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5 Ways the 80/20 Rule Can Boost Your Career in Production Music
The 80/20 rule, or “Pareto Principle,” is a concept that states that 80% of the outcomes in life can be attributed to 20% of causes, and as it turns out, this principle can also be applied to our development as composers.
On this week’s episode, we unpack 5 ways to use this 80/20 rule to boost our careers in production music, as well as talk about some pitfalls to watch out for if this all goes sideways.
Featured Composer: Kris Claerhout
Kris Claerhout began his "sync" adventure at the beginning of the pandemic, finding great enjoyment in it—and earning a modest income as well. Kris is also a label manager and booking agent.
Featured Composer: Harley Toberman
Harley Toberman, also known as Toby Tune, is a versatile music artist whose career began at age 12. His musical range is broad, encompassing genres such as pop, jazz, comedy, trailers, children's music, classical, and Lo Fi. His most recent project is a 10 cut album of Lo Fi Chill music.
From Sample Making to Filmmaking with Jon Meyer
We production music folks tend to have a lot of irons in the fire and I can’t think of a leader in our industry who best embodies this than Jon Meyer (@JonMeyer)!
Jon has just released his brand new Kontakt instrument, Soft Drums, and I wanted to have him on the show to not only talk about that, but also, to share how he balances so many creative outlets - from music making to sample making to filmmaking.
Featured Composer: Dolfo Picanco
Picanco is a high school band teacher and life-long music maker. He’s been been composing and arranging for years, and is now investing in the creation and production of his own music.
Dolfo submitted Crush ’em All to the Community to get some feedback. It’s his first venture at a stomp/clap, though he has lots of experience with rock tunes. He mentioned that the cue still needs mastering work to clean up some 60 cycle hum. He asked for feedback specifically on structure, the level of interest it keeps, and thoughts on the stomp clap sounds.
Production Music Q&A
Dive into the world of production and library music with Dave Kropf on the 52 Cues podcast. This episode covers mastering alts and stems, AI tools, pitching to libraries, choosing sounds for cues, backend royalties, finding references, mastering dynamic tracks, panning practices, using samples, placements in PRO catalogs, transition music, and learning sample libraries.
Explore the ins and outs of being a working production music composer!
Do Libraries Owe Us a Response on Returns?
Last week I posed a burning question: should libraries reach out to composers whose music was forwarded by Taxi but not selected? This ignited a spirited discussion among composers, publishers, and everyone in between, shared via YouTube comments, our 52 Cues community, DMs, and emails.
Join me this week on the 52 Cues Podcast as we dive deeper into the Taxi debate with their President and CEO, Michael Laskow. We'll uncover the truth behind showbiz rejections, learn how to bounce back from bruised egos, and examine why Taxi-forward success might make make the silence sting that much more.
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?
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!
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.
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!
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