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What Makes a "Good" Cue? | 52 Cues Podcast, 2024 Week 34
In this episode, Dave unpacks the essential elements that make a cue truly stand out in the competitive world of production music. He explores the often-overlooked qualities that can elevate one cue above another and the fundamental components that every professional cue must have.
Expedition 52: A Year-Long Composer Quest
Your challenge? To compose one cue per week, each a stepping stone towards your personal summit. Whether you are a seasoned production music composer or just beginning your career, Expedition 52 offers a platform to elevate your skills, creativity, and network.
From Sample Making to Filmmaking with Jon Meyer
We production music folks tend to have a lot of irons in the fire and I can’t think of a leader in our industry who best embodies this than Jon Meyer (@JonMeyer)!
Jon has just released his brand new Kontakt instrument, Soft Drums, and I wanted to have him on the show to not only talk about that, but also, to share how he balances so many creative outlets - from music making to sample making to filmmaking.
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!
Dave Guests on Songwriting for Guitar
We've got the talented Dave Kropf from 52 Cues joining us to chat about production music! We're diving deep into this niche world of sync licensing and Dave is here to drop some serious knowledge bombs.
Album Accelerator Launching March 2023!
52 Cuess Album Accelerator a self-paced experience which guide you through the entire process of creating a production music album ready for library usage. We’ll cover:
Coming up with an album concept
Finding inspiration for composing your cues
Navigating project management and deliverables
Finding libraries who need what you're best at writing
At the end of Album Accelerator, you’ll have a private Review and Strategy Session with Dave Kropf. We'll go over your album and set you on the path towards success.
2022 in Review (and What Comes Next!)
We’ve come to the end of another year here at 52 cues, and it’s been a great one with lots of growth, opportunities, and challenges. So this week I wanted to take a moment to reflect on 2022, talk about some of the wins and losses, and look forward to what’s ahead for 2023!
Getting Into Game Music | With Adam Fligsten
I’m curious about game music! I chat with Adam Fligsten, founder of the music production company Silen Audio, about his journey from production music to game music, and how the library and game music worlds overlap.
Bebop Killed Jazz | With Shannon Kropf
On this week's episode, I welcome our resident music historian, Shannon Kropf, to discuss the rise of jazz's popularity, the cultural reasons it formed the way it did, how bebop musicians played a big role in its ultimate demise, and what lessons are to be learned for us production music composers.
Saying the Quiet Parts OUT LOUD! | with Anne-Kathrin Dern
In this interview, Anne-Kathrin Dern discusses her educational path, her career in film music, and how her YouTube channel seeks to pull back the curtain on the good, the bad, and the ugly in Hollywood show business.
PMC & Taxi Road Rally Review
This fall, I attended both the Production Music Conference and the Taxi Road Rally. Today I share my unbiased and honest thoughts while comparing and contrasting each conference. I think this will help you decide which conference might right for you.
5 Ways to Stay in the Creative Flow State
When we’re composing, we strive to maintain this creative flow state, but some days that feels harder than others! So on today’s episode, I unpack 5 things you can do to help keep you in that flow state, feeling more creative, and more productive.
Do We Really Need a Web Presence?
How big a factor is luck in our careers? On today’s episode we turn to the research of Dr. Richard Wiseman, Professor of Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, and we examine the 4 Principles of Luck and discuss how they might apply to us as production music composers.
What’s Luck Got to do with It?
How big a factor is luck in our careers? On today’s episode we turn to the research of Dr. Richard Wiseman, Professor of Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, and we examine the 4 Principles of Luck and discuss how they might apply to us as production music composers.
Make Your Publisher’s Job Easy (Chat with Michael Laskow)
When we pitch our cues to libraries, we want to make the process as smooth and painless as possible, so on today’s episode, I sit down and chat with Michael Laskow,@TAXI Independent A&R, who works with publishers every day, and we discuss what we composers can do to reduce friction when it comes to getting our music into libraries.
How is Production Music Different Than Film Music?
There are some key differences that separate production music from other careers like film music, game music, and even songwriting, and today I want to discuss what really separates production music from other music for film, tv, games, and advertising.
4 Ways to Jumpstart Your Creativity!
We’ve talked about how important sustainable creativity is for the production music composer, but what happens when you got nothing or a deadline hangs over you like the sword of Damocles? On this week's episode, I’m going to give you 4 ways that I jumpstart my own creative process when time is short or energy is low.
The Inconvenient Truths About Production Music
Being a production music composer is not always lollipops and sunshine, and truth is, there are some pretty sobering and inconvenient truths about this industry that you should know before you go all in. So today, we’re going to say the quiet parts out loud, and talk the aspects of the gig which you just need to get ok with.
Collaborations and Conferences with Tracey and Vance Marino
On today’s episode, I sit down and chat with Tracey and Vance Marino, authors of “Hey That’s My Song," and we discuss their experiences in navigating the co-writing process and chat about the upcoming PMA conference and Taxi Road Rally!
5 Steps to Starting Your Music Production Career
It used to be the TV industry’s best kept secret, but more composers are getting hip to how they can carve out a career for themselves writing production music. So here are the 5 steps to starting your music production career!