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Job outlook for music artists in the United States
Are music artist jobs in demand?
Music artist job and salary trends over time
Music artist jobs over time
Music artist job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 268 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 347 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 385 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 375 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 392 | 0.00% |
Average music artist salary over time
Music artist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $57,613 | $27.70 | +3.2% |
| 2024 | $55,811 | $26.83 | +3.8% |
| 2023 | $53,772 | $25.85 | +2.8% |
| 2022 | $52,297 | $25.14 | +8.0% |
| 2021 | $48,419 | $23.28 | +2.1% |
Music artist jobs by state
Most common states for music artists
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 39,536,653 | 392 | 1% |
| 2 | New York | 19,849,399 | 106 | 1% |
| 3 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 76 | 1% |
| 4 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 66 | 1% |
| 5 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 49 | 1% |
| 6 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 44 | 1% |
| 7 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 32 | 1% |
| 8 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 30 | 1% |
| 9 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 23 | 1% |
| 10 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 21 | 1% |
| 11 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 9 | 1% |
| 12 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 8 | 1% |
| 13 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 4 | 1% |
| 14 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 4 | 1% |
| 15 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 38 | 0% |
| 16 | Nevada | 2,998,039 | 14 | 0% |
| 17 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 10 | 0% |
| 18 | Delaware | 961,939 | 3 | 0% |
| 19 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 3 | 0% |
| 20 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 2 | 0% |
Music Artist job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of music artist experts
California State University - Los Angeles
Mercy College
University of Massachusetts - Lowell
Converse College
Maryville University
Bradley University
Michigan State University
Eastern Kentucky University
Providence College
What Music Artist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Uziel Colón Ramos: Many processes will start to be automated as AI becomes more prevalent in the music industry. Start using it in your musical endeavors and keep up to date with its progress. Be willing to change and adapt. Music writing, composing, and publishing will continue to be important as many visual medias (and even apps and software) will continue to be produced and will need new music. Also, production and artist/brand development will continue to be strong as the market continues to be decentralized. There’s also no money to be made in music sales for the ones at the end of the ladder, so live music performances (in person or virtually) is where is at.
What will help Music Artists increase their earning potential?
Uziel Colón Ramos: Make sure that you acquire as many skills as possible, and don’t stop learning once you get a job. This way you will be ready to tackle anything that comes your way. You need to be ready to wear many hats in the music universe; long are the days when you only focused on one thing. This will also give you the opportunity to have extra income by having a second job where you consult or get hired for small projects.
What Music Artist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Sam Stauff: Audio production used to be just audio but now we are seeing visual arts become a part of the producer's role. Video editing, social media, WebDesign, merch posters you will need to be able to do all of that for yourself if you are an artist. If you can help your artists do these things as well you will become more valuable.
What will help Music Artists increase their earning potential?
Sam Stauff: Salary is always tricky when entering the music production field. It can be freelance and change from month to month. Live sound, sports sound and film/ tv sound are great places to start to make money. If you are and artist or want to work in a music studio it can take a little longer to make money. Your passion and resume will be your greatest ally!
David Elke
What Music Artist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
David Elke: Entrepreneurial skills. Building community. Editing and mixing for film and video. All aspects of live performance Including live sound, production, and the integration of technology.
Dr. Brandon Vaccaro
Associate Teaching Professor of Music Coordinator, Sound Recording Technology University of Massachusetts LowellUniversity of Massachusetts - Lowell
Music
What general advice would you give to a Music Artist?
Dr. Brandon Vaccaro: Specifically in music technology and sound recording, there is a lot of buzz about AI, particularly AI tools that can facilitate workflows. Rather than replace creatives in the field, we will likely see these tools used by creatives as part of a streamlined workflow.
Also, immersive mixing is very much in vogue, with a strong push from Apple and others to increase the amount of available content. It remains to be seen whether this will be a lasting trend or another flash in the pan.
What will help Music Artists increase their earning potential?
Dr. Brandon Vaccaro: Specifically in music technology and sound recording, one usually needs a diverse set of skills to survive the early stage of one's career. Most of the work opportunities available at the beginning of a career will not be sufficient to provide a livable wage, so you need to be able to tap multiple revenue streams. Later, one needs to find the one or two things at which they excel. In other words, one needs to be a jack or jill of all trades to survive the first decade of a career, but one needs to strive for mastery of something to survive the second and subsequent decades.
Christopher Vaneman
Director of the Petrie School of Music; Associate Professor of FluteConverse College
Converse College’s Petrie School of Music
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Music Artist job market given the pandemic?
