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Generally I spend 8 -10 hrs per track, on average. If it is a genre where I have a template ready to go then it is closer to 6 hrs, on average. If it is one of my main genres, and I have a reason / incentive (i.e. work for hire w/ tight deadline), I can do it in 4 hrs. But I’m usually focused on making the music as good as it possibly can be, quality over quantity, so I find taking my time is preferable. And like many have mentioned above, mixing and mastering over the course of a few days with fresh ears makes a lot of sense.
Reading this thread makes me feel a whole lot better about my process. I always think it’s really important to put my personal stamp on each piece, no matter what it is for. I’m usually doing 8-12 hours, depending on the genre/length. Sometimes as much as 15-17 if needed. I find it really intimidating when people say they are cranking 3 tracks a day, as I don’t think that leaves room for putting your signature on a track.
The irony for me is, when i aim to crank something out, it would take longer to finish, and when i do take my time, things get completed faster than expected…imo some of my favorite tracks (no relation on placeability) started off as a cookie cutter idea that blossoms to something special, but it would consume double the time expected thus missing the brief
right now im satisfied with finishing 3-5 tracks a week..i did feel like a failure for a while since i couldnt hang with the “3 a day” crowd, tried it for a few months and wasnt happy, started questioning my competence…beside redoing most of it over…felt theres too much life passing me by
All I can say is that :
1. the more you do it,
2. the less you second guess your creative muse and just write
3. the more you hone / develop your craft,
4. the less you “care” about being precious with your output,
5. the harder you bear down,
6. the more deadlines you have to deliver on – or fail & get fired. And,
7. the more you must financially rely 100% on your placements,the more tracks you can and will crank out. Be it 3 a day, 3 a week, or 3 a month. Runners run. Cyclists bike. Lawyers argue. Writers write.
Top film composers regularly crank out 6+ minutes of music a day when under the grind. And that includes phone calls, managing assistants, meetings, and re-writes. If they don’t, they get INUNDATED. And then fired.
Getting past the “art” part of music and into the “craft / business” aspect of GETTING IT DONE, is where the professional side of things starts to come into play. You can call that good, you can call it bad…but that’s the reality of it all.
-=LAwriter=-
Runners run. Cyclists bike. Lawyers argue. Writers write.
Hey, I don’t always argue! 😀
Getting past the “art” part of music and into the “craft / business” aspect of GETTING IT DONE, is where the professional side of things starts to come into play. You can call that good, you can call it bad…but that’s the reality of it all.
Absolutely spot on.
MichaelL – Haha!! I meant that in a good way, and hope it wasn’t offensive. I guess I could have put “litigate”. Or maybe put Drivers drive. 🙂 Cheers,
LAwriter look for ahmadmin as user.
MichaelL – Haha!! I meant that in a good way, and hope it wasn’t offensive.
No offense taken, LAwriter!
Your point is well-taken. On some levels, not all, this is one of the few industries in which non-professionals compete, or try to compete, against professionals.
These days i do what i do well and try not to spend more then 4 – 6 hours. If I can’t get a solid idea moving after an hour or to I”m out.
Usually no more than two full days. Though some libraries with in house composers keep a quota of 2-3 tracks per day depending on the briefs. Obviously a 2.5 minute ‘Ambient Textures’ track will require somewhat less time than a 2.5 intricate ‘Orchestral Fantasy’ track strictly from an programming standpoint
Trying not to spend more then maybe 6 hours per track these days and sticking to genres I am strong in, I have more oars in the fire then just music licensing though and my gigging income still outpaces my licensing by say double so….if I was a full timer I would maybe do twice that. Been at this over 6 – 7 years now and going to take a hard look at how many hours I have put into it and whether it worth continuing doing.
Though some libraries with in house composers keep a quota of 2-3 tracks per day depending on the briefs.
2 to 3 a day?
If you are working at this Break-Neck CRAZY Speed, having zero free time to be human, and not seeing 6 Figures. Sorry, but there’s just no point in doing it.,.2 to 3 a day?
If you are working at this Break-Neck CRAZY Speed, having zero free time to be human, and not seeing 6 Figures. Sorry, but there’s just no point in doing it.,.This was pretty much my first real writing gig after moving out to LA. It took me years to unlearn the bad habits you have to lean on in order to ‘write’ that much music every day, every week, for months on end…
This was pretty much my first real writing gig after moving out to LA. It took me years to unlearn the bad habits you have to lean on in order to ‘write’ that much music every day, every week, for months on end…
I understand. I worked for a couple of big name production companies. The restrictions, and loss of freedom had me writing/composing the most Insipid garbage. It took me years to get back to a place of writing music that had even the slightest form of creativity & technical merit…
It all really depends if I am writing ITB or if I’m doing all organic instruments with live drums, etc.
If it’s all organic, we are talking longer time for tracking and much longer for mixing.
I can spend 2 hours on just getting my drum kit to punch.
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