entrylevelmusiccareer

I decided to begin blogging 2 days instead of everyday. Today I told you that I would talk about my internship experience and why I most students wind up going through the same problems. I also have a small job listing for those looking for full time work that I compiled through my search.

My internship experience wasn’t great because of the work or lack of work I was being given by each company that I interned for. It was like the employer was afraid to give me or any other intern actual work when that was the reason behind our willingness to work for free. I felt like I was wasting time and would wind up doing homework or suffering the net during my time at the internship. I would spent more time driving to the internship then I did in work. I would ask, beg, and pled work them to give me things to do but everyday I would show up I would be told that they had nothing for me to do.

I thought that maybe this had something to do with the companies I was interning for and did not think that other students were going through the same experience until I begin to hear complaints. Students who were interning for big named companies were going through what I was going through.  After doing a survey of my class in school I found that less then half of the students had actually had a positive experience within their internships. After confirming this I did not feel so alone.

I began to do some research as to why some internships don’t utilize the free the labor that they advertise for. I came accross one article on another popular blog “One Day, One Internship” anwering the question Are Unpaid Internships Illegal?  This is one answer from the The Labor and Employment Law Blog:

“There is no exception to the law allowed just because the “intern” may receive college credit… In order to qualify as an unpaid internship, the requirement is simple: no work can be performed that is of any benefit at all to the company. That is, you can not deliver mail, sort files, file papers, organize a person’s calendar, conduct market research, write reports, watch television shows and report on them, read scripts, schedule interviews, or any other job that assists the employer in any way in running their business.”

According to the site, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division created a 6 question test to determine if an intern should be considered an employee. All 6 questions have to be true in order for a person to be considered an intern.  The dispute is with the question 4, “If the employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees and, on occasion, the employer’s operations are actually impeded;”

So this is where I get the answer to my question. Are unpaid internships aware this rule which is why they don’t give a willing student the type of hand on experience that they are looking for. Could it be that they are holding back work in which would contribute to the success of a company because they are required by the law to do so? If this is the case then my question back to them is what is the point of recruiting for unpaid interns in the first place. Throughout my college years I’ve been told by countless professors that the best way to gain entry into the music or entertainment industry was through unpaid internships.  It is very rare to find a paid internship within those industries so my advise to those looking for internship is to find other way to earn the hands on experience you are looking for because most likely you won’t be gaining this from an unpaid internship. I will talk about how you could to do this at a later time.

Here are a few jobs that I found for all you seekers out there. Keep at it and don’t give up. I know the economy is bad and it feels as though the job market is slim but don’t give up. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been looking for a job since graduating in June of 2008, that is 8 months. Take a look at these and Apply because you know it what I did:

William Morris Agency: Is a hiring for trainees, great entry level positions for all of looking to enter the entertainment industry as an agent. I heard they just recently sign Condoleezza Rice. http://www.wma.com/default.aspx

Sony is hiring for an eBook Assistant to the Consultant. Here is the link to check them out. http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/ofc/1002704016.html

Those of you that don’t mind freelance work or are trying to add to their resume check out this ad for an Audio Engineer: A band named Dame Fortune is recording a video and and CD for their live show and are looking for a sound engineer. If you have your own equipment and live in the Los Angeles Area then give them a call. Here is the actual ad

“Our band Dame Fortune will be recording and videotaping our Live CD release show on Saturday January 31st at the Knitting Factory @ 7021 Hollywood Blvd. Setup time would be sometime between 1:30 and 3:00pm. Showtime is 9:40-10:15pm. We need an audio engineer with multiple splitter boxes, cables, mixing console, and portable protools rig to record 2 guitars, bass, 4 vocal mics and drums live on location to multi-track. The music is hard rock ala KISS, Motley Crue, GNR, etc. We can pay $250.00 to record our band. There are 8 bands playing on the stage that night with the same backline, (switching only amp heads) and at least 2 of those bands are also doing a multiple camera video shoot, so it is likely, that if you set up to record us, at least 2 other bands would be willing to pay to be recorded as well, hence you could make upwards of $750 for the night. If this recording goes well, we will be doing at least 2 more of these recordings at the same venue over the course of the year. One caveat: we are still trying to get a straight answer out of the club as to what their fee will be to allow us to do this recording. Assuming their fee for this is not exorbidant, this is otherwise a done deal.
Please call me with any questions: 213-840-3333″

CoachArt is hiring for a program coordinator. If you are looking for a part time job and an opportunity to gain experience within the non-profit arts industry then look them up and contact them.

Front Gate Tickets is based out of Austin, Texas and are looking for someone with 2 years of music business/ticketing sales experience to fill their Sales Manager position. Don’t let that 2 years sway you away from applying as a recent graduate. College experience is just as important and can be counted towards experience since their are no degree requirements. Look them up!

If you are looking for a chance to get you foot into the door as a manager of a band then here is you chance. Indie Band Darlings of the Day are look for someone to manage their band. Check out this ad at             http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/med/999708959.html. You could also see their webpages at

•Interested candidates should email a cover letter and resume’ to darlingsoftheday@yahoo.com. www.myspace.com/darlingsoftheday
http://soundtrack.mtv.com/profile/darlingsoftheday
•”Darlings Of The Day”
•http://www.darlingsoftheday.com/

So that is all for today folks.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS