Music Careers Salary Study
Berklee College’s Career Development Center has created a comprehensive resource for the music industry titled Salary Ranges for U.S. Music Positions in Performance, Writing, Business, Audio Technology, Education, and Music Therapy. The study covers a broad range of specific careers, including orchestral, Broadway, and studio musician; choir director; jingle, TV, and film score composer; arranger; conductor; instrument maker; AR; manager; music attorney; video game audio engineer; live sound and sound recording; audiologist; and music teacher.
Although Berklee’s collection of music career resources is exhaustive, this type of information wasn’t aggregated anywhere. Peter Spellman, director of the Career Development Center, had the idea to create a chart for advising purposes and to share with Berklee and the larger music community around the world. To create the document, Spellman and a team of staff members conducted research and revised the chart several times over a six-month span. The document will be updated every year to keep up with salary changes and emerging career paths.
To view the study, go to www.berklee.edu.
“The Sing-Off” Finale
NBC’s “The Sing-Off,” an elimination competition among a cappella singing group, hosted by Nick Lachey, aired its finale on Monday, December 20, with phone-in voters awarding the top prize to the Alabama gospel group, Committed. Guest artists on the show included Sara Bareilles, Sheryl Crow, Neil Diamond, and Boyz II Men.
For more information, visit www.nbc.com/sing-off.
Tulsa Schools Receive Boost for Music Ed
Shane Jewell, executive director of Oklahoma’s OK Mozart International Festival, recently announced new developments in OK Mozart’s music education program called “No Child Clef Behind” and presented Tulsa Public School representatives with $15,000, which, according to Jewell, will be used to “purchase and repair musical instruments for students who are interested in music but do not have the means to purchase the necessary equipment.”
Williams Companies Foundation, The George Kaiser Family Foundation and other generous private donors have provided startup funds for the Tulsa area schools that will provide growth opportunities for qualified “No Child Clef Behind” students.
In addition to providing children the opportunity to purchase instruments, “No Child Clef Behind” will use some of the funds to purchase discounted tickets for the OK Mozart Festival so children may attend performances and enjoy a part of the quality of life that many take for granted.
“No Child Clef Behind” is also testing a new year round mentoring program with elementary students and classical musicians in New York City via Webcam.
For more information, visit www.okmozart.com.
John Jacobson Video Goes Viral
Someone recently downloaded one of educator John Jacobson’s videos from the Web site of Hal Leonard’s Music Express magazine. They renamed the instructional choreography clip for “Planet Rock” as “Double Dream Hands” one of Jacobson’s dance moves and posted it on YouTube, where it spread like wild fire, with nearly 750,000 views and scores of response videos and mash-ups.
The song “Planet Rock” was written by Jacobson and Mac Huff. The tune debuted in the August/September 2010 issue of Music Express, and since then, Jacobson’s choreography video for it has been available for download at the educational music magazine’s Web site.
Hal Leonard has since launched www.doubledreamhandsdance.com.
