Outcomes by College Major

[sanantone]

Since it's story time, I'll share mine. I don't play an instrument beyond basic keyboarding, but I'm pretty advanced in music production. While I'm okay at mixing, I haven't had the patience to learn mastering. I also don't want to spend the money on the software. Plus, it's advised that people not mix and master their own music. It's the same concept behind getting someone else to edit your writing.

I knew that a local university had a sound production and engineering program, so I figured they would have students willing to mix and master cheaply because they're building their portfolios. I met up with this one student at the university studio so that he could listen to my tracks. While he was listening to one of my songs, he asked, "You learned how to do this yourself?" In that moment, I could see in his eyes that he was thinking, "Why am I paying $9k per year to learn this?"

Music colleges can get you connections and good classical music training if you want to become an instrumentalist. If you just want to produce popular music, the cost is not worth it. I would guess that most of the Top 40 producers and songwriters do not have music degrees.