Various Jobs in Audio Engineering

Audio engineers can be categorized into two main components. Live and studio engineers (African Music Development Programme, 2017).

Each of these two roles has a significant impact on the artist and the band that the performers (African Music Development Programme, 2017).

The competition in the audio industry is strenuous. With artists and bands that can now record the music of desire can be now made at homes with a fraction of what one would pay audio engineers. The salary remains the same in the United States with only 15 percent higher than the annual wage for all United States workers (Lorensbergs, 2017, paras. 1, 3).

The broadcasting and sound technicians are predicted to rise to 7 percent between the years of 2014 – 2024. These numbers will also apply to various other high-level sectors such as motion picture s and video game sound engineers (Lorensbergs, 2017, para. 2).

Some intricate jobs that are available in the audio professions are (Huber, Runstein, 2010, pp. 17-20),

• The Artist

The creativity and the structure of the song are in the hands of the artist, the songwriting and the ingenuity of the piece of music.

• Studio Musicians

Studio Musicians help with the artist with various bits in the song, to give spice and flavor.

• The Producer

A producer creates the best possible version of the final product by guiding the artist and the record label.

• The Engineer

The Engineer with his talent and knowledge gives the artist the best possible mix during the recording process with the vision of the producer and the artist together.

• Assistant Engineer

Assistant engineers help set up microphones, headphones, and DAW while performing session breakdowns and session documentation.

• Maintenance Engineer

Helps in maintaining various equipment’s and inspect if there are any damages needing fixing.

• Mastering

Mastering engineers sit in a specific room or environment which is fine-tuned and listens to each track to figure out if there needs to be any edits or fixes to the mix.

• Studio Management

These individuals are the business professionals of the music industry. Keeping track of the bands or artist progress and ensuring everything is moving smoothly. Studio Managers help in promoting tickets, bookings, and promotions for the band during the album or touring process.

Some of these individuals can take up various roles if the knowledge is sophisticated, such as, it is common that an Engineer can take up the role of the Producer or co-Producer at any given time (Huber, Runstein, 2010, p. 18, para. 4).

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Image 1 (Melodic Exchange, 2018).

According to PayScale statics (2018a) describes that the United States average salary for top-end audio engineers is about 45k dollars annually.

Distinctively, in Dubai, an average salary for an experienced audio engineer is 114,000 AED (b) and for a sound engineer is 72,000 AED (c) per year. PayScale has stated these statics and revised in 2018.

In 2018, Mckay, a career planning professional lists out some various attributes an over-all engineer must have. Some of them are, being able to interact with customers, problem-solving skills, being able to familiarize oneself with the new technology, communication; as listening and speaking is an essential skill and must be refined daily to achieve the best out of a particular project, collaboration and a firm ability to handle multiple tasks daily with various devices and customers (paras. 5, 6).

REFERENCES:

African Music Development Programme. (2017). An introduction to sound engineering. Retrieved from https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/introduction-sound-engineering

Huber, D. M., & Runstein, R. E. (2010). Roles in Audio Industry. In Modern Recording Techniques. Oxford, U.K.: Focal Press

Lorsenbergs. (2017). Expectations of the audio production industry. Retrieved from http://www.connect2software.com/blog/posts/2017/september/expectations-of-the-audio-production-industry/

Mckay, D. R. (2018). Audio Engineer. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/audio-engineer-525988

Music Exchange. (2018). Image 1 [Image]. Retrieved from https://melodicexchange.com/music-engineer-vs-sound-technician-whats-the-better-career-choice/

PayScale. (2018a). Retrieved from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Audio_Engineer/Salary

PayScale. (2018b). Retrieved from https://www.payscale.com/research/AE/Job=Audio_Engineer/Salary/281a907b/Dubai

PayScale. (2018c). Retrieved from https://www.payscale.com/research/AE/Job=Sound_Engineer/Salary/53f855bf/Dubai