Leveraging Music Industry Internships for Real-World Experience

BY: KAREN KERR

Internships offer aspiring professionals a gateway to real-world experience and the chance to turn passion into career potential. For music majors and budding career musicians, these short-term opportunities are more than a résumé booster—they’re a vital stepping stone to mastering your craft, connecting with industry leaders, and gaining insider knowledge of your chosen field. Strategically leveraging a music internship aligned to your goals, together with admissions consulting and music industry consulting from Inside Music Schools can help you build confidence, refine your skills, and position yourself as a standout candidate or performer in the competitive world of music.

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The Importance of Music Industry Internships

Music industry internships are important for numerous reasons, whether you seek a role with a publisher, at a record label, with a recording studio, or even as a musician. 

• Valuable Experience: Much like a job, a music internship affords you the opportunity to gain experience that will be incredibly valuable when you are ready to seek your first entry-level paid position. 
• Direction for the Future: Many music interns find that participating in more than one internship helps them discover where they “fit” in the grand scheme of the industry. Sometimes, an internship can even help you determine which type of music program best suits your goals. 
• Understand Industry Practices: Like any field, the music industry has its own unique set of practices and expectations, particularly when it comes to business settings. Music industry internships can help you learn how to meet deadlines or how to work independently as part of a hierarchy. 
• Unsurpassed Confidence: Aspiring music professionals who pursue internships feel more confident in their skills and knowledge before accepting their first roles. They often perform better than those who have not participated in internship opportunities. 
• Opportunity to Work with Professionals: Internship opportunities give you the chance to meet incredible people, whether through in-person, email, or telephone encounters. Building relationships early on can have lasting effects throughout your career. These networking opportunities can lead to valuable connections and perhaps even a professional letter of recommendation.

Types of Music Industry Internships

Internships can help you learn more about your future career or give you insight into the options that will become available to you after you graduate from your college music program. There are many types of internships for music students or aspiring music professionals, and while some may be paid, others are not. 

Paid vs. Unpaid

In many cases, music industry internships are unpaid positions, which means music students and aspiring professionals put in a specific number of hours each week in exchange for all of the benefits associated with the experience. Though unpaid internships may seem unfair to some, they are excellent opportunities to learn the ins and outs of the industry, gain skills, build work experience, and network with music professionals. 

Competition in the music industry is fierce, whether you want to be a performer or work in a business management, writing, or production role. Completing as many music internships as you can will set you apart from your competitors when it comes time to find a paid role.

Music Industry Internships for Specific Areas of Study or Careers

Music is a multifaceted industry, and there are several areas of specialization for students to consider – even before choosing a school or college program. Learning more about each one and participating in the ones that seem most interesting to you can offer incredible benefits in the future. 

Music Production Internships

Music production internships can cover a few different areas. Producer interns spend their time learning about all the aspects of music production and gaining the skills they need to work for some of the world’s biggest and most well-known studios and artists.

Audio Engineer Internships

An audio engineering music internship allows you to learn more about the ins and outs of a career in designing the perfect sound for a venue or recording. This type of internship is ideal if you want to work for a specific band, a major venue, a concert hall, or a recording studio. 

Music Therapy Internships

A music therapy internship gives you the opportunity to develop and refine clinical and administrative skills associated with using music as a form of therapy. Most of these music internship opportunities expose interns to the full range of responsibilities they will need to assume as professionals. 

Music Technology Internships

Music industry internships focused on technology afford the opportunity to collaborate with others and experience different aspects of the latest technologies from digital components to hardware and software design. This type of knowledge is valuable among record labels, publishers, studios, and a variety of music-related companies, but it is also essential knowledge for aspiring performers. 

Music Business Internships

A music business internship can offer you the opportunity to learn more about the business side of the industry, including contract development, royalty options, as well as legal and ethical issues. In some cases, these interns learn more about managing their clients’ records through various types of software, business communications, and more. 

Music Marketing Internships 

Music marketing interns work alongside experienced marketers to learn how to promote albums, artists, tours, and the related merchandise. These music internships are essential if you are interested in the creative and business side of music. 

How to Land a Music Industry Internship

Landing a music industry internship can be much like finding a job, especially among highly popular companies with plenty of competition. Like getting a job, you can expect to interview for internships, so be sure to think of ways to make yourself stand out with accomplishments, grades, and other praiseworthy achievements. As early as high school, consult with guidance counselors and local studio owners to find out about opportunities.  Watch for local fairs and other industry events that are open for aspiring music professionals to attend.

Aside from this, ask people you know – including your school counselors, faculty, music teachers, and contacts in the industry – to help you build your network. Create a resume that is up to date and contains plenty of references to your professional and personal abilities. Above all else, be persistent and reach out to companies regularly. 

Companies hiring interns want to see that you have at least a little experience in your chosen field, even if that experience is educational or observational. Don’t be afraid to talk about what you know, and be sure that you demonstrate your willingness to learn and to commit to a music internship opportunity. 

Tips for Maximizing Your Experience as a Music Intern

After landing a music industry internship, there are a few simple rules to follow to maximize your experience and be the best intern you can be. 

• Listen to everything. One of the biggest and most important parts of any internship – music industry or otherwise – involves acting like a sponge. Soaking up all the information you can will help you learn the lingo and how to communicate with people in the business, meet professional expectations, and better understand how individual companies operate within the industry. 
• Be willing to do what is asked of you. Music internships are not always glamorous, and they can often include mundane tasks that seem as if they won’t help you reach your goals. Whether it’s moving equipment or managing documents and copies, everything you do is important and demonstrates your work ethic and commitment. 
• Learn to read the room. You can set your own boundaries and limits, but at the same time, you should be able to “read a room” well. Know when conversation is appropriate , but don’t shy away from introducing yourself if the vibe in the room (and your current workload) allows for it. 
• Build trust. The people or companies you intern for can have a massive impact on your career in the future. While you certainly want people to like you, it’s far more important that you are trustworthy and dependable. Say what you mean, mean what you say, and do everything you can to avoid letting someone down by being unreliable. 

Music Industry Consultants to Guide Students and Graduates

Music internships can be exciting opportunities to learn more about your chosen profession within the larger whole of the industry. With guidance from Inside Music Schools students can jumpstart their music career with goals — and confidence. With decades of collective experience working with the best music schools and companies in the world, we are dedicated to helping you find the right fit – whether it’s a school, a specialization, or an internship. 

Learn more about how our college music admissions consulting and music industry career counseling can help you reach your college and music career goals.