How to get a job in the music industry

You get into the music industry by deciding what you want your role to be, making connections, and treating your music like a business. Getting into the music industry is a different experience for everyone. There are many directions you might take to pursue your dream of becoming a music artist or producer.

How To Become A Music Internship: What It Is and Career Path

What is a music internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

King Britt,

Janelle Ott

Aspiring musicians, music educators, conductors, and music producers can improve their credentials and expand their skills by undergoing a music internship. Like all other internships, a music internship can help you prepare for the professional world through on-the-job training and real-life experience.

As a music intern, your responsibilities will depend on the kind of program you enroll under or your employer's industry. For example, if you intern for a production company, your tasks may include assisting with music video shoots and performing minor edits on tracks. If you intern for a music school, on the other hand, your duties may revolve around assisting in classrooms and providing remedial classes to students.

Before you can become a music intern, however, most employers will require you to have an educational background in music. But even if you don't have a college degree, you may still qualify depending on your existing credentials and skills.

The salary of a music intern will largely depend on your employer. Some internships aren't paid, while paid internships can have salaries ranging from $20,000 to $30,000 per year.

What general advice would you give to a music internship?

King Britt

Assistant Teaching Professor : Music, University of California San Diego (UCSD)

We are presented with an unprecedented situation. I think we will see some ’normalcy’ by fall 2021 across the globe. Until then, really need to focus on what makes you the most unique out of other musicians and truly shine a light on that aspect. You should also make yourself available for sessions or things that are out of your comfort zone in terms of audience. For example, if you are a classical harpist, your skills are definitely needed by certain composers who may not be creating classical music, but may need that sound for a project.
Think outside of the box when it comes to considering how you can include yourself in the music world.

ScoreMusic InternshipUS Average

Salary

5.0

Avg. Salary $64,045

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.8

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.34%

Black or African American 7.00%

Hispanic or Latino 9.99%

Unknown 4.91%

White 66.48%

Gender

female 51.74%

male 48.26%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

4.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.9

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a music internship

Explore music internship education requirements

Most common music internship degrees

Bachelor's

78.8 %

Associate

7.8 %

High School Diploma

5.9 %

Start to develop specific music internship skills

Skills	Percentages
Administrative Tasks	12.60%
Pro Tools	7.41%
Playlists	5.90%
Music Festival	5.31%
Press Releases	5.18%

Research music internship duties and responsibilities

Lead team of interns in search of signable YouTube artists.
Lead a committee that organize, assist and hold concerts and live music events for the student body
Research tracks to correct and verify tracklists for online DJ mixes -Discover and upload new DJ mixes -Create and manage DJ profiles
Create social media posts for company's facebook, twitter, instagram, pinterest and google+ pages.

Prepare your music internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your music internship resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a music internship resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable music internship resume templates

Build a professional music internship resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your music internship resume.

Apply for music internship jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a music internship job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do music interns rate their job?

5/5

Out of 1 Music Internship reviews, 100% were positive.

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Based on 1 ratings

Pay / salary

1.0

Career growth

4.0

Work/life balance

3.0

Overall rating

5.0

Music internship reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2023

Cons

Bad pay, if you are not working for a major or have a hit songwriter on your roster your company will go out of business. You need a hit to cover overhead and there are not that many slots on the radio. It’s worth it if you work for a great company. If you don’t RUN!!!

5.0

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2023