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The Music Industry

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
So... I'm first year at uni at the moment. I'm involved with the student radio station, and have been to interviews (with The Glitterati, Trivium) and I present my own show. I've also organised a gig or two for local bands.

Basically, I'm really interested in a career in the music industry, and I think the experience I've been building at the moment has been helping me. However, I was wondering if anyone had a job, or knows of anyone, with a job managing bands, or doing promotions for bands. This is the kind of job I would love to do! I'm particularly interested in doing in over in the States.

Anyone any advice? Any guidelines? Or does anyone know of any sites with hints and tips that can point me in the right direction? Or tell me what to do next? Thanks.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah... I figured this career plan was doomed for failure...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Don't really have any advice but thought i'd just reply to show your not invisible :D

    Good luck with it!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    maybe try to get involved with a smaller record company... As for managing a band I would guess you'd have to go for a smaller band that you know personally (or can get to know), doubt it'd be profitable unless they were really talented, but it'd be experience all the same. I'm just throwing some ideas out, not certain of anything :)

    anyway good luck with it, i'd love to do that kind of thing to but i've kind of taken a different route lol.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wh00t! Thank you for making me visibible! You're such a GoodFella :p


    I've asked to manage a band. I'm good friends with the singer/guitarist/songwriter and I've got a gig for them before. As you say, experience is always good. So I'll see how it goes. Besides, while I'm at uni, this is just more of a hobby to build my credentials before I go fighting into the big bad world of music!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    have you thought about trying to get some work experience or a work placement at a record company or something? its very competitive, but its worth a try. i think theres quite a big section on the EMI websites which tells you all about different jobs, and the areas you can go and do a placement in.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hmm... I haven't actually considered that for a while! I know I looked at one or two but they only wanted students who were in media studies specifically.

    I guess it couldn't hurt to go and have a look round the websites and see what's on offer! Thank you! :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Dont know if these links will be any use to you, but take a look. EMI dont ask for people in media studies and as well as placements of a couple of weeks, they also offer year long ones too. not sure what degree you're doing but if you have to do a placement, then thats definitely worth considering.
    anyway, look at:

    THIS

    EMI - go to the careers section, theres loads on there.

    BPI

    RECORD COMPANY INFO
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wow! That's a lot of information! I'll take a good look at it all, and see what I can get =)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    And thank you muchly! :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The music industry is VERY hard to get into... you have to be willing to start on stupidly low pay for doing work that you probably dont want to be doing...

    Its something I really set my heart on when I was a bit younger... and I was doing ok until I got stabbed in the back by an arse hole producer! (long story!) It really set me back, and now I work as an IT Engineer! :rolleyes:

    I would love to give it another shot, but it would be such a huge leap and I dont think I have the resorces to make it now.

    BUT... all that aside, if it what would make you happy, then go for it... I wish I hadnt given up now... when I was doing bits for it I used to love getting up for work in the mornings, its amazing to do a job you love! All the best with it!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hmm... But how did you get about getting into the industry?

    I've considered doing something by myself as well; like working my own minor label, just with a couple of bands doing promotions and stuff.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Now ~this~ is the kind of job I know I'd love:

    JOB SUMMARY
    To work in conjunction with Senior Co-ordinator Bookings and Events looking after artists and their label management entourages.



    ROLE-SPECIFIC SKILLS/ATTRIBUTES
    Meet and look after artists and their label/management entourages when they visit Camden studios and the TRL studio at Leicester Square, for shows and interviews. On occasion shoots may also take place at hotels or other external locations.

    Manage the dressing room bookings diary, order catering (as required), for shoots taking place at MTV.

    Work with the artist/their label representative to ensure everything we need is explained to, and completed by the artist (all the shows, interviews, segments etc). As well as generally looking after the artist's welfare while they're on MTV business.

    Supervise the artist interview schedule by liasing with the MTV Producers to ensure interviews start and end on time and that everything runs smoothly. Give feedback to senior co-ordinator at the end of the day.

    Request research material i.e CDs, biographies and press material from the record label/s in order for the producer/s to prepare for interview/s.

    Maintain the database of artist biographies and photos both stored as data on the network, and in the case of transparencies and prints, filed.

    Prepare and send the Artist Guest Release Form to the relevant Record Label and maintain the guest release form database up to date.

    Work closely with UK TAR Intern ensuring all interviews are covered at TRL/Hawley Cresent.

    Generally assist as required in collating interview requests & preparing artist schedules.

    Ensure that network playlists (for all 12 MTV channels) are collated on a weekly basis (Friday) for internal use.

    Generally assist Video Acquisitions Coordinator i.e. return video clips bi-monthly to the record labels.

    Coordinate department requests/invites to gigs, showcases & CDs.

    Coordinate dubbing/tape requests for the Record Labels.

