Music Industry Career Primer - From Songwriting and Producing to Mixing

With all of the reality shows on television today, everyone wants to be the next big music star. You would think that singing was the only job in the music industry. It is the one job that is out in the forefront, but it is not the only job in the music industry.

With all the changes in technology, the music business has gone hi-tech. the sound is not just produced by listening to tunes on a keyboard. Music is mixed, recorded, and re-recorded to produce the best quality sound possible. Highly skilled people are needed to fill those positions.

Let's start at the bottom and work our way up. One person who needs to be around all the time is the technician. This person's job is to become familiar with all of the technical equipment used in a recording studio. When something breaks down, he or she is the one who everyone looks at to get the equipment back up and running in the least amount of time. This person may not be recognized as a major player in the industry, but he helps all the movers and shakers get their jobs done.

Someone has to write all those songs that the music stars sing and set them to music. These jobs belong to the songwriter and composer. Sometimes,this is one and the same person. Songwriters are a dime a dozen in this industry.

The one thing that will set them apart is their style of music and their dedication to the craft. A songwriter who has an ear for what's interesting and can create the sound to go with it is a hot commodity. They know their way around a keyboard, synthesizer, and can maybe carry a tune.

Once a song is chosen for an artist, several other jobs come on board. Someone has to program the musical tracks so the singer can hear it as they perform the lyrics. A programmer works with the music arranger and sound mixing engineer to turn all of these sounds into one flawless recording. It's amazing that all the singer has to do is sing a few times and the technical guys do the rest.

A studio is rated on the quality of the work they produce. For that, they need to hire the best people they can to do the job. We've always heard that you should find one thing that you are good at and stick with it. In the music industry, someone who can do more than one thing is an asset especially when it comes to the technical side of the business.

Now, there are some jobs that get as much attention as the musical performer. I'm speaking about the music producer. The producer is visible, but they have learned the skills that have earned them the position and the title.

A producer oversees all of the recording done in the studio. They listen to the tracks and the performers. A producer can change or adds sounds and they can also remove parts of the song that they feel are not needed. The producer is the one responsible for the final finished musical product. A music producer may have done all of the above jobs and worked their way up to being the one in charge of the entire production.

The music industry is still highly competitive, but it is easier to break into the business if you've got the right combination of talent, determination, and education. Each job in the music industry is important because it builds on every other job. The more you are willing to learn, the further you will go.

Singing is obviously not the only type of music job although it's the most visible. There are many behind-the-scenes positions that require considerable talent and skill. Visit the Film and Music section of JobMonkey where you'll learn about recording engineer jobs and other careers in music and entertainment. Lisa Jenkins is a freelance careers writer who tells her readers where the jobs are and how to get them.