You’ve probably picked up this book because you’d like a job in the music industry. Join the queue. Thousands of music-loving students and school leavers every year dream of a career surrounded by pop, rock, jazz, folk or classical music.
Who could blame you? The music industry is a place you’ll find excitement, glamour, fun, creativity, passion and, at the risk of sounding corny, the occasional utterly transcendental moment of sheer bliss. But be warned, you’ll also find exhaustion, frustration, swollen egos, depression, poor pay and buckets of stress. Only a profound and unwavering love of music will get you through all that intact, so don’t even think about a career in this industry unless you have it.
You may know exactly what kind of job you want and how to get it – good for you. However, even those who think they know what a job in the ‘music biz’ entails, and feel they are up to the challenge, can’t lay their hands on much practical information on how to break into what is a highly competitive field, and what to expect when they’re there. A lot of the advice out there fires you up but leaves you asking: but how, exactly, do I do it? That’s where this book comes in.
Maybe you doubt your abilities but simply know you can’t imagine working in any other industry. This book aims to show you that fun and rewarding jobs in the world of music are within the grasp of almost anyone with a true passion for music and a hard-working attitude. Opportunities arise constantly, everywhere from the cut-and-thrust of a central London record company to the sweat-and-sawdust of a provincial live music venue.
This is not a book about making it as a musician, but explores the jobs and people in the
background of every pop star, rock band or world-famous conductor. Each possible career area is covered and is sprinkled liberally with case studies of people ascending the career ladder in their chosen field. Many of these are young people whose example you can aspire to – not just lofty big figures who started their careers when offices were full of typewriters.
Most fields within the music industry are covered, but by no means all. I have not covered jobs in radio or TV as these industries need a whole book of their own (see How To Books’ list of publications on page ii) and are not purely about music. The music industry sprawls huge distances in various directions across so many fields that to encompass it all would be impossible in one book, but the main job areas are covered.
Working in the Music Industryaims to be brutally honest, realistic, practical and full of insider secrets. Whatever I haven’t learned from my own experience of working within various fields of the music industry – from a major
company to music magazines – I have gleaned straight from the horse’s mouth. And as that horse’s mouth tends to spout a fair amount of industry jargon, there’s even a handy glossary at the end.
Time and again the people interviewed have repeated the same message: if you believe passionately in something, stick with it.
This book is for you whether you intend to become chairman of Sony Music or the roadie of choice for your favourite local band. Whether you want to earn £100k, or are happy with £10k. It doesn’t matter whether you are destined to be a great big cheese or just a Dairylea triangle – if you worship music and can’t think of anything better than being immersed in it all day, somewhere there’s a place for you.