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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.
A Library wants my cue! What now?
Today, we're exploring what happens after a library accepts your cue. We'll cover contract management, detail deliverables like file formats and metadata, and examine the library's role in distribution and marketing. Additionally, we'll discuss the patience needed as your music establishes itself in the industry.
How To Think Like a Publisher (with Jason Rudd)
Publishers and library owners play a critical role in finding homes for our cues. Building relationships with these folks is a mission critical skill for any sync music composer. Jason Rudd, an executive producer for award-winning catalog Level 77 Music, offers perspective from the other side of the business.
I Suck at Guitar (and That’s OK)!
Have you ever wondered why picking up a new instrument feels like unlocking a superpower? In this episode, I explore how immersing myself in the world of guitar has reinvigorated music’s magic, sparking a sense of exploration and creativity that has been profoundly transformative!
Coming Up Through the Ranks with Guest Jonas Friedman
Name-brand composers often employ teams of ghost writers and composers assistants to help get their projects over the finish line. While an accomplished film/TV composer himself, Jonas Friedman joins me today to talk about his experiences in the industry and how often times paying your dues can really pay off.
How to Find the Art in Artisan (with Hans York)
We welcome production music veteran and 52 Cues member, Hans York, to the podcast this week to talk about his journey into production music, his role and experiences with Sync Academy and Sync My Music, and what he's been doing lately to stave off creative stagnation.
Who Needs Spitfire's Abbey Road 1st Violins??
Spitfire's latest orchestral release, Abbey Road Orchestra 1st Violins, offers an unparalleled level of detail and programming control, but with an eye-watering price of $449 for just one section, it begs the questions: who is this really for? Has Spitfire lost their way, and is it a smart purchase for the production music composer?
Can Subscriptions Actually Be Done Right? (A Roundtable Discussion)
YouTube Description: Dave delves into the debate around software subscriptions, drawing insights from 52 Cues Family members from across the globe. In this roundtable discussion, we explore the complexities of subscriptions, from user perceptions to the strategies of companies like Waves and Adobe.
Turning Pro
What separates hobbyists from professionals in music composition is not talent, but mindset, accountability, dedication, and an ability to embrace failure! In this episode, we talk patience, persistence, self-actualization, and the acceptance of failure as part of the road to success.
Demystifying the Cue with Dean Krippaehne
There's no shortage of YouTube channels about library and sync music but there aren't that many books about the production music industry. So when I had the opportunity to sit down with one of the few people really putting out great books about production music, I was more than happy to jump at the chance and welcome Dean Krippaehne to the podcast!
Musical Solutions to Mixing Problems
In this episode, we delve into the challenges of juggling both composition and production tasks, and uncover the 'composer first' approach that prioritizes musicality in three key areas: balance, dynamic range, and stereo placement. Learn how this strategy can simplify your workflow, minimize the need for technical fixes, and elevate the emotional impact of your cues.
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!
Standing Out in the Crowd
Have you ever wondered what it takes to build a unique brand in the music industry? Join me as I sit down with Jason Moss, the co-founder of Bulletproof Bear, to unpack his extraordinary journey from being a composer to becoming a music publisher. Jason shares his insights into the value of authentic relationships and how opening your circle to new individuals can make a significant impact.
Do You *NEED* a YouTube Channel?
What if YouTube could make a real difference in your career as a composer? This podcast episode provides an in-depth analysis of how to leverage YouTube for your career growth. Learn about digital sharecropping, cross-promotion tactics, and more!
You Should Learn Guitar | with Guest Mike Meiers
As production music composers, we often find ourselves reaching for virtual instruments first, but we also know that recording live instruments can bring magic to a cue!
On today's episode, I welcome Emmy Award-winning composer, songwriter, guitarist, and host of the Songwriting for Guitar Podcast, Mike Meiers, to talk about how he uses real instruments on his tracks, and how we shouldn't be afraid to pick up a guitar – even if we don't really know what we're doing!
Who Writes Those Plugin Demos?
One of my favorite things to do whenever any new synth, sample set, or patch library comes out is to take a listen to the demos, but who actually puts these demos together, and how do you land that gig?
Well, we are super fortunate to have a very accomplished demo writer right here in the community, and I’m thrilled to welcome Michal Sinay to this week’s episode of the 52 Cues Podcast.
The 5 Lies I Used to (and Still Do) Tell Myself
In the absence of facts, it’s human nature to substitute fears in place of truth, and it seems that no matter how much we grow up and how much we accomplish there are lies we tell ourselves that can keep up from being in the moment or achieving the very success we’re going after.
Left vs Right Brain Thinking for Composers
Our cognitive processes are generally divided into the two hemispheres of our brain. The “left brain” is analytical and logical. The “right brain” houses imagination and intuition. Let’s explore the intersection of neuroscience and composition!
How Gaming Makes Me a Better Composer
As a lifelong gamer, I've come to realize that the decades spent leveling characters, looting corpses, and stomping sentient fungus have led to real, tangible skills that have benefited me as a professional composer.
So today, we’re going unpack 5 ways in which gaming can help your career in production music!
September Workshop: Decoding Cues Through Modeling
Do you want to learn the secrets of how successfully published cues are written?
Join Dave Kropf as he discusses and demonstrates “Compositional Modeling,” the process of decoding instrumental, rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic aspects of reference material in order to use them in your own cues!