Music Producer Career Information

So You’re Thinking of Being a Music Producer

Building a career as an independent creative is a complex journey. I’ve had a few people approach me about this in the last month and figured I’d put together a short blog about building a career as a music producer. Being a music producer can seem like an exciting and lucrative career, but there are some things you’ll need to keep in mind when starting!

Let’s begin with the good good.

Right off the bat, there’s a lot of super dope perks to being a music producer! First off, you get to meet a LOT of really cool people. Not many careers let you work with people who have incredibly unique personalities and talents. You’ll meet a bunch of folks who will challenge you, encourage you, and help propel your career.

Secondly, you get to be creative for a living! The apex of your career would be centred around the material you make. That’s pretty cool :)

Lastly, you have the power to control your own work hours. Don’t want to start work at 8am? Great! Rock up to the studio at 10am!

So Spike, these perks sound real cool! But what about the cons? What am I gonna run into?

Here’s the thing - working in the music industry is kind of a double edged sword. All the perks mentioned above can just as easily bite you back. Let’s start off with meeting people. The music industry is very interconnected. A majority of the time, the projects you land depend on who you know, and not solely on your skills. You could be creating bangers every day, but unless people know you and can consistently pull off that level of material and do it professionally, they won’t be interested in collaboration. Networking is EVERYTHING in this industry, the more people you meet the better. This can be challenging since a lot of creatives are introverts. That’s something you may have to push through in order to build your career.

Wow, that’s pretty crazy, dude. What about the other stuff? I still get to create for a living, that’s pretty cool!

Yep! You’re 100% right there, you DO get to create for a living! Although, you may find yourself pressed for time. You’ll have deadlines dictating your work schedule as you strive to push out projects for artists and clients. All that said, your work can still be immensely enjoyable and fulfilling, you just have to remain adaptable. Creativity can feel like work some days, but that's all part of the grind here.

Ok, cool - I think I’m understanding this better. Hit me with the last one, bruh!

Sweet! I’ll keep this one short and simple. Be prepared for some ultimate hustle. You may hate the 9-5pm but if you’re starting your own business, be prepared for the 9-10pm and sometimes longer work hours. A lot of people think being self employed is relaxed and easy. It’s not - you become your own boss and your own worst enemy. You’ll need a killer work ethic for this to work. You got it though! You wouldn’t have gotten this far in this blog if you weren’t serious about this.

Cool. Enough of the pros and cons. Let’s get to the fun stuff. Let’s talk monayyyyyy!

You’ll have to treat yourself as a startup. Building this doesn’t mean you’ll get rich quickly. If that’s your goal, this isn’t the right career for you. You’ll have to commit time, energy and patience.

To start off, you should gradually incorporate some music production time to your existing job schedule. This means working your regular 9-5 job, coming home, and spending a few more hours working on creative. Realistically, you’ll probably see anywhere from $500-$5000 your first year. This can vary depending on your skill level and connections in your professional rolodex. (Say it with me, NETWORKING IS KEY.)

Keep in mind that the work you do today will most likely pay off nine months from now. Think of it as an investment in your future as opposed to an instant monetary gain. You need to invest in your future. After a few years of this, you’ll likely be able to increase your hours as a creative and decrease hours from your regular big boy job. Fast forward a few more years, you can begin transitioning from part time to full time creative. At that point, you’ll probably be making around $20,00-$40,000 a year.

Then, you can continue growing your business. Since you’re self employed, there’s no guidelines to this. But keep in mind that you’ll need to diversify your streams of income eventually - but that’s a topic for another time.

Any last tips?

Your hours are gonna fluctuate a lot! Treat this like you’re building a startup. There’ll be a lot of 16-hour days, with some 4-hour days in between. Remember to remain flexible, work on your skills and confidence, build a network and keep reaching for the stars - and don’t forget to make a few friends along the way! As always, I’m here to help. You can book a session with me here to discuss your goals and begin building your career!

Spike

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