The business side of the music industry

For most people when they think of music it´s the artists, songs and music videos that come to mind, however, behind the scenes is the business side of the music industry.  Of course the music industry consists of artists but there are millions of people who handle the business side of things on a day to day basis.  Being one of the most profitable organisations in the world it requires professionals to organize, promote, finance and keep the artists happy and producing their best and most popular work.  It´s a common misconception that you need to be able to play and instrument or engineer music to be part of the industry, reading through this article will explain exactly why if you are none musical but have a passion for tunes, you also, can enter into the ever-expanding business side of the music world.    

Almost all of the people involved in the business side of the music industry are highly qualified and have taken some kind of related degree, some taking a more specific degree such as a music business degree.  Like most jobs they can learn a great amount about it through experience, however, in order to be given the chance to gain experience, they must have a great educational knowledge of what they will be doing, meaning the experience that they gain in the job complements how well they perform.  

Many diverse roles exist, some examples being marketing and promoting, publishing, contract handling and talent scouting.  As mentioned each roll is quite different from another, however, in some cases people will be required to handle more than just one, which can be demanding but at the same time very rewarding.  When we enjoy listening to a particular band or artist we often don´t realise that they were most likely picked up by a talent scout, agreed a contract, designed their music and then were promoted, all that work being done by the professionals behind the scenes of the music industry.  

The excitement of meeting new and existing artists on a day to day basis accompanied with the hustle and bustle of the ever-changing industry makes any role that you do exciting.  Dealing with the artists in person can be an extremely interesting as being creative individuals or groups they are quite often very individual and influential people.  Imagine the feeling when you see an artist doing excellent in their career and knowing that you had a massive part in it, along with the fact that you are bringing in constant revenue for the business by their continued success, at times it may be a challenge but the satisfaction is well worth it.  

The information above is just a small explanation of the roles available when working within the business side of the industry.  If you like the sound of it and are willing to put a great amount of effort in and study then a budding career as a talent scout or promotor could be just around the corner.