What is a Music Consultant?

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The music industry would not be flourishing as much if it were not for music consultants.

Ever heard of someone pursuing their music career as a music consultant? You’re right, it sounds like a profession the protagonist of a fancy, rich movie would have.

But nevertheless, this music business consulting job is an extremely important one. In fact, it won’t be wrong to claim that the music consultant is a backbone for all the music artists.

If it were not for music consultants, we may not be singing along to Believer by Imagine Dragons every day.

Having a job that requires you to listen to music all day! I know what most of you out there are thinking… What a dream! But how does that help those who are making the music?

What Are The things That A Music Consultant Has To Do?

How can music consultants be this important, you ask? 

A music consultant guides the musicians about the basic composition of music. They are the ones who perform the research and studies to identify the art of what good music is. And hence, they have a thorough idea of how music should be produced.

They not only guide artists about various music genres but also tell them which one suits them best.

Apart from that, they are also in charge of making important changes to music that has been produced.

The job falls in a really thrilling category. It involves a lot of tasks such as preparing a sample playlist for a new business to backing up those song choices.

Moreover, meeting the clients, discussing the creation of a brand image, devising new business concepts to manage between the latest and famous trends are also areas that your music consultant is taking care of.

Moving forward, they also make and update those playlists. 

The Need For Music Consultants In The Commercial Sector

Retail brands and companies looking to add a professional touch to their in-store music turn to music consultants.

Consultants help people make money with their music. They go about it by digging into the brand and knowing their insights. And, develop the right words to create a Brand Image. They would also make playlists that complement these brands.

This music would reflect what the brand is all about, what it stands for, and what they believe in.

Sourcing new tracks through blogs, etc, and adding up to the music collection and programming them is another task that they perform.

In 2017, even the Emmy Awards came to recognize and accept the role that music supervisors play in the music industry. And, it came up with an award in recognition of these efforts as well.

How Can A Music Consultant Help Independent Music Artists And Bands?

The music industry is a pretty tricky one, especially for somebody who is new to it. It is easy to get lost in the crowd for a beginner. 

Studies say that 91% of talented artists remain undiscovered throughout their life. This is where music consultants come in.

Music consultants do not only help bring you into the limelight, but they also keep you there. They help create a long-term vision for emerging artists and bands. Moreover, they provide them with navigation through their career paths.

Music Consultants use their experiences to steer new artists. Especially the ones who are not associated with an established record label. They carve them a path that leads to newer heights and does not die out in a couple of months.

They try their best that artists don’t become irrelevant after the initial fifteen minutes of fame. But stay in the music industry for a long time.

What Skills Should A Music Consultant Have?

Now, you might be thinking, 

“That is some pretty simple stuff. So, what exactly does one need to begin giving out advice regarding music? Is listening to a ton of music the only requirement? Can I be making money this way too?”

Having extensive knowledge of music is the basic requirement to become a music consultant. A detailed understanding of genres and having an idea which artist would do justice to a particular genre is very important.

Another important thing one should know of is tempo. This means knowing the intensity each track should have. Knowing where to ‘ramp up’, and where to go for a more mellow tune.

Being able to expand upon the sonic and contextual parallels of the music are also something that the client expects from them. One needs to be a pro at branding and being aware of how the brands the relationship being themselves and their customers. 

This is important since the right choice of music can really make the experience of their customers more valuable, thus increasing their sales. The message of the brand should be rightfully conveyed to the customers.

What To Consider While Hiring A Music Consultant?

If you put up an advert out there about a job vacancy for a music consultant, your email might get swarmed. Of course! given that the salary is attractive. On average, a music consultant is paid $50,000 a year. 

There is no shortage of music consultants out there. So, how can you know that you are hiring the best one?

Every good music consultant has several selling points. To know that you only choose experts to be on your team, there are some things that you should look for in all the applicants for the job. 

When a music consultant checks the following 8 boxes, that is when you know you have come across a gem.

– Current Expertise and Experience

– Success Rate as a Coach

– Communication Skills

– Teaching Styles

– Personalized Approach

– Connections and PR

– Reputation

– Risk Management Skills

Is A Music Consultant The Same As An Artist Manager?

An artist manager’s job has numerous features and wide scope. The core duty is to create opportunities and implement strategies for their clients. It can involve their personal lives as well, which leads them to connect to relevant people. 

An artist manager basically looks after everything that has to do with their client, affording them the peace of mind to focus on their performance and always give their best. They help the artists in making decisions which he is unable to make on his own.

On the other hand, a music consultant’s role stays limited to producing relevant music. They help to cater, develop and provide a guideline for both – established and developing artists. The long term vision is to offer customized, strategic marketing and management services that cater to every individual artist. 

However, you should not be expecting your music consultant to tell you how to dress for a certain event, which shows to attend, or who to be friends with to improve your PR.

Should You Pursue A Career In Music Consultancy?

However, tempting it may seem to become a music consultant, every job on this earth has its own pros and cons. Listening to music all day sure sounds great, but even the job of a music consultant has certain drawbacks. 

For instance, people take it for granted, or some prefer to do it at very cheap rates to get fame.

Then there are some people who see music as a necessary evil in society. And, feel that they would rather not associate themselves with anything related to it.

Nonetheless, you get to work with creative people and explore your creative side by working on creating brand images.

Having detailed know-how of the brands, their philosophy, their target customers and working accordingly is surely a very diverse task, and fun to do!

Combine that with the fact that music is everywhere. From the elevator that takes you up to the desired floor to the advertisement on TV selling breakfast cereal, a career relating to the music industry sure sounds lucrative.

If you are someone who has a passion for music and is also willing to have a deep understanding of musical genres, preferences, then you sure should give it a shot.

And, not to forget that you can earn between $50,000 – $60,000 a year at minimum. In fact, even more, when you get experienced!

The Final Word

This world would be too boring without music. None of us can ever imagine watching a movie, show, or any play without music. This realisation brings us back to the point that the industry of music is surely an interesting and a bright one. 

It appears that the world is too boring to get into a mainstream job with a concentrated field, so why not be daring enough to try something unique? 

The efforts sometimes go unnoticed, but the fieldwork is surely worth the hassle.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article, if you are interested in furthering your career and especially looking or Artist Development, then do get in touch.