Music Business Careers & Degree Programs

Learn what your career options are once you complete your music business degree program.

By Sarah Stevenson

If you're set on one of the many music business careers available, business degree programs can train you for a variety of jobs, from management to promotion to sales. Music business professionals are also found in fields such as entertainment law and technical production, which may require an additional degree in law or audio engineering.

Once you've earned your business degree in music, you'll need to take an honest look at your interests and skills to determine what area of the industry suits you best, whether it's music management, the record label business, the music publishing business, or tour and road work. Regardless of your career goal, you'll need persistence, a competitive spirit and impeccable networking abilities to succeed in this popular field.

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Find a Career with Your Degree Program

Being focused about your career path yet remaining flexible about the work opportunities that present themselves are both critical to success in the industry. Read on to find out more about some of the exciting jobs available in the business of music:

A&R: A&R stands for "artist and repertoire," an area of the business traditionally tasked with discovering musical acts, advising them on their song selection, and acting as point person for the recording process. The A&R coordinator is often responsible for seeking out and signing new talent for a record label, while an A&R administrator performs a variety of clerical and budgetary tasks associated with the signing of new acts and the recording of music.
Booking: Booking agents work with venues in order to secure performances for a music artist or group, locating places for larger acts to perform during a tour, and finding suitable opportunities for new or developing bands to receive exposure. They receive a percentage of the artist's performing fee.
Business Management: An artist or music group's business manager is responsible for managing the artist's financial affairs, from negotiating pay to handling investments and taxes. Most business managers have attended colleges that offer music business degree programs or business administration degrees, and have accounting or management training.
Marketing: Marketing professionals handle advertising, web presence, and other forms of promotion in order to publicize a record label and its artists. They are also involved in tracking industry trends and reporting record sales data.
Music Publishing: Job duties in the music publishing business can be very broad, ranging from finding songs and acquiring the copyright to promoting and licensing the songs in accordance with copyright law.
Publicity: Music publicists are responsible for finding opportunities for publicity and media coverage of musical acts, which in turn helps the record label increase sales and generate income. Publicists' jobs cover everything from writing press releases to arranging interviews to sending out promotional copies of CDs.
Radio Promotion: A radio promoter works with a radio station's music director, program director, or disc jockeys in order to ensure that a musical act's songs get airplay. Radio promoters need excellent networking skills in order to work successfully with radio station personnel.
Retail Sales and Promotion: The term "retail" refers to people who work for or with retail music stores. Record companies often have their own retail promotion staff who are responsible for promoting artists and CDs to retail outlets. Retail sales managers, meanwhile, operate the music stores themselves, including managing employees, ordering, budgeting, and working with retail promoters.
Tour Management: A tour manager is responsible for ensuring that every facet of a musical act's tour runs smoothly. Travel and lodging arrangements, equipment transportation, and even driving duties can be part of the job.