion in 2009. Granted, most of that revenue is going to the big four record labels.

Music Streaming

Distributing music to streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music allows independent musicians to earn royalties based on the number of streams. Some artists make their living entirely from streaming. Most artists need more than streaming revenue to make a living. But as long as streaming is the main way listeners consume recorded music, it is something every indie artist needs to focus on.

Live Performances and Tours

Concerts, gigs, and live performances remain significant sources of income for many musicians. Touring, whether locally or internationally, provides opportunities to connect with fans and generate revenue through ticket sales, merchandise, and fan interactions.

Merchandise Sales

Creating and selling merch like T-shirts, hats, and mugs can be a lucrative income stream. For many performing musicians, merch has a bigger ROI than ticket sales. And fans want tangible items that both remind them of a great night of live music and that support their favorite artists.

Crowdfunding and Fan Support

Platforms like Patreon and Kickstarter give fans a chance to financially support musicians while getting something exclusive in return. Subscriptions platforms fans contribute on a recurring basis, while crowdfunding platforms let fans give a one-time gift for a specific project.

Sync Licensing

Licensing music for use in films, TV shows, commercials, and video games can generate a decent income for independent musicians.

There’s also the micro sync licensing niche, which is when an artist (usually in partnership with a sync licensing company or library) gets paid to let smaller creators use their songs. These would be YouTubers, podcasters, indie filmmakers, and small businesses.

Teaching and Workshops

Lots of musicians offer music lessons, workshops, or online courses to share their expertise and generate income. This not only provides financial support but also helps in building a community around their art.

Sponsorships and Ad Revenue

Building a strong social media presence can attract companies who will ask the artist to talk about their product in exchange for payment. For example, a company that makes audio interfaces may offer to pay a music producer with a big following to talk about their new model.

If an artist grows a large enough following on a website like YouTube, they can turn on advertisements and earn money per view and per click.

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