How to hire a music internship

How to hire a music internship, step by step

Here's a step-by-step music internship 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 internship job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new music internship
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a music internship job for free, promote it for a fee

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your music internship 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 internship 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 internship's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, music interns 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 shows salaries for various types of music interns.

   Type of Music Internship	Description	Hourly rate
   Music Internship	Postsecondary teachers instruct students in a wide variety of academic and career and technical subjects beyond the high school level. They also conduct research and publish scholarly papers and books.	$15-59
   Professor	A professor is a teaching professional who provides instructions to students on various academic and vocational subjects in colleges, universities, and vocational schools. Professors design curriculums for courses and ensure that they meet college and department students... Show more	$42-134
   Teaching Artist	A Teaching Artist is responsible for teaching knowledge and skills in art, including drawing, painting, lettering, and art history. They also develop, submit, and implement lesson plans.	$18-53

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Administrative Tasks
   • Pro Tools
   • Playlists
   • Music Festival
   • Press Releases
   • Music Videos
   • HTML
   • Facebook
   • Adobe Audition
   • Twitter
   • Cue Sheets
   • Photoshop
   • Music Production
   • Music Library

   Check all skills

   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.
   • Teach music lessons to groups, individuals and school chorus.
   • Report music usages to ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and music libraries.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, music interns' average salary in west virginia is 58% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level music interns 73% less than senior-level music interns.
   • Certifications. A music internship 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 internship's salary.

   Average music internship salary

   $64,045yearly

   $30.79 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level music internship salary

   $33,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 12, 2026

4. Writing a music internship job description

   A job description for a music internship role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a music internship job description:

   Music internship job description example

   Want to work with top music industry professionals and learn more about the music industry?
   
   A&R University is an online community designed to help music artists and their A&R's get one step closer to creating a hit record. If you want to work with top music executives in the music industry and be able to collaborate and create an immersive experience for members, this is the role for you.
   
   What You'll Do:
   
   We are looking for a conceptual thinker who is eager to contribute innovative ideas and has an interest in writing detailed copy for digital and direct marketing campaigns across multiple channels such as, email, web, digital, social and print-based media. This is an internship opportunity for college credit only with opportunities for bonus pay
   
   Core duties and responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned:
   * Assist in the development and execution of innovative concepts and copy for cross-channel initiatives including email, digital, web and print-based communications
   
   * Collaborate with Creative Director and Graphic Designers in the development of strategic concepts and executions from creative brief through project completion
   * Conduct Research to identify target market and acquire new members through outreaching
   * Monitor social media campaigns and analyze web traffic from the online community using key performance indicators (KPI's)
   
   Our Perfect Candidate
   
   Education and Experience:
   * Currently enrolled or recently graduated from a University program
   
   * Knowledgeable and passionate about the Music Industry
   
   * Experience with message development and writing in different mediums (i.e. powerpoint, speeches, video, proposals, etc.)
   * Proficiency in Google Workspace Applications including Drive, Slides, Docs, and Sheets
   
   Qualifications:
   * Excellent conceptual and copywriting skills
   
   * Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills
   
   * Time management skills to prioritize and meet deadlines
   
   * Flexibility to work in a changing environment
   * Located in Los Angeles area
   
   Job Type: Internship
   
   Pay: From $15.00 per hour
   
   Schedule:
   * 4 hour shift
   
   Experience:
   * Marketing: 1 year (Preferred)
   * Music Industry: 1 year (Preferred)
   
   Work Location: One location

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find music interns for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your music internship job on Zippia to find and recruit music internship candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting music interns 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 internship

   Once you've decided on a perfect music internship candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new music internship. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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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