My Career Plan in The Music Industry

My career goal is to have a role, or even multiple roles, in some aspect in music technology or audio production. Many factors need consideration for this career path in particular since there are a few fields in the creative industries that I could enter such as music production and composition, sound design or composition for film and games, live sound and much more.

The route to that career would involve the development of skills, effective networking, promotion, branding and much more. One important aspect of this is having a strong social media presence, which would allow me to gain traction from an audience and also be more approachable for collaboration.

Supporters, fans and followers are important for establishing a career in the industry. To do this, I could post my work on a range of social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook and LinkedIn because that would only spread my work out even further rather than limiting to one platform. As it stands today, my social media presence is fairly weak, and this is something I need to work on.

Networking is essential for most career paths in the music industry. Also, networking in person can be far more effective than on social media for several reasons. In our current digital age, face-to-face interaction is extremely undermined. Engaging with people in person would allow you to build more trust among each other. It would also allow you to access whether they are a genuine person, or if they have any undesired qualities such as impoliteness, impatience and, arrogance.

Attending networking events is also useful for expanding contacts, receiving advice from industry professionals and promoting yourself. For example, when I attended BBC Introducing Live this year, in one slot, there was a panel of composers for video games and one of them suggested to attend a game audio networking events such as ‘Games Audio North’.

My point is networking events could also lead to other networking events, so a regular cycle could be established. I could benefit from attending more networking events and building relationships with other industry practitioners; this is something I will do on my career path.

Promotion on social media could also lead to effective networking and collaboration which is a useful way to develop professionally as you could learn from each other. This would also open a new fan base to my work, hence building a stronger social media presence. A variety of tools is also very helpful to build up a social media presence.

For example, ContentCal can allow you to queue posts and is integrated with a range of platforms. Canva is a tool that allows you to create images, it gives the option to use the correct dimensions for social media platforms. Inshot is also another tool that could be used for video editing, the advantage this application provides is that it could be downloaded on your phone which can be very convenient. All the above considered, there are many resources available which could assist me in building my own strong social media presence.

Branding is also a critical element in promoting yourself in the industry, this could be addressed in multiple ways. For instance, using characters, designs or logos focused around your brand is an effective way to promote yourself since it is memorable, engaging and entertaining. One artist who used a character for their brand at some stage in their career is Richie Hawtin, under the alias ‘Plastikman’. The release of the song ‘Plastique’ came with a video of a dancing goblin, which resembled a style of dancing caused by the use of the hallucinogenic drug known as ‘acid’. This ‘dancing goblin’ logo ultimately became one of “the first genuine techno brands ever”.

“The cult really hit its peak in about 1993-94… you would see people with Plastikman tattoos across their entire back…you would see people with massive Plastikman logos on their cars…it got a little crazy.” (Karl Kowalski)

The British virtual band Gorillaz have also incorporated cartoons or characters with their work, which has been incorporated in live performances in venues such as the brit awards and MTV EMA’s. Their characters 2-D, Murdoc, Russel Hobbs and Noodle has been their brand’s forefront and the band has developed narratives around these characters through their music videos over the years. Hip-hop artists such as MF DOOM, Madlib, RZA, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar have all incorporated alter egos, identities or personalities in their career to some effect. As well as pop stars like Miley Cyrus, The Beatles and David Bowie.

Overall, using a logo or design can be a powerful way to promote your creative work and create a brand. A strong brand could lead to business models such as merchandising. I could apply to my work, for example, as a casual beat maker for multiple genres, I could create characters or logos to go with each genre – this may be an interesting concept to explore. In the field of music production and beat making, sample packs containing drum loops, one-shots, melodic loops, chords and textures is a fundamental element for certain genres like heavily sample-based hip-hop. I

t’s also advantageous for those who are not confident in creating compositional ideas. If I was to create a sample pack, with a strong brand and social media presence, it would open a new stream of income that could be used to fund new equipment, resources or other business models.

The skills and experience I have will have an impact on my career goal. I have some experience in music performance since I am a classically trained flautist and had been for numerous years. I have experience in ensemble performance, as I was part of an orchestra for a few years, also a jazz band and school band. Since then, I have now become invested in music technology. I worked multiple projects such as integrating music with interactive digital design, composing and mixing music for a film in 5.1 and composing for games.

The qualifications I own may affect my career goal. The qualifications I have currently that directly relates to my career goal - which is to have a role in music technology or audio production – is an NCFE Level 2 in Music Technology and a UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Music Performance and Technology with Distinction.

However, I am currently studying an undergraduate degree in music technology and audio production. Although not directly related to my goal, I do have a level 3 certificate in graded examination in music performance at grade 7. However, my background and experience in music performance, production and technology could lead to other opportunities.

Many practitioners in the music industry have portfolio careers – where they serve multiple roles to earn an income. I am willing to earn a living through a portfolio career, as this adds more variety, for instance, teaching music or music technology on a contract basis as well as working for a game company in sound design or composition on a freelance basis. Or I could work part-time in a recording studio as well as live sound. It wholly depends on the opportunities that arise while on my career path.

To conclude, I believe my career goal is to have a role in music technology or audio production, but I am prepared to adapt into a portfolio career where I could work in multiple roles on a contract and freelance basis. While doing this, I could do something on the side such as music production, beat making and creating and selling sample packs. I could gain experience in the industry while on my current course which would benefit me on my career path since I am expanding my contacts.

While on my career path, I could attend networking events and conventions to expand my contacts even further and also gain an insight into the industry. And lastly, working on my social media presence on as many platforms as possible and creating a brand for myself by using logos, icons and characters is also a crucial aspect I will work on while on my career path.

Bibliography

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