If you watched MTV for 20 minutes back in the hair-metal daze of the late 80s-early 90s, odds are you caught an ad where guitarist Paul Gilbert used an electric drill to play guitar. A brilliant, simple advertisement, it’s stuck in my head to this day because it made a concrete, eye-catching statement about the school it was promoting—Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA.
More than two decades later, potential students want to graduate with more than just the ability to shred (a skill I remain envious of to this day). Illustrating how well-rounded and up-to-date Musicians Institute College of Contemporary Music is today, the venerable institution has released a free ebook, Want A Career In The Music Industry? Six Things You Should Consider, that shows how the school can be a launchpad for a variety of careers in the music industry, including audio engineering.
If you can judge an ebook by its cover, it’s worth noting that the photo in front is not a long-haired guitarist with an electric drill—or the modern equivalent, a short-haired DJ surrounded by laptops, Launchpads and the rest. No, the defining cover image is a well-dressed engineer in the studio, getting the job done.
While the ebookmay highlight what the school offers, it also provides concrete ideas of what potential students should be doing to prepare for or maintain a music-industry career—a move that instantly makes readers mentally check-off “I do that, I don’t do that,” thus determining whether they’re serious about being in the field or should just be content to love music and explore other professions instead.
Schooling is always variable—an education only gives you what you put into it—but it’s intriguing to see the school specifically look for students who don’t want to just coast. That can only help the industry at large.
What do you think? Got a career tip that the ebook overlooked? Share in the comments section below!
