Post-Music Schools: Music Jobs Aren't What They Used To Be

For those interested in pursuing music jobs after attending music schools, whether it might be on the creative end as a musician, engineer, or sound editor, or on the business end as a marketer, promoter, or producer, it's essential to know how much the industry has changed in just the last ten years. Having a number one hit on the charts no longer equates to genuine success.

At the dawn of the millennium, musicians still generated revenue as they had for more than fifty years, through hard-copy sales of their recorded music. This goes without saying that in order to launch a new record, tours and concerts are the way to go. Artists actually generate the bulk of their revenues from the record sales, although concert ticket sales did contribute to the income of the artists and record labels. However, with the popularity of the Internet and the availability of purchasing recorded music at reduced prices (or for nothing at all, if one is willing to break a few barely-enforced copyright protection laws), every aspect of music jobs has undergone a significant change.

The musicians themselves do get the large percentage of their income from performances, sales of CD's, iTunes purchases as well as ringtone downloads - but this is just a small percentage of their income. Consequently, the record companies themselves now take a greater interest in acquiring some percentage of the revenue generated by concert tickets, t-shirt sales, and other ancillary markets related to live performance.

Indeed, today, the music scene has become more concerned about looking for fans who would love to hear it live - and pay for it - instead of getting them to purchase recorded albums. The shift has been so significant that almost all independent record stores have gone bankrupt, displaced by mega-sized institutions like Wal-Mart and Target that not only offer CDs, but also just about everything else a consumer wants. Even at these huge corporations, sales of CD's are at an almost all-time low. Recording music just doesn't pay like it once did.

Thus, music jobs (for example, sound engineer, sound editor) will be more difficult to come by since the music scene is on the hots for marketers and tour promoters. So if you're planning to get into this field and get paid well for it, then try jobs that are on the business side of music after attending music schools.