# 8 Awful Ways to Market Yourself as a Composer



## musicformedia (Jan 2, 2015)

Hi all, I wrote a new article on FGC this week about what, in my opinion, are some pretty bad ways that some composers market themselves on Facebook and Twitter etc.

Would love to know what you think - any thoughts or comments on it?

http://filmandgamecomposers.com/guides/ ... heyre-bad/


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## JohnG (Jan 2, 2015)

Yep, those look pretty awful.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jan 2, 2015)

Way #9: numbered lists.


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## musicformedia (Jan 2, 2015)

Nick Batzdorf @ Sat Jan 03 said:


> Way #9: numbered lists.



Hah as much as I hate numbered list articles, they get the job done


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## musicformedia (Jan 2, 2015)

In fact, maybe I should have titled this thread "Does anyone else hate it when..." and then have the rest of the sentence in the thread. 

Everyone seems to be doing that recently too :D


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## wst3 (Jan 2, 2015)

guess I'm not as tuned in to social media as many here, but I can't imagine doing any of those things!

Generally speaking, if I am going to ask for feedback it will be someone I know and trust, and specifically, someone I can trust to really listen to the track. And those connections are going to be made via the telephone or email or (heaven forbid) face to face.

I suppose when I reach a point where I want people to listen to my tracks because I want them to hire me I'll need a new tactic!


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## Vlzmusic (Jan 2, 2015)

Valid points, but maybe its time to stop abusing the word composer? It really gets in the tooth to encounter this word so many times now. If there is new reality with hundreds, or even thousands of aspiring young musicians trying to write music - it has to get a name of some sort, which designates apprentices in some way.


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## proxima (Jan 2, 2015)

Vlzmusic @ Fri Jan 02 said:


> Valid points, but maybe its time to stop abusing the word composer? It really gets in the tooth to encounter this word so many times now. If there is new reality with hundreds, or even thousands of aspiring young musicians trying to write music - it has to get a name of some sort, which designates apprentices in some way.


Why? The word "writer" is used to describe everyone who writes, regardless of their age or success. Using "composer" to mean those who write music instead of words seems entirely symmetric. This is usually supplemented with something like "professional" (as in, it is one's profession) or "best-selling" or even just "published" (more-concrete designations in the writing world, to be sure).


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## Vlzmusic (Jan 2, 2015)

proxima @ Fri Jan 02 said:


> ...The word "writer" is used to describe everyone who writes...


 Even knowing how to read, doesn`t make one necessarily a "reader"...


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## RiffWraith (Jan 2, 2015)

Vlzmusic @ Sat Jan 03 said:


> Valid points, but maybe its time to stop abusing the word composer?



What do you think would be a valid name?


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## iaink (Jan 2, 2015)

*HE MARKETS IN 8 MIND BLOWINGLY AWFUL WAYS THAT WILL EXPLODE YOUR HEAD TO SMITHEREENS
*


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## Vlzmusic (Jan 3, 2015)

RiffWraith @ Fri Jan 02 said:


> Vlzmusic @ Sat Jan 03 said:
> 
> 
> > Valid points, but maybe its time to stop abusing the word composer?
> ...



I am kinda clueless, but if there were tons of talented (and some genial) folks that branched out to become "songwriters" at some point, then there is no offense in indicating that someone belongs to the new wave of ITB, computer assisted music making people, not necessarily trained in a sense that the term "composer" implies. Not to mention the "one man show" aspect of it, as it requires to become writer/orchestrator/audio mixing engineer/hardware technician/software programmer all in one.


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## musicformedia (Jan 3, 2015)

iaink @ Sat Jan 03 said:


> *HE MARKETS IN 8 MIND BLOWINGLY AWFUL WAYS THAT WILL EXPLODE YOUR HEAD TO SMITHEREENS
> *



What happened next will SHOCK you!


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## KEnK (Jan 3, 2015)

RiffWraith @ Fri Jan 02 said:


> Vlzmusic @ Sat Jan 03 said:
> 
> 
> > Valid points, but maybe its time to stop abusing the word composer?
> ...


