People looking to get into the music industry share a common buzzword: passion. They talk about their love of music and how much it means to them. However, no matter how great your passion for music, an accurate understanding of the job realities is necessary before you plunge into developing a career in this field.

Key Part of process is getting to know yourself Understanding your strengths and weaknesses as

a prospective professional preparing to enter this highly competitive industry

Book includes several reflective workshops to help you gain better self-awareness.

Working through chapters and workshops you will: Develop a more complete view of industry

market sectors that interest you Studying the people, companies,

technologies, successes and failures (of sectors that interest you the most) you’ll begin to become familiar with the names, faces, and trends that are shaping that part of the industry

This fluency in a select number of music industry market sectors that interest you is another essential marker that will define you as a serious student of the music industry!

After applying yourself, and investing the necessary time it takes you will: Have adequate self-knowledge, and Adequate industry knowledge,

To begin to map out your own career plan.

It will address how you will take your growing body of skills, industry knowledge, and passion to move your career forward. Your plan may include: Formal education College or vocational study Internship or apprentice experience Attending events, concerts, conferences Meeting and speaking in depth with industry

professionals

As you gain knowledge and confidence in your abilities, this will lead you to eventually seek a position in a specific industry area.

The process is an interactive one, meaning that as you expand your skills and knowledge, you are likely to fine-tune your career goals and direction. As you develop your strengths and capabilities, you will soon be able to: Compare your skills inventory with the job

openings in your areas of interest (in order to) Determine how well you fit a particular position

Each of these steps build on your knowledge and is covered in the upcoming chapters and workshops. By following the path prescribed, you’ll soon have the makings of a career plan with goals that are measurable.

You will also be armed with advice and wisdom from a variety of industry professionals, as well as the key career development information you need to help you manage your career successfully no matter where your path may go.

(see page 4, figure 1.1 in text)The Music Industry Career Development Path often referred to as “virtuous cycles,” can then continue as your career grows and you become increasingly successful. Over time, you will come to expand on the skills and knowledge to achieve more significant results from your work in the industry.

In essence, the ongoing career engagement and development process (which you will learn by following the guidelines in this book) will form the underpinnings for a lifelong career in the music industry.

As mentioned in the introduction, prospective employers expect you to be able to explain what you have already accomplished that is directly transferable to their company’s needs in the music industry.

Therefore, throughout this book, an emphasis is placed on helping you develop such experience and also how to create a compelling narrative about your experiences that will be attractive to music industry players.

For the vast majority of music industry employers, evidence of your accomplishments is the primary means used to differentiate one qualified job candidate from others competing for the same position. If you have relevant experience for a particular position and another candidate does not, you will likely be the favored candidate.

As the pace of change in the music industry has accelerated in recent years, the relevant experience factor has grown in significance, so don’t overlook this important aspect of your own career preparation. Remember, too, that experience in a variety of other settings, from that pre-college job selling cappuccinos or working retail, to heading up your club or philanthropy’s fundraising campaign, are all excellent ways to develop transferable skills that can nicely support your case as a qualified candidate for the music industry position you are seeking.

The music industry attracts a wide variety of career seekers that each has their own goals in mind when they set out on their journey to find a spot in what is one of the most dynamic and exciting career areas. While there are no clearly defined limits on one’s age, background, or training to seek a career in music, our years of teaching and coaching music industry hopefuls leads us to identify three broad groups of aspiring industry players. Fresh Faces. This group is made up of high

school-to college-aged individuals seeking a place in the industry as their first real professional experience. They may choose a path that leads to formal training

or simply take the do-it-yourself (DIY) approach that is now feasible in the Information Age. They often make up in enthusiasm what they lack in experience, but they are very computer and tech savvy and quick learners. Many will decide to start their own firm and become successful doing so. They have a lot to offer, and in our experience, are able learners.

Career Changers. Older and more experienced than the Fresh Faces, Career Changers have generally spent a substantial amount of time working in a non-music job. At some point, the siren song of working in a field that they love dearly outweighs the steady paycheck, and they decide to take the plunge and work to change their career path. Fortunately, that life and workplace experience can be a valuable asset

in the music industry, especially if skills and achievements can be shown to be directly transferable. Examples of such skills include marketing, customer service, computer programming, social media strategies, finance, logistics, operations, and many others. Note that some Career Changers may already be working in the music business but have decided it’s time to move up and to do so will likely have to find a new employer. They might be more aptly defined as Job Changers.

Golden Years. A rising group of retirees with both free time and financial independence are looking for pursuits to engage them in retirement. Music and the arts provide an excellent avenue for self-expression, creativity, and for some, a part-time business opportunity. We believe that as the baby-boom generation transitions into retirement, a significant number will reconnect with the positive memories they have of earlier experience in music or the arts and establish or join or found local, regional, or national music-related organizations, non-profits, or other

arts endeavors. They also have very advanced interpersonal and problem-solving skills that benefit their own later in life music endeavors. For this group, financial well-being is not the primary motivator. They want to connect with the beauty and power found in participating in the arts. However, they still have the capability of contributing to a vital and important role in their region as an actor in the music industry. As such, they should be welcomed heartily in our evolving arts milieu.

Throughout the book, a number of workshops will help you to define various aspects of the career development process. These workshops and occasional Action Items will help turn the theoretical into the practical and give

you points of traction to use what you have learned about music industry careers and yourself to help move you further along toward achieving your career goals.

Workshop 2 will explain how to build your electronic Career Portfolio, and you can simply move Workshop 1 results into your Portfolio at that time.