Writing for different purposes

[john]

5 minutes ago, MonoStone said:

Oh actually I do have one very close friend (guitarist from my old band) who makes 'production/library music'  for Universal.... and that's another aspect - Music made in certain styles and moods which goes into a library that music supervisors just pick from when they need something... 99% of the time instrumental... the music in the background. But honestly the quality of performances (he hires session people, so there's an initial outlay required) and production is so high! And it's something you have to have the right mindset for I think... not for people wanting to just creatively express themselves... or people making morbid singer-songwriter-rock-whatever-it-is like me

 

In his case it took a lot of years learning from pro producers and getting to know the right people. No Taxi style shortcuts. 

 

A competitive field. I know a few who have tried, but very few who have had any real success... despite having hundreds or in one case close to 1500 items in music libraries... all very high quality. There are just so many people in that arena now. All the ones I know of are producer-writers or producer/writer teams.

 

I would love to know where, if anywhere, those shortcuts lead. I suspect they are simply short lol

[ImKeN]

@MonoStone & @john,

 

I recommended Robin's book because I can't find any good, free, information out there on writing songs/tracks for film and TV(I usually can and I probably will, soon enough lol). Besides, $40 is pretty cheap compared to some online courses that cost a little over a thousand dollars(some courses are really worth it, though)! 😱

 

Dek, as for Robin's credentials, you can see some here: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/robin-frederick-mn0000301240/credits

 

 

 

@Pahchisme Plaid, here's a couple more resources(free) on songwriting for film/tv that might help you but in a very general way: 🤓

 

https://www.maniacmusic.net/blog/blog/5-ways-to-write-better-songs-for-scoring-film-and-tv-placements

 

https://www.tunefind.com/shows   - Robin mentions this site in the video I posted earlier, it lists the songs/tracks used on specific TV shows. They only share snippets but I think you can find whole lyrics online for free if you google the song title.

 

Ken

Edited August 28, 2017 by ImKeN

[MonoStone]

4 hours ago, ImKeN said:

Dek, as for Robin's credentials, you can see some here: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/robin-frederick-mn0000301240/credits

 

It's interesting that she's had two songs recorded by two of my favourite artists and neither are hugely high profile artists ... and if ND and JM liked her then she must have had something to like back in the 60s. She might well be a lovely person, and might know a lot even if she's not had that success personally.

 

But...

 

1. Aside from those two songs in the 60s she's written nothing that's been used by anyone of note

2. All of her production credits are for compilation production, and in that case 'producer' simply means project manager... she was responsible for making sure the albums got done (which doesn't amount to much when putting a compilation together). None of those credits are for writing, producing or even sourcing tracks for movies.

 

And...I dunno... when I watch that video my nose is twitching, something smells funny.... not specifically her but the whole video.

 

That said, she may have some great tips. I guess if her book has helped anyone find any kind of success there will be recommendations, and that's what to follow.

 

Best of luck with it all Ken. Let us know if the book helps you.

 

 

[ImKeN]

A couple more resources on writing for TV/Film:

 

http://michellelockey.com/musicsync/writing-licensing-music-for-film-tv-episode-1-universal-lyrics

 

https://www.bmi.com/news/entry/10_things_you_need_to_know_about_placing_music_on_tv_and_in_films