How about the term "Sequencer" instead of composer?
That may seem odd, but I think it's a pretty good description
of what a person does when using a DAW as the only tool.

k


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## iaink (Jan 3, 2015)

KEnK @ Sat Jan 03 said:


> RiffWraith @ Fri Jan 02 said:
> 
> 
> > Vlzmusic @ Sat Jan 03 said:
> ...



So what will be the barrier to entry, and who will enforce it? A union maybe?

This topic found its way into the unionization discussions and it seemed to take off like one of those lead manhole covers.


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## sluggo (Jan 3, 2015)

PS, 'numbered list articles' are called
listicles.

This according to a friend of mine who writes them.


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## iaink (Jan 3, 2015)

sluggo @ Sat Jan 03 said:


> PS, 'numbered list articles' are called
> listicles.



So what are those online tests called then?


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## RiffWraith (Jan 3, 2015)

sluggo @ Sat Jan 03 said:


> PS, 'numbered list articles' are called
> listicles.
> 
> This according to a friend of mine who writes them.



So we should call ourselves composicles? :?


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## RiffWraith (Jan 3, 2015)

iaink @ Sat Jan 03 said:


> sluggo @ Sat Jan 03 said:
> 
> 
> > PS, 'numbered list articles' are called
> ...



Boo.


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## RiffWraith (Jan 3, 2015)

KEnK @ Sat Jan 03 said:


> How about the term "Sequencer" instead of composer?



So here I am in a bar. I see a good looking woman, and go over and say hi. She says to me, "what do you do?" I respond, "I am a sequencer."

Ye-no, that won't go over that well.


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## Vlzmusic (Jan 3, 2015)

RiffWraith @ Sat Jan 03 said:


> KEnK @ Sat Jan 03 said:
> 
> 
> > How about the term "Sequencer" instead of composer?
> ...



Marry - you wont need pickup lines anymore.


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## MichaelL (Jan 3, 2015)

RiffWraith @ Sat Jan 03 said:


> KEnK @ Sat Jan 03 said:
> 
> 
> > How about the term "Sequencer" instead of composer?
> ...




I think simply saying "musician" would work. Well, let's say "suffice." Whether or not it would "work" is up to you. :wink:


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jan 3, 2015)

Listicles?! F that!

Giving a name to a cheap device that was hackneyed 100 years ago doesn't make it any less offensive to people who take pride in writing good headlines.

HUFF!


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## RiffWraith (Jan 3, 2015)

MichaelL @ Sun Jan 04 said:


> I think simply saying "musician" would work. Well, let's say "suffice." Whether or not it would "work" is up to you. :wink:



Musician doesn't work. Because I am that too, and whenever I used to try and pick up a babe prior to my composing career, and she asked me what I did, I would say "I am a musician." Which was then met with, "oh - what do you play?" I can avoid that, if I simply state what I am. A  *composer* .


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## RiffWraith (Jan 3, 2015)

Vlzmusic @ Sun Jan 04 said:


> Marry - you wont need pickup lines anymore.



Blasphemy!!!!


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## KEnK (Jan 3, 2015)

"Hip-Hop Artist" and "DJ" both mean something other than "Musician"
Pianist, organist, keyboardist and synthesist all mean different things.

if not "Sequencer", how about "DAW-ist"?
or "Artificial Music Programmer"?

Does Skrillex call himself a composer?

:wink:


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## RiffWraith (Jan 3, 2015)

KEnK @ Sun Jan 04 said:


> "Hip-Hop Artist" and "DJ" both mean something other than "Musician"
> Pianist, organist, keyboardist and synthesist all mean different things.
> 
> if not "Sequencer", how about "DAW-ist"?
> or "Artificial Music Programmer"?



Dude - I need something that a babe that is about to be picked up will understand. If I call myself a_ DAW-ist_.... I might as well just call myself an _Axe Murder_. :shock: 



KEnK @ Sun Jan 04 said:


> Does Skrillex call himself a composer?



He better not. If he does, I will sue him for false advertising.


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## KEnK (Jan 3, 2015)

Axe murderers are very sexy-
Fun & Games come in all Shapes & Sizes
:wink:


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