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Featured Composer: Doug Knight
Doug is excited to be a part of this community of creatives! While new production music, he’s already seeing success with placements! He is learning as much as he can, and is enjoying the journey.
Is Tunesat Really Worth the $$$?
TuneSat can detect nearly any music placement on TV throughout the US and EU, and while it has its limitations, it can be a good way to see if your cues are getting traction. But what can we actually do with this information? And is it even worth the CRAZY subscription cost?
A Little Chat | Nine Keys While Uncluttering
Over the past three years, I've gone through a lot, from two major career changes to losing a dream job. Despite these challenges, I've managed to find success in my graphic design work, which has been great—but also unexpected.
This was never a part of my plan or vocational identity. So I've recently found myself asking, "Who am I, again? And what exactly am I doing with my life?" If you've ever felt this way, know that you're not alone - I'm going through it too.
Featured Composer: Enrico Caporale
Enrico Caporale lays some Cuban salsa on us! Visit the 52 Cues Community to check out the great feedback he got from community members!
How Will a Hollywood Writers Strike Affect Production Music?
A prolonged strike could narrow the opportunities for music synchs in shows and movies, which generated $318 million in 2022, or 2% of overall revenue, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
A Little Chat | Overwhelm
As much as I love my work, I've been feeling pretty overwhelmed lately. During the pandemic, I was working non-stop for my clients because—SUDDENLY—everyone needed everything online.
I went for about 2 years with no days off (not even weekends). I was doing the entrepreneurial “hustle” and becoming increasingly stressed out and unhappy. And to make matters worse, my dad passed away unexpectedly (not COVID). It was a lot to handle, you know?
10 Piano VSTs Compared!
While I’m not a pianist, I’ve certainly done a fair amount of piano programming as well as lot of research looking for that perfect piano sound. On today's episode I compare ten (yes ten!) piano libraries with examples from meditation to jazz and Beethoven to Debussy.
A Little Chat | Celebrating the Moment
Dave and I recently launched the Album Accelerator, which was a heavy lift. It was 35 gigs worth of information and six and a half hours of curriculum, so you can imagine the effort it took to put it together.
When we finally finished uploading everything, we were elated! But guess what happened next?
What do Editors Want?
It’s one thing to talk about what editors need, but it’s another to have the opportunity to hear straight from the source. So I was thrilled when I had the chance to chat with Josh Siegel, a film editor who makes his living making the shows that use so much of our music.
Featured Composer: Richard Bagley
Richard got tons of feedback on this trailer cue at the 52 Cues Community. In response, Bagley said:
“…[I] always really appreciate your comments, thank you. So important to get this kind of feedback, especially when you have been working on a track for some time and get so used to how it sounds. Together we are better - onwards and upwards!
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.
Featured Composer: Jenny Goodspeed
Jenny Goodspeed is a singer, songwriter, band member, and aspiring production music composer.
“I watched Dave Kropf’s awesome mixing and mastering workshop and some other electronic music mixing tutorials, and took a stab at new pulsing tension cue.”
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.