Is trailer music a field too competitive?
- Thread starter RAdu
- Start date
MaschineMind
Pro Crastinator
It seems oversaturated and hyper competitive but there's nothing stopping you becoming one of the privileged few if you put in the hours and hard work.
Crowe
part raven, part troll
All Art and Entertainment fields (basically everything I have actual passion for) are 'over-saturated'.
So yeah, only a privileged few will be able to make a living from it.
It usually comes down to talent and hard work. If you have the talent and put in the work, you have a shot. It's up to you to decide whether the chance to make it is worth it to you.
Personally, I will never stop again. Giving up was the dumbest thing I've ever done.
So yeah, only a privileged few will be able to make a living from it.
It usually comes down to talent and hard work. If you have the talent and put in the work, you have a shot. It's up to you to decide whether the chance to make it is worth it to you.
Personally, I will never stop again. Giving up was the dumbest thing I've ever done.
will_m
Active Member
If you want it to be your sole income then yes but many people working in trailers have other areas, whether it be t.v libraries, commercials, film etc.
I think currently two of the biggest barriers to entry in the field are one, the level of production chops needed and two, the time it takes to go from start-up to having money come in.
I've found it one of the riskiest areas to work in but one of the most rewarding too.
Nico Schuele
Tolerated Member
High risk, high income. I see that most of the successful trailer composers out there dabble with TV work.
Chr!s
Active Member
I disagree.
Luck can stop you.
Fate has a habit of getting in the way in just about everything one does.
stonzthro
Senior Member
<Warning - this might hurt a little>
If you are asking this question, then yes, it probably is - that also goes for any other career you may be asking this same question about. What career path in music, film, games, etc... is NOT oversaturated? The real question you need to ask yourself is do you have the stomach to throw yourself into 'X' career without any sort of forum-member-quasi-guarantee?
As for whether you should dive in, only you can answer this question. I tend to agree with Chr!s in that fate does seem to have a hand, but that same fate will open YOUR path once you put your head down and start to work.
Unless of course you can't get past this question... (though I'm sure you can).
If you are asking this question, then yes, it probably is - that also goes for any other career you may be asking this same question about. What career path in music, film, games, etc... is NOT oversaturated? The real question you need to ask yourself is do you have the stomach to throw yourself into 'X' career without any sort of forum-member-quasi-guarantee?
As for whether you should dive in, only you can answer this question. I tend to agree with Chr!s in that fate does seem to have a hand, but that same fate will open YOUR path once you put your head down and start to work.
Unless of course you can't get past this question... (though I'm sure you can).
SimonCharlesHanna
Senior Member
I find it interesting we speak like this as if opening a cafe or pizza joint is easy peasy lets make $$$$$$.
Anything worth doing has a butt load of people trying to do it.
Just do what ever you want m8, it's not like you can try again next life.
Anything worth doing has a butt load of people trying to do it.
Just do what ever you want m8, it's not like you can try again next life.
ProfoundSilence
Senior Member
I can't help but feel like you meant to say "high risk, some income"
in the business world, composers work for peanuts. Factor in William's 60 years of composing an insane catalogue and he's worth less than life time politicians XD
Williams, someone irreplaceable - defining, and prolific.
Zimmer was in a pop band when he started iirc, and even though he (despite what he might say) seems to be much more adept at the business side of things.
to give you a point of reference;
Ramin Djawabi has a networth of 5 million
Maisie Williams(who is barely of age) had her first gig(atleast according to imdb) with game of thrones, and is already worth more than Djawabi.
Sophie Turner, also 5 mill
Kit Harrington is already 12 million.
And not only is ramin a huuuuuge part of the magic of the series(starwars without music anyone?) but his talent is actually rare, compared to actors and actresses, some of which can't even act to save their life.
might as well mumble about pills over beats, you'll get double his net worth.
sorry for the rant, but if you're looking to play high risk high reward, flipping stocks is a much better gig.
whiskers
Perpetual student
And luck & connections, those never hurt too.
Chr!s
Active Member
I actually know people who own restaurants and pizza joint franchisees and there can be no question that your odds of success with a business venture like that is a lot higher simply because there is greater demand for it and the economic status quo makes it easy to open a crapton of food service sort of businesses just about anywhere. Look how many Starbucks locations there are.
The thing about careers in the arts is that there is no common entry point aside from nepotism, and meritocracy basically only applies to those who are already widely-known. As such, making your own opportunity is ostensibly impossible and you never know where, when or if opportunity may present itself. Unlike applying for jobs, opportunities in music generally only ever show up once.
Jeremy Spencer
Senior Member
If go into it without the notion of ever expecting a sustainable income, you will feel very satisfied when are awarded even the smallest gigs. The reality is, you will probably never become a "big time" trailer composer. However, it can be a sweet part-time job to fuel your passion of composing.
OP
OP
RAdu
New Member
yes it hurts a little
I should think more doing my own thing rather than look aroundkevthurman
Active Member
I think trailer music is something that is even harder than normal scoring to get into because the genre has already such an established sound and as a result musical creativity cannot give as much of an edge over others. Where a film score can work around a really low budget, trailer music generally requires a good up front investment because of all the electronic sounds and effects which are considered standard and completely necessary for anyone in the field.
Crowe
part raven, part troll
Indeed. Honestly, doing trailer music as a career hadn't even really occurred to me considering where I live and what I like to make. Scoring stuff is much more my speed.
I have this idea in my head that there are about 50 people who make trailer music and all positions have already been filled. I mean. How many trailers are made in a year?
OP
OP
RAdu
New Member
Landing in a main trailer it's really hard even for top composers, tv spots have more odds since there are so many for every movie
I think of it in the way that for every one who enters an oversaturated creative niche job, there must be someone else being pushed out. Be it falling out of fashion because their content doesn't sound/look creative enough, or they are unavailable once due to health reasons and someone else gets asked to do it, or they're being undercut by some newcomer fresh out of college, or they had some personal differences with a client and get replaced because of that, or management changes and insists on only working with local people all of a sudden... things like that, much which isn't entirely under your control. And once you actually made it and work in your niche, you'll always ask yourself how long it's gonna last because there's no security at all that you'll stay there.
ghostnote
Vincit qui se vincit.
You're looking for an excuse, my friend. You have to ask the right questions.
