Music promotions manager

1. Skills required
Youll need:

excellent communication skills

sales and negotiation skills
the ability to work under pressure
organisational skills
IT skills

2. What you'll do
As a music promoter your day-to-day duties may include:

writing press releases to publicise your client's music or tour

organising publicity events like media interviews and personal appearances
going to publicity events with clients
getting airtime on radio and TV shows
networking with contacts in the music industry
organising tours
dealing with designers, printers and marketing staf
negotiating contracts
listening to new acts and deciding whether to ofer them a contract

3. Salary
Starter: 13,500 to 16,000
Experienced: 25,000
Highly Experienced: 60,000

Youll usually work freelance or on short contracts, so your income will vary. You may agree a
fixed payment or take a take a percentage of the profit made from the event.

4. Working hours, patterns and

environment
Your working hours will vary. Youll have an office base for dealing with administration and
promotional events during the day. Youll also spend a lot of your time going to music venues
and promotional events at night. This can involve travelling around the UK or overseas, and
spending periods away from home.
 Pop musician
1. Skills required
You'll need:

musical skills
the ability to accept criticism and rejection
business skills

2. What you'll do
Your daily tasks may include:

practising and rehearsing

playing live in front of an audience
composing music
taking part in recording sessions
promoting your music by contacting agents and record companies, using social media,
sending people demonstration ('demo') recordings, setting up a website
arranging gigs and tours (or dealing with a manager or agent who does this for you)

You'll often need to combine music with other types of work, particularly at the start of
your career.

3. Salary
Your income will vary depending on how successful you are.

The trade union for professional performers and creative practitioners, Equity, has
information on recommended rates of pay for session musicians and live performers.

4. Working hours, patterns and

environment
You may play in a range of places like pubs and clubs, recording studios or theatres
and music festivals.
 You might play one-of gigs, regular weekly or monthly slots, or you could be booked
for a whole season if touring as a session musician or appearing at a holiday park or
on a cruise ship.

Most of your gigs would take place in the evening. Studio recording can run until late
at night.

You'd be expected to have your own instruments and possibly also stage and studio
equipment.

DJ
1. Skills required
Youll need:

a confident and outgoing personality

a good sense of timing and coordination
calmness under pressure
the ability to do several tasks at the same time
the skills to manage your own business and promote yourself

2. What you'll do
As a club DJ you might:

play and mix records in clubs or bars, to create atmosphere or keep people dancing
choose music to suit your audiences taste and the venues music policy
operate lighting and visual efects in time to the beat
create your own sounds by manipulating beats, using samples, adding extra music and
sound efects
work with an MC who raps or sings over the music

As a radio DJ or presenter, youll present a radio programme in your own

style. You could:

choose the music to be played

keep up an entertaining and natural flow of chat
 interact with the audience through phone-ins, emails, texts and social media
keep to a very tight timing schedule
interview studio guests
operate studio equipment to play music, pre-recorded news, jingles and advertisements
(known as driving the desk)
discuss ideas with the producer, write scripts and prepare playlists for future shows

3. Salary
Most DJs are self-employed and work on a freelance basis, so salaries will vary widely.
Club and mobile DJs just starting out will usually earn around 50 per session.
Well-known DJs can earn around 150 to 400 per session.
High-profile DJs, whove built up experience and a good reputation, could earn 1,000
a session or more.

4. Working hours, patterns and

environment
Your hours may be varied and unsocial. As a mobile or club DJ youll mainly work in the
evenings and at weekends, often until the early hours of the morning.
 Musical instrument maker and
repairer
1. Skills required
Youll need:

excellent woodwork and metalwork skills

a good appreciation of pitch and quality of sound
problem solving skills
good practical skills
accuracy and precision
business skills, if self-employed

2. What you'll do
Your day-to-day duties may include:

building new instruments

repairing or renovating damaged or worn instruments
restoring or producing period instruments
working with diferent materials like wood, metal, plastic and fibreglass
using traditional hand tools
fitting plastic, fibreglass and electronic parts to modern instruments like electric guitars
applying finishing techniques like polishing and varnishing
tuning instruments

Creative and Cultural Skills has more information about this job.

3. Salary
Most musical instrument makers and repairers are self-employed. Your earnings will
depend on how successful you are at running your business.
 4. Working hours, patterns and
environment
You'll usually work around 40 hours a week, Monday to Friday. Some part-time opportunities
may be available. If you're self-employed, you'll choose your own working hours to meet your
customers' demand.

You'll usually work in a workshop, or from home if you're self-employed. As a piano tuner you'll
visit customers homes and other premises to service or repair instruments on site.

