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Denis…Rolfe Kent
A completely different world than uploading cues and praying for placements.
@ Mark
1. I prefer Maybelline
2. I’ll stick to Love Story, better yet, Feelings.
😆
OK?
I think we all understand that Mark was speaking about why he sometimes rejects tracks for his library. #1 clearly relates to his own procedure. Many of the other examples are good general guidelines, but by no means universal.
Please try to keep in mind that this business has many models and tiers. In most cases they serve a very different client bases. It follows, logically, that not every style of music is going to fit in every library. Thinking that it would, could or should is just delusional, which will only waste your time and lead to disappointment. And, some libraries are willing to say “we have enough in that category already.”
When someone says “library A accepted my music and it’s gotten lots of placements, I don’t know why library B keeps rejecting me,” that’s a red flag that has “I don’t get it ” written all over it. Sorry for being blunt. Some libraries, as “Advice” put it in another thread, ” do a lot of blanket deals with cable shows.” A good chunk of the music that works for those cable shows WILL NOT work for many of the corporate / business clients that buy from RF libraries and vice versa. There may be overlap, but in some ways the worlds are apples an oranges. Unfortunately many composers are only exposed to what they see on TV, and therefore don’t understand the kind of music that is sometimes used in other situations. It is different…a little less affected by pop-culture.
The bottom-line is, don’t get all defensive and ticked when a library rejects your music because it doesn’t meet their needs.
_MichaelL
Much good advice.
#2 is a tricky one. Because it takes so many cues to earn decent money as a library composer, it generally necessitates writing in a number of genres. If all that you write is trance or house music or dubstep, what are you going to do 10 years from now? How do you become a composer for the long run?
With the exception of when I was a recording “artist,” I’ve never been a genre specific composer. I’ve been a film/media/library composer. My observation, and this is in general terms, is that the music which often works the best is genre “flavored.” That’s to say , for example, that for mass market appeal there is a difference between the dubstep that makes your ears bleed in a club and the dubstep that a luxury car maker is going to use to sell cars. It has to appeal to a broader audience.
Some genres or styles and potential uses are less clearly defined, like “kids music,” “corporate music,” or “science music.” When you’re composing for subjects as varied as the mating rituals of horseshoe crabs, government dishwashing procedures (yes, I did), or the latest medical breakthrough, the music often defies genre.
If I’m writing library music and stretching out of my comfort zone, or expertise, I hire the best session players available…who know how to get the sound.
#6 …a pet peeve. This is an important one. Next to bad writing, there’s nothing worse than the poor use of samples. A trumpet, a violin, a flute, etc. are more than just sounds. Playing them like a piano, and not “thinking” like a trumpet player, violinist, flutist, etc., is the kiss of death….just as bad (worse actually) as having a “bad” guitar tone. Beyond that, if you’re going to use those instruments learn how to write and arrange for them.
#3 @Davy….sorry studies have shown that when played side buy side listeners prefer the music that is perceived to be louder, even if the music itself is not as good as the softer choice. There are a number of processing options available, like the Oxford Inflator, that increase perceived loudness without over compressing dynamics.
All the best,
MichaelL
@Stevericemusic. Just sent you a PM.
Just an “editors note” when I refer to “electronica” above , I mean dance-based, not ambient electronica. e.g. Music for Airports by Brian Eno.
@ #tag, perhaps I can help you “understand.” I have been a professional composer for, it hurts to say this, 36 years. For the first 10 years of my career I wrote everything on a scoresheet. I even had scoresheets printed with my logo! In the mid 19080’s, when samplers came out, I started to follow the technology. I could produce more, because I didn’t have to hire as many people, except for guitars and soloists. But…nothing changed about the process of writing.
To the contrary, I had to expand my skills. In order to play a convincing trumpet part, or flute part, whatever, you had to “think” like a trumpet player or flute player. etc. In the days before “round robins,” with the Siedlaczek orchestra for example, you had trumpet staccato one and trumpet staccato two. To make the lines sound real I played the line with a trumpet player’s phrasing, then split every other note to different midi channels, so that I could use both articulations, creating my own “round robin.”
Libraries like Symphobia and Orchestral String Runs, allow me to quickly compose and record cues. Whether or not I write a two octave E flat major string run down on paper, before I record it, is irrelevant. Two octaves of an E flat scale is two octaves of an E flat scale, no matter what. The difference between my playing it and using the “loop” from Orchestral String Runs, is the the OTR loop sounds authentic. The same thing can be said of the aleatoric FX in Symphobia. Those FX / devices are by nature left to chance. The loops in Symphobia and the like are far more effective than anything that I could play.
