From Digital to Digitalisms: Four Key Digital Skills to Pay the Bills as a Music or Audio Professional in 2025
It goes without saying, but the impact that technology has had on the music industry is profound. Every aspect of commercial music, whether production, distribution or consumption can be and has been digitised (to some degree at least), and with AI in the mix, this trend is only likely to continue. So much of the industry is reliant on computing and digitalisms; your reading of this article, on an electronic device, is, if anything, a testament to that; meaning that it’s more important than ever for music and audio professionals to be digitally proficient.
Digital literacy is the ability to create, curate, and synthesise information using digital tools. In the 21st century, it has become a must-have to navigate the world, and we at Future School believe that it’s equally important in the world of music. With 2025 in full swing, we wanted to take the opportunity to share a few digital skills that will help you make your mark in the industry:
Email Etiquette
While texting is quick and convenient, email is the common choice for most professionals and businesses when dealing in “official” matters. Knowing how to draft a formal and informative email can be the difference between building or breaking a network. Writing styles on email will vary from person to person, but a good rule of thumb is to be diplomatic, concise and respectful to ensure transparency and foster collaboration.
Zoom Etiquette
If the COVID pandemic taught us anything, it’s that you don’t always need to be in the same room as someone to work with them. This principle has trickled down quite considerably into the post-covid world, so knowing how to engage a client or colleague over a Zoom or Teams call is essential. This could be as simple as dressing up for important meetings (yes this includes pants), keeping your camera on and taking your meetings in a quiet location.
Digital Workspaces
While you don’t need to be an Excel maestro, having a grasp over at least one document editing suite – whether Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, or even Open Office (for all you Open Source fans) – will fuel your creativity and make collaboration infinitely more seamless. Not only can you organise your ideas – Notations, Scripts, project plans – in one place, but you can share these ideas with others in exchange for active feedback. We here at Future School use Google Workspace and we can tell you for a fact it has made working together loads easier.
Artificial Intelligence
The adoption of generative Artificial Intelligence in commercial music till now has been quite slow, but going forward it’s only going to speed up. While Gen AI tools like Suno and Sora that create media have sparked controversy among artists and labels alike, there are a barrage of other tools that, if used appropriately, could help you gain a first mover’s advantage and expand your portfolio. A quick google search on the “top music AI tools” will yield several platforms for generating, testing and refining ideas. Use these to enhance your creativity and produce work that pushes industry boundaries.
Building the aforementioned skills are crucial for collaborating and networking with other professionals in the industry. As an artist or engineer, how you communicate is just as important as the creativity you bring to your work, so good digital communication etiquette will be a valuable addition to your professional toolkit. By simply taking some time out of your schedule each day to work on these areas, you’ll be able to convey your ideas just as you see them, and demonstrate your competence as a music or audio professional in an increasingly competitive market…
