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Is the job of media composer mostly for introverts?

rtln87

New Member
Hello everyone, I'd like your insight to help me better understand the career path of a media composer.

I work with music for over 20 years (performing in bands, jazz groups, teaching, etc.), but it's been 1 year that I am dedicating most of my time to media composition.

However, during this process, I started to realize that this career seems to be incredibly "lonely". One thing is to study media composition with all these students and teachers engaged, full of live recording sessions etc.... but it seems that the actual day to day job is very different...

I said "lonely" because, all film composers that I have met so far told me that, they spend most of their time in their studio making mock-ups, as they claim they will almost never get enough budget to hire musicians to collab. They said there's some interaction with film directors, or game developers, but it is minimal as they are supposed to quickly review the music.

These composers I met are all working for 10-15 years in the industry as freelancers, currently involved with mid size budgets, and they are making a pretty good living with this career. None of them live in LA, they are from Canada, UK, Brazil and some other places in Europe.

Composition is almost everything I seek in music, but my creativity is heavily connected to working with other musicians and the general public. I struggle with the idea of spending the next 10 years of my life composing things that will only turn into mock-ups.. I need the “live” feeling...

So, it seems that, if you don't live in LA where the industry has higher budgets and a vast media market, the life of a media composer is mostly writing mock-ups by him/herself in his/her studio. Even game companies in my city barely have in-house composers, and if they do, apparently none of them provide enough funding for live recordings.

Do you guys validate this career prospect? I really appreciate your opinion.

Thank you!
 
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I am a media composer, and I work alone all time. I can't say I don't like it. After all, I am left to myself. There are many problems and disadvantages in this, but also many advantages. Recording live musicians is long and expensive, and even I sometimes annoying question - "Where are the references, what to play?"
And yes, I cannot say that I am an introvert to the fullest, rather even an extrovert =) But my music is my rules =)
 
I am a media composer, and I work alone all time. I can't say I don't like it. After all, I am left to myself. There are many problems and disadvantages in this, but also many advantages. Recording live musicians is long and expensive, and even I sometimes annoying question - "Where are the references, what to play?"
And yes, I cannot say that I am an introvert to the fullest, rather even an extrovert =) But my music is my rules =)

Thank you for your input! Working alone certainly does have advantages, I assume that most music composers see the creation process as something ultra personal. On the other hand, the feeling of jamming, or conducting an orchestra, or even just playing with other people, this is what energises me. Is it only in LA that this is possible to achieve? Lol
 
I don’t think it’s such a huge problem to find like-minded people for a jam-session for the soul.

It all depends solely on the goals. If a customer needs electronic music - unless you need to attract someone? I think no, this is job for one person. If the task is to add a little "liveliness" to the background of VST instruments, we live in 21st century - you can even find people on the Internet, who can professionally (and even free) record the required part. This is how I found a violinist for my compositions =)
 
There are plenty of opportunities for collaboration out there. Some composer partnerships have been around for quite a while, like Reznor/Ross, Salisbury/Barrow, Cohen/Nielsen, etc.

You only really have to work by yourself if you want to.
 
There are plenty of opportunities for collaboration out there. Some composer partnerships have been around for quite a while, like Reznor/Ross, Salisbury/Barrow, Cohen/Nielsen, etc.

You only really have to work by yourself if you want to.

Yeah I do know some composer partnerships, this is probably the path I’d like to choose.

I saw on your website that you have a vast portfolio in this career. On your side, how has it been for you? Was it mostly mock-ups, or did you also have the opportunity to record live many times, as well as work on projects engaged with other composers/musicians?

Thanks for sharing!
 
Yeah I do know some composer partnerships, this is probably the path I’d like to choose.

I saw on your website that you have a vast portfolio in this career. On your side, how has it been for you? Was it mostly mock-ups, or did you also have the opportunity to record live many times, as well as work on projects engaged with other composers/musicians?

Thanks for sharing!

When composing for media, I'm usually a bit of a lone wolf. However, I do work regularly with other musicians on my own personal projects, and sometimes I'll get hired to produce and/or mix a project for someone else, which requires close collaboration.

I think there are just as many ways of working in music composition as there are types of personalities. One can work in the box with no live recordings and minimum social interaction and be as successful as someone who only records live musicians and only works in collaboration with other composers.
 
