Composer from UK, trying his best…

[davidagates]

Hi all,

Well, the leprechaun got me, I just couldn’t turn down an offer like that!

I’ll try not to waffle. So I’ve been doing this for 4 years now, I’d say good quality stuff (pro level) for 2. So far I’ve been in numerous Non-Exclusives, Pond5, Audiosparx, WeGetArtists (the usual suspects) but that’s only garnered one sale.

I joined Taxi about a year ago, and had quite a few forwards, particularly given how long some people have to wait. I got my first within a month and have had at least 10, but none have amounted to anything. I find their process an odd and inconsistent one, tbh, but to each their own, I don’t think I’ll be renewing.

I’ve been watching copious amounts of Make Music Income, had a coaching session with Eric Copeland (lovely chap), who was impressed with my work and I’ve tried reaching out to various Exclusive libraries, which has again been for nought.

I suppose this is my last chance saloon, I think I’m good, I work very, very hard at it (have a family, 2 jobs) but I just can’t seem to catch a break. I’m hoping being in a group like this, that’s very focused, will get me where I need to be.

Anywho, I would put a link up to my website, but I updated it this evening and it’s having a bit of do with it’s DNS, so I shall leave a link to my SoundCloud below.

Lovely to meet you all in advance, look forward to learning and progressing.

Cheers,

Dave
Crowbar Soundscapes

[Art Munson]

Hi Dave,

Welcome aboard, though no one can resist a leprechaun!

I listened to a few tracks and I think you are doing very well. The few things I heard are very cinematic and I can see why the likes of Pond5 and Audiosparx might not be the right place for you. Film, Trailer Music and Video Games would be a better market to go after (mind you I only listened to the first three).

You might like this article: https://musiclibraryreport.com/composer-tips/how-to-get-into-writing-music-for-film-and-video-games/

Also remember as in all things worthwhile: Patience and persistence, it’s a marathon not a sprint.

Best of luck!

[davidagates]

Hi Art!

Thank you for the warm welcome.

Yes, I think I missed the target with Pond5 etc. I think anything I do for them now will be on a sounded basis, no point spending days writing an Orchestral Epic if nobody wants it.

Words of encouragement (like your very kind ones about my work) give me the extra push I need to keep at it. It’s been my dream, I’ve worked bloody hard, I don’t intend to give up now.

Thank you again,

Dave

[Mark_Petrie]

Nice tracks Dave.

You have a wide range of genres there. My advice would be double down on just 2 – 3 genres you really enjoy working in, and getting your tracks in those genres to be even more authentic and pro-level produced.

The rock tracks seemed to be really well mixed, I’m not an expert in that area but they really impressed me.

I’m more of a cinematic, trailer focused composer. So if I was to judge those kind of tracks I heard, I’d say they need quite a bit of work in the arrangement, structure and overall authenticity to the genre. i.e. it’s not really enough to sound like trailer music, it has to sound exactly like trailer music.

If that’s an area you want to work in, then I’d recommend you immerse yourself in the genre (like you need to do with any genre really). You have to do reverse engineering of successful tracks, learn the patterns, tropes and voicings that have worked in the past. Learn how to write short hooks that can go the length of a 3 act track (not 3 sections… 3 dramatic ACTS). Then somehow build on all that knowledge to then write innovative music, stuff that pushes the envelope enough that it sounds ‘fresh’.

[davidagates]

Hi Mark,

Thank you for you feedback, I think Rock is definitely a genre I’m going to go down the route of learning, its also one of the ones that’s harder to synthesise (if that makes sense).

I also love doing Orchestral stuff, shame I seem to have avway to go by the sound of things, but I’m better at it now than I was. I will double down on my efforts there, it’s been a bit of a scatter gun approach so far as I don’t really know what I’m doing.

Are there any resources you’d recommend in regards to the three dramatic acts structure?

Kind regards,

Dave

[Art Munson]

Thanks for your comments Mark, always invaluable!

[Mark_Petrie]

I always recommend just listening to and studying high quality trailer music from companies like Audiomachine, Colossal Music, Brand X etc. Here’s a good list: https://boldvoid.com/blogs/ressources/comprehensive-list-of-trailer-music-publishers

When you listen, pay close attention to how a main idea (or ‘hook’) is used throughout act 1 (world building, setting the atmosphere), act 2 (energy and propulsion focused), and act 3 (massive arrival, tension released and new levels of drama reach a finale).

[davidagates]

Thank you mark, thats genuinely fantastic help. Thank you for that! I’ll get cracking right away.

[davidagates]

Well, I’ve spent the whole day dissecting and writing. Nothing’s near done yet, but I think I’m getting the feel for it. It’s interesting looking at it objectively, things you think are formulaic are obviously that way so the editor can use whichever section he deems right. All a big learning curve.

Thanks again for all your help.

[cosmicdolphin2]

With Taxi it took me 20 – 30 forwards to get a libary contact. So 10 would be a little on the early side in my experience to expect any results.

