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Question:I'm in the SF bay area and love music, mostly soul and rock. How can I get in the business? I'd love to work in a studio setting, be in a creative setting for still art. Where should I start?


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I'm in the SF bay area and love music, mostly soul and rock. How can I get in the business? I'd love to work in a studio setting, be in a creative setting for still art. Where should I start?
It depends on how badly you want it. And I DON'T mean sleeping your way to the top either! Nowadays, you need at least a Bachelor's Degree to do even entry level jobs. So definitely finish your education! You need to learn all you can about the industry first. What do you want to do in the industry? You need to learn about record companies, recording studios, radio stations, management, agents, performers, ownership of music rights, there are a million things you need to know. Just liking music doesn't qualify. Everyone loves music. You need to learn professionalism. If you go to college, you can get an internship for college credit at any of the above, mostly the record companies. You need to humble yourself and be willing to start at the very bottom. I knew a record company Vice President who really and truly started in the mail room. I worked with this guy.
If you get an internship, don't waste time talking about your philosophy of music. Learn everything you can from everyone you can. Once you see the many different aspects of music you can decide where you think you'd like to be most. It's not easy but if you really want it you'll succeed. It's not for everyone and believe me, it's very difficult NOT become jaded quickly. And the entertainment industry is not the end all and be-all of life. One last word of advice: DO NOT USE DRUGS OR ALCOHOL. There may be a lot of pressure to do this socially, but that is the fastest way to lose your job and REMEMBER, THERE ARE MILLIONS OF OTHER PEOPLE STANDING IN LINE JUST WAITING TO TAKE YOUR PLACE AND WHO WILL NOT USE DRUGS OR ALCOHOL AND JEOPARDIZE THEIR (YOUR EX-) JOB.
If you want to work in a music studio enviroment then you will need to do a sound engineering course. Other than that you could look for a job in theatre as a stage manager or front of house manager, quite often no experience is needed. Jobs in the music industry are vocational and often poorly paid, you will have to start at the bottom and build up a career through networking, its mostly who you know and not what etc. As for the art industry...I never knew there was one! ;)