Group Research:
In the pictures above you can see what we looked at as a group As a group we did three exercises and thought of as many of the roles accounted with the industry as we could. We covered a lot of things and jobs that keep the music industry going.
Guitar tec
What is the job description of a guitar tech?
Guitar tecs have a lot of different fields within the job description. Yes, the man thing that they do is fix guitars. They may just work from home and have a lot of people calling him to fix guitars they might work in a union with a guitar shop s when someone goes into the guitar shop with a problem with there guitar then the guitar shop will put the person in touch with them. They might work above a music shop as I have seen for myself once when I was going to Denmark street in London to get a guitar set up when I found the guitar tecs place witch was possessions 3 story's above one of the shops on the street the man was to busy to see me because his whole room was filled to the top with flight cases of kit that needed fixing and guitars everywhere. Guitar tecs might also go on tour with band s and live life on the roads working for one bands with guitarists. AS you can image if the band they are going on tour with is fairly small then there is a chance that the job will be a bit easier and they won't have to do much because the band dose not have all that much kit. There is also a chance that the guitar tech might be going on tour with a big band and if that is the case then there is every chance that there will be lots and lots of guitars an lots and lots of guitar pedal boards and effects processors to deal with and make sure are all running. It will be the guitar techs job to make sure all of the pedals are set up correctly and that all of the guitars are in tune before the band hit the stage. There are lots of outer jobs that are associated with being a guitar tech on the road. |
Guitar techs will not always just be doing there job for one person or one band. There are also lots and lots of jobs available to them around the world in music shops. When people need something changed about there guitar. Like they want to change a pick-up or the need the guitar to be set up again, or there is a problem that they need fixed. Guitar tecks can also work from home. This is a good thing because it is very stress free. Clients will bring there guitars to the guitar techs house and ask him to fix them then he will be paid before he gives the guitar back.
Live Sound Engineer both small and large scale
Experienced sound engineers can earn between £25,000 and £30,000 a year.
Sound designers can earn £40,000 a year or more.
Your job might include:
- discussing the production’s sound needs with the director or sound designer
- exactly where in the script any sound effects, music and changes in sound level are needed
- pre-recording any sound effects and music to be used
- choosing suitable microphones and equipment
- positioning and rigging up microphones
- doing sound checks before a performance
- operating the sound desk during shows
- following a sound plan (known as a 'plot') and cues from the deputy stage manager
- looking after and repairing the equipment
- unloading, setting up, dismantling and loading equipment at each venue when on tour.
Small scale sound engineers are very important to the over all sound of the gig and the smoothness of the over all show. The sound engineers in small venues have the exact same job as the sound engineers in the big venues apart from that it is on a lot smaller scale. Even in the small pubs when there are bands playing there will be a sound man sitting behind the mixing desk tweaking the levels and making sure that the over all sound is as good as it an be.
The sound engineers job is to do the soundchecks for the bands and the acts and make sure that the bands are happy with the sound and the levels coming out of the monitors before they perform. They are then also responsible for making sure that the change between bands go as quick and as smooth and as professionally as is possible. The kit, the engineers man will often be responsible for as it is often his kit it the venue dose not have there own. The kind of kit sound men will need is things like the mixing desk, the speakers and the wiring and all the monitors and the mixing up of the back line and all outer things related to the sound. |
Sound engineers at the bigger scale venues will often not work alone like they would do at the smaller venues. There will be teams of sound engineers to work at the big venues. If a band is on the road and they have enough money behind them then it is not unusual that they bring there own team of sound engineers to the venues with them. Being a sound man in a bigger venue or going on tour with bands requires a lot of practice and a lot of knowledge of the kit that will be being used. Thats why if you are trying to start up as a sound engineer, there is no shame at all in starting at the bottom and doing small venues and then working you way up.
as you can see on the left of this paragraph, the scale of events that are put on. That is a picture from the sound desk at Glastonbury, the pyramid stage. |
Promoter
What dose a promoter do?
There are lots of different ways a promoter can go about booking a live music night. But essentially that is the job of a live music promoter. The promoter is more often that not, the man or the woman (or of cores if we are thinking on a huge scale.. the team of promoters) who are responsible for booing the shows. The promoter will find the venue and book it for a night using his or her money. The promoter will then book bands for the evening, usually the bands will get paid. The way the promoter will make back his money is by selling tickets on the door to people who want to see the bands. This dose mean that the promoter can often put himself at risk of loosing money instead of making money if nobody turns up to see the bands that he has booked. That is why promoters need to be clever, and only book venues he can fill and can afford and only book bands who he is confident can bring a crowd. The promoter will also to some extent need to promote the gig through social networking. The bands will also promote the page through social networking but the promoter must also put up poster near the venue and take sure that as many people know so that as many people as possible come and buy tickets to see the bands. It is important that lots of people come or the promoter will be sad because he has lost money. Promoters will also be the people who put on bigger events like festivals. There is a lot of money to be made in doing things lake that. Promoters will have to have good contacts so that they cam get good venues and good bands at good prices for them. They will also be able to do a lot of there work from home on there computers because of the technology that is available to all of us. |
Above I have put a poster that was made by a local promoter to promote a show in high Wycombe that I am playing at. As you can see he has made it colourful so that as many people as possible see it and are interested by it.