I’m not sure how much music you’re making but if it’s 10 forwards in a year and your forward rate is reasonable then you may not be making enough music to get any decent traction. I wrote 73 tracks in my first year with about a 40% forward rate and landed in a couple of libraries as a result. Those libraries got me some nice placements in 2017-18 ..reality shows like Keeping Up with The Kardashinas, Catfish etc. I still get backend royalties off them today even though I’ve long since moved on to bigger better publishers.

I think we can all agree your tracks are of sufficent quality so it’s more a question applying yourself to write enough music to create enough tracks and albums to attract a library or two. Taxi is one route but have you tried writing a full album and then approaching libraries directly? There are other sync channels out liek 52 cues and Sync My Music that reccommend this method and it’s worked for me in the past too. It’s more work , and more legwork than Taxi but it’s essentially free to do.

Whilst I like watching Eric from Make Music Income, he doesn’t seem to make that much music income from sync according to his videos and is a lot more focus on the bottom end of the market like stock sites and sheet music sales. If you’re aiming to turn sync into significant income I’m not sure how much relevant advice Eric can offer because he hasn’t done it himself, and you’d likely get more pertinent advice here for free from people in the trenches who’ve already been there and done it for a number of years.

I’m also not convinced about how you’ve marketed yourself. I feel that using a ‘brand” in a relationship business when it’s essentially just you who is the brand comes across a little misanthropic. As you meet people and start to build a network they are far more likely to remember you if they know your name, rather than smoe arbitary brand name you came up with. I’m also hoping you’ve stopped using the rather glum looking portrait you had of yourself as I think it gives a bad first impression and doesn’t exactly scream ‘ I am a great person to work with ‘ which you may or may not be.

Mark – UK

[Bruce Stuart Lee]

Hello Dave,
I am Bruce Stuart Lee, songwriter/producer for myself/performer when available/. On and on etc.

Your Song Crow Bar Sound Scape is fantastic, nice work. Maybe you are looking in the wrong places for deals. Your music is powerful enough for strong men and you guest it, women. participating in sports events on T.V./internet and whatever else is hidden behind the stars.. Possibly change your target audience. Just a thought. Bruce submits now. Peace to you Dave.

[davidagates]

Hi Bruce,

Cheers for your input, it’s much appreciated. I’m going to change my approach, yeah, it’s been a long learning curve but I’ve been lurking about here and in other pro groups and I think I’m getting a better understanding of what I need to do.

[davidagates]

Hi @cosmicdolphin2,

Not entirely sure how I missed you comment, or how I directly reply to people. So apologies for that. To answer your question re: Taxi, I probably wrote about 45 tracks. So not a stellar number, but then in the beginning I was just learning the ropes so to speak. I think it’s something I’m going to come back to when I’m more experienced, as I’ll be able to get a cue done properly and as it should be.

Which glum portrait are we talking about, haha, the old one that looks like an oil painting (which is ironic because I’m certainly not)? Yeah, I don’t use that anymore, I’ve only just started to try and get a handle on the whole “brand” thing. I sort of thought that the company name would be something that would be memorable per se, but I bow to your greater knowledge. Is it de rigueur for people not to use company names then? As I say I’ve no previous experience of this sort of thing.

I’ve been writing, a fair bit, I’ve decided that I’m going to go down the direct route of pitching to libraries and I’ve 2 or 3 albums nearly done to see if I can get them to the right guys. I’ve been pretty prolific of late, but rather than just sling it down the Pond5 hole I’ve decided to keep hold of stuff while I get my ducks in a line.

Oh and as far as being fun to work with, I’m a decent sort. Just not very good at the “me” thing.

Finally, and it might sound like a small thing, but thank you for saying my stuff was up to quality. It’s tough with the old imposter syndrome to keep on keeping on.

Thanks for all the notes. They have been taken and will be implemented.

[jdstamper]

Due to “life”, I had a few starts & stops with composing and with Taxi before I got more serious about it. Since then all but one of my library deals have been through Taxi forwards. I’ve had numerous placements through the libraries, but not every library has gotten a placement. I don’t think I would have any deals without the opportunities and feedback from Taxi. I do think it’s become harder to get good quality library deals than say 10 years ago. There are other routes, but Taxi has been the best for me.

[davidagates]

Yeah, I totally understand where you’re coming from jdstamper. I think the issue is I need to get myself into a position where I’m getting mostly forwards to make it financially viable for me. At the moment having to pay a sub fee and a submission fee (I know it’s only a few dollars but if you’re submitting multiple relevant tracks it adds up when you get nothing back) is too much. What I will say however is that it’s definitely been worth it, I’ve gotten better as a writer and producer since I started with them, I understand the industry better and the expectations of libraries, even when it comes down to stuff like structure. I’m not bitter about it, don’t think it’s a rip off or anything like that, I just think I need to step back from that a bit and hone in on those few genre’s I do well. I was submitting to almost every instrumental, getting good forward ratio’s as well, but doing 2 jobs to support my family and finding the time to make music to that standard was killing me. I need to collate, write, collect, then get back on the horse with them.

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