Introduction

The JobStart/Future Skills Sector Partnerships Program of Saskatchewan Learning (formerly Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Education and Skills Training) enabled a sector study of the music and sound recording industry in Saskatchewan. This industry profile is based on that study, published in January, 1999.

The music and sound recording industry established a partnership of industry members and key stakeholders through funding and support from the Sector Partnerships Program. These partners worked together to carry out a study that identified current and future hiring needs and training requirements.

Strategic planning enables industry and training providers to work together to provide training opportunities that match the skills the industry requires.

For more information about the Sector Partnership Report and this industry visit the Executive Summary. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this PDF file.

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Music and Recording Overview

The Canadian scene

• The 1994 HRDC report Sound of the Future: Human Resource Issues in Music and Sound Recording estimated that the Canadian music and sound recording industry employed a total of about 17,000 workers.
  
• This figure includes over 13,000 workers in creative and performing occupations and 4,000 workers in technical and related occupations.
  
• Revenue from performing arts companies within the Canadian music and sound recording industry was $104.9 million in 1991.
  Revenue from the Canadian sound recording industry was $1.2 billion in 1993.
  
• A large number of people in the music and sound recording industry are self-employed.
  
• There are five areas in the industry: interpretive (performing), creative, technical, administrative and health.
  

Saskatchewan Overview

• The music and sound recording industry in Saskatchewan is made up of close to 3,000 people who are employed or self-employed.
  
• People in the industry work as musicians, songwriters, sound engineers, managers, agents, publicists, lighting engineers, retail clerks, studio owners, radio deejays, producers, concert promoters, and other specialists.
  
• According to the 1995 Balcon Report, the provincial music industry generates $81.3 million per year in economic activity.
  

Saskatchewan Trends

• With the increase in film production in Saskatchewan, audio recording and post-production services are a key growth area in our province.
  
• Technology is applied in various ways within the industry. Computer programs are being used for recording, managing data, desktop publishing and Internet communications and marketing.
  
• New methods for delivering music are creating changes in the industry. These include MP3 formats, Liquid Audio and other downloadable software products.

Related Jobs

The following list provides an idea of some of the jobs in the music and sound recording area.

Where there is a relevant occupational description in Saskatchewan Job Futures, you can click on the job to go directly to that description. You’ll learn more about the occupation, including education and training requirements, work duties, wage information and employment trends.

National Occupational Classification (NOC) numbers follow the job title. You can use the NOC numbers to look up the occupations in the NOC.

Singer (513) Musician (513) Arranger (513) Conductor (513) Composer (513) Songwriter/lyricist (513) Creative director (513) Sound engineer (5225) Copyist (513)

Stagehand (522) Lighting engineer (522) Producer (513) Marketing director (061) Agent (641) Publicist (5124) Radio deejay (523) Music therapist (314)

Other related jobs include: studio owner, retail clerk and other recording and music-related occupations.

Skills and Training

There is limited training in Saskatchewan for the music and recording industry. Many people in the province’s music industry look to other provinces for their training and work experience.

The Saskatchewan Recording Industry Association (SRIA) has created the Canadian Music Training Database, which is available on the SRIA Web site.

Want to find out what kind of music education and training programs are offered in Saskatchewan? Check into What to Study? to find out what’s available and where.

Skills and knowledge that workers in the industry need include:

Technical, creative or performance skills specific to the occupation Marketing/promoting Preparing for an audition Developing a client base Exploiting musical works internationally Administration/ management Music copyright management Computer skills Business skills for self-employment Coordinating a touring strategy

Creating income through performance, radio airplay and international licensing Managing finances Knowledge of the industry Legal agreements Administering royalties/foreign licensing fees Using media opportunities Record labels and distribution Internet Communication/ interpersonal skills Career planning

Audio engineers need training in skills for studio and live sound audio engineering. They also need post-production and audio recording skills for work in film and television.

The Future

Future technology developments will require skills and knowledge in such areas as:

new methods of e-commerce
new ways of broadcasting or delivering music through the Internet
developments in Canadian copyright law and international trade agreements.

 

Related Information

Visit the following Web sites for more information on the music and sound recording industry:

Saskatchewan Recording Industry Association
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Business Canada (Canadian Independent Record Production Association)
Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN)
Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Records (FACTOR)
Music Education Online (Saskatchewan Music Educators Association)

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