The name of the promoter who did this poster is Neil Alternater. |
record company
Indie label
An independent record label is a record label that operates without funding like the major record labels have. An independent record label an often be referred to as an indie record label. Indie record labels sometimes depend on signing agreements with major record labels to help with the funding for projects with bigger artists. One of the good things about an independent record label is that they are more lightly to let you as a musician do things for your projects the way that you want to do them and they will often be more tolerant and let you do things your way. Major record labels are more lightly to be a bit more pushy and make you make your album of rep album the way that they think is right and the way that they think is cool and they are less lightly to take into account the way that you want to do things. There have been many artists that started on in independent record labels including Elvis Presily. When a band is sighed to an independent record label they might end up getting much higher royalties that they would get if they were sighed up to a Major record label. This is because most artists sighed on major record labels earn a 10 to 15% royalty on their music whereas when there are sighed on an independent record label they will probably get between 40 to 75% royalties on their music. The reason for this is that the production costs are much lowered when you produce music with an indie label than when you produce with a major label.
major label
Major record labels are the record labels that have all the money and have the potential to make very good artists or bands into successful musicians who tour and play lots of live shows and sell lots of albums. Here are some examples of major record labels that most musicians will have heard of: Warner Music Group, Sony, BMG, Universal Music Group and EMI. Most major record label artists earn a 10 to 15% royalty on their music. But before the artist can receive there royalties their label must be clear of all debts related to their music. This means that the case could be that the artist won’t get paid until the record label has received all the money for the production the music and maybe the videos. When a band or an artist get signed to a major record label the recording for whatever they are producing will be done in a very professional recording studio. When recording with an indie label the recording is not lightly to be of the same quality as it would be in professional studio. However when you are signed to a major record label the label might want to produce your music in a way you don’t like. Unlike on an indie label where you are more lightly to be able to do things your way, the major label has the power to produce it how they like and they might not do what you want.
The promotion department of a major labels main focus would be to get songs played on the radio. They make sure that they are communicating to the other departments the 'best way' to sell the artist to the public eye. They will also work on getting the artist online promotion through videos being posted on blogs and YouTube and other social media platforms to make the artist more known.
Artist Development within a Major label consists of people responsible for planning the careers of the artists signed to the record label. It's in charge of promoting and publicizing artists over the period they are signed to the label. Many labels no longer have artist development, and instead just promote artists very heavily when they start rather than in the long term, as it's more of a one album business in the large pop world at the moment, as you don't recognize half the names that come and go, but the record companies roll them in and then out for a quick turnover.
Marketing departments within a Major label will create the overall marketing plan for the albums released throughout the course of the artists career there, and coordinates the plans for promotion and sales within the publicity departments.
The legal department is responsible for all the contracts that are put together between the company and the artist, as well as any other contracts between the record label and any other companies. Any lawsuits also go through this department. An example of the work they do would be a lawsuit that major labels are pushing forward to do with copyright on vimeo, an online video platform that works in a similar way to youtube. The lawsuit alleged that vimeo had copied, performed, and also distributed 'seminal sound recordings' by a number of artists. This included music from the beach boys, the beatles and coldplay, among others. When this was filed 'lipdubs' on vimeo's network were a regular occurence, and the record labels were saying that vimeo needed licenses for the users posting video's of their lip syncing.
An indie label tends to have the same kind of structure, it's just on a much smaller scale, often it can be run completely just by one person. Many people choose to join an indie label rather than a major label as they often get more freedom to choose their own path in their musical journey. This isn't always the case, but it is a common perception. Independent labels are more likely to sign underdeveloped or unusual artists, whereas a major label will always look at the commercial side of things. Independents sometimes work with major labels on some releases and distribution to allow for a bigger release of some music. This is more of a regular occurence in independant labels that are owned by a major. There are many that are. There are also many bands that go through a phase of being signed to an independant label before going on to sign with a major label. An exmaple of this would be coldplay startying off signed to fierce panda, before moving onto Parlophone and releasing their music on through them for a larger platform.
Know the different roles in the live music industry Roles in performance: eg artist, musical director, composer, song writer/arranger Technical roles: eg live sound engineers, back line technicians and crew, transport and lighting engineers, lighting and sound crews Administrative and support roles: eg front-of-house, artist and tour manager, promoter, publisher, record company, merchandise