I am an introvert and consider it to be hugely detrimental. I can get around it with alcohol but that is an entirely different problem. I absolutely hate meetings and phone calls, which is not conducive to networking and/or selling/pitching yourself or your work. I do it anyway because I do consider myself to be a professional and as such it's just part of the job. But to answer the question "is media composing mostly for introverts" I would say that it's not a definite 'yes' or 'no' but the large majority of composers that I see succeed tend to be extroverts.

Charisma, too... which is something that is hard to fake. As the definition of introversion is someone who gets their energy from being alone, you can fake being an extrovert, it just drains you for a spell. Much harder to fake charisma. I always cite Michael Giacchino as someone who can hold an entire room captive with his charisma. (I'm envious.)

It may be beneficial to be an introvert working at home and alone for a long period of time, but in the real world (pre-covid, anyway) the job requires a ton of interaction with producers, directors, editors, musicians, engineers, etc, etc. If I had the choice I would trade in my introversion to be an extrovert, no question.

EDIT: I guess I wrote this from a very LA-centric point of view. Your mileage may vary...
 
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I am an introvert and consider it to be hugely detrimental. I can get around it with alcohol but that is an entirely different problem. I absolutely hate meetings and phone calls, which is not conducive to networking and/or selling/pitching yourself or your work. I do it anyway because I do consider myself to be a professional and as such it's just part of the job. But to answer the question "is media composing mostly for introverts" I would say that it's not a definite 'yes' or 'no' but the large majority of composers that I see succeed tend to be extroverts.

Charisma, too... which is something that is hard to fake. As the definition of introversion is someone who gets their energy from being alone, you can fake being an extrovert, it just drains you for a spell. Much harder to fake charisma. I always cite Michael Giacchino as someone who can hold an entire room captive with his charisma. (I'm envious.)

It may be beneficial to be an introvert working at home and alone for a long period of time, but in the real world (pre-covid, anyway) the job requires a ton of interaction with producers, directors, editors, musicians, engineers, etc, etc. If I had the choice I would trade in my introversion to be an extrovert, no question.

EDIT: I guess I wrote this from a very LA-centric point of view. Your mileage may vary...

Hey chillbot, thanks a ton for your message! You did mention something that has been a real barrier lately: COVID. As I have been dedicating myself in this industry from November 2019, COVID lockdowns started here in February, and since then there's has been a very very minimal interaction going on. This is why, perhaps, I get constantly confused about how the day to day in this career looks like. By the way, this day to day will probably change now that COVID is a fact and we barely know how it will end up anyway...

One composer that I met, interesting or not, he has done +300 film/TV scores, and he told me something like "I almost never see directors/producers when I am scoring, only when we need to review the music cues. I never go to production meetings or shooting days, or anything like that, simply because there's absolutely no time to do this. I am incredibly busy having to write tons of music and make all mock-ups by myself, which makes me work too much per day, not having that much free time during the project to bond with other people constantly."

He said that in 9 out of 10, he will be asked to score something with super tight deadlines, leaving him no option rather than be in his studio working his ass off. He said TV is probably the toughest, he has to write sometimes +10min of music in one day, to be on the screen the day after.

How does it work from your experience?

EDIT: important to mention, it is not about having to write 10min music a day, as a composer this is probably expected. It is about having to write everyday 10 min music a day, mostly mock-ups, and mostly on your own.
 
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One composer that I met, interesting or not, he has done +300 film/TV scores, and he told me something like "I almost never see directors/producers when I am scoring, only when we need to review the music cues. I never go to production meetings or shooting days, or anything like that, simply because there's absolutely no time to do this. I am incredibly busy having to write tons of music and make all mock-ups by myself, which makes me work too much per day, not having that much free time during the project to bond with other people constantly."

He said that in 9 out of 10, he will be asked to score something with super tight deadlines, leaving him no option rather than be in his studio working his ass off. He said TV is probably the toughest, he has to write sometimes +10min of music in one day, to be on the screen the day after.

How does it work from your experience?
This is legit but then you have to ask yourself, how did he get in this position in the first place? They certainly didn't hire him off of an email or phone call. Things might be going in that direction and covid might be giving it an extra push but it wouldn't have been the case a few years ago. If he managed to get all that work from one meeting that would be extremely rare. How did he get his first gig? How did he learn how to score? Did he co-write or ghostwrite with/for someone? All these are things that require what us introverts call "people skills" (ugh). And at some point along the way he would have had many spotting sessions with a director and/or producer before he achieved that level of trust.

What you're describing is pretty much a dream situation (to me, I know others that would absolutely hate it) and I would say more of the exception than the norm. But in either case a lot of work (meaning networking and/or socializing) would have had to have gone into it to get him where he is.

