Bachelors in Recording Arts: Career Options for Graduates with a Bachelors Degree in Recording Arts

Published Sep 10, 2009

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A Bachelor's Degree program in recording arts prepares students for careers in the entertainment industry, particularly in radio and recording studios. Creativity, technical expertise and communication skills are essential for job-seeking graduates with a bachelor's degree in recording arts. Following are descriptions of several career options.

Record Producer Career Summary

A record producer is a recording arts professional responsible for the arrangement and style of the songs or musical compositions on a recording. A producer is essentially the person in charge in a recording studio, ensuring that budgets and schedules are on track, that engineers and musicians are cooperating and that everything runs smoothly. When problems arise and decisions need to be made, everyone looks to the producer to take the appropriate action.

Audio Recording Engineer Career Summary

An audio recording engineer is the person who operates the soundboard in a recording studio, manipulating track settings and other technical functions to create the sound the producer wants. Engineers oversee recording sessions in tandem with producers and work to create recordings that reflect the producers' and musicians' artistic aspirations for recordings.

Production Assistant Career Summary

A production assistant is a detail-oriented recording arts professional who takes charge of such tasks as hiring musicians, scheduling studio time, setting up and breaking down studio equipment, fielding phone calls and other forms of communication and making sure everyone is where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there. The production assistant remains at the studio to assist the producer as needed.

Live Sound Engineer Career Summary

A live sound engineer's job is similar to that of a recording engineer, except that the work is done before and during a live performance. It's the live sound engineer's responsibility to place the equipment in advance of a live concert, perform sound checks and operate the soundboard once the performance begins. A live sound engineer may also be known as a sound technician, although larger and more complicated live productions may require both a live sound engineer and a sound technician.

Rerecording Mixer Career Summary

A rerecording mixer takes a recording that was released commercially and legally rerecords it to prevent a company from paying licensing fees for the original recording. Rerecording mixers frequently work on movie soundtracks, television commercials and video recordings.

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