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PAN PIPES • SPRING 2017 • sai-national.org 10 C D E H I J K N O P T U X Y Z MUSIC CAREERS How I Ended Up Working in the Music Industry By Paula SavaStano I was a flautist – there wasn't anything else in the world that I related to as much as playing my flute. Other careers were offered up to me including teaching and business school. I had no desire to teach in a classroom or work in the business field. Mean kids, bullies, and stuffy offices did not appeal to me. Music business programs were not well-known in the 1980s, and careers were usually fallen into by accident. I didn't even know there was a possibility to work in the industry but not play or teach. I chose to attend Boston Conservatory, but had to work my way through school with odd jobs in the school cafeteria and music library, and worked an evening job of usher at Boston Symphony Hall. I also sought out any opportunity to work with or play music. I studied hard and my playing advanced significantly. I was on my way to the playing career I hoped to have. en came my senior year; I was having issues with painful hands and elbows, which was limiting my practice time. But with all the work, and striving to graduate that year, I ignored it. at is until I slipped on the ice and fractured my elbow. Along with that diagnosis, came the diagnosis of severe tendonitis in my right elbow and le wrist. I couldn't even li my flute. It was devastating. I couldn't play for about 6 weeks, and spent my entire winter break trying to recover so that I could take my juries upon my return to school. I pushed really hard through my final semester, wondering what my future held, if I was dealing with so much pain from an injury that should have healed quickly. I decided not to apply to graduate school immediately, but rather take a year off, try to take some auditions and save some money. e practice was excruciating at times, and it was during this period of time that I realized I might not be able to perform as a career. I cried for days when I finally came to that conclusion. It was devastating to believe you can do something, only to have a physical issue stand in your way. During my year off, I continued to work at Symphony Hall, and I got to know a lot of the behind scenes employees. From this experience, I realized that I might be able to stay in music, but not as a performer or teacher. (I still had no desire to teach a classroom!) I spent a lot of time talking to 2 employees at 'the Hall', Cheryl Silvia, Front of House Management, and Mr. Whitaker, Director of Operations. ey encouraged me to investigate non-playing careers and towards graduate school programs that would help me gain the knowledge necessary to do a job like orchestra manager, orchestra librarian, or similar. I ended up choosing University of Miami. In Miami, I continued to play my flute, but I was studying Music Media and Industry (the program is now called Music Business and Entertainment Industry). My advisor and main professor was none other than Alfred Reed (of concert band music fame). I fell in love with my classes, especially copyright, licensing, and industry logistics. During that time, I still wanted to work in classical music, and spent a lot of my time working and interning in various jobs in that genre. I spent 2 summers doing internships at Central City Opera (Colorado), as music librarian. is served 2 purposes, I got my internship credits and experience in the industry, all while being paid! When offered the job, I remember thinking "well, it's a paid internship and it's in Colorado (I had already spent 2 summers in Aspen and loved CO), so it can't be that bad… even if it is in Opera." I never had been a fan of Opera, but ended up falling in love with the art form while doing my internship. Upon graduation, I went to work for Wolf Trap (VA) Opera, as Arts Administrator. Working in the Washington DC area in the 1990s was difficult. It was as expensive to live as it would have been to live in New York City, but the job didn't pay nearly as much as my friends working in the pop side of the industry in NYC were getting paid. It was here that I discovered that jobs in the not-for-profit side of the business were severely underpaid and underfunded, and realized that this genre of music might not be the best choice for me. I got to the point where, while working a 2nd job at Tower records to make ends meet, that I decided I didn't want to work such long hours to simply survive! I moved back to Miami, worked at a record store, and started to discover the 'pop' side of the business, including record sales and distribution. I started to think about how I could work in the industry with artists and in copyright, since I had a huge passion for the law. I decided to pack my bags and make the move to NYC to get a job in the pop side of the business. I knew I wanted to work with artists, and wanted to make a difference in their lives, so sought out jobs in that area. I ended up landing a job at BMI (aer interning) in the Writer/Publisher relations department. I loved my job. I got to help people, and work with music and musicians on a daily basis. It was that job which lead me to where I am now. I worked for several publishing companies, and in 2009, went out on my own. I run a music publishing company called SSA Music. Music publishing is a misunderstood industry. Most people hear publishing and think it is only printed music. Music publishing includes the copyright protections of any musical creation. Once a song/piece of music is created, the publishing role kicks in to protect all the Reprinted with permission from The Flute View, February 2017 TheFluteView.com "Music publishing is a misunderstood industry. Most people hear publishing and think it is only printed music."

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