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Artist vs musician

The differences between artists and musicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an artist has an average salary of $68,690, which is higher than the $57,257 average annual salary of a musician.

The top three skills for an artist include maya, adobe photoshop and customer service. The most important skills for a musician are live performances, keyboard, and music theory.

Artist vs musician overview

ArtistMusician
Yearly salary$68,690$57,257
Hourly rate$33.02$27.53
Growth rate6%4%
Number of jobs3,870103
Job satisfaction45
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age4045
Years of experience-4

What does an artist do?

An Artist specializes in creating various artworks or prose; the audience can vary from individuals or the general public. An artist's responsibility depends on the industry, company, or position where they are assigned. However, most of the time, Artists are expected to work under specific guidelines, deliver materials in a required format within an allotted time and perform revisions according to what is preferred by an editor or client. Furthermore, independent artists may work freelance and receive commissions for their craft.

What does a musician do?

A musician specializes in performing or producing music through different mediums. Most of their responsibilities will revolve around practicing to develop their skills and enhance their performance, receiving training from experts to monitor progress and identify weaknesses to improve. There are also instances when a musician must interact and engage with the public, appear in shows, and participate in various competitions. Furthermore, a musician needs to maintain a healthy relationship with fans while continuously improving skills and releasing good music.

Artist vs musician salary

Artists and musicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

ArtistMusician
Average salary$68,690$57,257
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $110,000Between $25,000 And $127,000
Highest paying CitySan Rafael, CANew York, NY
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew York
Best paying companyMetaSanford Health
Best paying industryTechnologyMedia

Differences between artist and musician education

There are a few differences between an artist and a musician in terms of educational background:

ArtistMusician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorFine ArtsMusic
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Artist vs musician demographics

Here are the differences between artists' and musicians' demographics:

ArtistMusician
Average age4045
Gender ratioMale, 45.2% Female, 54.8%Male, 80.4% Female, 19.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 5.4% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage11%9%

Differences between artist and musician duties and responsibilities

Artist example responsibilities.

  • Manage studio workload and advise print direction to in-house and freelance cad artists.
  • Manage online product catalog using Dreamweaver.
  • Assist customers with product selection and process POS transactions.
  • Provide comparative analysis on traditional vs. Mac vs. PC production.
  • Animate in-game characters, user interface assets and particle effects.
  • Own & operate a specialize faux painting, mural and art business.
  • Show more

Musician example responsibilities.

  • Accomplish placement in first group clarinet section.
  • Play trombone, trumpet, baritone saxophone, keyboard, rhythm guitar, and provide backup vocals.
  • Jazz, fusion, blues band.
  • Design and maintain Facebook, MySpace and Purevolume websites.
  • Record multiple EP's and work on a full-length album.
  • Act as a vacation bible school instructor in the summer months.
  • Show more

Artist vs musician skills

Common artist skills
  • Maya, 13%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 8%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Graphic Design, 7%
  • Photography, 7%
  • VFX, 6%
Common musician skills
  • Live Performances, 20%
  • Keyboard, 11%
  • Music Theory, 6%
  • Synthesizers, 6%
  • DJ, 4%
  • Saxophone, 4%

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