Music Directors and Composers

Low Risk
28%
Where Would You Like to Go Next?
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Vote Comments (27)
Or, Explore This Profession in Greater Detail...
AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
21%
(Low Risk)
POLLING
34%
(Low Risk)
Average: 28%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
2.7%
by year 2033
WAGES
$62,590
or $30.09 per hour
Volume
10,770
as of 2023
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
5.3/10

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Calculated automation risk

21% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): Jobs in this level have a limited risk of automation, as they demand a mix of technical and human-centric skills.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some very important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Fine Arts

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Originality

  • Persuasion

  • Social Perceptiveness

  • Negotiation

User poll

34% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 21% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Music Directors and Composers will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?






Sentiment

The following graph is included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Music Directors and Composers' job openings is expected to rise 2.7% by 2033

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031
Updated projections are due 09-2024.

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Music Directors and Composers' was $62,590, or $30 per hour

'Music Directors and Composers' were paid 30.2% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Significantly lower range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 10,770 people employed as 'Music Directors and Composers' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 14 thousand people are employed as 'Music Directors and Composers'.

Job description

Conduct, direct, plan, and lead instrumental or vocal performances by musical artists or groups, such as orchestras, bands, choirs, and glee clubs; or create original works of music.

SOC Code: 27-2041.00

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Comments

Leave a comment

Bel (Low) 4 months ago
Robots (IA's) will never match human creativity.
1 0 Reply
Joe (Low) 5 months ago
It makes sense why some people would use AI for small things, like as background music for a YouTube video. Everywhere else, you'd have to have human minds and human limbs behind it. The way I see it, AI will never be Hans Zimmer or Jacob Collier. Not by a longshot.
1 0 Reply
Jaybird (Low) 6 months ago
It’s too complex and subjective for individual AI feedback to be effective over the arc of learning
0 0 Reply
J (Low) 12 months ago
The only people are impressed by the music AIVA and other AI technologies create are people who either lack an ability to evaluate music properly (they are not musical themselves and don't actively listen to music) or people who stand to gain if they can replace the creativity of composers with a program.

This is without taking into account all of the interpersonal elements of composition, which are also not well understood by people who don't do this work.

Finally, given that humans are subject to copyright law and that the level of imitation and inspiration from previous works is controlled and limited by these laws, it is unlikely that music created by AI that was not drastically reshaped by a human composer would avoid copyright lawsuits or be subject to copyright itself, as current technology in this field only knows how to aggregate and make stylistic choices based on probability. A human composer is not going to waste time fiddling with AI compositions to "get them there" when they could just write something themselves.

Show me an evangelist who actually produces music and isn't heavily invested in AI themselves in some way, and I'll reconsider.
3 0 Reply
Rachel Farina (Highly likely) 1 year ago
AI is already composing and generating music. Algorithms can already curate. There will always be work for the top - John Williams, Hans Zimmer won't find their work gone. But for indie films and anyone on a budget, AI composing will be the thing within the next few years. The technology grows at an exponential pace. Though stuff sounds embarrassing now, six months from now, that will not be the case.
0 2 Reply
Marcus (Highly likely) 1 year ago
As we already see everything can be done by sophisticated software. It started with pictures, then text and next is music. We all thought Software can never replace artists, but as we see that was a wrong assupmtion and in fact got hit first by the "AI" hype. With enough data and "training" any sort of music will be possible. Using a DAW will be obsolete.
0 0 Reply
Fl studio 20 (Highly likely) 2 years ago
Art like graphic design is already being synthesized with superb detail using AI. What's to say that music isn't next?
0 1 Reply
yo lads (Moderate) 3 years ago
i seen some robots making chunes and people saying they bussin beats
bye bye dutse, hesh and koot
0 1 Reply
Zac (No chance) 3 years ago
Even if they could it wouldn't be the same as a person composing and putting their input and ideas into the composition. The feeling and emotion has to come from within to create something astonishing in my opinion. Because of this, they wouldn't fully replace humans in music writing/composing.
1 0 Reply
John (Highly likely) 3 years ago
There are already many ai composers like AIVA, so I am pretty sure in the next 15-20 years ai composers will replace human music composers.
0 0 Reply
DJ (No chance) 3 years ago
Produce own style of music, create melody you like, there is just no way AI could replace it
0 0 Reply
Gadgetsz 3 years ago
The act of composing will not be replaced BUT it will definitely change and maybe become more easy and accessible for all people. Maybe one day, everyone is a composer because you don't even need to learn score writing, DAW, playing or singing. Maybe just by thinking, you can create masterworks.. We will see?
0 0 Reply
EdwinBrophy 4 years ago
Composing pop music is already nearly completely automated but serious music will continue to require human composers.
0 1 Reply
Dave 2 years ago
Not true, and there is no such thing as 'serious music'
0 0 Reply
nathanuppnext 3 years ago
I'm a trap producer and its true
0 0 Reply
EdwinBrophyIsAClown 4 years ago
Composing pop music is not automated. Just because it is created on a computer doesn't mean it is automated, you still need human to create the ideas.
1 0 Reply
Joshua 4 years ago
People who learn the same music theories write different songs, so do robots. Robots are rarely likely to replace human beings in the field of composition.
0 1 Reply
Natalie (Low) 4 years ago
Music would be awful of it was automated. Music requires feelings to be any good.
0 0 Reply
Joel (No chance) 5 years ago
Music, or the act of composing music, has no formula of equation to it. Music is the expression of one's emotions, often called the outburst of the soul. A robot or machine is literally incapable of having emotions or a soul, therefore a robot will never be able to replace a human composer.
0 0 Reply
Jason 5 years ago
You are wrong. A big part of AI works by spotting patterns. Patterns is relatively simple given that there are only so many notes and scales in music. It can even come out with sounds that arent be able to be produced by normal instruments. AI can already write articles somewhat. They can already compose music (see link below). Playing music is trivial and doesnt even require AI. There are only 2 things that an AI may have trouble with.

