CAREER GUIDE Prepared by The Career Development Center at Berklee College of Music reprinted with permission
As many of our readers are not only professional musicians, but also artist managers, recording engineers, agents, entertainment lawyers, etc, we felt the information provided in the report would be of particular value and usefulness. The study shows salaries trending upwards for certain positions (orchestral musician, assistant professor, public relations specialist), while others are seeing a decline (commercial jingle 46 FEBRUARY 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE
Editor’s note - At the end of 2012, Berklee College of Music published a comprehensive report detailing salary ranges for professions within the music industry, as well as a flowchart for negotiating music job offers, resources that
provide more information, and a study on artist revenue trends. The following pages reprint, with permission, some of the information found in the report; it can be downloaded in its entirety as a PDF from the following address:
www.berklee.edu/pdf/pdf/studentlife/Music_Salary_Guide.pdf
composer, A&R representative, music education administrator). Some changes are due to more comprehensive data collection, but market factors are also at work. “It’s important to remember, despite our best research efforts, all salaries represent only ranges, dependent on numerous variables,” says Peter Spellman, director of Berklee’s Career Development Center. “There is downward pressure on many music performance salaries right now due to
the slowing global economic recovery, changing perceptions of music’s value, and hyper competition,” Spellman continues. “Thus, all the more reason for musicians to expand their repertoire of both musical and professional skills in this transforming industry.” - Benjamin Ricci Editor