Like many media composers, I split my time between scoring TV shows and licensing music to Music Libraries. Nowadays, in my experience at least, to be chosen to score a TV show you’ll need to pitch even if you’ve worked with some of the team before and/or have been personally recommended. As such, last year …
If the ins and outs of royalties regarding Library Music leave you a bit confused, here’s a simple guide to how it all works, from the very basic through to a few common questions. What is a royalty? What we’ll be talking about here are “performing royalties”. Simply put, these are recurring payments …
Samples these days are pretty amazing. Over the last few decades we’ve seen huge advances in this area. It used to be that samples were used to create “mock ups” within film and TV soundtracks so that directors could hear what the piece would sound like before the track was recorded by an orchestra. The …
Towards the end of 2018 I was a panelist and mentor at a Film and TV composers convention in Los Angeles, California. The panel I had spoken on were critiquing tracks that were played for us at random from audience members and also talking to them of the suitability of these tracks for Production Music …
I went to visit my friend Matt last week in his home studio in Brooklyn. Matt is a really accomplished Library Music writer. He’s always working on several projects, usually for a handful of great Libraries. They pay him good upfront fees for his tracks, (typically $600 to $800 at the time of writing this …
Successful Production Music composers that I know really have got their skill-set down: The production sounds great and authentic to the style. The mix sounds clear and works for TV. But perhaps most importantly… The tracks ooze application. How Did They Do That?! Dig a little deeper into a …
Drums and Percussion are often a pivotal, driving force underpinning modern day soundtracks, especially within epic orchestral music, action sequences or tracks created for sports applications. If you’re looking for ways to make your Percussion samples sound bigger and fuller for your soundtrack piece, but when you layer them up things often get cluttered quite …
Wouldn’t it be great if you could know what kind of music Music Libraries were looking for and, even better, to be able to do that without even asking them? With the Music Library I co-own, you’d be surprised how little we’re asked what kind of music we’re looking for. Most people just send a …
There is a thing, that 80% of composers that are trying to get their music into Music Libraries overlook. If you’re trying to get Production Music placed into Music Libraries yourself and you overlook this one aspect, most Music Libraries are unlikely to take your tracks. Even if they do accept them, you’re usually going …
If you’re a songwriter, getting your song on a TV show could catapult your career as an artist overnight. With tools such as Shazam, suddenly thousands of people can be googling you within minutes of the show airing and heading to your website or social media pages, as well as streaming or purchasing your music, …