job in music industry

January 31, 2008 2:08 PM

Looking for a job in New York City archiving music or music related. Where to start?

I have a Bachelor's degree in Art History and have been working at a contemporary art gallery for over a year as an Archivist. It is a great job with good pay, but I want to take a break and do something new that I can enjoy day to day and not be bored out of mind. I have always wanted to get into the music industry. A job where I have a desk of my own, interact with people daily, get to listen to music (electronica, rap, rock) as part my job, etc. Any suggestions on what I should look for or websites to go to?

posted by anonymous to work & money (7 comments total)

You've picked one hell of a hard time to get into the music industry. I've worked in the business for more than 10 years now and my best recommendation would be don't even bother trying to work at a label. Focus on publishing companies, rights organizations, managers, event production or marketing companies. They're the only ones with jobs any more. AS for how to land a position, you just have to get out there, apply and meet people. The best way is actually to intern for a while and work your way in. But that doesn't sound like an option for you given where you are in your career.
posted by tundro at 2:14 PM on January 31

Not to add to the Discouragement Index, but tundro is right, at least in my experience. Jobwise, the music industry ain't a shadow of what it used to be. Internships are an option of sorts, but considering the vast volume of layoffs taking place within the industry each year, you're fighting an ever-increasing number of people for even fewer jobs. That's the situation at major labels, anyway: indies can be a different beast, but they're predominantly staffed by a small handful of people (and their close friends) who were in at the ground level. So while they might not be hemorrhaging jobs at the same rate as the big corporations, there also aren't as many jobs to begin with.

You can do all of the things you mentioned above - have a desk of your own, interact with people daily, get to listen to music - and still have a job that speaks to your character and interests. Not to mention some semblance of job security, which is something you'd have trouble finding in the biz as of late.

As far as what that might be, there are always artists (of various stripes) looking for assistants and Boy/Girl Fridays. At least, there are here in L.A., so I'd find it hard to believe such folks don't exist in NYC. I know lots of kids who take care of crazy artsy types all day and pretty much have the run of their lives otherwise. Can you parlay your gallery connection into something without running into a conflict of interests? Do you have inside info on parties, get-togethers, etc., in your corner of the art world? My guess is that any part of the music industry you'd want to work in would have some overlap with the art scene, so I'd agree with tundro about getting out there and shining as brightly as possible. In the meantime, there are always low, low, low-level jobs trickling through the label system. Check out Indeed for a good job aggregator.

It can take quite a while to get to know the right people and to earn their trust on a personal level (not to mention a job-referral level), so be prepared to stick it out at your current gig for a bit if you're truly determined to make that leap.

Best of luck.
posted by mykescipark at 3:03 PM on January 31

I have tons of experience in this industry. But, unlike you, I am actually taking time off from it to see who goes bankrupt this year and who gets bought by Koch and Live Nation.

Tell me:

1. What roles do you want to work in?

2. Can you sell / Will you sell / Would you sell your beer to me / would you beg for money on the street / call you sell yourself?

3. Will you be willing to hand out fliers?

If you cannot answer yes to two of these questions, you will never, ever make it in music.
posted by parmanparman at 3:07 PM on January 31

As a New Yorker who's worked in the music business, my biggest lesson was that nothing will make you hate music more than working in the industry. The only way to be involved in an even remotely interesting part of the music industry would be to start a really good music blog.
posted by anildash at 6:52 PM on January 31

As a New Yorker who's worked in the music business, my biggest lesson was that nothing will make you hate music more than working in the industry.

Seconding this.
posted by jonmc at 7:30 PM on January 31

Not that I disagree completely with anil + Jon, but I'd say my 10 years in the biz have given me a deeper appreciation for the music that truly touches me, and a deeper contempt for prepackaged product with no actual talent that shoots up the charts.

That said, there are only a few places with a catalog deep enough to require an 'archivist', and the industry is very much in the beginning-to-middle stages of redefining itself (whether it is already too late remains to be seen). Perhaps it would be to your benefit to think tangentally to an industry job. The Library of Congress has a deep archive of music and is probably hiring.
posted by softlord at 1:59 AM on February 1

thirding anildash and jonmc. I worked as a production assistant in a music TV channel for 3 months. The environment was very petty and having to research celebrities was just draining. My love for the media had all but died.
posted by divabat at 2:39 AM on February 1