If you can get the work and never see the peoples please tell me how this works.
 
i think most art forms are a bit 'lonely' - although i would use the word 'solitary', because it has a better connotation. there are some exceptions of course, like theater, film, or playing in bands, but for the most part i would say most artists work alone. and even if you do play in a band, you will always need that time alone to come up with the songs, or even just rehearse them.

i guess it's just our cross to bear, and with the risk of being overly-dramatic, it's the sacrifice one must make as an artist.

in the end, if you think about it, we do come into this world alone and we leave the world alone also. so we might as well get used to it :) don miguel ruiz talks about this in some of his books. but this is getting a bit philosophical.

i don't think you have to be an introvert to be a composer. look at mr zimmer - he has such a huge personality, and it's not just because of his many accolades, it's because that's what he's like. he seems to be a very sociable guy.
but i do think it's important to be able to be by yourself for extended periods of time. otherwise it will be tough.

i usually compensate by having a really fun and loud group of friends, so whenever we meetup (even if it's just once every few weeks sometimes), i really do get my fill of socializing, you know?

although, these crazy restrictions are making everyone even more lonely and they've already led to a seldom talked about epidemic of loneliness and depression. which is a killer in it's own right.
 
Interesting to see this topic happening amid COVID, and to see that there's another topic about AI replacing musicians.

Both topics are ultra related, there is a new reality out there, and it is just all very confusing to understand how the dynamics of a media composer job, or probably any other job, as things continue to change.

First, if you have 20 years in music as you said, I assume you are familiar with what being an artist means, as well as what it is like to compose music, etc.

NOW, just carefully paying attention to the details of your question. You are starting in media composition, and trying to understand if this job is mostly done by yourself MUSICALLY wise.

The answer is, YES, from my point of view. Look around, how fast are sample libraries developing? how fast are home studio becoming the rule? how fast are people having their art shown on social media rather than live gigs?

In summary, how bloody fast is everything becoming dependent on technology and how independent one can be with technology!?

What is funny is that, the other topic about AI people are arguing between if AI will takeover more and more market from music artists in general.

OF COURSE IT WILL! Fully replacing musicians is one thing, but it will surely take over many areas of music. By the way, how much music out there nowadays is MIDI anyways?!

You can press a goddamn button in your keyboard at home that instantly replaces 16 violin players. Press a few more buttons and you replace 30 40 string players, and in a few hours you can replace a 120 orchestral ensemble.

Is it real enough? Well, not yet, but how many filmmakers or game developers knows what the hell is the difference anyway?!!? This can be touchy for musicians, but to the general listener? bullshit... You will barely find people that are not musicians that can tell the difference, if there is any...

Look, the film composer career will probably continue to become something more and more solitary MUSICALLY WISE. However, there is for sure A LOT of interaction with producers, directors, music editors, etc etc. But this is not music interaction, this is business.... That's why the friends above say if you are extrovert, you will be in good shape. BUSINESS, not musical interaction.

Thus, you just WON'T get that feeling of live music that often, and it will continue to be less and less, it is front of everybody eyes. I am not talking about live SOUND heard from speakers, but the live FEELING of being around music played that resonates completely different on your body.

Basic rule my friend, DEMAND X OFFER..... there is an increasing demand for quality computerized music, and now with COVID, more than ever.

If you get into this career, open your eyes and be realistic. You will probably spend years and years making more music in computers than with live players. You will have the chance to collab here and there, but it will take time to actually have that much MUSIC INTERACTION with people. I know the feeling, it is not the same to make a jazz on my computer, than it is to make jazz live with a band.

This is why AI will probably not replace all musicians, but this is a concern musicians have, meanwhile general listeners continue to be "fooled" by producers and audio engineers who continue to improve their craft in "trying to fake the live sound".

I think the term "introvert" was probably not the best keyword for this topic, given your explanation. I guess you mean make music mostly by your own.
 
I have assistants to help with heavy wring tasks....no backend fees or royalties....just the upfront money to get the job done.
 
Hey!

I would call myself an extroverted introvert. Which makes this work ideal! I can spend a long time by myself but every so often, I do need a boost. A good meeting or hangout with friends will do the trick. This is perfect because I am usually eager for the meetings and then eager to get alone by myself to work on something and repeat.

