A successful career in music doesn't happen overnight. It takes patience, tenacity, an openness to critique, and even some failure to clarify your goals and make it happen.
Here are five essential practices to consider as you build a foundation for long-term success in the music industry.
1. Stay in the Loop The music industry is constantly changing. To keep up, you need to stay informed.
This is just as important for music business professionals as for artists. To land a job in licensing, product design, or marketing at a place like Spotify or Apple, youll need to speak to the changes driving growth in the industry. Similarly, a successful artist manager should be up to speed on industry tastes and trends, emerging niche markets, and changing perceptions around artist commercial viability.
The path followed by the majority of top executives and artists we know today was not narrow or linear. Like theirs, your path will involve ongoing learning, hustle, and investment in yourself.
Music distribution has changed completely in recent years, meaning artists no longer need a deal with a major label to be successful. Staying informed on platforms such as SoundCloud, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook's Sound Collection will help you promote your music and reach a wide audience.
Berklees Career Center team provides insight on relevant professional associations and help you find ways to stay up to date.
2. Meet Others in the Industry
The Berklee Career Jam brings industry movers and shakers to campus each year
Building a career and establishing a personal brand in the music industry requires honing your ability to create and maintain mutually beneficial relationships.
You hear it repeatedly: Networking and creative alliances matter. Why? The music industry thrives on it just like any other people-based industry. So where do you start?
Step away from the studio, or your keyboard or microphone, regularly, and take advantage of face-to-face interactions with peers, colleagues, and established professionals. Industry conferences, trade shows, and festivals provide perfect settings for fun and organic interactions, but theyre not your only outlet for networking. Social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram have made networking easier than ever. If you aren't already on these or other platforms, create a profile and start connecting. Be thoughtfully persistent in building on new connections, whether in person or digitally. Keep track of who you meet and why you both might benefit from staying in touch.
Attend the Career Center's Internship Expo where you can speak to representatives from more than 40 companies.
3. Invest in Your Future with Internships and Working on Campus If there's one thing the music industry prizes, it's experience. How do you get experience?
Where to Start
Search and apply for jobs, internships, auditions, and gigs on the Berklee Career Manager.
Two ways to impress potential employers are internships or on-campus jobs. Internships are a highly valuable opportunity to test-drive career possibilities, develop skills, and gain insight into the work and lifestyle of an industry professional. They allow you to relocate for a short stint to major hubs like Los Angeles, New York City, and Nashville, or even abroad to international hot spots like Beijing and London. Employers frequently use internships to test out future employees. If theyre impressed, they are quick to make a job offer so they don't miss out on promising talent.
There are endless opportunities and ways for you to gain relevant experience. Internships and student employment are just two that will impress and appeal to employers.
4. Know Your Competitive Advantage Your list of skills is abundant. Take stock of your experience and what makes you different from everyone else. You'll need a carefully crafted pitch that tells the world who you are and explicitly sheds light on your distinctive combination of skills, experience, and presence.
As a musician and artist, youll be an incredible improviser, always prepared to pitch a song youve been writing or grab your guitar and walk onstage to fill in for a friend at a gig. Youll also possess solid project management skills. Whether it's handling marketing or event logistics for an upcoming campus program or organizing and rehearsing members of a band for a performance, you've mastered the art of time management, understand the need for attention to detail, and recognize the importance of being both a leader and a team player.
5. Stay Agile There is no prescribed roadmap for how to get from A to Z in the music and entertainment business. There is no guarantee you'll make a certain salary, secure a gig that lasts a lifetime, or cut a deal right out of the gate. It's best to acknowledge and accept that now. But your commitment to succeeding in this business has great potential to make an impact and be satisfying.
You must learn to be agile and comfortable pivoting from opportunity to opportunity, sometimes even needing to take on a non-music lifeline career so you can provide for yourself, a significant other, or a family. The path followed by the majority of top executives and artists we know today was not narrow or linear. Like theirs, your path will involve ongoing learning, hustle, and investment in yourself.
Dustin Gee is manager of employer development and engagement at the Berklee Career Center.
For more information on how to develop your career in music, visit our Career Center resources.
Related Reading
Hearing Women Berklee Today
Spring
2019
Volume
30
Number
3
Hustling and Joy: Madame Gandhis Tips for Success Drummer, electronic musician, and activist Madame Gandhi shared her advice and experience with students at Cafe 939.
Berklee Student Wins Live Nation Scholar
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
10/06/2026
DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...
10/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager USA, covering Southern California and the Southwest region. Dino joins...
10/06/2026
An 11% decrease in number of global broadcast deals reflects the organization...
10/06/2026
The Women Without Boundaries Awards recognize women whose work is advancing the future of media, broadcast, AV, workplace technology, digital experience, and re...
