SonicAlbert said:
None of this takes into account that what we are talking about here is an "art". The five criteria mentioned are kind of a joke when it comes to the music and audio business. It looks good on paper but it's like applying accountant thinking to the music/audio arts. It just doesn't fit.
Let's take a step back. I've been a musician longer than I've been an accountant. Believe it or not, some accountants view their work as "creative". They are wrong.
But audio engineers are also somewhat wrong with we view our work strictly as an art. Medicine has also been described as an art, far longer than audio engineering. But it isn't an art either, it's a science, nuanced by years of professional experience that yields an extremely complex set of decision criteria--which when viewed by a layperson, could resemble an art.
Guys and gals, if we lose sight of the fact that we work for artists, but are mainly technicians, we do ourselves a disservice. Many (most) of us are also musicians, and that artistic knowledge informs engineering. However, I maintain that it's possible to describe a series of decision rules that would describe any audio engineering process. They would be extensive; it would be tedious, but it could be done.
This is what Bruce is recognizing: the software tools will eventually advance to the point that a near-professional result can be obtained with little knowledge. It won't be a true professional job, because it will lack
professional judgment. But the layperson will not be able to tell the difference.
It's already happened in accounting. The questionnaires in Turbotax are pretty damn good (although taxation is a subset of accountancy, and strictly speaking, not what licensure is about). In law, you've got all the home legal software. And it's happening in medicine too.
Of course, you scoff, you can tell the difference between a true pro mix and an artificial one. Yes you can--and that is why you should have certification.
Can you tell the difference between a Turbotax job and a real pro tax return? I can--but if you just have a W-2, there is no difference. But I mean a fat meaty return, with lots of schedules and attachments.
A "licensing exam"? Are you kidding me? Seriously, this business just doesn't work that way. You are good or you aren't. If you are good you get hired hired, if you aren't you don't.
Yes, an exam. How hard is it to write 100 multiple choice questions that any pro engineer could ace? Tack on a PMC as an essay question.
I've been a working professional in music since I graduated from college, and not once and I mean *never*, has any employer asked me where I went to school or expressed any interest in my training at all. It's all about what you can do, your talent and skills.
What I am contemplating is a future where no one is hired, because the cost of entry is so low (as it is in accountancy). You're an independent contractor now, word of mouth means relatively little over the internet.
"Continuing professional education"? Where? Studying what? And if you are good at your job and have clients, where do you find the time? Further, your continuing education comes from your clients and the music you are working with, not a deadhead teacher at the head of a class. Where do you find an educational institution where the teachers have more experience and knowledge than you at that point?
How is your question any different for law or accounting or medicine? I've got partners at the firm I work (consult) for billing 3,500 hours this year -- at over $500/hour. Seriously, if they can afford the time for CPE (they have to), you can too.
CPE classes aren't taught by colleges, they are taught by working pros, and they are some of the more valuable classes one can take. Your clients are a subset of the whole industry, and CPE gives you access to the best in the business bringing you a perspective you wouldn't otherwise have.
Yeah, it's a pain, yeah, it's expensive. Some professionals treat it as such and that's unfortunate.
Heck, I dabbled in the wine industry for a while. Lots of CPE there, even though there is no certification. Winemakers and grapegrowers believe they are artists too--they aren't, but they are much like audio engineers, and that's a who-you-know business too--with lots of drinking
They get together multiple times a year (except during crush) and constantly discuss their business practices down to minutiae--everything from pruning techniques to presentations that seem like final exams in organic chemistry. But they learn from each other. I'm a nobody, but I took classes from absolute legends in that industry--equivalent to Katz, Massenburg, etc. Those guys took the time to teach because they cared about the future of their industry, and they realized that a bunch of low-quality, uneducated start-ups could hurt the reputation of their industry.
I could go on and on. Once again, my point is simple: you are attempting to apply accountant business practices to an art, and it just doesn't fit on any level. I know that I can't make this clear just by writing about it. The only way you can really understnad what I'm saying is if you change careers and work in music/audio full time for a period of decades. You've got to get to know the people, the interactions, how the flow of things goes. The way these businesses work, i.e. "law, accountancy, nursing, medicine, education, etc.", is VERY different than the way things work with music.
I believe your experience is limited. I know you have an incorrect view of CPE. Law and accounting work almost entirely on personal relationships. There is less drug use, but I'll bet lots of money the rest is much the same.
But that doesn't particularly matter in considering certification, because it doesn't have to work exactly the same way as other professions. In fact, no two professions work the same way--in law you don't have to go to law school in all states, in accountancy you don't have to be certified to prepare tax returns (just audit financial statements), etc.
Economically, certification or licensure serves as a barrier to entry. What Bruce is arguing for is a way to keep low-quality service providers out. That's what we are really talking about. Ultimately, whether it's an art or a science, it is a business, or at least trying to stay that way
