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You would think that once you have your degree in Music Production you would be well on your way, would you not? But it does not usually work like that. It is erroneous that procuring a degree makes acquiring a career easier, because there are more people going for jobs with degrees than ever before and we are in an period when every business is searching for savings. It is true though that you will not ge a good career with prospects without a degree any more.

So, you have your degree in music production and firms are not falling over themselves to hire you, so what do you do now? Well, one of the things that you ought to do is put your creative talent to work to find ways to get a career in the music industry. Before we get onto the topic of looking for a career, there are a couple of items that you have to know about music companies.

Most young people fantasize of getting into the music industry and rubbing shoulders with stars even if they do not have any talent. Because of this the music industry as a whole hardly ever needs to advertise for vacant jobs although they may be required to by law in some countries.

They will just pay lip service to this law because it is daft, a pacifier and unenforcable. They will promote from within, use family and hire head-hunters, just like most firms do.

This means that it is at least as much who you know as what you know and this means networking. You will have to learn how to network to get yourself at least an interview. Attempt to get in even if it means on the lowest rung of the ladder, as an intern.

The vast majority of companies that take interns fill vacant positions with the best and most eager interns. The drawback is that interns get paid very little if at all. But if government can get away with it so will industry.

The first step to take after procuring your degree is to study up on the job you would like and the firm you would like it with. You know how to do that. Learn as much about the job and the firm as you can. Then draw up a list of all the people you know who might be able to help you or vouch for you.

Teachers, lecturers, bands you roadied for, concerts you helped out on – anything – and get in touch with them. Ask if they know of anything going and get their permission to use their name in an interview or career application.

Send out resumes to the precise person by name who has the authority to hire or recommend you. This involves more research. This is a long shot because music production firms are inundated with resumes, but follow yours up with a second letter and enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope. Send a third as well, why not? Then start following it up by email and phone.

Stay calm, be pleasant, but say that you would like a reply and if you have been turned down with reasons why so that you can remedy your short-comings. Attempt to learn from set-backs and one day it will work out for you.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a variety of subjects, but is now concerned with Bose new wave radios. If you would like to know more, please go to our web site at Bose Digital Radio.

The United Kingdom has always had a very dynamic music industry and although, or maybe because, we are in a downturn now, it is still thriving. Many young people are attracted to the music industry and so dream about getting a career in it.

However, we are not all musically gifted and only the very talented get anywhere by following that path anyway, but there are other avenues to go down if you want a job in the music industry.

There is a huge raft of support required to put musicians on the stage, television and radio, because musicians are notoriously too badly organized to get this work done on their own – especially top level musicians who demand that the stage, the lighting, the facilities and the contracts have to be just so.

So, once a musician has proved his or her worth, somebody has to get him bookings and promote his name, get him a record deal and make certain that he is sufficiently paid. This will be the music publicist

The label manager works for the recording firm and liaises between the different departments to make certain that the production and release of the artist’s CD’s are co-ordinated to the nth degree.

Management always has to have assistants and the music industry is no exception. An assistant to a manager in the music industry will have standard administrative duties not dissimilar to office duties in other industries, but the papers, contracts, invoices and cheques will be regarding famous, glamorous people that everyone knows from the Television.

The music industry employs research analysts to track and strive to predict future trends in music tastes. These researchers are sometimes called digital research analysts. This is rather a skilled job and necessitates expertise in the industry, in markets, trends and management.

The Net plays an ever increasing role in the marketing of music and the musicians who make it and so there are now openings for online editorial managers, whereas the career did not exist ten years ago.

The publicists and PR people also need co-ordinating on the Net and web sites need to be built. Every band has to have a Facebook and Twitter account and any other account in an online phenomenon that is up-and-coming.

There are events producers and junior events producers and senior events producers because live music creates more money than record sales since so much of that is pirated these days. Most bands could not continue without live events and most would not want to either, because performers like the limelight quite literally.

The music industry employs of cheap labour as does even government and there are internships to be had. The pay for an intern is very low and occasionally they do not get paid at all, but they gain a wealth of experience and make very helpful contacts. The most enthusiastic and hard-working interns are usually hired after their internship is over.

There are ways into the music industry that might seem quirky, but if you attempt some of these avenues you will stand a better chance of procuring a job in the music industry.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a variety of subjects, but is now involved with Bose new wave radios. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Bose Digital Radio.

If you like music a great deal, you may be dreaming of going into some area of the music industry yourself. Undoubtedly, you will have been told that this is notoriously difficult and I am not trying to suggest that it is not, but maybe most people who are trying to get into the music industry are applying for the same jobs.

The list of jobs available in the music industry must include teachers, songwriters, doctors, therapists and many others, not only singers and musicians, so it pays to think laterally if you want to head in this direction, because traffic on the main highway is usually at a stand-still. Anyway, here is a list of other jobs in the music industry and I hope that it is of some help to you.

There are jobs with music and record businesses for staff song-writers, that is, for people who write songs for the artists who are contracted to that label. Find a couple of artists that you respect working for the same label, compose some songs for them and apply.

If you cannot find a solitary label that suits you, you could do the same job as a freelance song-writer. This way you are not hamstrung and can write for all the artists that you like.

If you are good with words but not such a great musician, you could become a lyricist. A lyricist might or might not team up with a musician to produce a song. Like Gilbert & Sullivan or Rogers & Hammerstein.

Jingle-writers are always in demand, at least decent ones are. Jingles need to be short but catchy. Writing jingles pays good money, but it will perhaps not make you famous outside the music industry.

A music publisher searches the market for freelance songs and buys up the copyright or license to distribute those songs or to sell or license them to singers and musicians.

A music editor might work with a composer or song-writer to make sure that the timing and the cues for the musicians and singers are feasible.

Notesetters have to have a decent ear for music as their job is to write down in musical form what untrained musicians play to them. There are many, many modern musicians who cannot write a note of music but who can produce very popular songs. These songs have to be written down by someone and that someone is a notesetter.

A talent scout in the music industry has the official title of Artist & Repertoire Co-ordinator or A&R Co-ordinator for short. A step up from this rank is the A&R Administrator, who co-ordinates the co-ordinators and sets and monitors their budgets – a type of a musical accountant.

Then there are the jobs in public relations. These people normally work for record labels. They promote the artists who have signed onto a record firm’s label. There are quite a few degrees of responsibility in this department.

An agent or an relations representative, is aperson who promotes his client and finds him or her work. They check the contracts and give business advice. They are well-|known as ‘Mr. Ten Percent’ although in practice it is normally double this unless you are famous.

Campus representatives advertise records to students and promotional staffers promote wherever they can – radio channels, shops, musical directors.

Music teachers teach music to groups from pre-school through to college level. Their duties differ with the age of the student and the purpose of the class.

A music director has the job of supervising policy in school or college or setting the entertainment for a cruise or a holiday camp, hotel or holiday complex.

Then there are organists in churches all over the country, who often double in other musical careers.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a range of subjects, but is currently involved with Bose new wave radios. If you would like to kcurrently more, please visit our web site at Bose Digital Radio.