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Jon Meyer & Dave Kropf Chat About Community
Dave and John took a few minutes to hang out at October's Production Music Association Conference. They have some great things to say about finding your musical community. Check it out!
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.
Featured Composer: Youssef Rddad
Youssef is a recovering guitarist turned composer and music producer. This week, we feature his track, “Tradecraft.”
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.
Featured Composer: Jeff Hargrove
Jeff has been on the record side of the gospel music industry and a minister of music for his church for over 20 years. Now for the first time, he’s pursuing my first love, music composition.
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!
We Need to Talk About Waves
Fair warning: today’s podcast is a little ranty because we need to talk about Waves, their marketing strategies, and what you should know before you start dropping real money on plugin deals which seem too good to be true.
Plus we feature “To The Finish Line,” an indie/alt rock cue by 52 Cues community member Darin Pekham!
The Many Ways I Make Money Making Music
Nearly every composer I know doesn’t just compose for a living. They often find themselves cobbling together a career from many different aspects of the industry, from writing to arranging to gigging to teaching. So today, I thought I’d talk about all of the various ways I, personally, make money making music.
Are You Too Old to Start a Music Career?
On today’s show, I sit down and chat with longtime 52 Cues member, and now recent Full Sail graduate, Greg Fellman, who left his career in social work to pursue his dream of being a media composer.
Plus, we listen to three of his cues which were recently selected to be featured during the 2022 Full Sail Hall of Fame induction ceremony!
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!
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.
Podcast Transcripts Available!
You can download transcripts of podcast episodes here at 52 Cues! Whether you need a little extra hand hearing or just prefer to read, we’re here for you.
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.
The Truth About “Passive” Income
If you’ve done any research on building a music career, chances are you’ve come across the idea of “passive income," which sounds great! The idea of cranking out some cues and then raking in the royalties without having to lift another finger is certainly appealing!
Do We Really Need to Know Music Theory??
Do we have to know music theory as production music composers? I've invited Mrs. 52 Cues herself, Shannon Kropf, who’s quite literally written the book on music theory, to help answer this question!
Tips and Strategies for Maximizing Taxi!
On today's episode, I sit down and chat with two of our own 52 Cues members, Chris Moser and Jeff LaPlante, who seemed to have cracked the TAXI code! We talk tips, strategies, understanding Taxi’s strengths, and discuss the lessons learned in Taxi’s seemingly enigmatic and elusive screening process.