Christopher Vaneman: Our music education majors, who have been preparing to teach music in school classrooms, are doing fine: flexibility is of the essence for them, since they need to be comfortable teaching online and accommodate themselves to social distancing requirements. But there are plenty of jobs out there for them.
The same is true of music therapists: they're having to adapt all the ways they interact with clients, but they're finding work both in the southeast and throughout the country.
Performers, songwriters, and composers are having a tougher time with it, thanks to the pandemic. Established groups and artists who had already established an online presence have been able to successfully monetize that presence, but younger artists entering the field have found themselves in a temporary holding pattern. They're like a bunch of airliners circling around a crowded airport, waiting for a chance to access a runway.
Scott Lyle
Director of the Music Program, Assistant Professor of MusicMaryville University
College of Arts & Sciences
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Music Artists?
Scott Lyle: My assessment is no. Will the graduates remember and be forever affected by the impact of COVID-19? - Yes undoubtedly. But will the pandemic make our graduates less resilient? - No, I believe they have indelible foundations and a strong drive to succeed and influence their respective futures as well as the future of our global society.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Music Artists?
Dr. David Vroman: Music is a strong reflection of our daily lives through all kinds of interactions, so the isolation students have had to endure will help them to value many activities that were quite often taken for granted. Collaborative music-making as well as traditional family gatherings will be looked at in a more vital and positive way for years to come. (Don't some say you don't know what you have until it is taken away?) Young people who emerge from the pandemic with a positive attitude and relentless work ethic will be the ones who help all of us overcome the difficulties in the music fields. It won't be easy but it has never been easy.
What type of skills will young Music Artists need?
Dr. David Vroman: Successful young graduates will not only need the expertise and experience required for their field of study, they will also need to be passionate collaborators and creators. Successful music careers, regardless of the field, are built on day-to-day success that continues to grow over time. Those who embrace creativity and new problem-solving methods will be attractive whether they are going to be teaching, performing, composing or working in the music industry.
Anonymous Professor
Director of Career Services and Music EntrepreneurshipMichigan State University
College of Music
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Music Artists to find work opportunities?
Anonymous Professor : Typically opportunities are concentrated around urban areas, but the answer to this depends on what field you are in. For instance, many jazz musicians find the bulk of opportunities in New York City. Recording tends to be concentrated around Nashville and Atlanta. Film and studio work is most prevalent in Los Angeles and Seattle. However, the pandemic has taught us that many creative products can be produced from anywhere.
Dr. Bernardo Scarambone
Professor of Music Piano CoordinatorEastern Kentucky University
School of Music
What type of skills will young Music Artists need?
Dr. Bernardo Scarambone: One of the main ones is to be adaptable to change, and the pandemic forced that into all of us. One main issue that has bothered me for years is that universities create specialists in the field, but when the time comes to hire someone, we want someone who can wear many hats. In other words, students learn how to perform baroque ornamentation or analyze a sonata; but besides those important skills, students must also learn how to recruit, help the community, be able to teach, and many other skills that are sometimes neglected during the years of traditional education. I would recommend students to try many different activities to gain different experiences.
What experience really stands out on Music Artist resumes?
Dr. Bernardo Scarambone: Depends on the job, some experiences are more valuable than others. In other words, a resume geared toward a teaching position will value more teaching experiences, while a performance position will value past concerts, and so on. So a student must collect all of those experiences throughout their tenure at school. I always tell my students to experience playing for a choir, make some chamber music, enter a competition, play for a retirement home, sight-read some hymns in a church, and many more. In closing, the experience that stands out on resumes is having experiences - LOTS OF THEM.
How do you envision technology impacting Music Artists in the next 5 years?
Catherine Gordon: Technology has already impacted the field of music in extremely significant ways and will continue to do so. For this reason, we have devised a minor and a major in Music Technology and Production, which are in the process of being approved, we hope, by the Faculty Senate and the president of the College.
Today, and in the future, music and technology can hardly exist separately from one another. Modern musicians use a diverse assortment of acoustic, electronic, and digital technologies to compose, perform, record, edit, and analyze music. These days, a successful career as a twenty-first century musician includes, not only composing and arranging, but also live and studio performance, audio engineering/editing, and mastering, music synthesis, and programming, as well as most or all of the business aspects related to music. A successful career in music needs to combine creative, collaborative, and specific technical skills, such as media writing, audio engineering, audio production and post-production, sound editing for film and multimedia, audio mastering, signal processing, and sound design.
This semester, our knowledge of music technology and access to various programs has made it possible for our students to perform for each other by recording themselves and transmitting their performances online. Next semester, we are going to initiate a recital series by "bringing in" electronically professional performers of all kinds. This is only possible through our ability to use and access technology.