What Jobs Can You Do As A Musician?

There’s more to a music career than just being a world-famous recording artist.

Breaking into the high-end music business is hard, not everyone (no matter the talent) can become the next Madonna or Lady Gaga, or even a recording engineer, music producer, or artist manager.

However, there are other jobs in music that are easier to break into.

These include:

1. Wedding band/singer 

If you enjoy singing or playing an instrument in a band, you can easily make money singing at special events like weddings.

Weddings take place every single day, and it’s so easy to find a venue that you can partner with to offer your services as a wedding band or a singer.

You can choose to do your own set list made up of songs that you have written, or you can do a general playlist of popular, well-known songs.

You may choose to offer both types if you want to get more customers, but specialising in one area will likely allow you to offer a better quality service overall.

Being part of a wedding band is such a fun career option to explore, as you’ll be regularly attending some of the most special days of people’s lives.

The best wedding bands are at the heart of the party, encouraging every guest to have fun, so this career option fits someone outgoing and extroverted.

Your goal is to make sure that all wedding guests have a great time (and hopefully recommend you to their friends as a  result).

2. School music teacher 

If you want to work in an environment that allows you to share your music skills with others, then becoming a school music teacher might just be the perfect option.

You get the opportunity to inspire hundreds or even thousands of children during your career, and you can introduce them to the wonders of music and ignite the real passion.

To become a music teacher and teach at schools, you need to take a teaching qualification. Teacher training will teach you how to teach and work with children.

Being a teacher isn’t easy as you need to have the right kind of patient personality – you’re bound to get school kids who don’t take your lessons seriously. 

Lots of schools offer music lessons so you can choose what age group you would like to teach.

A bonus: You’ll enjoy a long summer break when the kids are off! 🤩

3. Private music tutor 

For those who want to teach adults on a more professional level, becoming a private music teacher is a worthwhile option to consider.

When you are a private tutor you have full control over when you work and which clients you take on, meaning you could have time to be both a bass guitar tutor and a freelance bass player at the same time.

You can teach singing or an instrument.

You can hire your own studio or even tutor your students in your or their home, depending on your preferences.

You can become a very successful/popular tutor if you have proven credentials, an excellent portfolio, or if you worked as a known artist before.

You can set your own prices when you’re a private music tutor, so try to put a value on your services in comparison to other nearby tutors, factoring your experience into consideration. 

4. Musician for television 

Every TV show has its own soundtrack as well as multiple songs and jingles throughout the program, as do films too, and there’s a whole team of musicians who work together to create these songs to take shows and films to a whole new level.

You could become any member of such a team, whether you want to provide your singing voice or even edit and perfect tracks using professional computer equipment, so it totally depends on your background and experience.

Once you’ve been able to get your foot in the door on one show or film you’ll open up a whole industry of opportunities.

No two days are the same when you take a role in the television music industry.

You may even have your name featured in the credits at the end of a film or show – this is an uplifting reward that provides you with recognition for your hard work. 

Finally

There are countless different jobs for musicians, so there’s truly no reason why you can’t start a fruitful career in the music industry.

It’s certainly going to be a satisfying industry to work in as it will allow your creative juices to flow more than any dull office job.

There’s no time like the present to seek out the most suitable role for you.