If you have always taken an interest in music production and have a lifelong love for all types of music, a career in the music business may be just right for you! You can give yourself a competitive edge and get on the right path toward a career in the music industry with a music production degree from one of many well regarded music production schools. However, you may be wondering what you need to do to get started on your studies. Here are some of the requirements for various types of music production degrees that can jumpstart your career in the music industry and bring you prosperity and success in a field you love.
Associate's Degree
Earning an associate's degree in music production comes with several advantages over four-year college degreeprograms. For example, the average associate's degree program takes only two years to complete, which means you can graduate sooner and begin taking steps toward obtaining an entry-level position in the music production business. Students in the Associate's Degree program will gain experience with mixing music and learning how to use state-of-the-art studio technologies to produce quality music. The associate's music production degree, also known as an AAS (Associate of Applied Science) in Audio Production, can give you an advantage over your competition when searching for an entry-level job in the music production industry.
Bachelor's Degree
This four-year program goes beyond the Associate's Degree program by allowing students to apply the skills they have learned in professional-level recording projects. Students gain invaluable real-world experience through the Bachelor's Degree program, and are able to enter the industry with the confidence and knowledge that is necessary to land a number of different positions within the music industry. Additionally, having a Bachelor of Arts in Audio Production can increase earning power right from the start of your career in music production; not only are studios more willing to hire candidates with a music production degree, but they are also more likely to offer higher starting salaries to graduates of a music production bachelor's degree program.
Master's Degree
Once you have completed your bachelor's degree in music production, you may wish to take go a step beyond by applying for a Master's Degree program. These degree programs typically concentrate on audio technology and audio production and teach students advanced techniques in audio mixing and recording, as well as audio engineering for CD recordings, as well as electronic music composition. Having your Master's in music production puts you at the top of the heap when it comes to impressing potential employers in the highly competitive music industry. A music studio typically would hire an applicant with a Master's in Audio Production over an applicant with a lesser degree. Not only that, but applicants with their Master's degree command much higher starting salaries than candidates with an associate's or bachelor's degree, or no music production degree at all.
As of 2012, the average starting salary for a music production specialist with an associate's degree was $41,200 (Source:US Bureau of Labor and Statistics). This number is expected to increase by 10% by the year 2022, and can be expected to climb even beyond those figures for those with bachelor's and master's degrees in music production disciplines.
If a career in audio technology, sound mixing, or any other specialty in the field of music production sounds appealing, obtaining your music production degree is the first, most proactive step to take. Unlimited possibilities await you - now is the time to get started on the education you will need to secure a rewarding and exciting music production career in the future.