For every musician that performs before an audience, there are several people working behind the scenes to polish, promote, and sell the artist’s music and image. Those who love music but don’t create it themselves still have the ability to become involved in a wide variety of careers in music.
Most musicians that intend to pursue careers in music will need to get into a recording studio at some point. If these musicians wish to add vocals to their songs but don’t quite have a way with words, they can work with any number of lyricists who write lyrics for singers. As musicians record tracks in the studio, they require a music producer to oversee the arrangement of their vocals into songs for an album. Many musicians will also hire a manager or agent to arrange bookings at the studio, as well as performances for live venues such as coffee houses, nightclubs, or stadiums.
Agents and managers will also liaise with record label executives in order to get their artist “signed” to a label. Like most businesses, record label companies employ staff in a wide range of departments. Those interested in pursuing careers in music could apply to a record label’s human resources, graphic design, IT, or administration departments. Record labels also depend on sales and marketing personnel to ensure the album’s distribution and see that it receives adequate promotion.
To facilitate the promotion of their albums, artists will often embark on cross-country or international tours. At this stage, even more careers in music are required to work with and for the artist, including stage technicians and tour bus drivers (also known as “roadies”), wardrobe stylists, vocal coaches, makeup artists, hair stylists, and backup dancers.
There are also a wide variety of employment opportunities that cross over into other mediums, such as television, print, and film. Artists that wish to express their music visually will require the assistance of an entire production team to make a music video. This team may include set designers, wardrobe stylists, video editors, and other personnel to bring the video to other industry people, such as TV Video Jockeys (VJs). Music journalists and critics are also counted amongst those who have careers in music, whether they report for newspapers, music magazines, or the Internet. Additionally, there are careers in music for those who write or perform jingles for TV commercials and those who compose or perform scores for film and stage productions.