Music — performer, producer, teacher

streaming + live + sync

Remote
Varies
Qualification
Typically Bachelor of Performing Arts (BPA) or Master of Performing Arts.
Read
1 min
01

What the work involves

Day to day

Making a living from music across several streams at once - live performance, teaching, production and mixing for others, and licensing tracks for film, advertising and streaming.

02

Who this suits

Fit

Musicians who will treat it as a business. Home production is now genuinely affordable, distribution no longer needs a label, and teaching provides a stable base that funds the rest. Sync and content music demand has grown with the volume of video being made.

03

The honest reality

Read this one

Streaming royalties are negligible for all but the largest artists, and treating them as income is a mistake. Live performance income is seasonal and event-dependent. The market is saturated because the barrier to releasing music has collapsed, so being heard is now harder than recording. Teaching is what most working musicians actually live on, and it is worth accepting that early rather than resenting it.

04

How you get there

Step by step

  1. 2 years Step 1
    Finish school

    Class 12 in any stream

  2. 3 years Step 2
    Qualify

    Complete a B.A. in the relevant subject.

  3. Step 3
    Enter the field

    Typical first position: Music — performer, producer, teacher.

  4. Step 4
    Build and specialise Optional

    Build a body of work, teach, or move into a specialist or research role.

  5. You are here
    Music — performer, producer, teacher

    Everything above leads here. The steps marked optional can be skipped or taken later — they change how fast you arrive, not whether you can.

05

Courses that lead here

How to qualify

06

Roles within this career

What the job is called

Performing Musician SelfEmployment
Music Producer SelfEmployment
Music Teacher Private