jobs in music business, need some guidance.

[aramism]

ok so here's the deal: i basically have gravitated so much towards the "backdoor" parts of music as far as the engineering and production the last year and a half i basically want to do this for a living. producer, agentish, studio manager, something along those lines.

any suggestions for sales/music related jobs??? i know the business is in a very deep downward spiral but still. i'm a big believer in the proverb "if you want to get dirty, play in the dirt". help? suggestions??? i don't exactly expect the VP of like roadrunner or sony bmg to knock on my door and give me a job as an A&R lol so i gotta start somewhere and let the chips fall where they may, all the while harvesting my experience in the studio. just please no internships or anything like that. i'm 23 and have had a pretty good young career in the sales and finance field so i have a certain level of life i need income to maintain. don't get me wrong there is a lot of $$$ in what i do, a lot, but my heart is not into it and it is very stressful, nervewracking. these are job qualities i totally don't mind however i have my heart and mind set on music so i wouldn't mind those same things (stress + nerves) but doing something that interests me. i just need somethign that will give me a good shot to meet people and feel things out in a very difficult and shake industry while i harvest my studio abilities in my studio. but i feel like i am at least another year or two away from being able to trust my engineering capabilities to generate enough income to sustain my living. i don't exactly live at home, so fortunately or unfortunately (for what i am tryign to do) i have major living expenses left and right plus a studio.

any help would be appreciated. thank you.

 

[ashgallows]

Well, I've been out here almost 4 years in L.A. after getting my Degree at Full Sail trying to do engineering as "normal" job. I've been busting my ass for quite a while and I can't even seem to get a company to let me answer the phones for 10/hr. It almost seems that one would would be more likely to make it as an artist out here than an engineer.

If you want to meet people and make connections...this is going to sound stupid but it is so true. save up a bunch of money and go hang out where these producers and such hang out. Most of the time a simple conversation with the right person can get you all you need. It's just getting to where you are in front of the right person is the problem.

Also the intern thing...yea they pretty much are gonna want to make you do it. I did. Not fun. You are going broke as they treat you like dirt, and a lot fo the time they just let you go after a little while and grab someone else who thinks it is going to lead to something.

I'm sorry if I sound bitter, but doing this has def made me that way. it's a great career if you have an inside guy, but if not..fun times await.

 

[sparkyness]

If you're currently working in finance and have a lifestyle to match which you say you want to maintain, it will be difficult to make the same living in the music industry. The top two paying industries out there are finance and IT and it's a fairly steep drop to branch out into other industries with music probably being one of the lowest rungs on the ladder in that regard. I've looked into it several times over the years and the only comparable jobs out there are working for big record companies but the numbers still don't stack up. Personally, I think you're better off doing something that pays well and doesn't limit your time too much, while working on your production/engineering projects in your spare time. Considering the state of flux the industry is under at the moment, people are more likely to get laid off rather than hired.

If you stay in finance you're much more likely to make easier money than you would working for a record company. The concepts of "standard hours" and having a life are quite foreign when you work in a dynamic industry. By having a regular "day job" you know where you stand in terms of time commitments and that your rent will be paid that month.

I started out down the gigging musician/engineering route managing to break even for a few years before I gave it up (when I was about your age) as personal circumstances changed and a bit more financial security was needed. I've since spent over ten years working mainly in finance (and still do to a certain extent) as a freelance analyst on IT projects. It's fucking boring as hell (I'm sitting in a bank right now!) but I thankfully managed to diversify into multimedia production a few years back so I'm only stuck in hell half the time.

In 2003, I was working on an IT project for a advertising agency and they were having problems with their production house that provided music for their commercials, virals, etc. As I had a criminally small home studio setup at the time (and a big mouth) I half-jokingly offered to step in and finish the job for them and they took me up on the offer. That bit of a windfall has also led to production work on soundtracks for indie films, a bit of TV work, radio, remixes for DJ's, etc. It's not exactly spending my time tracking and mixing Radiohead or Slayer, but it's at least interesting. But alas, I still have to spend 50% of the time working on boring finance projects to make ends meet. It's not ideal, but I make a good living and am only bored 50% of the time now.

 

[kaomao]

same here I work as a computer programmer, well I like technology I like computers but I hate to make stupid programs for dumb people.
Kinda boring but I can say that this job brings home some money I spend on music, so I am pretty happy about it.
I wish I could have a dream job like doing engineering both on indie films or radio or dubbing work.

 

[ArtGarceau]

Get a job working for a manufacturer....you'll have more hookups in the industry than you could imagine.

I work for a very large audio manufacturer (every stage and studio has our product) and it is insane the amount of industry people you are inches from at any given moment.

 

[JonWormwood]

Get a job working for a manufacturer....you'll have more hookups in the industry than you could imagine.

I work for a very large audio manufacturer (every stage and studio has our product) and it is insane the amount of industry people you are inches from at any given moment.

Any advice on getting a job like that?

I've gone through a few shitty jobs that meant nothing to me but I'd like to get something that would be in my area of interest.

 

[ArtGarceau]

What city and state are you in?

I got a job in customer service just to get my foot in the door with this company, and I now manage the day to day of our two largest accounts (Guitar Center and Musicians Friend). I really want to end up in artist relations or product development.

 

[aramism]

i live in queens, ny

its like 15 minutes from manhattan. i basically live in NYC

 

[JonWormwood]

What city and state are you in?

I got a job in customer service just to get my foot in the door with this company, and I now manage the day to day of our two largest accounts (Guitar Center and Musicians Friend). I really want to end up in artist relations or product development.

Jax FL.

 

[abyssofdreams]

same here I work as a computer programmer, well I like technology I like computers but I hate to make stupid programs for dumb people.
Kinda boring but I can say that this job brings home some money I spend on music, so I am pretty happy about it.
I wish I could have a dream job like doing engineering both on indie films or radio or dubbing work.

ha, that is exactly what I do and how I feel too.

 

[ArtGarceau]

i live in queens, ny

its like 15 minutes from manhattan. i basically live in NYC

I'm sure there are quite a few gear manufacturers in NYC. Here in the Chicago area we have Etymotic, Shure, Sensaphonics, Washburn/Randall, Sytek, and I think a few more.

 

[-J-]

Seems like some of those dudes that travel with bands as their full-time soundboard engineer....well, it looks like they have fun if nothing else.

You could do like Tommy Victor and do sound at a cool bar (didn't he do CBGBs?) and the contacts he made there probably didn't hurt his musical career.

As far as sales - I see jobs at monster and at Yamaha's website for sales positions for speakers and gear sometimes. Might be cool to work for Yamaha (or other music-related company) selling their stuff, doing trade shows and such.

Might keep relocation an option: Fender has their HQ out in Scottsdale, AZ. They have sales positions come up on their website (or was it on monster or careerbuilder?) every so often for that location. I applied, but didn't even get a reply back (hey, just like my old band's demos that went to record companies, how cool is that?!). However, you gotta figure there's a bunch of stuff in the NY area for bars, gear, studios, contacts. Tech21, a bunch of pedal makers, labels, etc. - more people you meet and talk to the better I'm sure.


I was on the track to audio production at school and switched to biology once I found out there wasn't a whole lot of jobs that would give me the lifestyle I wanted. Now I do biology stuff and don't have the lifestyle I want nor any money for good recording gear, so it's a lose-lose situation. :Smokin: