# “A lot in film scoring has nothing to do with music.” Tips for young composers from Junkie XL!



## germancomponist (Apr 14, 2016)

A good read:

http://www.soundtracksandtrailermusic.com/2016/04/tips-for-young-composers-by-tom-holkenborg-a-k-a-junkie-xl-mad-max-deadpool-batman-v-superman/


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## bc3po (Apr 14, 2016)

A lot of wisdom there...


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## givemenoughrope (Apr 14, 2016)

sky blue, water wet

Seems like a lot of the success of films and high profile film scoring careers should go to publicists, head shots, social media, ad and oscar campaign, etc. On the other hand, none of the current film composers that I really enjoy have much of this going on.


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## Desire Inspires (Jun 15, 2019)

Can we get an updated link?


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## erica-grace (Jun 15, 2019)

https://web.archive.org/web/2019030...junkie-xl-mad-max-deadpool-batman-v-superman/


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## JohnG (Jun 15, 2019)

givemenoughrope said:


> Seems like a lot of the success of films and high profile film scoring careers should go to publicists, head shots, social media, ad and oscar campaign, etc. On the other hand, none of the current film composers that I really enjoy have much of this going on.



Some do go in for that stuff but if you're suggesting that it's all sizzle and no steak, I would gently disagree. Just about all of the people writing for bigger projects have things going for them, both musically and, for lack of a better expression, "professionally."

Sometimes, in fending off "suggestions," a composer can get a little assist from good publicity / some level of "wow" at the studio / place of work. 

As the thread title points out, writing the music is only part of the job.


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## givemenoughrope (Jun 15, 2019)

No, I’m suggesting it’s the sizzle that actually matters in furthering their career.


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## JohnG (Jun 15, 2019)

givemenoughrope said:


> No, I’m suggesting it’s the sizzle that actually matters in furthering their career.



If by that you mean that you need some level of sizzle, I agree; we can all think of people where the balance is a bit tilted that way! 

I don't think there's any substitute though, for producing music that grabs people. If your work is weak, even if you are Mike Backslap, I think it's hard to last very long.


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## erica-grace (Jun 15, 2019)

So, is this like having your steak and eating it too?


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## JohnG (Jun 15, 2019)

hardy-har-har!


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## VinRice (Jun 17, 2019)

A career in composing is a business. In it's simplest form, every business is supported on three _equally important_ pillars: Production, Finance, Marketing. As composers we tend to concentrate on the most interesting aspect - the R&D part of Production - but you need all of it for a successful career.

I've had reasonably successful careers in other areas (lighting design and computer graphics) but by far the most enjoyable, and by far the hardest to make any money at, is Music. Dismiss marketing at your peril.


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## AdamKmusic (Jun 17, 2019)

VinRice said:


> A career in composing is a business. In it's simplest form, every business is supported on three _equally important_ pillars: Production, Finance, Marketing. As composers we tend to concentrate on the most interesting aspect - the R&D part of Production - but you need all of it for a successful career.
> 
> I've had reasonably successful careers in other areas (lighting design and computer graphics) but by far the most enjoyable, and by far the hardest to make any money at, is Music. Dismiss marketing at your peril.


Imo making money from music, especially these days, is easier than ever. The hardest thing is making money consistently & a decent amount to sustain yourself doing it full time!


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## purple (Jun 17, 2019)

AdamKmusic said:


> Imo making money from music, especially these days, is easier than ever. The hardest thing is making money consistently & a decent amount to sustain yourself doing it full time!


Nah, I think it's easier than ever these days to be a full-time composer for film, commercials, games, etc. These days, you need to know a lot more about production than you did before virtual instruments, but it takes _a lot_ less time to learn how to make a good sounding mix on a digital machine than it did to learn how to write a good score in say the 50s, or even write and produce a synth-only score like blade runner before computers became really powerful. The internet also allows for a lot of opportunity and long-distance collaboration for anyone with an internet connection.


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