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Waves Goes Subscription…Only?
With zero fanfare and not even a heads up email to their customer base, Waves has gone subscription… only. So we’re gonna talk about it, look at what’s being offered and at what price, and discuss about how Waves has, literally overnight, managed to piss off everyone.
5 Books That Changed My Thinking
On today’s show, I go over five books that have transformed my way of thinking and helped in my career as a professional composer, even though they’re not explicitly about the music industry.
Featured Composer: Simon Armitage
Over 40 years musical experience. I read sheet music and also play by ear. I played with the late great big band drummer 'Eric Delaney' for a couple of years on tour. I toured the Piano bar circuit in Norway/Sweden doing Piano/Vocals/Entertaining. I now have a regular gig playing the well known Gleneagles hotel in Scotland. I have a passion for many different styles of music. I produce original music for film, TV, videos, advertising and weddings, high-quality inspiring, romantic, and dramatic instrumental tracks in Cinematic, Pop, Jazz, Blues, Country, Rock, Classical, and Folk music genres.
Must-Have Plugins
Regardless of mood, emotion, or genre, I keep finding myself dipping back into the same handful of plugins time and time again. So on today’s show I share the sounds and FX which have become so deeply embedded into my workflow that they should be immortalized into my own personal Mount Rushmore of plugins.
Featured Composer: Claudio D
This week I’ve been working on “Night Owl,” a dark, mysterious and calm instrumental cue featuring a fujara flute, piano, and dulcimer. Perfect for night scenes and wildlife documentaries.
The track was already accepted today by a label I write for. It will be released later this year. 💥
Do You Have What it Takes?
On today’s show, I share the 8 things I think it takes to be successful in the production music industry, with the understanding that most of these I’m still working on myself!
Plus in my Year of Taxi update, we’re going to check in on any returns or forwards and take a listen to this week’s submission which is a Lo-Fi/Chill Hop cue, and I give my thoughts a dark, mysterious cue written by 52 Cues Community Member, Claudio D
Featured Composer: Steve Mochel
Steve Mochel has styled himself as an “old dog learning new tricks.” He’s a composer, producer and musician getting back into the game. Written for a TAXI “Epic Hip Hop Instrumental for Sports” listing, this is Steve’s first share at the 52 Cues Community, and he got some great feedback from fellow composers and producers. Check this week’s podcast for Dave’s thoughts on the track!
The 4 Stages of Competence
When you’re just getting started, you don’t even know what you don’t know, but when you learn a little then you know. You continue this until finally, you know what you know, you know there’s more to know, but you’ve stopped thinking of what you know because now you know it.
This is the path to learning any new skill, and on today’s show, I’m going to unpack each these four stages of competence and discuss how they correlate to the production music process.
Let’s Talk Metadata
Wrangling keywords and mood terms across spreadsheets, PDFs, and submission forms, can feel pretty soul sucking at times, but metadata just may be the most important part of the life of a cue!
On today’s show, I go over the most common type metadata found in libraries and give you some of my strategies that could mean the difference between getting placed or getting passed over.
Featured Composer: Gun-Britt Sundstedt
Gun-Britt Sundstedt has a small music studio in Stockholm, Sweden. She worked in an architectural office for 40 years, and painted pictures and had exhibitions for 20 years. Now, she just wants to learn more about making music. Her paintings become record covers for her songs!
Creativity Using Live
On today’s show, I welcome composer, educator, and certified Ableton Live guru, Christina Horn, who talks about how she uses the non-linear and expansive capabilities of Live to unlock her creativity, and how she relishes in breaking through stereotypes.
Featured Composer: Alex B
Alex B is a pop, lofi and hip-hop composer and producer from Brazil who has been active in his home country's independent music scene since the early 2000's.
His music is packed with emotional performances, expressive guitar licks and mellow keys, all blended in passionately crafted sonic atmospheres. He finds inspiration in a variety of contemporary artists, like Mondo Loops, Steven Beddall, FKJ, Tom Misch and classic Brazilian icons such as Tom Jobim, Djavan and Ed Motta.
A Chat with ReelCrafter
Household-name businesses are run by real people with a real passion to help others. I chat with Sam Hulick & Sara Pocius about their story ReelCrafter features, future, and maybe even what I got wrong. Plus this week’s featured composer, Daniel Rose!
Featured Composer: Daniel Rose
Daniel Rose is an aspiring composer and producer looking to build a career producing music for film and video games.
Rose has always loved it when he is able to tell who scored a film while watching a movie. While he attended Full Sail University, Dave Kropf introduced him to the world of Production Music. He began to explore production music as a parallel lane that laid very close to my passions and aspirations. He is now using this new lane to build his career as a composer.
The 10 Commandments of Production Music
So much of this gig is frustratingly inconsistent! But I’ve found there are some overarching guidelines which can help govern a lot of our choices. In this episode, I share my 10 Commandments of Production Music! Plus this week’s Featured Composer, Mojo X!
Featured Composer: Mojo X
Mojo X writes an impressive throw-back to the golden age of Broadway.
Featured Composer: Dex Williams
Dex Williams began composing for libraries in 2017, with the help of a friend. He’s earned placements on BBC Springwatch, Housewives of Atlanta, Police Interceptors, and more. He is a classically trained on clarinet and saxophone, and loves to play piano by ear. His musical interests are varied, and he incorporates rock, funk, metal, and blues into his work. He particularly enjoys writing orchestral hybrid music.
Dex is looking forward to focusing his efforts with the support of the 52 Cues Cues Community.
Is One Cue Per Week Really Enough?
I’ve said before that you need 100’s of cues to make a living in the production music industry, but is one cue per week really enough? Today I’m going to unpack and illustrate how productivity and output might not be the linear journey we think it is.
We’ll take a listen to “Waltz of Shame,” the latest submission in my “Year of Taxi” and check in on any forwards or returns.
Featured Composer: Rolf Schild
Rolf Schild is an experienced composer/producer from Germany. He started composing music in 1976 after founding his first band. He’s been composing ever since.
Influenced by the orchestral and fusion bands from the 70's and by his education on classical guitar, his music comprises a huge variety of genres and styles. in 1996, Rolf started to produce music with DAW. He enjoys writing production music and has placements on ABC and hulu.
Read the @#$%& Brief! (Anatomy of a Taxi Listing)
I’ve started my Year of Taxi, and I thought it’d be a good idea to talk about the anatomy of a brief and discuss how everything we need to know is right there in the listing!
We take a listen to "Entered Into Evidence," the first submission in my Year of Taxi and check in on any forwards or returns.
We also take a listen to a dark, moody EDM cue written by 52 Cues Community Member, Rolf Schild.