No More Excuses...Please Help A Wannabe Songwriter

[toonertik]

Know what? I'm gonna give this library music thing a shot. Worst case scenario, I'm no worse off than I am now.

So after I finish my current CD (have 2 songs left to do) I'm going to start working on my library music CDs. The article says 4 CDs a year, 12 songs each one.

Is there any place I can go to hear examples of these compilations so I have some idea what companies are looking for?

I'm going to give this a real honest effort. Worst they can do is say no thanks.

The big player.. . is https://www.dewolfemusic.com/
maybe if you make an account, they will let you preview stuff.
Remember... this material gets used for many different things...
think of the tv/radio ads you have heard... documentaries... much of this is library music.

Give it a go.. you have a talent for making music...

[wagtunes]

What do you think of this video?



Can library music really be this simple?

I already have some ideas but because this is so wide open as far as genres, it's easy to get lost in a black hole doing things that may not be as much in demand as other things.

That I can write in multiple genres is a big plus. But it also makes it so that deciding where to begin musically can be tough as far as making a firm decision and sticking to it. Do I go for driving rock? Maybe orchestral. Synth based? Ambient?

Right now, my head is spinning with all the music I have in it.

I need to discipline myself and come up with a game plan. That will probably be the hardest part for me.

[vurt]

be nice to debs, shes got contacts

There's a gold record in our studio for South Park-Chef Aid CD too. "Chocolate Salty Balls" FTW!!!

glad to hear youre having all the fun

[vurt]

ill watch tomorrow wags, almost midnight here

[wagtunes]

I thought this was an excellent video regarding strategy.



One thing I just realized. And maybe my "modest" goals will help me get through this more than anything else.

All these videos talk about earning a lot of money by doing certain things. But that's not my goal. If I can actually write library music that somebody will use, that's all I need. The money is secondary. Just to know that I did something that somebody wanted is enough for me.

So I may never get rich doing this, but I think I have a decent shot at getting at least one library album picked up or at least a part of that album.

Point is, I now know what I'm doing the rest of my life. I've written enough pop/rock songs in 42 years. I don't need to write any more of them. I can now devote my time to doing this and be content doing it.

So yes, for the first time in a long time, I'm really excited about the potential here. But I have a lot of studying to do in order to prepare myself to start.

FWIW, it wouldn't have happened without this thread and the direction in which it went.

So thank you.

[Unaspected]

I thought this was an excellent video regarding strategy.



One thing I just realized. And maybe my "modest" goals will help me get through this more than anything else.

All these videos talk about earning a lot of money by doing certain things. But that's not my goal. If I can actually write library music that somebody will use, that's all I need. The money is secondary. Just to know that I did something that somebody wanted is enough for me.

So I may never get rich doing this, but I think I have a decent shot at getting at least one library album picked up or at least a part of that album.

Point is, I now know what I'm doing the rest of my life. I've written enough pop/rock songs in 42 years. I don't need to write any more of them. I can now devote my time to doing this and be content doing it.

So yes, for the first time in a long time, I'm really excited about the potential here. But I have a lot of studying to do in order to prepare myself to start.

FWIW, it wouldn't have happened without this thread and the direction in which it went.

So thank you.

I'm so glad. It was worth the effort in the end - I'm pleased you didn't quit. You got there and you found out that you have loads of people on your side. Even when you're driving us crazy, we're still rooting for you.

Main thing is, you can see yourself doing this and the idea makes you happy. That's the greatest recipe for success - just finding joy in what you are doing.

You've really turned things around for yourself. Good work.

[wagtunes]

Another video that I thought was excellent.



Getting so many ideas from all this.

[wagtunes]

Know what I just realized? I'm starting from scratch. I have absolutely NO production music in my catalog.

[toonertik]

Know what I just realized? I'm starting from scratch. I have absolutely NO production music in my catalog.

yeah.. It's a different mind set.

In one studio I worked, we had a room dedicated to the De Wolf library (we had the whole catalog back then , 1980's, on vinyl), there were some pieces I would use on very different productions and those pieces of music would fit .. maybe with a little slicing and dicing (tape editing )

[wagtunes]

Know what I just realized? I'm starting from scratch. I have absolutely NO production music in my catalog.

yeah.. It's a different mind set.

