So you’re a big music buff? When that’s the case, you may be interested in starting out in a music career. And we’re not just talking about being in a band. Maybe you don’t want to actually make music yourself. Not everyone wants to be in the band! But if you want to be in the biz, why not think about the business angles you can take to start a career in the industry? You can still get your music fix and be apart of making music happen, without having to sing yourself. How? By working on becoming a music mogul, that’s how. So let’s look at the key career areas you can do this with.
Band Manager
First up, you could want to start out in band management. Sometimes, this is where you can enter into the industry, especially if you’re representing a new band and you look to make your name that way. Sometimes, when you want to be an industry titan like Coran Capshaw, you’re going to want to work your way up. Either way, managing artists and representing different bands will see you guiding their career. You’d take a percentage of their earnings, such as 10-20% for doing so.
Publisher
But actually managing and advising a musician or band isn’t the only way to be in the biz. You could also think about becoming a publisher. In this career path, you’d be looking to pitch demos and songs to managers, acts, and labels, to see if they’d be interested in using them. But that’s just one side, because music publishers can commission songs and demos to pitch to everything from Hollywood movies to commercials too.
Business Manager
Slightly different to the band manager, is the role of the business manager. Maybe you’re great with organization and love all things business? Then becoming a business manager could be a great idea for you. You’d be looking to arrange transport, book gigs, manage taxes, and even negotiate contracts too. This can be an exciting career if you’re interested in progressing on quite quickly, and want to go into band or label management in the future.
Booker
Then, you’ve also got the career of the booking agent to think about too. This role is somewhat similar to the business manager, but is usually conducted on behalf of an overall label and not just one artist or band. Bookers plan out tours for the acts on their books. They can also look to negotiate deals too. Again, this would be a very business-centric role and would prepare you well for running an entire label.
Promoter
Perhaps you’re interested in marketing and promotions? If you’re creative but still enjoy all things business, then you could be suited to a career in concert promotion. Promoters organize shows and tours. They tend to cover off everything from securing the venues to marketing the shows too. This is another great career to prepare you for running a label as a big music mogul, and will also be great if you already have marketing skills too.
