Requirements for a Career in Music Production

Though there are numerous articles that highlight gear that are important to starting a career in music production, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight a few other requirements that are often overlooked.

Being a part of a Network

While this may seem like an obvious requirement, in the excitement of wanting to be a music professional and after watching all those great videos, it is easy to overlook being a part of the music industry. Being a part of a network does not have to be difficult and as a matter of fact, is as simple as searching a hashtag on Instagram, clicking follow and contributing in the comments section of this media. A network also provides an opportunity to ask for help.

Having the Skills Set

Having the necessary skill sets has the advantage of helping the music professional to better position himself in the music industry. It also reduces time and improves inefficiency in music production to make the overall experience better. It involves being experienced enough to be honest about what you do well and how to associate those values with your worth. It can prevent you from overselling or selling yourself short among other things. Knowing your skills should involve an internal and external approach to analyzing your offerings. The internal analysis of your skill set will involve taking an unbiased and serious look at what you believe you are proficient at, then going to your network to ensure that there is a basis of truth for the conclusions you drew. An external approach would entail having someone preferably outside your network or someone that does not know you personally, give an unbiased opinion about your offerings.

Space and Time

I don’t think I have ever read something that highlighted the importance of having a dedicated work space. The truth is, a dedicated studio where the creative juices can flow, is a very important aspect of being a creative. Having a bedroom converted to a studio will only be as efficient as the respect the space is given to serve the re-purposing. That is, members of the household should be fully notified and aware of what is now happening in that space and try as best as possible to avoid unnecessary disturbance in and around that area. Time is probably one of the most valuable items in this article because once it is gone you can never get it back. Efforts therefore must be made to ensure that time is spent wisely. This can be done by creating a weekly timetable, sticking to the schedule and ensuring that the time allocated is enough for what is required to be productive.

Photo by Blaz Erzetic on Unsplash