I am a student at Purchase college in my Junor year as a Music Production Major. I am beginning to have to plan what life will be like outside of the comfortable college life and love what I do greatly, but as it appears now, it is very hard to forsee myself being able to make a living doing it. The college is very non-commercial and focused on the artistic aspect of things, but I feel the need to understand the business and how to secure a sustainable income to continue to pursue this craft and wondered what kind of advice anyone could give.
This is a very smart question:You’re right – the vast majority of music production majors either work in this field and make very little money, or they never work in this industry (and remain unhappy about it) OR (and this is a great option), they work in a closely related field – one where you can make money .
Here are some steps to determine what that field may be.Begin by assessing your strengths in the following categories (ask your teachers to help you): engineering, production, project coordination, editing, scoring, equipment maintenance,….
Then explore fields that are related to music production, such as voice over production, digital satellite radio production, surround sound production, video production, web-audio production, telephony production,…
Lastly, read books on these fields, speak to specialists in these industries (for example, call a studio, explain your situation, and ask if you can take someone to lunch and ask them a few questions), and intern at these facilities when possible.
It shouldn’t take you long to have a grasp on where you belong in this industry and if you can make money at it.
Great question – thanks for asking through Zoomnia.com
It is all about getting experience and building network and relationships. The only successful method of doing it is INTERNSHIPS. Get your school to set you up in an internship, or contact studios by your self. Always be the person that do exactly what being asked and ready for more. A good place to read more about it http://sivers.org/character
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