Music Editor Job Research and Presentation.
Role: The role my group and I have chosen is Music Editor. A music editor is responsible for the creation, mixing and modification of creative works like videos. Some may also create original works and sound effects for others projects. This means they're responsible for editing the music that composers have written such as soundtracks for movies. Ellen Segal is an extremely famous and successful music editor. She's known for syncing and editing music for popular movies such as Chicago (2002) and Men in Black (1997).
Salary: The average pay rate for a music editor is around £54,785 on average, of course this can change dependent on how many years you're spent honing your career skills and what company you're employed by. The salary is also effected by the country you work in and what your specific job title is.
Qualifications/experience needed: To become a music editor, it's highly suggested you're a graduate in something music related such as sound technology. Some more advanced companies will also be looking for a post-graduate degree to show you're the best of the best. Regardless of your degree, once you've graduated and secured employment, you'll have to work your way up the work environment. You may start as a runner or even a trainee so it seems this career requires resilience and consistent efforts to be prosperous.
How to get into the role: A keen interest and being work-driven is evidently the most important assets to have for this role. Connections within the music and film industry can be pivotal in ensuring your success as well as building up your own portfolio of your experience and creations before applying for employment. As I've listed above, a good education and experience is likely one of the first things employers look for so taking part in internships and/or apprenticeships throughout or after university could help you get a head-start.
Skills required: There are many skills needed to be a music editor. An essential one is the ability to understand music. You'll be working with musical samples and audios daily so it's crucial to have an in depth understanding of musical instruments and theory. It's also a great help to be capable of playing and writing tabs for multiple instruments as well as demonstrating exceptional hearing skills for reviewing the composers work. Aside from music itself, as you work mostly online, you'll need to be proficient using a computer and other technology to be as productive as possible. Despite all the online work, you'll still be working closely with others, especially as you rise in the ranks and gain more social responsibility. This makes is deeply important to have a friendly demeanour and profound perception of people.
Pros: One pro is that it's creative work, so if you enjoy the more artsy side then this could be a great, fulfilling job for you. Another pro is getting to work alongside different musicians and creators. This is great as it allows you to experience and work on many different genres and gain more knowledge on them. I think this indicates that you'll always have something new and challenging to do so you'll rarely be bored.
Cons: While it's a very innovative environment that offers quite a bit of artistic freedom, it can also be a very stressful work environment. In this job role, your work is exceedingly deadline-dependent which can create a lot of pressure as well as meeting your fellow artists and customers demands. Additionally, being a music editor is often a widely freelance job. This means that you could end up working late nights, weekends and holidays and also it's completely up to you to ensure you advertise your career and work to get it out there.
What organisations should you join: To be as successful as possible in your workplace, I think PRS and a great and necessary union to join. PRS is a company dedicated to making sure royalties are paid to their customers if their music is used in creative media, played in public or downloaded. They support their artists by hosting events and awards to gain publicity. The company collects and distributes money on behalf of their customers for their work. This would be a great support to have in this industry as it guarantees you're making the correct amount of money on your music and it's also protected.