How Do I Get A Job In The Music Industry?

There aren't many permanent jobs in commercial recording, mixing and mastering studios. That's the reality. And even when a studio needs an extra pair of hands, the owner may already have a shortlist of people they know.

If I needed a studio assistant tomorrow, I could think of several people I'd contact before advertising the position. They're people I already know, whose work I trust and who I believe would fit into the studio.

That doesn't mean applying for jobs is pointless. Vacancies do exist, and some people will find their opportunity through an application. But sending a hundred speculative CVs and hoping somebody replies isn't the only strategy — and in my opinion it shouldn't be your whole strategy.

If your goal is specifically to work for an established studio, relationships are enormously important. Get to know the people who own the studios and the engineers who work in them.

That doesn't mean turning up and repeatedly asking for a job. It means meeting people at industry events, talking to engineers about the work, joining the conversations happening around the industry and gradually building genuine connections.

I've met people through social media, audio equipment events and other industry gatherings. Over time, some have become friends. If I need help with something, I already know the people I'd trust to do it.

My dad taught me when I was young that in many industries it's not just what you know, it's who you know. That advice has stayed with me, because relationships have played a significant part in how I've built my own career.

If you want to work as a music producer, mixing engineer or mastering engineer, you don't necessarily need an established studio to employ you first. You can start offering those services yourself.

Build a simple workspace. It might be a bedroom with a computer, speakers and a tidy, professional-looking setup. It doesn't have to be a huge commercial room filled with expensive analogue gear.

Then build a website. Explain clearly what you do, show examples of your work, talk about your approach and give people a way to contact you or book your services. You can start small and improve both the studio and the business as you gain experience.

I spend a lot of time discussing this sort of thing in my consultancy sessions. The first step is often simply to stop waiting for permission and start building the business you want to run.

It's hard work. There's no guarantee that clients will appear just because you've launched a website. But you've created an opportunity that didn't exist before, and you have something you can develop.

Someone who has mixed only a couple of songs isn't going to have the same experience as an engineer who's worked on thousands of projects. That experience has real value, and you shouldn't pretend otherwise.

But there is another part to running a studio business: convincing a client that you're the right person for their project.

You can be technically excellent and still struggle to get work if nobody knows who you are or why they should hire you. Equally, I've seen people who aren't necessarily the strongest engineers build busy businesses because they've learned how to present and sell their services.

The aim should be to develop both sides. Become better at your craft while learning how to communicate with clients, show the value of your work and build a reputation over time.

I was recently talking to a friend who wanted to advertise his mixing and mastering services on Facebook. I pointed out that if he targeted the same audience with essentially the same offer as Audio Animals, he would have a difficult challenge.

We've spent years building our studio, portfolio, client relationships and reputation. When somebody sees our equipment and the projects we've worked on, a lot of the trust-building is already done.

Someone starting with a laptop and speakers doesn't have all of those advantages yet. Trying to win the exact same client with the exact same message could require a lot of advertising spend.

But that smaller business might have something I don't: time. They might be able to sit down with an artist, talk through the project, get to know them personally and offer a more hands-on service. That's a genuine competitive advantage when a client values that attention.

Another friend described his business as competing directly with mine because he also offers mixing and mastering. My advice was to stop presenting it as the same service and look at what he can offer that I don't.

He's a producer as well as an engineer. That means he could offer a mix and master service that includes production work. If a snare doesn't sound right, he can replace it. If an arrangement needs an additional element, he can produce it. He can help reshape a track in ways that fall outside the service I'm offering.

For an artist who wants that kind of input, his offering could be more attractive than mine. He might even be able to charge more because he's delivering more of what that particular client needs.

That's the point: you don't necessarily have to beat an established studio at its own game. You can build an offer that solves a different problem.

The same principle applies beyond audio engineering. Imagine I wanted to start a business building studio racks. I could set up a small workshop, make the racks, design a flat-pack version, put up a website and sell them directly.

That's an opportunity I could create myself. The alternative would be approaching a manufacturer and asking whether they have a job available, hoping my experience and qualifications match what they're looking for.

I'm not saying running a business is easier. It involves finding customers, making the product, handling orders and accepting the financial risk. But it gives you a different route into doing the work you want to do.

For the right person, building a successful business could eventually be more financially rewarding than employment. It could also involve considerably more hours and responsibility. You have to be realistic about both sides.

I've seen the value of personal relationships very recently with my niece, Lexi. She's been looking for work in fashion, and I've offered her an opportunity to work with me managing social media.

She doesn't come to the role with years of professional experience. I know there will be plenty for me to teach her. But I know her, I trust her and I want to help her develop useful skills.

If a complete stranger with the same level of experience had applied for that position, I probably wouldn't have made the same decision. The relationship makes a difference, and I'm personally invested in helping her succeed.

That's not a universal hiring rule, and it doesn't mean ability is unimportant. It simply illustrates why having genuine connections can open doors that a speculative application might not.

If you're sending applications to music studios every week and hearing nothing back, I understand the frustration. I receive regular enquiries from people looking for work, and most of the time I have to explain that we don't have a position available.

So keep applying where there's a genuine opportunity, but don't make that your only plan. Meet people. Build relationships. Develop your skills. Put your work online. Start offering a service and learn how to find the clients who need it.

And think carefully about what would make somebody choose you over another engineer. It might be a particular skill, a production service, personal collaboration or simply an approach that suits a type of client.

If nobody is offering you the job you want, consider what it would take to create that job yourself. It won't happen overnight, but you can begin building it now.