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Overall, like what Michael said, it seems the key to survival now is quality over quantity, and working with libraries that get your music used in more lucrative ways.
BINGO!!! Yes, there are a lot more people coming to this side of the business (as pretty much all of us did as well) The key thing is; there might be more people, but the level of Quality people is still on the low side. High end corporate/branding, TV, Film, and mixed media are NOT looking for material that they (as amateurs) could make themselves. “You have to come with the quality cues that stand out; and separate you from the pack!!”
High end corporate/branding, TV, Film, and mixed media are NOT looking for material that they (as amateurs) could make themselves.
Brilliant and true! They’re not looking for what their kids can do on Garage Band either!
Yes and that wasn’t that long ago “The key to making money is to having lots of quality tracks in several different libraries”, advice I got here and from , the, er, car company. Not that it wasn’t true at the time but times change.
“The key to making money is to having lots of quality tracks in several different libraries”, advice I got here and from , the, er, car company. Not that it wasn’t true at the time but times change.
There’s a difference between “lots of quality tracks” and “lots of tracks,” – quality.
No one ever said put out a lot of crap. Just like no one ever said you can have too much knowledge. The more competiton there is, the better your game has to be.
However, there is a trend toward diminishing returns. The number of tracks in the market increases exponentially every day. I recall a thread where someone said it now takes 1,000 tracks to make the money that he used to make with 500.
The more competiton there is, the better your game has to be.
People REALLY need to make this their Mantra!!!
Where do you draw the line between quality and the simplicity that the libraries need?
For instance, I have some Epic Orchestral ques that some people say reminds them of Franz Liszt or Mozart, but in reality, those ques would be too busy for production work. They would interfere with dialogue. (Unless they were written to spec or used as theme songs).
OTOH I have Investigative Tension and Dramady EDM pieces that took me an hour or two to write. By my own standards, the only thing “Quality” about these tracks are the recording production. (Edit) – I will not send them out to a Lib unless I feel they will play their role in evoking emotion. Libraries tend to eat up these ques because that’s what’s hot right now.
I have been paying attention to the production ques on hot, new TV shows. Some of these ques are a D minor chord held for one minute on a Multi-Voiced synth. Is that quality?
Yes the quote also included quality tracks. But does anyone here knowingly put out garbage and hope for the best? After working a track for several hours, sometimes the objectivity….
I will say I try to work a track and at a point say, this is going to be the best this track is going to get in my hands. Think it sounds decent…and post it.But knowingly post something I think is bad. If it truly is crap I try to make that decision after a couple-three hours.
Chuck,
I don’t know if you were answering me or another person.
From my own experience, I can put out a very anxious, compelling, Investigative Tension piece in 2-3 hours. I would not even consider sending it out unless it is good enough for Investigation Discovery, CSI, etc. My point was that some ques don’t require the dexterity and time as a trailer or Epic Orchestral piece can require.
“Quality” is a word very open to interpretation in this business, as I mentioned at the end of my last post, the one minute, whole note, D minor chord. Was that “Quality” as long as it evoked emotion?
Just some hypotheticals to think about.
I am hoping this might shed some light on quality vs quantity. I have literally heard cues with one part that were absolutely brilliant. As well, I have heard cues with TONS of parts that ended up being absolute Garbage.
The truth is “Once you have invested a good amount of time learning the ins and outs of your craft; and have learned how to achieve the sound/composition you were looking to create. No matter what you play/compose it will be to a certain standard of quality”. How complex a Cue is does not make it better. It’s knowing how to put together solid, well crafted, and sonically accurate pieces; that get the point across.
I totally agree with you Slinger.
I have spoken to a few Music Supervisors and these particular guys say that simplicity is the key in most que music. They don’t care if you play guitar like SVR or orchestrate like Mozart.
I have spoken to a few Music Supervisors and these particular guys say that simplicity is the key in most que music. They don’t care if you play guitar like SVR or orchestrate like Mozart.
It once again goes back to Michael L, and a point I made as well. Unfortunately, “A LOT of this industry doesn’t realize it is making bad Cues, and lousy music.lol ”
It’s like having on multiple colors that don’t match, or make any sense in combination. Bass lines COMPLETELY out of the key of the song. Piano parts that don’t match that; and let us not forget about Chords that don’t fit ANYTHING in the song being thrown in for added measure..
I have spoken to a few Music Supervisors and these particular guys say that simplicity is the key in most que music. They don’t care if you play guitar like SVR or orchestrate like Mozart.
Common assumption… you’re equating quality with complexity. There’s a lot of complex music that’s crap because it’s pointless. The composer is just talking to themselves.
The difference between quality and not so much in production music often stems from how lazy or skilled the composer is in their approach to production. Do they put the effort into using the mod-wheel or editing controller data to make their samples sound convincing or do they play samples like a keyboard, which results in very plastic or fake sounding music?
The difference between quality and not so much in production music often stems from how lazy or skilled the composer is in their approach to production. Do they put the effort into using the mod-wheel or editing controller data to make their samples sound convincing or do they play samples like a keyboard?
we might be from the same school.
But does anyone here knowingly put out garbage and hope for the best?
No. But an awful lot of people do…unknowingly
It’s like having on multiple colors that don’t match, or make any sense in combination. Bass lines COMPLETELY out of the key of the song. Piano parts that don’t match that; and let us not forget about Chords that don’t fit ANYTHING in the song being thrown in for added measure.
LOL!!! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard tracks where somebody is using loops and adding parts in the wrong key or playing out of time!!!
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