Film Career · Music
Music Editor
Music · Varies; AFM covers musicians
- Union
- Varies
- Day rate
- ~$50K–$250K+/yr
- Experience
- 3–7 yrs
What does a Music Editor do?
The music editor is a working craft position in the music department on film and television productions.
Union coverage for the position varies: afm covers musicians. The role is engaged show by show, and careers in music are built on the department heads and crews who hire the same trusted people back.
What does a Music Editor make?
- Music pay is mostly per project: coordinators and editors modest, and supervisors and composers negotiated per film or episode.
- Roughly $50K-$250K+ a year, with marquee credits far above (AFM covers musicians).
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
Government wage data
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the closest federal occupation.
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You understand music and licensing
Soft skills
- You are a dependable team player who makes the department run
- You like hands-on work and getting the details right
The ladder
Related chairs in this craft family, ordered from entry toward leadership:
- 1Assistant Music Editor
- 2Music Editor (this role)
- 3Supervising Music Editor
Career progression
Within this craft family the recognized progression runs from assistant music editor toward supervising music editor, with each step earned through set time and the trust of the chairs above. Where this role sits on that ladder is less important than how the music department works: people move up when the department already believes they can do the next job.
A typical path, from entry to the top of the craft. Times are rough and vary by market, luck, and how steadily the work comes.
~$50K–$250K+/yr
- Music Editoryou are here
~$50K–$250K+/yr
~$50K–$250K+/yr
How do you become a Music Editor?
The working route in is through the music department's junior positions: assist the people holding this chair, learn the standards the department runs on, and take the small versions of the job wherever they are offered.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.