Music teacher
1. Skills required
Youll need to have:

teaching and motivational skills

a patient and encouraging approach
good communication skills
business skills if self-employed

2. What you'll do
Your day-to-day duties might involve:

planning lessons to suit the individual needs of a group or pupil

teaching pupils to play an instrument and to read and understand music
helping pupils prepare for music exams, competitions and performances

In a specialist music college, or conservatoire, youll teach individuals, groups and

classes, preparing students for music exams, qualifications and performances.

In a primary or secondary school, youll:

teach the whole class or a group of pupils

teach the history, theory and appreciation of all kinds of music, following the national
curriculum
set assignments and mark and assess pupils' work
help to organise school choirs, orchestras or bands
organise school concerts and musical performances
 In a further education college or adult education centre, youll teach music at all levels,
ranging from hobby courses to qualifications like GCSEs and A levels.

3. Salary
Private teachers and visiting teachers in schools can charge between 26 and 37 an
hour.

Full-time teachers in state maintained schools are paid in line with national salary
guidelines.

4. Working hours, patterns and

environment
As a private teacher, youll work hours to suit your clients, and may spend time travelling
between diferent teaching venues.
In a school, youll usually work normal school hours from Monday to Friday. You may also
teach individual pupils, run rehearsals or music groups, and attend school concerts and
musical performances after school, and occasionally at weekends.

Studio sound engineer

1. Skills required
Youll need:

good hearing, for distinguishing sound quality

a good sense of pitch, timing and rhythm
a knowledge of electronics and acoustics
practical skills
patience
the ability to cope with long hours and tight deadlines

2. What you'll do
Youll use electronic equipment to record sound for many different uses, like:

commercial music recordings

radio, TV, film and commercials
corporate videos
websites
 computer games and other types of interactive media

Your day-to-day duties might involve:

planning recording sessions with producers and artists

setting up microphones and equipment in the studio
making sure the volume and recording levels are set correctly
operating recording equipment and adding efects
recording each instrument or item onto a separate track
mixing tracks to produce a final master track
logging recordings and other details of the session in the studio archive

3. Salary
Starter: 15,000
Experienced: 20,000 to 30,000
Highly Experienced: Up to 40,000
Freelance earnings can vary, depending on your reputation and what you can
negotiate.

4. Working hours, patterns and

environment
Youll mainly work in recording studios. Youll need to be flexible about working hours, which
can be long and irregular. You may need to work in the evening, at night or at the weekend,
depending on when artists and producers are available.

Music therapist
1. Skills required
Youll need:

excellent communication, listening and observational skills

a high level of musical ability and knowledge
the ability to relate to people from all backgrounds
the ability to handle sensitive and difficult issues
emotional strength and the ability to cope with challenging situations
empathy and the ability to gain clients trust
the confidence to work with people on their own and in groups
 2. What you'll do
Youll encourage clients to explore sound and communicate through music, to help them with:

expressing themselves
developing insight and creating ways of relating to other people
becoming aware of their feelings
interacting with other people more confidently
bringing about positive changes in their lives

Youll hold group and one-to-one therapy sessions with clients who have:

learning disabilities
emotional, behaviour or mental health problems
speech and language difficulties
an injury or illness or are recovering from an addiction
Youll monitor the efectiveness of the therapy sessions, and write case notes and reports.

3. Salary
Starter: 26,000
Experienced: 31,000 to 41,000
Highly Experienced: up to 48,000 (principal music therapist in the NHS)

4. Working hours, patterns and

environment
Your working hours will usually be between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, although some
jobs may involve evening or weekend sessions. Many music therapists work in the NHS,
although there are opportunities for work in private practice. You could also be self-employed
as a freelance music therapist. Your work will usually take place in a specially equipped music
room. Youll usually see the same client or clients, in the same place at the same time each
week. You could also work in schools, hospitals, prisons and day centres.

Roadie
1. Skills required
Youll need:

good practical skills

calmness under pressure
 the ability to follow instructions
reliability and discipline

2. What you'll do
Your duties may include:

lifting and carrying equipment and sets

driving, loading and unloading vans, trailers and tour buses
acting as security for equipment and band members
setting up and looking after sound equipment
setting up video equipment and screens
rigging up wiring and lighting
setting up pyrotechnics (fireworks) and laser displays
tuning instruments during the show
You may also be responsible for other tour management duties, like booking travel and
caterers or issuing backstage passes.

3. Salary
Youll often work on a freelance basis and rates will depend on the job and your
experience.
With experience you could earn around 150 a day.
With technical skills and extensive experience you could earn 250 a day or more.