    Coordinate stationary orders for department.

    Generally offer assistance to the Department as a whole as & when.



    And it's going for MTV. Unfortunately, it's going now. But at least I know where I can find stuff in the future!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I wanted to be a producer...
    At the age of 16 I started DJing. With out meaning to blow my own trumpet I became very good very quickly.
    I was lucky that I knew some people who were already out there doing big club sets, and once they heard how I was coming along they asked me to work with them as one of there DJ's.
    I did a few under 18's gigs up until I turned 18...
    The first set I got after that was in a really big club which was rammed... I was shitting myself, but it went better than I could ever have expected... I went on from there playing loads of club sets, I won a couple of DJ compertitions... pretty much just doing everything I could to make a name for myself.

    Apart from DJing I didnt have a job at the time. One day I was in a record shop where I knew the manager... he was slowly doing less and less work there as he had other ventures and asked me if I wanted a job... After working there for a while I pretty much became the manager, I was working there 7 days a week!! but I loved it, and I was meeting alot of big name DJ, Producers and making good contacts...

    Over this whole time period I had been teaching myself music production on my home PC, it was fun but nothing major. One of the blokes I worked with in the record shop had his own studio, and had done a Degree in music production. He asked if I wanted to come along to the studio one evening, so I did... it went on and on from there and eventually we collaberated our first track...
    Put it about a bit through our contacts and then pressed it up onto 500 vinyl's. It was distrubuted round london and sold well.

    Things were looking good, so I started to work on a solo track when I could, with a bit of help from him every now and then. After alot of hard work I came out witha track I loved. I started working really hard to promote it. I went round record shops, sent it off to DJ's all round the contry etc etc..
    I got an amazing responce from it, but at the time I didnt have the money to get it pressed...
    Anyway a couple of months later one of the producers I had sent it too sent me a package in the post... he said it was his new single just being pressed, I listened to it and my jaw dropped when I realised it was pretty much my tune just changed here and there slightly... considering I had no copy write over it, I was fucked!
    If I had got that tune out, fair enough It wouldnt have done huge things for me, but it would have got me alot more studio work and small remix opertunitys, I could have built from there and maybe gone pro in a few years!
    It gutted me after all that work I put into it. Didnt even go in the studio for ages after that... but by the time I started to get back into it the sort of style and sound we were going for was fading away...
    My DJing died right down, and I didnt do anything for ages... just went for my fall back plan and got a job in IT...

    I still DJ now, but its just small bar and club work. I also still produce music now, but its not in a proper studio, just on my home PC, so its not the same...
    I miss it like hell, but I dont have the opertunitys I had back then anymore... I would have to go to uni and get proper quallifications, and the course is £16000 for 3 years! Crazy!

    Still though, I dont regret it for one min, at the time I loved it, I lived eat and breathed music 24 / 7!

    Sorry for the long reply, but just thought I would explane how things went for me!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    That's ok! And sounds like quite a story!

    Contacts seem to be the way forward, it seems! :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think they are one of the most important things...

    I would have got no where without them... as you can see, I was pretty lucky.
    If you can do anything music related, do it! even if its just making tea for people in a studio... its all about meeting the right peope and trying your best to make sure they know who you are and where you want to go!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    JamesZero wrote:
    I think they are one of the most important things...

    I would have got no where without them... as you can see, I was pretty lucky.
    If you can do anything music related, do it! even if its just making tea for people in a studio... its all about meeting the right peope and trying your best to make sure they know who you are and where you want to go!

    Totally. Well, I'm still with the student radio station and shiz, so I'mma use it to my advantage. It's all gravy, baby!

    Thanks guys for your help.

    I found this website:University Of Dreams What do people reckon?
  • **helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
    IWishIWas wrote:
    Totally. Well, I'm still with the student radio station and shiz, so I'mma use it to my advantage. It's all gravy, baby!

    Thanks guys for your help.

    I found this website:University Of Dreams What do people reckon?

    That looks really interesting - probably worth emailing them with some questions - I couldn't find anything about how much it would cost though - did you? Or how it works for Internationals. But overall could well be an amazing opportunity. Some great links on there too - oh and one more that I'm not sure has been mentioned http://www.bbc.co.uk/blast/music/

    You seem really focussed which is great - I really wish you well on your quest for a glittering music career :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    **Helen** wrote:
    That looks really interesting - probably worth emailing them with some questions - I couldn't find anything about how much it would cost though - did you? Or how it works for Internationals. But overall could well be an amazing opportunity. Some great links on there too - oh and one more that I'm not sure has been mentioned http://www.bbc.co.uk/blast/music/

    You seem really focussed which is great - I really wish you well on your quest for a glittering music career :)

    Ooh! Thank you very muchly =)
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