CHAPTER TWO – TODAY’S JOB MARKET: THE BIG PICTURE

Supply And DemandLike all industries, the music industry adheres to the law of job supply and demand - a basic rule of all economic systems. When it comes to jobs and opportunities, the supply of industry jobs falls well below the demand of those wishing to enter the industry. This makes every job precious-even those internships that don’t pay one cent. It also means that in order to better your chances for success, you have to take advantage of every single ethical opportunity to better your skills and status in the industry.

A music industry manager reports receiving four to five unsolicited résumés a week. Some of the job seekers follow up with a phone call and express their willingness to work for free, often as an intern or assistant.

This is a time-honored tradition in the music and entertainment field, a form of “paying one’s dues” to build knowledge and gain connections to working professionals that can help advance a fledgling career. When there are more people willing to work for no pay, it makes it harder to get paid.

First reality you’ll discover about entry-level positions Large amount of people are doing some portion

of entry-level jobs as interns or unpaid assistants

Second reality about success as artist What now constitutes “success” is vastly

different than what it was fifteen years ago. Today, fewer & fewer artists achieve “platinum”

sales (one million albums) Artists now work under “360 deals,” which allow

labels to share in all revenue streams generated by the artist

Album sales have declined over 50% due to file sharing

While it’s not time to write the obituary of the record business, new, artist-centric labels are challenging the monopoly held by the major labels for nearly one hundred years. More importantly, artists and savvy music managers are no longer looking to large behemoths, such as major labels or large management firms, to shape their careers. Artists and managers realize that maintaining control and ownership of their careers and music can allow for a very profitable, yet smaller scale business model.

It is just these types of artists and managers that are seeking the next generation of DIY – capable team members!

First edition of this book cited vast majority of recordings failing to break even for label. Back in the day, an artist needed to sell 250,000 to 400,000 units to recoup cost & receive royalties.

While Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, etc., may still sell hundreds of thousands of albums, today’s industry is realigning to a much more modest model of what “success” means.

Younger artists, well schooled in the realities of earlier contracts that made profitability a long shot, are not rushing to sign record deals. Album no longer seen as be-all, end-all of

artists career Now – just another way to present artist to

fans Sometimes given away free to entice fans to

join email list

From the perspective of a job seeker, this new music industry offers a nearly limitless range of possibilities, especially for those that are prepared to develop and demonstrate their own flexibility, ingenuity, and creativity

By applying the techniques found in this book, you will greatly enhance your opportunities to be part of this new music industry. That’s why we encourage you to look at careers not only as a recording artist or record producer, but at the cornucopia of other jobs in the music industry. Don’t lock yourself into one career trajectory too early in the game. The very same skills and passion you’ve developed for your music can be a tremendous asset in the business side of the industry.

Skills Not Jobs

The new music industry is changing fast.In fact, one of the only constants that can be counted on is that the rate of change is likely to keep up for the foreseeable future. To succeed in such a rapidly evolving environment, one must look at the types of skills that are valued in what is largely transforming itself into a stream of the Information Economy alongside video gaming, film and television, etc. Job-hunting is still a part of your activities, but before you start researching openings, it’s essential to understand that today’s music

industry employers are seeking candidates with a range of skills that allow their employees to continually adapt to the changing industry. In 2013, we took a survey of music industry employers and asked them what skills, knowledge, and attributes were most critical when they were evaluating potential new hires for their companies. We’ve broken the highest ranking results from that survey down into four broad areas that will allow you to see what will help you be well prepared for a long and successful music industry career.

1. Communication, Interpersonal, and Problem Solving Skills

Written, oral, and presentation skills at a “professional” level (networking skills)

Persuasion skills (aka sales) Problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills Listening, following instructions, and effective

at collaboration

2. Computer and Media Skills Basic Web creation and editing skills Proficient with MS Office Suite programs Basic media (audio & video) capture, editing,

and distribution (e.g., YouTube, SoundCloud, ReverbNation, etc.)

Content creation and manipulation (Adobe Creative Suite or comparable programs)

3. Professionalsm and Integrity Respect for self, coworkers, firm, customers,

and marketplace Self-awareness and sense of purpose in

professional endeavors Ability to manage self-image (aka personal

“brand”) and make decisions based on personal integrity and one’s core values

Critical thinking and follow-through

4. Industry-Related Knowledge and Practice Structure of music industry and varied

relationships in it Social media theory and practice Entrepreneurial theory and practice Marketing for business

Notice that there is no mention of specific skills relating to a particular job. These four broad areas help form the basis of what will make up the underpinnings for your industry-specific path. The first two areas, communication and computer skills, will generally be evolving over time across your career. The third area, integrity and professionalism, is one that is largely learned by observing those around us. In this regard, lessons learned throughout our lives help to inform what our own code of professional conduct will be. To address this area, one needs to be thoughtful and reflective not only as to your own actions, but also as to the consequences of those actions over time as your career unfolds. The music industry deals with many creative and passionate individuals, and those in it seek out like-minded individuals who share a sense of purpose and values.

