Few things sound less professional than bragging that you are a professional.
In our industry it is assumed that everyone working within it aren't amateurs.
...
The composers in this photo are DANNY ELFMAN, JOHN WILLIAMS, JERRY GOLDSMITH, JAMES NEWTON HOWARD, HANS ZIMMER, ELMER BERNSTEIN, JOHN BARRY, QUINCY JONES, MAURI...
Here is another industry trend prediction for further discussion:
As games continue to expand in size and scope, the desire for great scores will continue to...
Five years ago I wanted an arranger/programmer to take a piano tune composed by my son when he was 16 and write and record a score for a music video I had put t...
Back in the days when John Williams performed his masterpiece E.T. live to picture it would have been difficult to foresee the explosion of this art form that w...
Really? Why are you here?
I feel life becomes much clearer and decisions much simpler to make when there is clarity on what our purpose is.
When I was con...
My next industry trend prediction to discuss centers around opportunities.
The has NEVER been a time with more opportunities for media composers. And those o...
The next future industry trend prediction to discuss involves packages.
Composers being responsible for packaging the recording costs of their scores has bec...
Here is another prediction of industry trends for further discussion:
Melodies are going to make a big comeback.
After a rather long stretch of the emphas...
Here is my next prediction for a future trend in our industry for further discussion:
The current trend toward multi-disciplined composers will be become eve...
It is not uncommon to hear composers gripe about how "they" (producers, studios, filmmaker) don't respect them.
This has become a popular mantra in conversat...
Here is the next industry I predict for the future for further discussion:
Currently, entry-level scoring jobs almost never pay.
That will become even mor...
Another prediction regarding future trends in our industry to discuss further:
Many more under-represented groups such as women and minorities will be diving...
It goes under several names: The Eeyore Syndrome , The Debby Downer Dilemma or the Energy Vampire Plague.
They all describe the style of those who dump a tep...
Here is my next industry trend prediction to discuss in more detail:
Socially responsible contributions will matter even more in the future.
Millennials c...
On my favorite television programs SHARK TANK the investors hearing about new products and services keep asking "What problem are you solving?"
You could hav...
My next prediction of industry trends for us to discuss in more detail is how the shift to recording scores international that has taken place already is only g...
Another prediction of future trends to discuss in more detail:
There will be an even greater increase in the demand for composers coming out of other music d...
There has been much discussion regarding the future of music libraries in my other Predictions thread.
Reposting it here to give it its own thread for additi...
I recently bombarded us with a massive list of predictions of industry trends in the future.
To give them better focus and more thorough discussion, I am now...
Here are are some of the trends I see developing for media composers in the future.
This not a wish list of how I do or do not want things to unfold. It is m...
There were two sisters who grew up in the Valley who LOVED music. Hendra leaned towards rock and Roza adored classical. Both were skillful in performing at an e...
What do we do when we have passions, interests and talents different, deeper and wider than those that are being currently being utilized?
For me, I have a r...
Media Music composing has been around for a long time. There is AMPLE information out there about what the job typically entails.
Here is a partial list of t...
These were my first two bosses in Hollywood, Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yorum Globus who ran the low-budget/low quality film studio Cannon Films back in ...
HOW MANY INDUSTRY EVENTS DO YOU ATTEND PER WEEK?
Entertainment industry hubs like Los Angeles literally offer dozens of industry events week in and week out....
I am trying to educate myself more about how media composers make their living in 2016.
While I am knowledgeable about this subject at one end of the spectru...
A few years from now, if you have a career as a film composer, you aren't going to even remember how much you made or how much you lost doing your first batch o...
I have come to realize I have begun to associate the generic phrase "he/she is a talented composer" to actually mean, "I really don't have anything specific to ...
One of the most common traps that gets in the way of media composers is self-delusion, especially about where they are in their scoring career.
While you may...
Lots of very talented folks make really yummy cupcakes. Their family and friends love them. There is no reason for those people to stop making them for fun or a...
Growing up listening to film music was fairly limited to hearing it in the movie or on a soundtrack album.
Occasional a pops orchestra might do a "Tribute to...
I have heard this premise brought up many times over the years (including today on this forum).
Here are a few things to consider:
1. MEMOIRS OF AN INVISI...
When John Debney and I heard Disney was remaking THE JUNGLE BOOK we knew it was something we really wanted to pursue full-force.
Though director Jon Favreau ...
A common trait I have observed amongst the most successful media composers is an INSANELY STONG and disciplined work ethic.
In addition to their talents, pas...
We all have complex and interesting relationships with money. They are frequently informed by our parents' attitudes and stories about it. We sometimes follow t...
Before sending your music out to filmmakers, studios, music supervisors, agents and others, I HIGHLY recommend sitting down with friends, family and, hopefully,...
Just read the amazing interview with Alan Silvestri about how his gamble on new equipment and recording a demo for ROMANCING THE STONE lead to landing that job ...
We all hear voices, including our own, discouraging us.
This can come from a wide variety of sources (friends, enemies, family, media, competitors, advisors,...
Per the request of a few forum members, here is one of the demos I created for an animated musical I wanted to sell.
I had moved to LA from Bakersfield with ...
BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES AND THE ADDICTIVE POWER OF THEIR MUSIC.
I am always excited when I meet a composer who is itching to create recordings to ...
To expand on a different thread on the risks of doing demos, it is well worth noting that demoing certainly isn't the only form of gambling a composer faces.
...
Someone just made me aware of this new forum for Film, TV and Media Composers. Congrats on your launch. Wishing you much success.
There is such a need for op...
Richard Kraft is the co-owner of Kraft-Engel Management, one of the world’s leading agencies specializing in representing film, theatre, television and video game composers, songwriters and music supervisors.