Very often, when I’m writing, I open up the notation window to analyze the structure of what I’m writing. I still use scorepaper to visualize certain voicings and voice leading. When I use drum loops or percussion loops it’s a similar thought process. But, instead of telling the drummer what to play, I choose what the drummer plays.
If you think that any of this is an easy task, that some how cheats or diminishes the compositional process, I think you are mistaken. People work at their own level of competence. Yes, some of these tools provide a way for less competent individuals to cut and paste cues together. But for, as you put it, “self-respecting” composers these tools provide infinite possibilities.
It sounds to me, like you haven’t worked with available technology enough to know how deep, complex, varied, and creative it can be.
But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what James Horner has to say (btw has has a PhD) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfvwUBNg-X8&feature=related
But…let’s be realistic. Media music is not always, in fact almost never is, high art. It is music the serves a function. As such, 9 times out of 10 writers paint stylistically, with very broad brush strokes.
Moreover, you must consider genre. Improvisational jazz was never written down. Hip hop and electronica developed out of sequencing technology, linn drums and Roland 808’s, and analog synths.
I will agree that there’s a lot of poorly written / produced music in some royalty free libraries, because there aren’t enough gate-keepers, like Mark Lewis. But, as with samples, I think you need to dig a little more deeply, and generalize a little less. There’s some very good music in RF libraries too.
With all due respect, maybe you need to listen with an open mind.
All the best,
_Michael
There are also some very good expansion libraries available for RMX from Spectrasonics and third party companies like Nine Volt and Sampleholics.
Another secret revealed: I like to take old “live” racks and slice n’ dice and convert them to REX files with Recycle, import them into RMX, then alter the tempo and groove.
Change the pitch and tuning 25 different ways with Melodyne…and you’ve got a whole catalog from one track. 😆
It is worth going that extra mile. Just whacking loops together ain’t skilful. My gran could get some construction kit loops and stick them together and make a song. What’s good about that?
If you and your gran can convincingly finger-drum the “Purdie shuffle” or straight ahead jazz at 160 bpm (and you have the luxury of time to do so), God bless and sign up for the next season of “America’s Got Talent.”
If I can achieve with samples the SAME thing that I would put onto paper, or with the talents of a world class session player (like Bernard Purdie), why not?…especially if it saves, time and money, which makes being in this business cost effective.
BFD2 and Studio Drummer for kits.
Stylus RMX has a lot of kits and light percussion stuff. (over-due for a major update)
For dance/electronica etc tons of stuff on Maschine.
Gotta be very careful with “construction kit” type loops. Big Fish, as I recall, won’t let you use them for library music without permission because somebody “abused” the concept and didn’t layer.
Art, I think “another player in the room” is about right. The danger is when loops go from being another color on the palette to “paint by numbers.” I really just comes down to whether or not you’re a pro, and can use the available tools with any depth.
@AxD, why I ask is because tunesat picks up clips as short as 3 seconds, so basically every inch of a loop needs to be altered.
Although, tunesat told me that the system was sophisticated enough to differentiate between performances of the same work, i.e., Beethoven’s 5th by the LA Philharmonic v. the London Symphony.
With so many people using loops and perhaps basing cues on the same well known source, e.g. a TV theme, I’m sure it creates a “feedback loop” of sorts.
I wonder what the false detection rate is?
_MichaelL
@Rob…FB now MLR! What next VI control?
Back to work with you lad!!!
tunesat isn’t foolproof. Was there any portion of the loop in your cue before you added layers and your own bass line and melodies…even a few seconds?
As far as fingerprint technology goes, it’s not that hard to beat. It takes very little to create a unique fingerprint, even if two composers, for example , use the same loop. Once they put different layers on top, they’ve created a different fingerprint. If they use something like Kontakt’s Time Machine to change the tempo of a loop, or Melodyne to change the key, they’ve created a different fingerprint.
As far as midi loops go there are many ways to be unique. For example, take the midi loops from Session Horns and use them with Broadway Big Band horns or Chris Hein Horns instead…or layer all three. Same with midid drum loops. Put in whatever sounds you want.
These things are just tools. Like any other tool, the skill of the individual comes into play.