According to the English dictionary, a career is one’s calling in life; a person’s occupation; one’s profession. Pursuing a career in music means you want to make music your occupation either as part-time or full-time.

OVERCOMING THE SOCIAL STIGMA

Music is a form of art and many people know this fact but the question is, IS MUSIC WORTH MORE THAN JUST A HOBBY? Some young people who are so passionate about music and want to choose music as a career are confused about their decision because of the social stigma attached to choosing music as a career most especially in this part of the world. (Africa).

When you say you want to study music, people are like “what for?”. Little do they know that music is beyond the songs and the instruments. About the various job opportunities music has to offer.

Having music as a career is a choice you have to make and there are some things you must understand before making this decision.

There are various misconceptions about music as a career which makes people think music is not worth studying.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MUSIC AS A CAREER

1. It is for the lazy.. If you do music the right way, you’ll know that studying music is quite demanding.

2. Musicians are poor people. They come up with how can you feed your family or meet needs with music?

Don’t think as a musician, you won’t be able afford some basic amenities.

3. Music career is not for Christians. I had been in this school of thought until recently. People think it is almost impossible to be successful as a Christian in the music world. Many think music industry is corrupt. You can only be correct if you are not adequately aware of the various music career paths we have.

MUSIC IS NOT LIMITED TO;

There is a common saying that, “Seeing Is Believing “. We don’t believe we can be great in the music field because we can’t SEE the prospects. Hence, we limit music to what we can see.

4. Music is limited to;

a. Church performances. Of course, this can be one of music career but music goes beyond just playing in a church and expecting a good pay. You should Move out and see opportunities that awaits you. You don’t stay idle while expecting invitations from churches. You can diversify. You don’t stay at home while others work from Monday to Friday or Saturday and you work on Sundays alone and expect to be in the same class with those that work every day.

b. Composing/writing songs. Some think they are already talented with writing and composing hence, they don’t need to study music. They go ahead to release songs. Some others decide not to go for music because they think music is all about becoming an artist and so they come up with excuses that they aren’t good at composition. This shouldn’t bring discouragement because there are various areas you can go into as a musician.

c. Singing/instrumentalist. “I can play my instrumental well. So what’s the need to pursue a career in music?”. That you play an instrument well does not make you a certified musician and that you don’t have a sonorous voice doesn’t mean you cannot pursue music as a career. There’s more to music than just playing nice melodies on the instrument.

There are other misconceptions that might not be in this article but whichever one it is, begin to change your mindset and be open to know other professional areas of music.

d. Music is about talent:  Talent is good but it is never enough. Passion is what counts. As much as you’re talented in music, you have to check your passion when you’re talking about choosing the music career. Many times people only look at talent and miss it at that point which is why we have all sorts in the music industry. Your talent is not enough. You have to study more and work hard and that is where passion comes in.

You must also have a sense of direction as to what aspect of music you want to be involved with.

 You have the passion; just choose a path that best suits you.

CAREERS IN MUSIC

Now, what are the various careers we have in music?

1.  MUSIC INDUSTRY CAREER

• Music store manager; Manages music shop or department. Buys/sells instruments and equipment.

• Music store sales person; Provides customer service for client shopping both in shop and online. They assist with inventory maintenance and store upkeep.

• Record store manager; Manages day to day operations; supervises workers.

2. FACILITY, ARENA, AND CLUB CAREERS

• Concert hall manager; Manages concert hall, Oversees all activities and employees in the venue.

• Concert hall marketing director; work to promote events by sending email blast, advertising on social media and locally.

• Stage manager; they make sure the day to day operations of a concert hall or other musical venue runs smoothly.

3. FILM MUSIC CAREERS

• Composer; Creates musical scores for TV, film, computer games.

• Music editor; Mixes, edits, syncs music to film. They creatively liaise between the composer and film maker.

4. MUSIC JOURNALISM CAREERS

• Music journalist; they make adequate music criticism and music news for printing and broadcasting on media.

• Music blogger; Writes breaking music news stories to be posted on an online music blog.

• Music critic; Interview musicians and review live performances and recorded albums for print or online media outlets.

5. MUSIC EDUCATION CAREERS. 

• Music teacher; Instructs, primary, secondary and tertiary students in performance and music theory. They also lead various performance ensembles at the school such as marching band, choir or orchestra.

• Private instrument teacher; Provides instruction in music performance and theory. They can teach one-on-one or in a group setting.

6. RADIO AND TELEVISION MUSIC CAREERS

• Program Director (PD); Program DJ schedule and selects radio programs.

• Music Director; Chooses song for radio airplay.   

• Radio DJ; Plays music on air and discusses music, news, or other subjects on the break between songs.

7. SYMPHONY AND ORCHESTRA CAREERS

• Conductor; lead orchestras, operas and other musical ensembles during live performances.

• Concert master

• Section leader; Leads a section of the orchestra, sometimes supervises rehearsals with the section, and assigns parts to musician.

8. CHURCH MUSIC CAREERS

• Choir director; Coordinates church choir, recruits singers, develop and trains musical talents and selects music for performances.

• Cantors; Provide inspiration through music for a synagogue’s congregation.

• Church organist/ instrumentalist; Plays the organ or instrument at religious services or wedding ceremonies.

9. MUSIC HEALTH CAREERS

• Music therapist; Works with clients to improve any issues with their emotional, physical, cognitive and social well-being through music.

• Voice therapist; Works with patients to help them recover from vocal damage and to make positive lifestyle and/ or vocal behavior changes.

• Speech therapist; Helps rehabilitate patients with vocal disorders through voice therapy exercises.

10. INSTRUMENT WORK AND DEVELOPMENT

• Musical Instrument builder/ designer; Designs and builds instruments, either to be sold at their own shop or for a large instrument manufacturer.

• Instrument repair and restoration specialist; Repairs and restores broken or neglected musical instruments.

• Piano tuner – technician; Repairs and tunes piano

11. ETHNOMUSICOLOGY

This refers to the study social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global context. Document and research.

12. CHOREOGRAPHER

This music career teaches and create dances for stage performance during concert tours, theatrical performances or film/TV projects.

13. RECORD INDUSTRY CAREERS AND RECORD CAREERS

• A & R (artist and repertoire) coordinators; Find fresh talents for a label  and oversee the completion of new album.

• Promotion manager.

• Record producer; guides the production of a record by coaching the musicians, advising, and directing in-studio recording and production.

• Recording engineer; operates and sets up the recording equipment used to create and reshape sound of an album.

• Assistant engineer; Assists recording professionals in the studio by positioning microphones, carrying amps, etc.

There lots of music career in music one can venture into.

Creativity is important when going into the music career. It is also possible to go into more than one career path. Let’s have a bigger picture of music and do away with myopic view. Best of luck as you choose your music career path.

Thank you.

MUSIC ESTATE GUEST WRITER; Oluwayemi Oluwatosin Ruth is a pharmacist by profession. She is a great song writer who loves listening to good music. Currently, Ruth is on the path to becoming a Music Therapist, precisely, Vocal Therapist.