If you love music, it’s easy to assume that this isn’t a passion that you can really turn into a lucrative career. Surely it’s only a handful of pop stars that are raking in the big bucks in this industry, while everyone else scrapes a living on the fringes of the industry, right?
Well, the reality is very different from this, and there are a number of roles with above average salary prospects attached to them which are still intricately involved with the art of music-making. To further demonstrate this, let’s go over some of the most compelling careers and 4 high paying jobs for music fans to consider.
Video game composer
Composers don’t just have to come up with soaring classical sonatas; in the age of interactive entertainment, there are a huge number of opportunities for people who want to write soundtracks for video games.
From high profile first person shooters to casual mobile games to online casino games, every conceivable type of title needs music to accompany the gameplay.
If you’re in any doubt about the importance of the audio in this context, just check out useful online casino reviews to see how this is used to rank the quality of experiences, alongside other elements like the graphics and the interface.
In terms of earnings, average salaries for composers that are hired by game development studios full time sit at over $80,000, which is above the average for composers in all industries of just over $49,000.
A&R manager
If you’re more of a people person, but you have an obsession with music and you want to find the latest and greatest artists to catapult them to superstardom, becoming an A&R manager is an appealing route to take.
A&R stands for artists and repertoire, and basically describes the professionals who have the lucky job of both discovering the next big thing, and of stewarding them through their development as a recording artist.
Behind every international icon, there is an A&R manager who plucked them from obscurity, and this applies to all scenes and genres, so don’t think this is only a career for pop-lovers; there’s just as much need for people at record labels focused on everything from hip hop to heavy metal and beyond.
Average salaries vary from label to label, with a typical manager in this role making $56,000 a year, while some companies pay more than double that in their A&R departments.
Session musician
If you’d rather be playing the music than handling the business side of things, but you don’t want to commit yourself to the potentially risky process of going it alone as an artist in your own right, becoming a session musician is sensible.
You’ll essentially be able to sell your instrumental abilities to recording artists, and even join the performing arm of acts when they hit the road on tour.
Session musicians command median salaries of just over $69,000, but the most sought-after professionals can easily pull in six figures each year.
Music journalist
Music journalism is still going strong, in spite of the fact that the industry has largely moved across to the digital realm, while print publications are no longer as powerful or popular as they once were in bygone epochs.
The great thing about becoming a music journalist today is that you don’t need to rely on impressing any gatekeepers if you want to get your thoughts and feelings out there.
It’s perfectly possible to start your own blog, fuelled by nothing but your passion for musical performers you love, and gain traction from this.
In terms of earnings, music journalists are tricky to pin down, with the low end of $11,000 and the high end of $290,000+ showing just how much variation there is. This does at least give you a high upper limit to aim for.