10/06/2026
Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...
10/06/2026
SES is supporting broadcast distribution of the world's biggest football tou...
10/06/2026
NDI has announced that BirdDog has become the first hardware manufacturer to achieve full NDI 6.3 compatibility across its complete lineup of cameras, encoders,...
10/06/2026
Vince Caputo and Scott Carter, winners of the 2026 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Post Produced Audio have been announced as presenters for the 2026 SVG Advanced A...
10/06/2026
FOX One today unveiled a slate of new product features and enhancements designed to elevate the viewing experience for fans on the official streaming platform o...
10/06/2026
Primary production partners Dome Productions and Raycom Sports once again played...
10/06/2026
The Women in Sports Filmmaking Experienceship is an immersive professional devel...
10/06/2026
The league has expanded its HSAN architecture for the NBA Finals to manage more ...
10/06/2026
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League (XGL) Winter Draft will take place Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at Cosm Los Angeles from 7-9 p.m. PT. The event will strea...
10/06/2026
The University of Oklahoma (OU) Athletics Department and Learfield have announce...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has released TR-06-4 Part 8, a new specification for RIST Satellite-Hybrid: Out-of-Band Method. The specification creates a mecha...
10/06/2026
Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, supporting live medical proc...
10/06/2026
A still from The Doom Generation by Gregg Araki (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
By Lucy Spicer
Have you checked out our Sundance Film Festival 101 list yet...
10/06/2026
Get Hands-On with Interfaces & Mic Preamp Brands
If youre after a new interface or preamp, then GearExpo UK is the place to be! Well have a whole host of au...
10/06/2026
November 13-14 2026, The Midway, San Francisco
Following their recent rebranding, MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo) have officially announced thei...
10/06/2026
Debut instrument free for limited time
deFORM is the debut release from newly founded developer ebbandflow, and it's being offered as a free download fo...
10/06/2026
Alone Australia Season 4: Meet the Cast
10 June, 2026
Media releases
WATCH THE TRAILER
Smash-hit survival series Alone Australia drops its highly anticipa...
10/06/2026
DEADLY THEN, DEADLY NOW, DEADLY ALWAYS: SBS & NITV IGNITE NAIDOC WEEK 2026 WITH ...
10/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF advance laser-based drone defense with THORIS LCS Rohde & Schwarz is showcasing THORIS at ILA 2026: A sovereign, end to end counter...
10/06/2026
MAHLE and Rohde & Schwarz develop application for sensor testing of modern drive...
10/06/2026
Production and Development Funding supports the creation of compelling, commercially viable, artistic and culturally relevant South African screen content. Deve...
10/06/2026
Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...
10/06/2026
Accedo, Humans not Robots, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) have announced the launch of Ecoflow X. Formerly an IBC Accelerator project, ...
10/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced that James Smith has joined the company as General Manager...
10/06/2026
At the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for live medical procedures s...
10/06/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media, and entertainment managed services, today announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform powered by Or...
10/06/2026
Klvr will showcase how venues, integrators and production teams are rethinking disposable battery usage at InfoComm 2026 (Las Vegas, June 17-19, booth #N6311). ...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has further enhanced the Reliable Internet Streaming Transport (RIST) protocol by incorporating a new feature, RIST Satellite-Hyb...
10/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/06/2026
10 Jun 2026
VEON's Banglalink Brings Every World Cup 2026 Match to Football...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
How to watch every ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 match live on Sky Sports
Where is the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 availabl...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
P RLA brings first-ever Beautifully Clean Oral Care'...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
Sky reveals pulse-pounding first teaser trailer for upco...
10/06/2026
Wuppertal June 10, 2026
Riedel Artist at the Heart of the 14th World Live Neurovascular ConferenceAt the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Li...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Showcases New Mobile Experience, Collections and Games Vision in APAC
Product
10 June 2026
GlobalSouth KoreaJapan
Link copied to c...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Ready to Join? The Netflix Fan Club Arrives at Cannes Lions
Business
10 June 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download all assets
N...
10/06/2026
Chemists snap together complex 3D molecules from highly reactive radicals-without losing their shape Scripps Research team develops stereoretentive radical-radi...
09/06/2026
Kiswe announces an expanded long-term partnership with ONE Championship (ONE), t...
09/06/2026
SiriusXM will broadcast FOX Sports' English-language commentary for all 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches from June 11 through July 19, available to subscribe...
09/06/2026
EVS has announced it is changing its corporate name from EVS Broadcast Equipment to EVS, reflecting the company's expanded portfolio beyond broadcast equipm...
09/06/2026
Fox Corporation and the NFL have announced a multi-year agreement to bring NFL c...
A successful career in music doesn't happen overnight. It takes patience, tenacity, an openness to critique, and even some failure to clarify your goals and make it happen.
