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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.
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!
February Workshop: Unlocking Creativity Using Ableton Live
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27 | 5-6:30PM
Join composer, producer, and certified Ableton Live trainer, Christina Horn, as she takes a deep dive into how she uses Ableton Live to express her true, creative self when writing music for film and TV.
3 DUMB Things Beatmakers Think…
From Navie D:
“Beatmakers believe some pretty dumdum things.
In this video, I am going to explain 3 dumdum things that I think are sabotaging your beats.”
And we think this includes cues, too!
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 Placement: Netflix “Jewish Matchmaking”
52 Cues Family member Jeff LaPlante’s music will air on Netflix’s “Jewish Matchmaking” in Spring 2023!
Jeff LaPlante is a composer/producer and multi-instrumentalist out of Western Massachusetts. Since making the jump from performer to production music for film and television in 2020, Jeff has found success with libraries all over the world.
Jeff LaPlante is a 52 Cues Family member.
Community Member Doug Knight Featured on TAXI
52 Cues Community member Doug Knight is currently featured on TAXI Favorites!
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.
Member Paul Croteau featured on TAXI TV
We were thrilled to see 52 Cues Community Member Paul Croteau featured on TAXI TV’s “Passenger Profile.”
Another exciting moment? Seeing his name in the music credits of “Spirited,” one of our new favorite Christmas movies!
Playing Guitar with Chopsticks
52 Cues member Nigel M. shared this video with us!
“I'm sure I'm not the first one in this group to have discovered this incredibly talented guitarist on YouTube, but my oh my, what an amazing sound.”
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 Placement: NFL Playoffs
A HUGE congratulations goes out to Jeff Hargrove, who scored a key placement on Sunday’s NFL Today on CBS Sports. He caught the coveted Opening Teaser, and we think that his cue could not be MORE perfect for this high-stakes moment!
Jeff Hargrove is a 52 Cues Family member and has completed the 52 Cues Mastermind with Dave Kropf.
January Workshop: Read the @#$%& Brief!
Join Dave Kropf as he takes a deep dive into his method for understanding library briefs and listings. He'll unpack his strategies for decoding terms and translating references for the best chance of placement and forwards!
Plus he'll go over how to avoid some of the pitfalls of cloning and how we can stay original without slipping into "artist brain!"
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.