By identifying and adhering to your own sense of what’s right, you will go a long way toward joining the ranks of trusted and steadily employed music industry pros.

Playing For A Team

Talent, perseverance, and people skills are givens to making it in the business. A colleague who worked as a tech manager at George Lucas’s renowned Skywalker Sound once said, “Fifty-one percent of my job is getting along with my coworkers, and forty-nine percent of my job is knowing how to keep all of our technology running.

Her statement has stuck over the years as one of the most important pieces of information music industry career seekers must understand.

To be successful in a majority of the jobs in the music industry, you’ve got to be able to work effectively in a group environment. If you feel compelled to work alone, be your own boss, compose on your own, perform on your own, then it will be important to identify roles and functions that can be done in solitude. But for most industry career paths, being an effective team player is essential. Why?

Because you’ve got to be able to get along with people around you. Don’t panic now if “people skills” don’t appear to be among your strongest talents; you can strengthen them over time, if you focus on that goal. Basically, developing good collaborative skills involves becoming very adept at listening and learning how to think, and acting in the best interests of your working group. Along the way, you will also most likely develop a sense of empathy for your colleagues and the overall mission of the organization.

Climbing To The TopPerseverance is obviously a big asset. Depending on the opportunity, there may be from 25 to 2,500 or more people knocking on the door for a single industry job opening. You’ve got to be willing to persevere. Otherwise, you’re going to run out of gas in your quest. A good analogy is to look at your career as a long-distance event such as a twenty-six-mile marathon or a 10K open-water swimming contest. Succeeding at such competitions requires training, mental toughness, and understanding what the critical factors are for any given event. The same applies to your pursuit of a music industry career.

Imagine your career as you hope it will unfold, but be realistic about the time, training, skills, experiences, and connections you will need to complete in order to be successful over the long haul.Just about everybody starts out at the bottom, in this business, even today’s top dogs. I encourage you to read one of the books penned by a top record label executive, such as Follow The Music by Jac Holzman, the founder of Elektra Records. Another is Ian Copeland’s entertaining bio, Wild Thing. (All books referenced can be found in “Resources” at the back of this book.)

Seeing that just about every top executive started out as a mail clerk, gofer, or assistant will help you strengthen your resolve to climb the mountain ahead with respect to your music industry career.The benefit of starting out at the bottom of the company’s organizational chart is that you meet a lot of people on the way up, you see how a company works, and you learn about every function in the organization. It’s very helpful to learn about what parts work efficiently as well as what parts may not run smoothly, and more importantly, the reason why.

Competition is central to a great many roles and functions in the industry. There’s always new blood coming in—new bands, new songwriters, new musicians, new app developers, and new artist and repertoire (A&R) staffers. It’s the nature of the game. For many jobs in the music industry, it’s helpful to have a bit of a competitive nature.

Radio and television, and websites all rely on a formal rating system. That’s the way much of the entertainment industry works. The statement that recording artists are “only as good as the sales of their last record” is true in an economic sense.

Competition is always going to be there, so you have to have the drive, an intense desire to be successful, to stick with your dream, and push yourself to make it a reality In fact, if you don’t have a burning desire to become a part of the music industry, and perhaps the “cool factor” is your only motivation, now might be a good time to consider alternate career paths. Few things, if any, are likely to come easy to you as you journey along your career path in the industry. You’ll be earning your stripes every step of the way.

Hobby or Career?Are you pursuing a hobby or a career? Why is

it important to know the difference? This is an issue that sometimes trips people up, as they look to make a career in the music industry. Many come to the industry because of their love of music. But the reality is, you’ve got to have bankable skills to deliver, or you’re not going to be gainfully employed or grow your career. Many people have sacrificed years of their life because the wanted to be “near the music.”

A hobby is the pursuit of a field for personal enjoyment. I’m a hobby guitar player today, and I play my guitar once or twice a month. I used to be a professional guitarist, and I was paid well for my skills.

A career is your vocation-the daily occupation in which you must excel. Either a hobby or a career can be rewarding; however, you have to decide which one of these roads you’re on.

If you plan to make a career in the industry, you’ve got to be serious about:

Developing your job-search strategies Building your skill set Researching what competition you’ll face in specific

entry-level job areas Discovering what your earning prospects are Become proficient with the range of career development

tools covered throughout this book Take the time to discover what your earning prospects

are in various areas of the industry

It’s okay to switch from hobby to career. But make sure you have the required commitment, as the road will be challenging and you will need to stay focused on achieving your goals.