Does any one know how much they get paid and what it takes to become one?
I know there are jobs for magazines but that looks like there is a lot of competition. Where else could someone find a job in transcribing?
Yeah, there's a huge amount of competition - because the market is vanishing. I used to do transcriptions for side money when I was in college, and found plenty of work - but the work just isn't there like it used to be.
The market has changed because the technology changed. When I did them in the 70s, almost all charts were hand-written. A composer would write a master chart for a band/jingle/film or TV score/etc., and the band leader or conductor would then hire transcribers to create the individual parts for the musicians. But today, most of the composers and arrangers are using midi-based software (which makes it possible for them to instantly check their work).... and those programs make individual parts available at practically the push of a button. This has largely eliminated one category of work, for "copyists".
There's a second type of transcription work called "takedowns", where you listen to a recording and make an accurate transcription of it. There's still a market for that - it's how publishers get their tabs for music books and magazines. Songwriters may want lead sheets done from recordings, or bands may want a part trancribed 'off the record'. I still do some of this work, but I average only 1-2 projects a year. There are a few people who do this full-time, though.
As far as the money to be made, it's shrinking as technology makes things faster. You'll want that technology - pro software will set you back $600-1,000, and you'll need access to a large-format printer if you're doing parts for musicians - anything that's more than one page gets printed on 11x17 sheets and folded.
If you're in a union copyist situation, rates vary a lot depending on the use for the music. Scale for copyists by the hour run from about $17 to $46, depending on use (public television pays the best); there are other rates by the page for various types of work, which run from about $4 per page to about $28 per page (you get more if there are chords, if transposition is needed, if it's a conductor's part, etc). The majority of union copyist jobs are now only found in L.A. or New York.
You could try freelancing. Logical customers are bands, recording studios, advertising agencies that do radio/TV work, music teachers and schools. Your results will vary by your market and sales ability.
A couple of years ago I had the bright idea that there was an overlooked market - that school musicians might lose concert parts, and the band leaders would need replacements. So I contacted tons of school music directors... and made virtually nada (about 200 hours invested in selling time, about $50 in income). I discovered that a lot of band leaders don't give out the charts like they're supposed to - they give photocopies instead, and keep the originals.
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