Essential Audio Jobs in Live Music
Live music is one of the most essential parts of the music industry, and not just because of its economic impact. It allows artists to play and interpret their music outside the studio, letting the songs grow further.
It involves the audience in the song development process, creating a strong bond with fans. Part of this connection is the sound of the live performance, which brings together many professionals in the audio world to achieve it — people who turn great performances into memorable experiences.
In our latest blog, alumnus, producer and engineer Carlos Bricio introduces you to essential audio jobs in live music and explains how they help create deeper connections with the audience.
Let’s dive in!
Front Of House (FOH) Engineer
This is probably the most well-known audio job in a live show. You’ve no doubt seen someone at the back of the venue, behind a mixing desk, with a small lamp, moving faders around. And, if you are a musician, you know your show is in their hands. This is the Front of House (FOH) Engineer.
The Front of House Engineer in charge of this position takes care of the sound for the whole event. This role ensures the music played on stage reaches the audience as intended. This process involves mixing every audio source, assessing and mitigating any acoustic issues with the venue, and creating a consistent listening experience throughout the audience.
Even if the artist brings their own engineer to the show, having a FOH engineer helps ensure the best sound possible for the show, since they know the venue well.
Monitor Engineer
The sound on stage is entirely different from the sound for the audience. The PA is facing the opposite direction, and the size of the venue compared to a rehearsal stage makes it impossible for the musicians to rely only on their instruments to hear each other.
That’s where the monitor engineer comes into play. Monitor engineers are in charge of the mix or mixes the artists get on stage, and it’s essential for the correct performance. Artist mixes are not copies of what is delivered to the audience; in fact, they can be completely different and even need more than one mix on stage.
Monitor engineers take a copy of everything playing, create custom mixes, and deliver them to the talent. They are responsible for making the artists comfortable on stage so they can deliver their best performance, but also keep close communication with FOH to make sure everything is running smoothly.
In smaller venues, the sound of FOH and monitors is managed by the same engineer. But, as the events grow and the venues get bigger, a dedicated person needs to be in charge of these different roles.
Sound Designer
The ‘Sound Designer’ is responsible for creating all the sounds played at the show. This person creates the sounds and audio that bring the live experience to life. From backing tracks and sound effects to creating cue lists, the sound designer is one of the most critical audio roles in live music. This is because they are elevating the performance and creating a more immersive experience.
Live Playback engineer
The ‘Live Playback Engineer’ ensures the backing tracks, cues and sound effects are correctly reproduced at the indicated time. They follow the show and cue list created by the sound designer and trigger playback at the right time.
The live playback engineer also manages any automation and click sends for the musicians necessary to ensure the correct progress of the show.
Production Sound Manager
The person behind this role takes care of everything happening on stage, planning the location of musicians as well as sound system cables and PA.
Stage Hunts
This group of professionals are the hands and ears of the engineers on stage. They position the microphones, plug everything in and confirm all the signals are coming through. However, most importantly, they take care of whatever the artists need on stage.
Stage Hunts maintains continuous communication with the FOH and Monitor Engineers to ensure everything on stage is working and correctly positioned.
Audio Director
The Audio Director’s role is all about managing the audio-related aspects of live events. From the technical needs and requirements of the event to ensuring audio is delivered to FOH, stage, or broadcast at the highest quality. The Audio Director is responsible for the successful experience of both artist and audience.
Producer
Similar to a Producer in the studio, a Live Show Producer orchestrates and manages every aspect of the show. From FOH, musicians, sound delivery and even lighting and video to ensure the final product is delivered as it was initially imagined and the audience gets a memorable experience.
Carlos Lellis, Angel One
In Summary
Many of these jobs or roles can be combined depending on the act, size of the venue and budget. As we previously mentioned, it’s not uncommon for the FOH and monitor engineer to be the same person in smaller venues. They can also be found on stage, hunting or handling audio director duties.
On the other hand, as technology has become more accessible, artists have taken charge of roles such as sound designer, live playback engineer, and sometimes even monitor mixing engineers, creating in-ear preset mixes that work in almost any scenario. But as the size of the gig grows, it’s essential to learn to delegate and let others manage different aspects of the show. Also, let’s face it, it’s more fun to work as a team than just by yourself!
If all goes well, most of these roles are invisible to the audience. They are the unsung heroes of live shows, all at the service of the artist and, most importantly, of the audience.
If you enjoyed finding out more about essential audio roles in live music, then check out our panel discussion with industry specialists on music industry careers, at Abbey Road Studios’ Amplify event a couple of years ago. You can watch it here.
Fancy exploring more creative roles in music? Check out our Advanced Diploma in Sound Engineering and Music Production. Stay tuned for more stories about live sound in our blogs!