1. Which is understanding which part of what they created did a human like and thus may have trouble using reinforced learning.

2. Lyrics have meaning behind the words. Its much more complex than just a melody. Its these lyrics and building melody in combination with lyrics which is going to be rather difficult but not impossible. Lyric writing is going to be one of the Last things AI will be able to do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYb3Wimn01s
1 0 Reply
Dylan Dukat 5 years ago
I’ll raise you this. Music is a sphere of culture, and as such evolves with culture. Looking throughout music’s history, there are evident reasons why eras change, morph, and evolve. The role of composers is to create a unique voice that resonates with ever-shifting cultural trends. AI can easily analyze music and replicate its patterns, sure. But, that’s not really the foundation of music composition. I could, in writing a work, replicate the unique qualities of Shostakovich or Schoenberg. I could tell you all about how Shostakovich’s music was a rally against the USSR, and balanced nationalism with individualism and a rebellion against the machine. I could tell you how Shoenberg used serialism as a direct counter to Romanticism, and how he managed to create beautiful music mathematically. And I could produce similar work. But doing that without self-stylized inspiration… is it really writing music anymore? And could AI write music as a counter to a political movement while adhering to its demands? Or could it revolutionize an entire artistic culture? That’s the question that forms the crux of the counter.
0 0 Reply
Anomius Maximus (No chance) 5 years ago
No way a robot would have ever been able to create a song as great, innovative, inspiring and culture changing as the masterpiece that is known as 'All Star' by Smash Mouth.
0 0 Reply
Matt 5 years ago
:)
0 0 Reply
Someone (Highly likely) 5 years ago
Sad but very likely. Many projects (e.g. Jukedeck and Aiva) have already proven this by analyzing works made by humans and creating their own pieces.
0 0 Reply
Nikola 4 years ago
But just because a robot can "make" music or "write" a book, i.e. create a composite of what's already out there, it doesn't mean that these professions will be overtaken by AI. People gravitate towards works of art created by humans, because reading a good book or gives you insight into the mind of the person who created it, in addition to possibly being relatable to you on a personal level.

Art is deeply individual, both from the perspective of the artist and the consumer of art. I'd say it's very hard to imagine that any creative profession that's grounded in relaying the sensory, emotional, intellectual, and philosophical experiences of the world would ever cease to exist. People will always feel the need to tell stories and express themselves through art, and other people will always want to hear those stories and consume that art. It's because art gives more meaning to our lives. It elevates our experience of living to another level.

There's a difference between automating jobs like assembly line work or driving and automating creative work. The former can arguably be perfected through automation, while the latter becomes devoid of meaning through automation.

Only one way I can imagine this happening is if all humans cease to exist, and we're replaced by machines. But if that happens, I won't be around to care.
0 0 Reply
Rachel Farina 1 year ago
You are right. What happens when we no longer can decipher what is and isn't created by AI? There are no regulations in place at the moment, zero laws, no certification or copyright process to say, "This was created by a human." Not a surprise given no one wants to but the brakes on big tech. But I sadly feel like this line will get very blurred, and AI and its billionaire founders will be all the more eager to keep it blurred so people keep using their AI, driving costly human artists and musicians and writers into obsolescence. There will be room for them in the highest realms of the arts and humanities, which still cuts out 90% of working artists.
0 0 Reply
Zaran Jathaul (No chance) 5 years ago
You can't automate music. Unless it is dub step but even then people have to make that. After hundreds of years why has classical music always stayed popular? Because it is an advanced form of music that people understand once they get an advanced understanding of music and that is why people will always pay to see it live.
0 0 Reply

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