Five Essentials of Music Career Success

A successful career in music doesn’t happen overnight. It takes patience, tenacity, an openness to critique, and even some failure to clarify your goals and make it happen.

Here are five essential practices to consider as you build a foundation for long-term success in the music industry.

1. Stay in the Loop

The music industry is constantly changing. To keep up, you need to keep your finger on the pulse.

This is just as important for music business professionals as for artists. You’re unlikely to land a job in licensing, product design, or marketing at Spotify or Apple if you can’t speak to the changes driving growth in the industry. Similarly, a successful artist manager should be up to speed on industry tastes and trends, emerging niche markets, and changing perceptions around artist commercial viability.

Music distribution has changed completely in recent years, meaning artists no longer need a deal with a major label to be successful. Staying informed on existing and new platforms such as SoundCloud, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook’s Sound Collection will help you promote your music and reach a wide audience.

Don’t know where to start? The Career Center has a team of career advisors who can answer your questions and provide insight on relevant professional associations, industry blog must-reads, and Berklee student clubs and networks to join.

2. Meet Others in the Industry

Building a career and establishing a personal brand in the music industry requires honing your ability to create and maintain mutually beneficial relationships.

You hear it repeatedly: “Networking and creative alliances matter.” Why? The music industry thrives on it just like any other people-based industry. So where do you start?

Step away from the studio, or your keyboard or microphone, regularly, and take advantage of face-to-face interactions with peers, colleagues, and established professionals. Industry conferences, trade shows, and festivals provide perfect settings for fun and organic interactions, but they're not your only outlet for networking. Social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have made networking easier than ever. If you aren’t already on these or other platforms, create a profile and start connecting.

As you meet people, be thoughtfully persistent in building on new connections, whether in person or digitally. Keep track of who you meet and why you both might benefit from staying in touch. Save the date for Berklee’s annual Career Jam, which brings influential industry experts and artists, including recent and distinguished alumni, to campus for panels, workshops, auditions and mentoring sessions. Tour, learn, and explore major music hubs by participating in an organized industry trip that makes networking convenient and stress-free.

Finally, if you’re getting close to graduation, look out for Network Before You Move - an event where you can interact with alumni who will share their know-how and offer advice on making the most of your move to a new city.

3. Invest in Your Future with Internships and On-Campus Employment 

If there’s one thing the music industry prizes, it’s experience. How do you get experience?

Two ways to impress potential employers are internships or on-campus jobs. Internships are a highly valuable opportunity to test-drive career possibilities, develop skills, and gain insight into the work and lifestyle of an industry professional. They allow you to relocate for a short stint to major hubs like Los Angeles, New York City, and Nashville, or even abroad to international hot spots like Beijing and London. Employers frequently use internships to test out future employees. If they're impressed, they are quick to make a job offer so they don’t miss out on promising talent.

It’s common, albeit unfortunate, for students and recent graduates to decline internships because they are unpaid. Don’t let that discourage you. The Career Center awards fellowships every semester to make internships possible for any Berklee student. Come to an internship seminar to discuss search strategies and learn how to enroll in an internship course to receive academic credit. Attend the Career Center’s annual Internship Expo where you can speak to representatives from more than 40 companies about opportunities.

You can also consider getting a job through Student Employment to put money in your pocket while doing tasks and projects that can add experience to your resume. You could:

• work as an assistant for an academic department to strengthen your administrative skills
• take on a front desk position in technology support to expand your abilities troubleshooting computer and software problems
• work the front of house or box office to hone your customer service and people skills at the Berklee Performance Center and other venues across campus

There are endless opportunities and ways for you to gain relevant experience. Internships and on-campus employment are just two that will impress and appeal to employers.

4. Know Your Competitive Advantage 

Berklee provides an innovative environment where you can acquire and develop a unique skill set desired by employers in the music and entertainment business.

As a Berklee alum, you'll be an incredible improviser, always prepared to pitch a song you've been writing or grab your guitar and walk onstage to fill in for a friend at a gig. You'll also possess solid project management skills. Whether it’s handling marketing or event logistics for an upcoming campus program or organizing and rehearsing members of a band for a performance, you’ve mastered the art of time management, understand the need for attention to detail, and recognize the importance of being both a leader and a team player. You’re also a skilled musician, with a unique mindset and problem-solving approach that are informed by your musical knowledge. 

Your list of skills is abundant. Continue to take stock of your experience and what makes you different from everyone else. You’ll need a carefully crafted pitch that tells the world who you are and explicitly sheds light on your distinctive combination of skills, experience, and presence. Once you know and can confidently articulate your competitive advantage, put it to the test by searching and applying for jobs, internships, auditions, and gigs on Berklee Career Manager.

5. Stay Agile 

There is no prescribed roadmap for how to get from A to Z in the music and entertainment business. There is no guarantee you’ll make a certain salary, secure a gig that lasts a lifetime, or cut a deal right out of the gate. It’s best to acknowledge and accept that now. But your commitment to succeeding in this business has great potential to be impactful and satisfying.

You must learn to be agile and comfortable pivoting from opportunity to opportunity, sometimes even needing to take on a non-music lifeline career so you can provide for yourself, a significant other, or a family. The path followed by the majority of top executives and major artists we know today was not narrow or linear. Like theirs, your path will involve ongoing learning, hustle, and investment in yourself. Make use of Berklee and its many resources. Berklee's faculty and staff are invested in helping you succeed and thrive in your career.

For more information on how to develop your career in music, visit our Career Center resources.