Introduction
Hello Readers!
Welcome to the Music Industry Jobs blog! What is this blog I’ve stumbled upon, you ask? Well, it’s a place where you will learn about all the careers that today’s music industry has to offer.
Who are you to tell me what career possibilities I have, you ask? You could be making this up, you say! Well, yes, I could, but I’m not. I’m a second-year student at Columbia College Chicago majoring in Arts, Entertainment, & Media Management with a concentration in Music Business (yes, it’s a very long name for a major. I suppose in the interest of saving ink on the diploma I should have majored in a shorter-name major like Economics or History but they are so much less fun to say).
Growing up, I devoted a significant amount of time to thinking about what I career I wanted as an adult. At the time, I thought I had to choose something quickly and stick with it forever, so I always had a definite answer when asked the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” As it happens, I was also under the impression that I had a very narrow range of options to choose from.
Afraid of natural disasters, I steered clear of any public service jobs such as firewoman; afraid of blood I stayed away from medical jobs, such as doctor; having sucked at almost every sport due to (1) laziness and (2) a fear of the potential injuries involved with any sport ending in the word “ball” (I spent 97% of my time as an 11-year-old goalie drawing flowers and hearts in the dirt between the goalposts with the toe of my cleats; the other 3% of the time was spent looking up for a moment to watch the soccer ball fly past me and through the goal) I stayed away from any job that suggested I might vie for an Olympic medal. As a fan of fiction books, the Spice Girls, and Peter Pan, my answer to The Question always switched off between Author, Singer/Dancer/Girl-Power-Group Extraordinairre, and Tiger Lily (that last one only lasted until I was about 10).
In high school I finally discovered my passion for arts management when I worked for the Dance Company, my school’s exclusive by-audition-only dance group. At the end of a semester of choreography and rehearsals the Dance Company would hold a professional-grade, weekend-long performance. All semester, while the dancers prepared for their performance, 7 other girls and myself would slave away in the Dance Company office, securing sponsorships and designing costumes; organizing fundraisers and managing ticket sales; the list goes on. During performances we stage managed, helped the dancers change in/out of costumes, prepared sets between dances, were on-call for general last-minute mishaps (costume malfunction, injuries, etc.), and so on.
I loved everything about this job, but my greater passion is in music. This was when I realized that bands need managers. This was also around the time I fell in love with Almost Famous and realized there is a job titled Road Manager. And what about the venue owners? I started thinking about music festivals and realized that there are people who plan and execute these events. I’ve never been one for 9-5 office work and I began to understand that there is a whole world of entertainment industry jobs that do not involve a cubicle! What I want to do with this blog is share all that I’ve learned about the potential for jobs in the music industry.
So for those of you who want to be involved in the music industry, this is the place for you to learn what your options are. I will be detailing the jobs, interviewing professionals in those positions, and answering YOUR questions.
And to anyone who thinks the music industry is in shambles and falling apart, it’s not. It’s just evolving into something new and exciting, with tons of possibilities at every turn.
I hope you find this useful and educational. If you have any comments, questions, suggestions, etc. please feel free to e-mail me at musicindustryjobs@gmail.com
3 years ago