Music Careers: Beyond performance: Exploring careers across Australia’s music industry
When students think about careers in music, they often picture performers on stage or recording in a studio.
Performance is only one part of a much larger industry, which also includes; music education, live performance, recording, production, instrument manufacturing, retail, publishing, music technology, arts management, instrument repair, copyright, event management and many other specialist occupations.
Exploring the 100-plus careers and occupations profiled on musiccareers.au quickly reveals that there is not one pathway into a music career, but many distinct and overlapping paths.
Recent research published by Music Australia in the Second Edition of The Bass Line (2026) highlights the scale and diversity of Australia’s music industry. One of its most significant findings was that music education is the largest contributor to the industry’s Gross Value Added (GVA), a measure of the economic value created by an industry.1
This highlights that the music industry’s greatest value lies in its people, knowledge and skills. The report also identifies the significant contribution of live music and the music products sector, reinforcing that career opportunities extend well beyond performance.
As students and careers advisers explore this diverse industry through musiccareers.au, one concept appears repeatedly: The portfolio career.
A portfolio career simply means combining more than one occupation or career pathway. This may arise because there is not enough work available in a single field, or because people choose to combine different roles for financial, professional, creative or lifestyle reasons. Many people build long-term careers by balancing complementary roles.2
Australian researchers Bartleet et al (2012) found that many musicians maintain “A continually evolving range of concurrent and overlapping” paid and unpaid work. Around six in ten professional musicians operate their own businesses, combining freelance work with other employment.3
The researchers compared this to an investment portfolio: Balancing different sources of work allows musicians to combine higher and lower risk opportunities throughout their careers.
Another report, Artists as Workers (2021), found that professional musicians work an average of 42 hours each week, with just over half devoted to creative work. The remainder includes teaching, arts administration, management and work outside the arts. Notably, around 71 per cent of professional musicians surveyed were also involved in teaching.4
During my career as a professional musician, music educator, event producer and administrator, I have worked alongside countless people whose careers combine several occupations: A classroom music teacher who is also a contemporary recording artist; a copyright lawyer who performs as a jazz musician; an academic who manages a record label while performing professionally; a tour manager who also works as a producer and session musician; and a freelance musician who combines performance with teaching, conducting and music retail management.
Students exploring the occupations featured on musiccareers.au will notice that many complement one another. Teaching can sit alongside performing, technical expertise can support creative practice, and business or management skills can open opportunities across the industry. While some occupations require full-time commitment or specialised training, many can be combined to reflect an individual’s interests, strengths and lifestyle.
Musical training can also be a valuable asset in roles such as orchestra management or music retail.
For students, this offers an important perspective. Instead of asking, “Which single music career should I choose?”, a better question may be, “Which combination of skills, interests and occupations could I develop over time?” A portfolio career encourages adaptability, lifelong learning and entrepreneurship, qualities that are increasingly valuable across today’s workforce.
Whether a student specialises in one profession or develops a portfolio career over time, understanding the breadth of Australia’s music industry is an important first step. Musiccareers.au helps students, educators and careers advisers look beyond the traditional image of the performer and explore the many careers that support Australia’s music industry.
Alex Masso is an ARIA Award-winning professional musician, music educator and CEO of the Australian Music Association. The AMA represents music products retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers in Australia.
References 1. Music Australia. (2026). The Bass Line: Charting the Economic Contribution of Australia’s Music Industry (Second Edition). 2. Australian Music Association. https://musiccareers.au Bartleet, B.-L., Bennett, D., Bridgstock, R., Draper, P., Harrison, S., Schippers, H. and Tomlinson, V. (2012) 3. Understanding the Work of Australian Musicians. 4. Throsby, D. and Petetskaya, K. (2021). Artists as Workers: An Economic Study of Professional Artists in Australia. Creative Australia.
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