Music Schools and the Music Industry

November 18, 2011

As the music industry has grown and evolved over the years, many music schools have taken notice, adapting their programs to include courses in music production, audio recording, music technology, music business and the like. While most music schools used to focus almost exclusively on classical training (and some still do), it is now possible to major in Music Industry, Music Business, Audio Production, and similar fields. Some schools now exist that focus exclusively on training up new recording artists, audio engineers and music producers.

However, if you desire a career in this field, before you just enroll in one of these schools, you need to know a few things about traditional education as it relates to the music industry itself. Let’s start by pointing out some realities about the industry:

1. For all that higher education has done to provide schooling for music production, a degree or diploma is still not necessary to have a successful music industry career. Most people in this business simply do not care where (or if) you went to school. If you can do the job, that’s what matters to them; how you learned it is irrelevant. Experience weighs more than education.
2. Connections are key to landing jobs in the music industry. Who you know is just as important as what you know.

Here’s where the problem lies: while the music industry relies on real-world experience and connections, most music schools can provide neither of these. Traditional education is based entirely on pulling students into isolated environments to train them, then releasing them into the “real world.” This format creates a huge handicap for students looking for music industry careers, because when they graduate, they lack the experience and connections needed to find work. Some music schools arrange for unpaid internships for their graduates to help close this gap, but this only highlights the fact that the gap exists. This has caused some music industry pros to denounce traditional education as a waste of time, because in their view, you would stand a better chance of breaking into the industry by simply getting into the recording studios themselves and being apprenticed.

Thankfully, some schools are taking their cue from these professionals, also realizing that in-studio training is a better alternative than trying to teach students in isolation. This is how the mentor-apprentice approach was developed. With this method, aspiring recording artists, audio engineers and music producers are placed in real recording studios to be apprenticed one-on-one by real music industry professionals. This approach gives students the technical skills they need, along with the ability to gain the experience and connections they need in order to get jobs.

The music industry is a complex and competitive field, and traditional education simply falls short when it comes to helping students get into that field. Music schools that use the mentor-apprentice approach can give their students a better chance at an industry career.