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Music Industry Program

Are you thinking about a career in audio but aren’t sure where to start? Are you already working in the audio industry and want to advance your career by adding a certificate or AA to your resume? The Laney Music Industry department has information you will need to get your audio career jump-started and moving forward!

Jobs in Commercial Music and the Music Industry:

Jobs in the Field

There are many jobs in the Music Industry field. Just for example, in the live-sound field, you might want to become a front-of-house engineer at the mixing board in a concert venue or on a cruise ship. If you are more interested in the speaking voice, almost every conference requires an audio and video setup designed to help the audience hear and view the talent. Whether you want to break into the recording industry in front of the microphone as an artist or behind the mic as a music business professional, let’s look at a short list of potential Music Industry jobs.

  • Advertising specialist
  • Agent/manager
  • Artistic director
  • Artist and Repertoire (A&R)
  • Arts manager
  • Composer/arranger/orchestrator
  • Concert promoter
  • Copyright specialist
  • Film music director/editor
  • Forensic Musicologist
  • Lawyer, music industry
  • Live Sound specialist
  • Marketer
  • Music critic/journalist
  • Music editor and publisher
  • Music educator
  • Music librarian
  • Podcaster
  • Publicist
  • Record company manager
  • Retail music salesperson
  • Songwriter
  • Special events coordinator
  • Studio musician
  • Studio/private teacher
  • Talent agent
  • Talent scout
  • Tour manager

The sky is the limit (unless you are a rocket breaking free of Earth’s atmosphere) for music-related careers in the industry, especially with the job opportunities available in the Bay Area market. The Laney College Music Industry program prepares students to seek entry / middle-level positions for virtually any phase of the music industry whether you are in front or behind the microphone. From performing and creating music, learning about copyright law and music forensics, working in music stores or publishing companies, running live sound gear, studio related careers, manufacturer/distribution/retail, teaching and the research of music through the study of music history, theory and more.

Degrees

Are you interested in the Laney College Music Industry degree? Here are the requirements for both certificate and AA degree.

The Associate in Arts Degree in Music Industry Studies is designed for music students whose career goals are focused on the recording industry, concert promotions, and other commercial ventures. Students will explore aspects of the music production process including: recording, marketing, and distribution.

Career Opportunities

Audio Engineer, Digital Sound Editor, Small Business Entrepreneur, Concert Promoter, Manager, Event Producer, Arranger, Songwriter.

Course Sequence

Group 1: Core Courses (11 units)
MUSIC-CM 1ABeginning MIDI and Electronic Music3
MUSIC-CM 2AIntroduction to Songwriting3
MUSIC 149Music Business3
MUSIC-CM 3AIntroduction to Live Sound Systems2
Group 2: Electives (9 units from the following)
MUSIC-CM 460Occupational Work Experience in Commercial Music1-4
MEDIA 111Basic Audio Production3
MEDIA 122Music Video Production3
MEDIA 150Pro Tools: Sound Design/Aesthetics for Video, Broadcast and Digital Cinematography3
MEDIA 155Basic Sound Recording and Music Video3
MEDIA 156Sound Mixing and Mastering3
MUSIC 101Music Theory and Culture I3
MUSIC 105Classic Guitar I1
MUSIC 117Voice I1
MUSIC 121Music Skills I1
MUSIC 130Elementary Piano Method I1
MUSIC-CM 1BIntermediate MIDI and Electronic Music3
MUSIC-CM 1CAdvanced MIDI and Electronic Music3
MUSIC-CM 2BIntermediate Songwriting3
MUSIC 151Pop Music Ensemble1
MUSIC-CM 3BIntermediate Sound Systems2
TOTAL MAJOR UNITS:20
General Education Requirements:19
Elective courses to meet 60
Total Units:60

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

  • Students will employ proper audio engineering and midi techniques to produce sound recording projects.
  • Students will create original music projects in line with current industry standards.
  • Analyze a situation in the music industry and recommend a solution or plan for improvement.

The Music Industry Studies Certificate of Achievement is designed for music students whose career goals are focused on the recording industry, concert promotions, and other commercial ventures. Students will explore aspects of the music production process including: recording, marketing, and distribution.

Career Opportunities

Audio Engineer, Digital Sound Editor, Small Business Entrepreneur, Concert Promoter, Manager, Event Producer, Arranger, Songwriter. Students who receive this degree will be Career opportunities.

