How To Become A Music Journalist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a music journalist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Expert

Matthew Hall

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a music journalist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $34.47 an hour? That's $71,698 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 159,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Music Journalist?

Matthew Hall

President of the National Society of Professional Journalists and editorial and opinion director at The San Diego Union-Tribune

The only constant in journalism these days is change, and that's been compounded by the pandemic. There are obviously fewer journalism jobs in the industry than there were last year, let alone 10 years ago, so emerging journalists should make sure they understand and are not scared by troubling industry trends, daunting shifts in technology and declining trust in the media. Luckily, people's appetite for news is larger than ever and journalists can do a lot to gain audience trust and knowledge about the field from a young age. That includes always acting ethically, interacting with their communities and joining an advocacy organization like SPJ for networking, training, and support. In the next several years, you're going to see an accelerating shift away from daily print publication and paper products to digital journalism, so young journalists should learn how to code, how to get the most out of social media and how to find and tell stories using only a phone. If they do, then they, journalism and the country will be OK. No one can predict which trends or technology will emerge in coming months or years, so the best journalists will stay on top of industry developments, be quick studies and stick to what's tried and true in journalism: Telling stories that matter to communities that care.

ScoreMusic JournalistUS Average

Salary

5.6

Avg. Salary $71,698

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.8

Growth Rate 12%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.21%

Black or African American 7.31%

Hispanic or Latino 10.39%

Unknown 4.96%

White 65.85%

Gender

female 42.64%

male 57.36%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

4.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.7

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

8.9

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a music journalist

Explore music journalist education requirements

Most common music journalist degrees

Bachelor's

72.9 %

Associate

11.8 %

Master's

6.3 %

Start to develop specific music journalist skills

Skills	Percentages
Writing Articles	17.67%
Music Scene	16.93%
Press Releases	12.93%
Photoshop	9.52%
Artist Interviews	9.25%

Research music journalist duties and responsibilities

Research tracks to correct and verify tracklists for online DJ mixes -Discover and upload new DJ mixes -Create and manage DJ profiles
Volunteer position, organize sectional times/places with sectional leaders, run sectionals within rehearsals, conduct professional orchestra
Recommend new albums/music documentaries for readers to discover.

Prepare your music journalist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your music journalist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a music journalist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Music Journalist Resume templates

Build a professional Music Journalist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Music Journalist resume.

Apply for music journalist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a music journalist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do music journalists rate their job?