Musicians and Singers
Also called: Musician, Orchestra Musician, Singer, ViolinistPlay one or more musical instruments or sing. May perform on stage, for broadcasting, or for sound or video recording.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 5 of its 26 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 0.3% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 6.0% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 11.1 hires for every 10 job openings in arts, entertainment, and recreation, which employs about 63% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.11.1 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $23.79 an hour | $20.00 to $26.64 an hour | 190 |
| Arizona | not published | not published | 410 |
| Arkansas | not published | not published | 110 |
| California | $43.83 an hour | $28.23 to $75.32 an hour | 6,840 |
| Colorado | $46.27 an hour | $37.01 to $60.49 an hour | 420 |
| Connecticut | $50.75 an hour | $30.57 to $85.71 an hour | 520 |
| District of Columbia | not published | not published | 200 |
| Florida | $50.47 an hour | $27.00 to $106.46 an hour | 2,130 |
| Georgia | not published | not published | 540 |
| Hawaii | $52.59 an hour | $32.73 to $64.44 an hour | 740 |
| Illinois | $53.12 an hour | $21.82 to $77.59 an hour | 1,300 |
| Indiana | $39.92 an hour | $24.41 to $51.47 an hour | 400 |
| Iowa | $35.65 an hour | $22.49 to $64.09 an hour | 250 |
| Kansas | $28.64 an hour | $22.86 to $84.13 an hour | 260 |
| Kentucky | not published | not published | 130 |
| Louisiana | not published | not published | 150 |
| Maine | $35.76 an hour | $33.47 to $40.21 an hour | 30 |
| Maryland | $38.97 an hour | $30.60 to $59.68 an hour | 570 |
| Massachusetts | $38.92 an hour | $27.97 to $63.19 an hour | 680 |
| Michigan | $36.63 an hour | $23.96 to $53.07 an hour | 1,340 |
| Minnesota | $53.64 an hour | $31.16 to $132.05 an hour | 540 |
| Mississippi | not published | not published | 80 |
| Missouri | $39.22 an hour | $24.14 to $49.65 an hour | 620 |
| Montana | $46.84 an hour | $25.44 to $67.24 an hour | 260 |
| Nevada | $65.46 an hour | $26.53 to $92.00 an hour | 260 |
| New Jersey | not published | not published | 570 |
| New Mexico | $45.14 an hour | $26.25 to $88.60 an hour | 60 |
| New York | not published | not published | 5,470 |
| North Carolina | $57.96 an hour | $27.86 to $63.43 an hour | 750 |
| Ohio | $33.36 an hour | $24.98 to $60.79 an hour | 1,760 |
| Oklahoma | not published | not published | 280 |
| Oregon | not published | not published | 1,310 |
| Pennsylvania | not published | not published | 1,160 |
| Puerto Rico | not published | not published | 90 |
| South Carolina | $19.27 an hour | $13.11 to $47.84 an hour | 330 |
| Tennessee | not published | not published | 1,860 |
| Texas | $33.59 an hour | $23.62 to $60.52 an hour | 1,430 |
| Utah | $21.98 an hour | $18.39 to $27.69 an hour | 230 |
| Vermont | $21.82 an hour | $21.18 to $35.73 an hour | 30 |
| Virginia | $50.60 an hour | $25.00 to $54.98 an hour | 400 |
| Washington | $46.55 an hour | $30.00 to $64.89 an hour | 750 |
| Wisconsin | $36.61 an hour | $20.60 to $50.64 an hour | 380 |
Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 5 of its 26 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Perform before live audiences in concerts, recitals, educational presentations, and other social gatherings. | Not published |
| Not much | Practice performances, individually or in rehearsal with other musicians, to master individual pieces of music or to maintain and improve skills. | Not published |
| Not much | Specialize in playing a specific family of instruments or a particular type of music. | Not published |
| AI alone | Sight-read musical parts during rehearsals. | Not published |
| AI + software | Listen to recordings to master pieces or to maintain and improve skills. | Not published |
| Not much | Play musical instruments as soloists, or as members or guest artists of musical groups such as orchestras, ensembles, or bands. | Not published |
See all 26 tasks
| Not much | Provide the musical background for live shows, such as ballets, operas, musical theatre, and cabarets. | Not published |
| Not much | Play from memory or by following scores. | Not published |
| Not much | Seek out and learn new music suitable for live performance or recording. | Not published |
| Not much | Make or participate in recordings. | Not published |
| Not much | Interpret or modify music, applying knowledge of harmony, melody, rhythm, and voice production to individualize presentations and maintain audience interest. | Not published |
| Not much | Make or participate in recordings in music studios. | Not published |
| Not much | Teach music for specific instruments. | Not published |
| AI alone | Promote their own or their group's music by participating in media interviews and other activities. | Not published |
| Not much | Transpose music to alternate keys, or to fit individual styles or purposes. | Not published |
| Not much | Memorize musical selections and routines, or sing following printed text, musical notation, or customer instructions. | Not published |
| Not much | Audition for orchestras, bands, or other musical groups. | Not published |
| Not much | Improvise music during performances. | Not published |
| Not much | Practice singing exercises and study with vocal coaches to develop voice and skills and to rehearse for upcoming roles. | Not published |
| AI + software | Collaborate with a manager or agent who handles administrative details, finds work, and negotiates contracts. | Not published |
| Not much | Sing as a soloist or as a member of a vocal group. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Perform in television, radio, or movie productions. | Not published |
| AI alone | Research particular roles to find out more about a character, or the time and place in which a piece is set. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Sing a cappella or with musical accompaniment. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Observe choral leaders or prompters for cues or directions in vocal presentation. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Arrange and edit music to fit style and purpose. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | under 0.01% |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 2 of the 26 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 26 tasks fall under 8 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- #16 Create artistic designs or performances
- #41 Study details of artistic productions
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present arts or entertainment performances | |||
| Perform athletic activities for fitness, competition, or artistic purposes | |||
| Create artistic designs or performances | |||
| Study details of artistic productions | |||
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Promote products, services, or programs | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Train others on operational or work procedures |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Creative writing70%
- Audio or music6%
- An explanation or answer5%
- A document or report3%
- An analysis or summary2%
How they worked with Claude
10% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for musicians and singers specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 33,740 moves out
- 1 Self-Enrichment Teachers High +3.5% 6%
- 2 Music Directors and Composers High +1.2% 5%
- 3 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 4 Teachers and Instructors, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 3%
- 5 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 43,689 moves in
- 1 Self-Enrichment Teachers High +3.5% 6%
- 2 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 5%
- 3 Office Clerks, General Very high -6.0% 5%
- 4 Music Directors and Composers High +1.2% 3%
- 5 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 4% less than high school
- 13% high school
- 21% some college
- 5% associate's
- 32% bachelor's
- 21% master's
- 2% professional degree
- 2% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 1,869 people surveyed.
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
12 programs, such as Musical Theatre, Music, General and Music Performance, General.
See all
- Musical Theatre
- Music, General
- Music Performance, General
- Keyboard Instruments
- Voice and Opera
- Jazz/Jazz Studies
- Stringed Instruments
- Music Pedagogy
- Brass Instruments
- Woodwind Instruments
- Percussion Instruments
- Music, Other
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (musician). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Musicians and Singers” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/27-2042.00