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How hard is it to get into the music production industry?

I’m asking because I’ve heard that you have to know someone involved in the industry and wanted to know if there are any other methods of getting in.#future

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Steven’s Answer

Answering "How hard is it to get into the music production industry?"


In my experience, I've found that opportunities in music production are never obvious or easy to find, but they do exist. It really depends what sector of the music industry you want to be involved in. In all honesty, unless you're looking to work on the business side of music, you'll likely work in a freelance capacity on the creative side. It's hard work to support yourself in this industry, especially before you build up your skills, portfolio, and presence in the job market .


In the beginning, it's all about making your own opportunities. Aside from major companies, no one is out there posting jobs or internships on LinkdeIn or Monster. Say you want to work and learn in a studio. You'll need to lookup local studios and reach out to every single one about internships. Or, you can learn everything on your own, buy some basic gear, and then start asking local musicians in they want to record in your home.Same goes for the music business side of things too. Look up music licensing and publishing companies and reach out to them. Either way, you've got to make the first move yourself.


Furthermore, networking really is critical in this industry. For record labels, for studios, for freelancers, for everybody. You never know who might have a project for you to work on, who might be looking to fill a job position, or whose help you might need to get a project off the ground or finished. Try to intern at a studio, go to local open mic's, bars or cafe's that have live music. Meet the musicians and sound guys in the area. These are the people who you can ask for advice, offer help to, and eventually, these relationships will pay off. You'll eventually get good enough at what you want to do that people will see your skill set as valuable enough to pay for (if you're freelancing), or to consider hiring if they are looking to fill a job (recommendations from colleges can go far).


Having connections is vital in almost any industry, but especially in this one. So many opportunities come from someone knowing you and recommending you for a job (corporate or freelance) because you're right for the job, and are easy to work with. Ultimately, be a nice person and be good at what you do.


Good luck!

Steven recommends the following next steps:

Decide if you want to work in the music industry. Research the different sectors of it and decide what sector is appropriate for you. I.e. A steady corporate job working in music licensing/supervising/business/etc, or take the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship by freelancing producing/mixing/mastering/live sound/etc.
If you want to pursue either route, break into your local music industry by networking. Reach out to local studios, meet local sound guys and musicians. For example, I wanted to be an audio engineer. I needed experience, so I just started offering to record and mix local musicians I liked. Most of them were thrilled about it. It gave me material to practice on, and also helped me get better at networking and dealing with clients.
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