Live Sound Career outlook?

[rosevision]

Is the Sound Reinforcement/ Live Sound career field job outlook horrible like the recording studio industry? Is it a better job outlook?

[surflounge]

for what it's worth, Live Sound - Pro Sound Web

[Thomas W. Bethe]

Well one good thing is that most artist can't be on the stage playing and singing and in the audience mixing sound so I guess the outlook is somewhat better than being a recording or mastering engineer.

On the other side there are so many wannabees looking for concert sound work these days that they will work for nothing just for the experience and to carve a notch on their resume. It is hard to make money when someone else is willing to do what you do for nothing.

I guess like in most things you have to bring something to the table and be good at what you do and let the chips fall where they will. Good people who are knowledgeable and skilled at what they do AND who work well with others will probably always have jobs.

I worked concert sound for about 10 years part time. It was sometimes fun, it was sometimes a PITA, it was sometimes fulfilling, it was sometimes a lot of grunt work. On a score of 1 to 10 with one being awful and 10 being the greatest job on the planet I would have to say that concert sound is maybe a 6 or 7 when everything is going well and maybe a -2 or -3 when things are not going well.

No one that I knew was doing it full time but I have been out of that business for quite a while.

Maybe get your self a good audio education at a four year college and at the same time try doing some work for a local sound company to gain experience and see if you like doing it.

Some reminiscence:

It is a beautiful spring day and you are the FOH mixer who is doing the sound for thousands of screaming fans and everything is working well - you feel like the king of the world.

You are doing sound in a frog choking - rain soaked out door amphitheater in the middle of a cornfield in Ohio with all of your equipment getting ruined, you are soaked though to your underwear and the fans are pi$$ed off because they can't hear the artist then you may question why you are doing this at all.

I've done them both and that is why I love and hate concert sound gigs.

Best of luck!

[bishopthomas]

Well, it depends on what you want to do. There are many different facets of live sound, some more lucrative than others. I will say that making a full time profession out of it will be extremely difficult, especially if you are just starting out. The best thing you can do is be diverse. I have been in live sound since before I had a driver's license, but I have recently found that providing equipment is not the way to make money. I will never buy another piece of live sound gear (speakers, amps, consoles, etc) because the ROI is just not there. You buy a digital console for $50,000 to fill riders, but do you think you'll ever make your money back on it? There's no way.

So I started getting into lighting and that has been working out very well for me. For some reason people are willing to pay a premium to be able to see a performance well, but they're not willing to pay anything to hear it with any sort of quality. But I still do freelance sound as well, just not providing the gear. Between working for regional companies, providing lighting, and some touring I am able to barely make it, with a wife providing a large source of income too.

Now, take in to account that this business is seasonal and you're really screwed. It seems like even the largest regional companies are hibernating for the winter. The end of March through August/September is usually great (I typically work 7 days a week from May to August), but besides that be prepared to find a part time job for the winter (unless you can find a winter tour or get a house gig).

Sorry, but you asked. My advice, if you are just starting out, is to get a degree and find a "real" job that you can tolerate to pay the bills. Do live sound as a hobby on the weekends, but don't think you're going to be able to support a family on a live sound income.

[rosevision]

^^^ Thanks thats great to know I can make any real money doing it...because I'm in an audio school now but I think I'm going to switch schools and Major in Electrical Engineering

[rumleymusic]

^^^ Thanks thats great to know I can make any real money doing it...because I'm in an audio school now but I think I'm going to switch schools and Major in Electrical Engineering

DO IT!!!!! I wish I had. I would know more about audio than with recording courses.

[bishopthomas]

DEFINITELY SWITCH TO ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING! Or anything besides audio, really. I am actually considering a career in electrical engineering, but I really don't want to go back to school. Although some may disagree with me, a degree in audio engineering is a waste of time. It means absolutely NOTHING to potential employers. You'll still start pushing cases, the same as if you only graduated from 6th grade.