Finding a job in the music industry is...

Difficult!

Looking through vast postings on craigslist.com or any music career site you will sift through scams, underpaid jobs, and jobs that are only listed for legal reasons when they’re not even hiring! You consider entrepreneurship, but at what cost? You can go to Minnesota’s Secretary of State to submit your forms and all together with trademarks, your DBA forms (which include a fee to put your business in newspapers), copyrights, websites and more this could cost well over a couple hundred dollars before the investments into the actual business itself.

Either passage you take, this music industry is not a cake walk. You can not sit in your moms basement, record on pro tools, and just let your music sit in space. So you love graphic design or video? There are many postings for freelance work with restaurants and other places of business. Its just a matter of taking action. Even the most proactive people find looking for jobs difficult, but when something opens up they are the first to get it.

So in terms of waiting or entrepreneurship, my message to everybody is just don’t ever give up. Live your dream and if you can’t do it alone… find people close to help you out. Form a family in the music world like The Roots (I’ve never really seen them apart) or any group in these present economic times. DIY means "Do It Yourself" and it does not have to mean "Do It by Yourself".

When doors open, opportunities arise. Its just a matter of taking that step through the door to capture what should be yours.

From the mind of

Keveeno Reeverts
Career Services Coordinator
The Institute of Production and Recording

Finding a job in the music industry is...

Music IS Business

I admit it. I'm the resident country music fan in this office (you may not have known this, but does it surprise you? I think probably not). And sometimes I feel a little out of place-- not because the people here make me feel that way, and not because I don't enjoy this indie rock thing, but because I don't know much about it. What good am I to an indie rock label?

I can't answer that definitely, but here's what I've learned so far.

Music is business. You can love it or hate it. You can claim all you want that music is NOT product, bands aren't brands, it's all about the ART. Unless you're sitting in your basement with a guitar and no intention of ever coming up, music is still business, and marketing, promotion, and management skills transcend genre. Since I'm here to learn about the music industry on a more hands-on level, I think we can agree that it doesn't matter that indie rock isn't my first musical love. I could be here working with rap or R&B, and I'd still be learning many of the same things.

I'm 22, and that alone gives me more expertise about current marketing strategies than some people who have been in the business for years. It seems like most new music is marketed to the 30 and under crowd (obviously with some exceptions), and people in my particular age group have grown up with the internet, and the social marketing craziness. We have ALWAYS had MTV and CMT. We inherently get it. We also know it's not new anymore, which gives us the ability to look beyond it. One of us is going to find the key soon, and it will be something no one, especially the major label dinosaurs, expected.

Key or no key, there will never be a magic answer. Big breaks are called breaks for a reason-- some people find their success the first year out, some people spend 15 years in undeserved obscurity before gaining much sought-after recognition. Nothing will ever happen if you're not out there doing your thing, but nothing might happen even if you are. Opportunity meets preparation was never more true.

Courtney

Music IS Business

What is your Definition of Success?

It's a race to the finish. Are you in the 50 meter or 100 meter dash? Or are you in a 10-20 mile long triathlon with the race changing every few miles? It all depends on where you have your mind set as to what "success" is. Do you finish an album, share with a few people and have a lot of congratulations? Make $20 on iTunes or CD Baby and hope the music changed at least one person's life? Or maybe you want to live like a rock star? Everybody has their own vision of success and each has their own road to it.

If you go onto CD Baby, the average album sales for an artist/group is $340. Now that number is off a lot depending on how much work you're willing to put in. If you only wanted to make an album that the world has a chance to hear, than your job is done. You made $20 and can now eat Chipotle for a few days. If you decided to promote it yourself (depending on your talent), you can sell near the average of $340. Now if you put the album out, do some shows, promote, and build a fan base this is where the numbers push the average. You may sell over $5,000 (CD Baby had around 50 people sell over $10,000) and you become a mini rock star and you can not only eat Chipotle for all 7 days of the week, but pay rent for a few months.

Success is defined by Webster as "a favorable or desired outcome". So it all depends on what you want to do. Music is not a career for everybody, so getting recognition is not always top priority. If it is your career then recognition is of the utmost importance, because how else would you be able to survive? Even if you want to work in the background of things (i.e. studio musician), recognition is still important to be able to show that you are willing to help people out.

So putting into consideration your definition of success, how much work are you willing to put in?

From the mind of

Keveeno Reeverts

What is your Definition of Success?