4 Key Areas of the Music Industry

Jack Badby
Dec 11, 2020
6 min read

Performer

What can you discover about the role by researching an inspirational artist?

You can look at may examples of inspirational artists ranging from all kinds of genres I decided to look into who exactly is the most inspirational Jazz artist of all time and it turns out to be a musician by the name of Miles Davis an american jazz trumpeter, Miles Davis has composed, wrote and produced such songs as So what, All Blues, Blue in Green, Human nature and many more.

His effect on music.

Miles davis is an important part of Jazz thanks to his ability to constantly evolve His innovations this forever changed jazz, and although a great trumpet player, he is mainly known for his stylistic innovations in his music this is the influence being a performer has on the world.

What do you know about the role of a session musician?

Effectively a session musician is a performer that plays in place of particular musicians but aren't official act though they may play some important parts they aren't considered apart of the bands they play for though they will definitely get good recognition for performing their particular act.

Given tracks to learn or even in some cases improvise to a skilled session musician needs to have good and fast learning skills especially if they want to be noticed by the bigger bands, record companies or Film/Video production companies.

What do the job roles involve and what are the responsibilities?

As a performer your responsibility is to project music to a audience regardless of what instrument, all performers should be all be putting in the same collective effort as their co-stars and they must project their role with passion and have some sort of courage while performing so they don't lose themselves while onstage.

Regardless of whether or not you are a Percussionist, Guitarist, Singer, etc you have a responsibility onstage even if you are a session musician to know all you respected parts and have faith in the other musicians performing with you that they have done the same while taking all the time possible before gigs by rehearsing the songs you will perform onstage.

What financial income can you expect to receive?

The average musician earns £26,500 from their music career this is based on a few different salaries. A mid-career Musician or Singer with 5-9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of £31,068 based on 20 salaries.

What experience/skills/training/educational qualifications are required?

skills

Being a performer consists of many skills including listening skills, Being able to play an instrument/sing with some standard level of skill and you'll also need the ability to stay focused onstage if you can't manage to compose yourself onstage then you could ruin the performance, You Must also have a sense of style if you don't have a sense of style you can't project you alter ego if you have one during a performance.

Education

You must have some basic knowledge of microphones and cables this knowledge will come in handy when plugging in mics on stage no matter what instrument you play or even if you sing.

Training

when it comes to being onstage you'll need to have some training behind your specialism regardless of how long you have been doing the particular specialism, it'll make no sense if you were great guitarist but you wasn't good with crowds so having do small practises with your band in similar environments as a standard gig will help train you into becoming a great stage performer.

Record Label

What do you know about the functionality of a record label?

There are two kinds of record label major record labels and small record companies the difference is that with major record company is that you are forced to do what the major record company asks though if your work ends up doing well you can be entitled to some creative freedom, since your work makes the company money and they value that most overall.

When comparing the difference between the major record companies you should always keep in mind that though the smaller record companies allow more freedom when the bigger record companies seem as if you are selling your soul to the devil, the big companies do provide better equipment.

How does a record label make money?

The record labels earn a portion of the money a band under their label get from the published albums they get a fair share thanks to them providing the space and equipment for the band to record and release the album, Artists can receive 10-15% of suggested album retail minus packaging costs, Composers and publishers receive 30% or extra.

What type of job roles and departments are within a label and what are the responsibilities?

They engage in a wide range of functions in the music industry, including new artist recruitment and development known as A&R,, music publishing, and copyright enforcement.

A&R

A&R which stands for artist and repertoire are responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists and songwriters being not mentors but guides for development of a performers they have scouted.

Marketing and Promotion.

The marketing and promotion department are responsible for what the name suggests to promote upcoming albums under the record label to ensure the success of the new album.

Product management.

Effectively a Product Manager in the music industry mean to help create and implement marketing campaigns to increase the sales of the music from a particular record label, artist, online music service, radio station or other music product this role requires organisation and dedication.

Other departments under record Labels:

Sales
Brands
Publicity
Production
Manufacturing
Distribution
Finance
Business Affairs and Legal
International
Publishing

What financial income can you expect to receive from some of these roles?

Product managers = £43,500 Per year.

Marketing and promotion = £70,000 Per year

A&R = £30,000 Per year

What experience/skills/training/educational qualifications are required to work within the roles you’ve researched and listed?

Skills For all these roles you'll need to have good social skills, good listening skills and a creative mind.

Training

for a chance at getting a job in the roles you'll need the following training, training at product management courses and 3-5 experience in marketing before you become a marketing Manager in music.

Publishing

What do you know about the functionality of a music publishing company?

Finding new and talented songwriters and composers, and encouraging and supporting them as they develop their skills, providing them with the facilities they need to produce music or offering advice and guidance in writing for particular markets.

How does a music publishing company make money?

They acquire money by taking performance royalties.

What type of job roles and departments are within a music publishing company and what are the responsibilities?

Finding new and talented songwriters and composers, and encouraging and supporting them as they develop their skills, providing them with the facilities they need to produce music or offering advice and guidance in writing for particular markets.
Securing commissions for new works
Registering the works of songwriters and composers with all appropriate collecting societies and agencies, eg PRS for Music in the UK
Producing demo recordings and, in the case of contemporary classical music, performance materials (score and parts etc.)
Producing and licensing the production of printed music
Producing promotional materials, including demos, electronic press-kits, sampler CDs, study scores, brochures etc.
Promoting composers and songwriters and their music to performers, broadcasters, record companies and others who use music on a commercial basis, both nationally and internationally
Licensing the use of music, whether directly in the case of individual and special usages (eg synchronisation deals) or via the collecting society network
Responding to new licensing opportunities that flow from technological developments
Monitoring and tracking the use of the music they represent and ensuring that proper payment is made for all licensed uses
Making royalty payments to songwriters and composers in respect of the usage of their music
Taking appropriate action against anyone using music without the necessary licence

What financial income can you expect to receive from some of these roles?

Working for a music publisher you can earn approximately $54,000 Per year dependant on what you do and who you work for.

What experience/skills/training/educational qualifications are required to work within the roles you’ve researched and listed?

You'll need good listening skills, a great ear for music, an understanding of the music industry and previous experience in music publishing workplace.

Management

What do you know about the functionality of music management or an artist manager?

A music manager is a job that requires you to find a path for your artists and allow the to find good gigs for you artist to attend, picking a good record label for the artist to work with, also help with cultivating a fanbase via social media, live promotions, exclusive releases and meet-and-greet sessions

How do management companies or artist managers make money?

They get a cut of any money earned by the success of the artists albums, performances and promotional material thanks to there effort finding these opportunities.

What do you know about the job roles and what are the responsibilities?

Keeping the band/ artist on a clear and effective course, make sure the artist is always busy and earning money, make sure the artist is promoted and talked about in a positive fashion and make sure the future of the artist/band looks promising.

What financial income can you expect to receive as an artist manager?

This is judged by the artists success the typical commision rate is around 15-20% for a manager so for example if a band where payed 500,000 the manager will receive 15% of that payment.

What experience/skills/training/educational qualifications are required?