Course Sequence

Group 1: Core Courses (11 units)
MUSIC-CM 1ABeginning MIDI and Electronic Music3
MUSIC-CM 2AIntroduction to Songwriting3
MUSIC 149Music Business3
MUSIC-CM 3AIntroduction to Live Sound Systems2
Group 2: Electives (9 units from the following)
MEDIA 111Basic Audio Production3
MEDIA 122Music Video Production3
MEDIA 150Pro Tools: Sound Design/Aesthetics for Video, Broadcast and Digital Cinematography3
MEDIA 155Basic Sound Recording and Music Video3
MEDIA 156Advanced Music Video Production III: Mixing and Mastering3
MUSIC 101Music Theory and Culture I3
MUSIC 105Classic Guitar I1
MUSIC 117Voice I1
MUSIC 121Music Skills I1
MUSIC 130Elementary Piano Method I1
MUSIC-CM 1BIntermediate MIDI and Electronic Music3
MUSIC-CM 1CAdvanced MIDI and Electronic Music3
MUSIC-CM 2BIntermediate Songwriting3
MUSIC 151Pop Music Ensemble1
MUSIC-CM 3BIntermediate Sound Systems2
MUSIC-CM 460Occupational Work Experience in Commercial Music1-4
TOTAL MAJOR UNITS:20

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

  • Students will employ proper audio engineering and midi techniques to produce sound recording projects.
  • Students will create original music projects in line with current industry standards.
  • Analyze a situation in the music industry and recommend a solution or plan for improvement.

For more information about the Music Industry program, please contact:

Get started

You can get started with these core classes.

Electronic Music

Electronic musician and instructor, Kevin Martin teaches this course introducing Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) and MIDI: basic concepts of MIDI capable synthesizers, tone generators and samplers, digital signal processors and computer based sequencing software. On-campus work with Apple Logic Pro X software and software plug-ins to demonstrate tone generation, sampling and sequencing. While currently fully online, we will continue researching these concepts using music production technologies that are available to you.

Music Business

Overview the business and legal aspects of the music industry with experienced copyright and scholarly communications expert, Darcee Olson. 

Song Writing

Songwriting instructor Kevin Martin introduces you to this subject through listening and analysis of rhythm, melody, lyrics, harmony, form, and chord structure. Continue researching these concepts as you use exercises to create original compositions and performances.

Live Sound

If live sound is your passion, you have come to the right place. Did you know that live sound industry employs the largest amount of music enthusiasts? Get started with our new live sound classes (coming soon) as we teach you the latest technology in theater, concert and conference audio. We also foster great relationships with the Local 107 IATSE labor union representing technicians, artisans, and the Local 695 Production Sound, Live Broadcasters, Video Engineers and Studio Projectionists.

Internships and Job Placement

Internship

Internships in the recording industry are an incredibly important resource. They can provide in-depth experiences that will help launch your career. Our Music Industry department understands the importance of local connections. We foster great relationships with local businesses and the local IATSE labor unions in Oakland and San Francisco. Both the Local 107 and Local 16 (representing technicians, artisans) and the Local 695 Union (Production Sound, Live Broadcasters, Video Engineers and Studio Projectionists) are career paths for live sound, engineering, recording, and other music industry based jobs.

Faculty

Kevin Martin Kevin Martin
Department Director

Kevin Martin is a commercial music specialist. His drum set playing has landed him work in venues, festivals and studios from Nashville to Europe and parts of Asia. As an instructor with performance, touring and music industry experience, he has taught subjects ranging from electronic music to theory, drum set and guitar performance, music history and appreciation, music video and audio editing. Throughout his career he has helped students create portfolios in order to empower them in their search for work in their respective fields.

Kevin holds a Masters of Arts degree in Music Composition and Theory. His Bachelors degrees are in Commercial Music and in Percussion Performance. He has worked as a concert production director, composer of film and video game music, television production lab facilitator and music industry intern. Further studies include interactivity (immersed mediated environments), as well as, music, audio and video technologies.


Victor Siu Victor Siu
Director of the Pop Music Ensemble

Victor Siu is a Laney College alumni and did his undergraduate studies at San Francisco State University as a music education major with an emphasis in jazz piano. He worked as a music teacher for Oakland Unified School District. After many years in the classroom, he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a master’s degree at Cal State University of Los Angeles in Afro Latin music. He is the director of the Pop Music Ensemble which covers rhythm and blues, rock, and popular music from the 1950’s to today. This class is open to students who like popular music or interested in learning popular music (successful audition required).


Darcee Olson Darcee Olson
Professor of Media Law and Music Business

Darcee Olson is an attorney and copyright specialist. She teaches business courses designed for music, film, fashion and graphic design. During law school, she studied copyright law at the University of Buenos Aires, and spent three terms as a visiting student at the Program in Comparative Media Law and Policy, Wolfson College, Oxford University. She has worked in licensing and contracts for Fox Television, in international copyright for the MPAA and is currently Copyright and Scholarly Communications Policy Director at Louisiana State University Libraries.


Bob Paiz Bob Paiz
Faculty (Live Sound)

As a native SF Bay Area live sound and audio production veteran, instructor Bob Paiz has forty years of live sound, concert and audio-visual production experience. He works with large array speaker systems in both the analog and digital environment while his experience ranges from small venues to large arenas and coliseums. Bob has a BECA Radio/Television degree from SFSU with an emphasis in audio production.