How to hire a music critic

How to hire a music critic, step by step

Here's a step-by-step music critic hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a music critic job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new music critic
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your music critic job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a music critic for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A music critic's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, music critics from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents music critic salaries for various positions.

   Type of Music Critic	Description	Hourly rate
   Music Critic	Music directors, also called conductors, lead orchestras and other musical groups during performances and recording sessions. Composers write and arrange original music in a variety of musical styles.	$12-50

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • News Stories
   • Music Scene
   • Facebook

   Responsibilities:

   • Review architecture student work for semester final project.
   • Recommend new albums/music documentaries for readers to discover.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your music critic job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A music critic can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, music critics' average salary in colorado is 49% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level music critics 75% less than senior-level music critics.
   • Certifications. A music critic with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a music critic's salary.

   Average music critic salary

   $53,043yearly

   $25.50 hourly rate

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   Entry-level music critic salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

4. Writing a music critic job description

   A good music critic job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a music critic job description:

   Music critic job description example

   WHO ARE WE?
   
   Live Nation Entertainment is the world's leading live entertainment company, comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Media & Sponsorship. Ticketmaster is the global leader in event ticketing with over 500 million tickets sold annually and more than 12,000 clients worldwide. Live Nation Concerts is the largest provider of live entertainment in the world promoting more than 40,000 shows and 100+ festivals annually for nearly 4,000 artists in over 40 countries. These businesses allow Live Nation Media & Sponsorship to create strategic music marketing programs that connect over 1,000 brands with the 98 million fans that attend Live Nation Entertainment events each year. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com .
   
   Live Nation's Concerts Division is where tours are born, artists come to life, and fans get to experience the rush of live music. From our dozens of owned/operated Amphitheaters to our Global Touring team, from Ticketing and Venue Operations to Marketing and Sales... we foster a fun and upbeat work culture with no shortage of opportunities. With perks ranging from free concert tickets to dog-friendly offices, to progressive benefits like student loan reimbursement and adoption/fertility support... it's no wonder we are certified as a Great Place to Work organization and one of People Magazine's "50 Companies that Care". We want everyone to feel like they belong and can thrive in our community, so we strive to help you achieve your career and personal goals. Live music is our passion and where we find our common ground. There has never been a better time to join Live Nation.
   
   WHO ARE YOU?
   
   Passionate and motivated. Driven, with an entrepreneurial spirit. Resourceful, innovative, forward thinking and committed. At Live Nation Entertainment, our people embrace these qualities, so if this sounds like you then please read on!
   
   THE JOB
   
   WHAT THIS ROLE WILL DO
   
   + Stay informed of current menu items and descriptions
   
   + Follow Special Events guidelines to ensure event success
   
   + Handle side duties including stocking ice bins, liquor, beer, wine, and coolers, including lifting/moving up to 25lbs.
   
   + Clean and assist with maintaining bar equipment
   
   + Perform opening/running/closing side duties according to HOB policy
   
   + Put all trash and recyclable products in proper receptacles
   
   + Separate glass, cardboard, and plastics per local codes
   
   + Operate trash compactor per procedures policy
   
   + Ensure responsible alcohol service per local ordinance and HOB alcohol policies
   
   + Ensure that trash containers are clean, free of odor and lined
   
   + Maintain HOB safety and sanitation standards
   
   + Par all ice bins to the fullest levels at all times
   
   + Par all bars per venue specifications
   
   WHAT THIS PERSON WILL BRING
   
   Required:
   
   + Ability to work late hours
   
   + Flexible schedule
   
   + Skills in interpersonal communication and teamwork
   
   + Tolerance of all cultures, music and art forms
   
   + Responsible Alcohol Training Certification or Equivalent
   
   + COVID-19 vaccination will be required for this position subject to legally valid exemptions
   
   Preferred:
   
   + 3 years' work experience interacting with people in a positive environment
   
   + Experience recognizing valid ID's
   
   + Experience in a live music environment
   
   Physical Demands/Working Environment:
   
   + Working environment is fast paced, often loud and stressful
   
   + Position requires extended periods of prolonged standing and working on your feet both indoors and outdoors
   
   + Must be able to lift or move up to 25 lbs using proper lifting techniques
   
   + Intensely physical environment
   
   EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
   
   We are passionate and committed to our people and go beyond the rhetoric of diversity and inclusion. You will be working in an inclusive environment and be encouraged to bring your whole self to work. We will do all that we can to help you successfully balance your work and homelife. As a growing business we will encourage you to develop your professional and personal aspirations, enjoy new experiences, and learn from the talented people you will be working with. It's talent that matters to us and we encourage applications from people irrespective of their gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability status or caring responsibilities.
   
   Live Nation strongly supports equal employment opportunity for all applicants regardless of age (40 and over), ancestry, color, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), family and medical care leave or the denial of family and medical care leave, mental or physical disability (including HIV and AIDS), marital status, domestic partner status, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, military and veteran status, political affiliation, national origin (including language use restrictions), citizenship, race, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), gender, gender identity, and gender expression, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law, rule, ordinance or regulation.
   
   We will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance, San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act and consistent with other similar and / or applicable laws in other areas.
   
   We also afford equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with a disability. For this reason, Live Nation will make reasonable accommodations for the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant consistent with its legal obligations to do so, including reasonable accommodations related to pregnancy in accordance with applicable local, state and / or federal law. As part of its commitment to make reasonable accommodations, Live Nation also wishes to participate in a timely, good faith, interactive process with a disabled applicant to determine effective reasonable accommodations, if any, which can be made in response to a request for accommodations. Applicants are invited to identify reasonable accommodations that can be made to assist them to perform the essential functions of the position they seek. Any applicant who requires an accommodation in order to perform the essential functions of the job should contact a Human Resources Representative to request the opportunity to participate in a timely interactive process. Live Nation will also provide reasonable religious accommodations on a case-by-case basis.
   
   HIRING PRACTICES The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.
   
   Live Nation recruitment policies are designed to place the most highly qualified persons available in a timely and efficient manner. Live Nation may pursue all avenues available, including promotion from within, employee referrals, outside advertising, employment agencies, internet recruiting, job fairs, college recruiting and search firms.
   
   **Please note that the compensation information provided is a good faith estimate for this position only and is provided pursuant to the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and Equal Pay Transparency Rules. It is estimated based on what a successful Colorado applicant might be paid. It assumes that the successful candidate will be in Colorado or perform the position from Colorado. Similar positions located outside of Colorado will not necessarily receive the same compensation. Live Nation takes into consideration a candidate's education, training, and experience, as well as the position's work location, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value, including seniority and merit systems, and internal pay alignment when determining the salary level for potential new employees. In compliance with the CO EPEWA, a potential new employee's salary history will not be used in compensation decisions.

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right music critic for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your music critic job on Zippia to find and recruit music critic candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting music critics requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new music critic

   Once you've found the music critic candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new music critic. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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