4. Working hours, patterns and

environment
Youll often work late into the night and 7 days a week, for a few weeks or months at a time
while on tour.
There may be rest days between gigs and long breaks between tours.
Concerts can be anywhere from clubs and theatres to sports arenas and outdoor festivals.
You may travel around the whole of the UK and overseas and be away from home for long
periods.
Youll lift and carry heavy equipment, and may need to work at height on ladders and rigging.

Live sound engineer

 1. Skills required
Youll need:

good hearing, for judging sound quality

a good sense of pitch, timing and rhythm
patience, stamina and good concentration
the ability to cope with long hours and tight deadlines

2. What you'll do
Youll mix the inputs from microphones and amplifiers, using a control desk to balance
the sound levels.
You might also provide background music and sound efects.
Your duties might also include:

discussing the productions sound needs with the director or sound designer
identifying places in the script where any sound efects, music and changes in sound
level are needed
pre-recording any sound efects and music
positioning and rigging up microphones
completing sound checks before a performance
operating the sound desk during shows
following a sound plan (known as a 'plot') and cues from the deputy stage manager
looking after and repairing equipment
unloading, setting up, dismantling and loading equipment at each venue when on tour
You may also set up and operate lighting equipment as part of a sound and lighting crew.

3. Salary
Starter: 25,000
Experienced: 30,000
Highly Experienced: 40,000 (sound designer)

4. Working hours, patterns and

environment
Hours can be long and irregular.
Evening and weekend work is common.
You may also work during the day for rehearsals, sound checks and maintenance.
Youll work in theatres, concert halls, arenas, and outdoors at concerts and festivals.
Youll spend a lot of time sitting at a control desk.
Youll travel throughout the UK and possibly overseas.
 Radio broadcast assistant
1. Skills required
Youll need:

excellent administrative and organisational skills

excellent communication skills
teamworking skills
research skills
technical and IT skills

2. What you'll do
Your day-to-day duties may include:

researching programmes
booking guests, preparing contracts and arranging payment
booking studio time and equipment
typing scripts
producing programme logs and running orders
keeping track of costs
updating the programme or stations website, blog or social media
archiving programme material
arranging and sending out competition prizes

3. Salary
Starter: 15,000 to 18,000
Experienced: 25,000
Highly Experienced: 29,000

4. Working hours, patterns and

environment
Your hours may be irregular and include evenings, late nights and weekends, depending on
the programme. You may often need to work overtime to meet deadlines. You would work in
offices and recording studios. You may also have to travel locally or nationally for outside
broadcasts (OBs). These could be in city centres or at events like concerts or festivals.
 Acoustics consultant
1. Skills required
Youll need:

a creative and practical approach to solving problems

the ability to explain design plans clearly
excellent IT skills
budgeting and negotiating skills
project management and organisational skills

2. What you'll do
Your day-to-day duties could include:

carrying out noise assessments on buildings to make sure they meet building
regulations
checking noise levels are within legal limits
testing how changes to a buildings design afects sound levels and quality
using computers to find ways of reducing machinery noise and vibration in the
workplace
giving specialist advice in legal cases
exploring how sound vibrations afect machinery and structures
designing and working with recording studio and broadcast sound equipment
designing medical equipment, like ultrasound, to help doctors diagnose and treat
patients
producing reports, sharing your findings and making recommendations for action

3. Salary
Starter: 18,000 to 25,000
Experienced: 35,000
Highly Experienced: 55,000
 4. Working hours, patterns and
environment
Youll work 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, or on a shift system, depending on the job. Some
projects may include unsocial hours or overnight stays away from home.
Your time would be split between the office, the lab and on site.

TV or film sound technician

1. Skills required
Youll need:

excellent hearing
excellent practical skills
a high level of attention to detail
the ability to cope with long hours and tight deadlines

2. What you'll do
You could specialise in:

production sound recording sound on set or location

post-production putting the final soundtrack together in an editing studio

On a production sound team, your day-to-day duties may include:

setting up equipment to suit the acoustics and the sound designers instructions
selecting and placing fixed microphones
operating the boom (a microphone on a pole, used to get close to the sound source)
checking sound quality
recording sound onto digital devices
servicing and repairing equipment
playing music or sound efects into a live programme
3. Salary
Starter: 16,000 to 19,000
Experienced: 20,000 to 28,000
Highly Experienced: Up to 35,000

4. Working hours, patterns and

environment
Youll often work long and irregular hours, including early mornings or late nights, according to
the demands of the production. You may also need to be flexible and work at short notice. For
production sound recording, you could work anywhere from studios to outside locations, in all
weather conditions. Location work could be anywhere in the UK or overseas. Post-production
sound editing takes place in soundproofed studios and editing suites.