I wouldn't say that we avoid using musicians but budget is indeed a concern. I am living in Belfast, in Northern Ireland, by the way, but am originally from Madeira Islands (Portugal). In Portugal, it is much harder to negotiate a good budget than anywhere else I have worked for (USA, Canada, Italy, Germany, Ireland..) because of the low min. wage and lack of a proper industry there (it is an incredibly small industry). So it was always hard to include any musicians. However, whenever I can, I always include them because they add so, so, so much.

Your background as a musician should be view as a huge advantage as your fellow musicians will push the envelope, if needed, more than a musician who you might be hiring but don't know personally. If you have really good friends, then that means that occasionally, they might help you out for a smaller fee, helping you produce better music within the budget you might have. Always be honest with payments.

I had the "amazing luck" of becoming self-employed in the beginning of this year right before COVID happened. I had gigs lined up and suddenly PUFF. It hasn't been the best of years but a few gigs appeared, though smaller ones. All this to say that, even despite all of this, I ALWAYS pay my mix and mastering engineers on time and any musician I might hire. I know you are probably aware of this but I'll leave it here in case it might be interesting to someone else. If you always pay on time, they will be there for you whenever you need it and if it is last minute, they will try their best to help. Not only because you pay them on time but because action speak louder than words, I believe.
 
Interesting to see this topic happening amid COVID, and to see that there's another topic about AI replacing musicians.

Both topics are ultra related, there is a new reality out there, and it is just all very confusing to understand how the dynamics of a media composer job, or probably any other job, as things continue to change.

First, if you have 20 years in music as you said, I assume you are familiar with what being an artist means, as well as what it is like to compose music, etc.

NOW, just carefully paying attention to the details of your question. You are starting in media composition, and trying to understand if this job is mostly done by yourself MUSICALLY wise.

The answer is, YES, from my point of view. Look around, how fast are sample libraries developing? how fast are home studio becoming the rule? how fast are people having their art shown on social media rather than live gigs?

In summary, how bloody fast is everything becoming dependent on technology and how independent one can be with technology!?

What is funny is that, the other topic about AI people are arguing between if AI will takeover more and more market from music artists in general.

OF COURSE IT WILL! Fully replacing musicians is one thing, but it will surely take over many areas of music. By the way, how much music out there nowadays is MIDI anyways?!

You can press a goddamn button in your keyboard at home that instantly replaces 16 violin players. Press a few more buttons and you replace 30 40 string players, and in a few hours you can replace a 120 orchestral ensemble.

Is it real enough? Well, not yet, but how many filmmakers or game developers knows what the hell is the difference anyway?!!? This can be touchy for musicians, but to the general listener? bullshit... You will barely find people that are not musicians that can tell the difference, if there is any...

Look, the film composer career will probably continue to become something more and more solitary MUSICALLY WISE. However, there is for sure A LOT of interaction with producers, directors, music editors, etc etc. But this is not music interaction, this is business.... That's why the friends above say if you are extrovert, you will be in good shape. BUSINESS, not musical interaction.

Thus, you just WON'T get that feeling of live music that often, and it will continue to be less and less, it is front of everybody eyes. I am not talking about live SOUND heard from speakers, but the live FEELING of being around music played that resonates completely different on your body.

Basic rule my friend, DEMAND X OFFER..... there is an increasing demand for quality computerized music, and now with COVID, more than ever.

If you get into this career, open your eyes and be realistic. You will probably spend years and years making more music in computers than with live players. You will have the chance to collab here and there, but it will take time to actually have that much MUSIC INTERACTION with people. I know the feeling, it is not the same to make a jazz on my computer, than it is to make jazz live with a band.

This is why AI will probably not replace all musicians, but this is a concern musicians have, meanwhile general listeners continue to be "fooled" by producers and audio engineers who continue to improve their craft in "trying to fake the live sound".

I think the term "introvert" was probably not the best keyword for this topic, given your explanation. I guess you mean make music mostly by your own.

I don't understand all this paranoia about AI and.....pssss....kerrrzzzfrzzzz......system error......system error....attack human......
 
For me:
It is a f.....g lonely job. ("solitary" makes more "monk on the mountain" hahah!)
You get to work on the velocity of those 2 staccato oboe phrases for hours, you get to audition cabasa samples for days, work on that melodic passage until your eyes go, you get to decide between 0.5 and 1.5 dB of compression settings.... and I love it!
I don't know if I am an introvert but I certainly enjoy isolation when writing.
It is really really good though, to work with a partner so you can feed of each other when energy is running low. If the chemistry is there it is awesome and interesting.
But even when you get to do higher budget stuff, those orchestra recording days are few and intense, special days, and you still need to do most of the work before-hand.
 
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