Film Career · Music
Supervising Music Editor
Music · Varies; AFM covers musicians
- Union
- Varies
- Day rate
- ~$50K–$250K+/yr
- Experience
- 8–18+ yrs
What does a Supervising Music Editor do?
A supervising music editor leads within the music department, answering for its output while managing the people and logistics behind it.
Union coverage for the position varies: afm covers musicians. Like every music role, the job is hired production by production, and repeat work comes from department heads who trust the name on the call sheet.
What does a Supervising Music Editor make?
- This is a department-head chair, toward the top of its department's range.
- 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 as comfortable managing people as doing the craft
- You make decisions calmly and own the results
The ladder
Related chairs in this craft family, ordered from entry toward leadership:
- 1Assistant Music Editor
- 2Music Editor
- 3Supervising Music Editor (this role)
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
~$50K–$250K+/yr
- Supervising Music Editoryou are here
~$50K–$250K+/yr
How do you become a Supervising Music Editor?
The path here is internal: the music department promotes this position from within, based on a track record built in its junior chairs. Start at the department's entry level and let the work argue for you.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.