In one studio I worked, we had a room dedicated to the De Wolf library (we had the whole catalog back then , 1980's, on vinyl), there were some pieces I would use on very different productions and those pieces of music would fit .. maybe with a little slicing and dicing (tape editing )

Yes, I've already learned so much about composition, writing in blocks, multiple versions, and on and on. In some ways, it's more involved than writing a pop song.

[JoeCat]

Don't have to move to LA to do library / production music:

https://www.soundonsound.com/music-busi ... sic-part-1

Have you read the article? It clearly says professional quality masters. Composing is one thing (I think I can compete there) but while my productions have improved, I am far from creating a professional quality master. According to the article, this is a must.

So now, we're back to the same problem. I need to find somebody willing to make a finished master recording of all these songs that I'm going to be sending to these companies.

Sure, I can try doing this on my own, but it's unlikely that I'll get anywhere. I've been rejected by a "crap" site like Audio Jungle. So what chance do I have with a major company?

ermm... did you read the article.. it is about Library music

"Library music, also known as ‘production music’, is created mainly for video professionals working on TV shows, movie trailers, advertising and more. It’s not written for specific visuals but, instead, to (hopefully inspiring) album concepts, and distributed around the world where it can end up being be used in random ways. For example, for many years my highest-earning track was a five-second boom sound buried in a French Polynesian news theme, while my artistic opuses made peanuts."
...

Production music now runs the gamut - everything from snippets to full tracks by bands. Songwriting skills apply.

Also, most of the companies do not want mastered tracks so they can control the consistency across various artists:

https://www.soundonsound.com/music-busi ... ic-part-10

"As library music is mainly used in the film and TV industry, it is delivered as 48kHz, 24-bit WAV or AIFF files. Final mixes are expected to be unmastered, with no bus compression or bus EQ."

[toonertik]

Know what I just realized? I'm starting from scratch. I have absolutely NO production music in my catalog.

yeah.. It's a different mind set.

In one studio I worked, we had a room dedicated to the De Wolf library (we had the whole catalog back then , 1980's, on vinyl), there were some pieces I would use on very different productions and those pieces of music would fit .. maybe with a little slicing and dicing (tape editing )

Yes, I've already learned so much about composition, writing in blocks, multiple versions, and on and on. In some ways, it's more involved than writing a pop song.

It's an area of the "business" that gets very little recognition outside of the "insiders"... but is an essential tool in many many productions... and can be lucrative .. but ..
it is hard work.. lot of slog... numbers game... make many pieces sell few..

and, yes.. multiple versions around a theme that can fit in many productions...

Any way... most important...
ENJOY THE JOURNEY... and the challenges...
ultimately.. this is what really counts..

[toonertik]

https://www.soundonsound.com/music-busi ... ic-part-10

"As library music is mainly used in the film and TV industry, it is delivered as 48kHz, 24-bit WAV or AIFF files. Final mixes are expected to be unmastered, with no bus compression or bus EQ."

That's interesting..
It was a long time ago when I was doing adverts and film/video sound...
our library was on vinyl/tape and OFC we would want it properly mastered for that media (vinyl/ tape.. with appropriate eq) ... mastering seems to have morphed into something else from the way I use the term

[JoeCat]

Know what? I'm gonna give this library music thing a shot. Worst case scenario, I'm no worse off than I am now.

So after I finish my current CD (have 2 songs left to do) I'm going to start working on my library music CDs. The article says 4 CDs a year, 12 songs each one.

Is there any place I can go to hear examples of these compilations so I have some idea what companies are looking for?

I'm going to give this a real honest effort. Worst they can do is say no thanks.

Excited for you!

bmg
http://www.bmgproductionmusic.com/us/

position music
https://www.positionmusic.com/

audio network
https://us.audionetwork.com/

gothic storm
https://gothic-storm.com/

library of the human soul
https://libraryofthehumansoul.com/
.
intervox
http://www.intervox.co.uk/home/index.php?l=EN

cavendish
https://www.cavendishmusic.com/

apm music
https://www.apmmusic.com/libraries/kpm-music

dos brains
http://dosbrains.com/

no sheet music
https://www.nosheetmusic.tv/tracks

big idea music
https://bim.sourceaudio.com/#!home

omni music
https://www.omnimusic.com/

theta sound
https://theta-sound.com/

[vurt]

Know what I just realized? I'm starting from scratch. I have absolutely NO production music in my catalog.

a great place to be
blank slate, no baggage and hopefully with the new outlook on this, you'll find not only do you enjoy the process but you'll probably make some of you're better stuff too