News | Podcasts | Articles
Q&A LIVE
Join me for a special Q&A episode recorded live! I answer your questions about streaming royalties, loudness and mastering practices, sound design, referencing in Ozone, the artisan approach, ride cymbal programming, overcoming fear of submitting to libraries, and many more!
Production Music Q&A
Dive into the world of production and library music with Dave Kropf on the 52 Cues podcast. This episode covers mastering alts and stems, AI tools, pitching to libraries, choosing sounds for cues, backend royalties, finding references, mastering dynamic tracks, panning practices, using samples, placements in PRO catalogs, transition music, and learning sample libraries.
Explore the ins and outs of being a working production music composer!
Do Libraries Owe Us a Response on Returns?
Last week I posed a burning question: should libraries reach out to composers whose music was forwarded by Taxi but not selected? This ignited a spirited discussion among composers, publishers, and everyone in between, shared via YouTube comments, our 52 Cues community, DMs, and emails.
Join me this week on the 52 Cues Podcast as we dive deeper into the Taxi debate with their President and CEO, Michael Laskow. We'll uncover the truth behind showbiz rejections, learn how to bounce back from bruised egos, and examine why Taxi-forward success might make make the silence sting that much more.
52 Cues Members Make Air on CBS!
Two 52 Cues members made the CBS Sports broadcasts over the weekend. Both of these tracks were submitted through a 52 Cues Workshop calling for sports cues. Congrats Michael Sinay and Steven Beddall!
Production Music Association Conference Panels Available on YouTube!
The Production Music Association has posted archives from all of the PMC 2022 Panels up on their YouTube page and conveniently into a single playlist! We’ve posted some videos which are of particular interest below here. We encourage you to check out the playlist.
Also—find out the origin of our new favorite mantra at 52 Cues: “read the @#$%& brief!”
From Pitch to Prime Time: Your Cue’s Journey to Air
Though we're all familiar with "Write - Submit - Forget - Repeat," there is much more that goes into your cue getting air! Once it leaves your digital desktop for the library, what happens then?
Will Artificial Intelligence Ever Replace Composers?
Why do we get such anxiety over how technology and AI might one day make us all obsolete? To help us understand why we might get so wound up about the threat of technology, I thought it’d be a good idea to get an historical perspective, so I welcome back Mrs. 52 Cues herself, Shannon Kropf, who takes us on multiple centruries-long journey to show us that technological apprehension is nothing new!
July Workshop: Managing Metadata
Learn how to manage your metadata and increase your sync library placements!
The Global Royalty Machine: Ins, Outs, and Oportunities
Collecting royalties around the globe involves a vast network of sub-publishers, PROs, MCOs, administrators, integrated licensing hubs, and more. Join us for an in-depth roundtable discussion to learn more about what these different service providers do, what income streams they manage, and how to best utilize them to maximize your royalties beyond U.S. borders.
All About the Production Music Association
I sit down and chat with the executive director of the Production Music Association, Morgan McKnight. She answers questions about the organization, what the PMA does for composers in the business!
Never Say Never! (Or Always)
It seems like a lot of professionals in the music industry like to deal in absolutes, so on today's episode I thought it’d be a good idea to talk about why we should probably get rid of absolute words like "never" and "always" from our production music vocabulary.
Why Dave Kropf Quit TAXI!
Join Michael Laskow as he digs deep to find out WHY Dave Kropf left TAXI, plus a bunch of other great tips on making a career out of doing TV music. This just might be one of the most powerful episodes of TAXI TV ever!
July Workshop: Managing Metadata
Learn how to manage your metadata and increase your sync library placements!
Making Music Income
This week, Dave talks with Eric Copeland from Make Music Income. Eric’s mission is to help other composers find the many ways they can support a career in music.