How to get a job in the music business?
Question by coolkid: How to get a job in the music business?
I’m a junior in high school and want to get in to the music business. I would love to be a tour manager or something. What kind of extracurriculars can I do at this point? I signed up for the street team for a record label today. What do you think I should be doing? Also whats a good college for the music business major?
Best answer:
Answer by Everyday
if you want to be a tour manager, find local bands and set up shows for them. thats real experience, and experience matters more than anything in the music business. if its something you want to do, then start doing it. don’t wait until later. there is a lot of competition in the music business, if you can show up with a lot of experience then you are better off than some jackoff that just got out of college. i’d start contacting labels and do whatever you can for them. try to get an internship. even if you go to school you’ll probably have to settle for an internship for a while before you actually get a paying job (assuming you actually do get a paying job). if you can get an internship without school you’ve saved yourself a boat load of money.
schooling in my opinion for the music industry is a waste of time. some of that depends on what you want to do exactly within the business. obviously if you want to be a lawyer you’ll need to go to school, but in general it revolved around who you know and what your experience is. getting degrees is music business isn’t always the best choice. if there are no jobs in the area you are trying to get into, then a music business degree is worthless. try to get your foot in the door without shelling a lot of money out for school.
tour management can be started with local bands. if your friends have a band, or people you know have a band talk to them and try to work with them. call venues in your area and try booking a gig for these bands. if they are unknown, you may need a demo by the band. you might have to start small with hotel bars and cafes. the basic point is that you learn how a concert works. handle everything, just have the band show up and play, then give them their cut. this way you learn the system. from there book more shows, or book more bands to a show. this may turn into a lot of artist management at first, but you are gaining experience, which matters. looking at something in a book, or video doesn’t mean anything when you compare it to actually doing it. get out there and make your career happen.
feel free to contact me with any other questions
EverydaydayProductions@gmail.com
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