A sobering look at the composer's trade. Must-read article..

[mazz]

A million million is a billion, right?

Actually, I think 1000 millions a billion.

DOH! You're right. Three zeros is 1000 isn't it!

I'm a musician, I can count to 4. I can do 5 under duress!!

[guitaroboe]

I can do 7 and 9 !!

built in by default!

Adonis

[mazz]

http://www.census.gov/econ/industry/def/d711510.htm

Be careful before you get too excited, I mean models, taxidermists, etc. are lumped into the same category,lol!

I think for us the question should be how many opportunities are there for us be it cable, films etc..

That is the figure that would matter most to start with.

When writing a business plan, knowing these figures is probably good because part of a business plan is laying out the playing field of the business which requires some analysis of the market, competition, etc.

But another part of the business plan is what product or service will be provided by the business. If one is starting a hamburger joint in a sea of McDonald's, one will have to find something that sets them apart from McDonald's so when folks get hungry they think of the little guy first. If a potential hamburger seller was to go on market alone, they would close their business plan and find something else because Wendy's, Burger King, McDonald's would seem to have the market tied up. So the entrepreneur has to have something unique that the big guys don't have, believe passionately enough to be the David in Goliath-land, and be agile enough to respond to feedback from the market.

I don't think our market or business is much different from any other on a very high level. It's all about supply and demand and how to become part of the supply that attracts demand. The nuts and bolts of what we do is different, i.e., creating music, but the business nuts and bolts are pretty much universal. We certainly don't need to re-invent the wheel.

I guess we need to ask ourselves: Are we going to let reports like this change our mind about what we want to accomplish in the big picture? It may change some aspects of how we market, what we write, or whatever, but will it discourage us enough to quit?

Everyone's answer will be different.



PS: It just occurred to me that we spend a lot of time focusing on music, naturally, and comparing our music to the music of "the big guys" that get all the work. There are any number of us here on this forum that can write at the level of "the big guys", so what is it about them that got them where they are? If it was really about the music, then some of us would be there too already. So maybe instead of studying their music, we should be studying their business techniques?

Just a thought

[Dwayne Russell]

Hi Dwayne
I guess I should have said it's info that's been 'out there' a long time and a lot of people are aware of...

I have no idea how to define "too many"...

Casey

How long?

The point in the article originally posted said that recently there has become too many composers in our field. If it has been that way for a long time then I'm confused.

I don't think it is so obvious that the number of composers is increased. If it has then what about the supply of work?

Has the music supply increased more than the amount of demand for music?

If I were to guess, which is all we are doing here, I would guess that the supply is increasing BECAUSE of the demand. That's not a bad thing is it?

[mazz]

Hi Dwayne
I guess I should have said it's info that's been 'out there' a long time and a lot of people are aware of...

I have no idea how to define "too many"...

Casey

How long?

The point in the article originally posted said that recently there has become too many composers in our field. If it has been that way for a long time then I'm confused.

I don't think it is so obvious that the number of composers is increased. If it has then what about the supply of work?

Has the music supply increased more than the amount of demand for music?

If I were to guess, which is all we are doing here, I would guess that the supply is increasing BECAUSE of the demand. That's not a bad thing is it?

Personally, I don't have enough time in my week to write all the music I would like to for the existing clients I have!! Not everything I write gets used or accepted, of course, but their demand continues (it ebbs and flows, of course). For me, the demand is greater than what I can supply. I would like to continue to up-level my opportunities, but just on a basic "crank out the product" level, I'm fairly maxed out as it is.

Just my little corner of the world.

[Dwayne Russell]

If one is starting a hamburger joint in a sea of McDonald's, one will have to find something that sets them apart from McDonald's so when folks get hungry they think of the little guy first. If a potential hamburger seller was to go on market alone, they would close their business plan and find something else because Wendy's, Burger King, McDonald's would seem to have the market tied up. So the entrepreneur has to have something unique that the big guys don't have, believe passionately enough to be the David in Goliath-land, and be agile enough to respond to feedback from the market.

Just a thought

What can a composer going to do to set his music apart? I have had stuff that I thought was crap get selected and used so many times. So maybe what I could do is put in more crap!

[mazz]

If one is starting a hamburger joint in a sea of McDonald's, one will have to find something that sets them apart from McDonald's so when folks get hungry they think of the little guy first. If a potential hamburger seller was to go on market alone, they would close their business plan and find something else because Wendy's, Burger King, McDonald's would seem to have the market tied up. So the entrepreneur has to have something unique that the big guys don't have, believe passionately enough to be the David in Goliath-land, and be agile enough to respond to feedback from the market.

Just a thought

What can a composer going to do to set his music apart? I have had stuff that I thought was crap get selected and used so many times. So maybe what I could do is put in more crap!

Find out what about it they liked. How was it used? The clients think way differently than we do as musicians, often we're too close to it to hear what they are hearing.

Maybe you can become Dwayne "King of Crap" Russell!!

[Casey H]

Hi Dwayne
I guess I should have said it's info that's been 'out there' a long time and a lot of people are aware of...

I have no idea how to define "too many"...

Casey

How long?

The point in the article originally posted said that recently there has become too many composers in our field. If it has been that way for a long time then I'm confused.

I don't think it is so obvious that the number of composers is increased. If it has then what about the supply of work?

Has the music supply increased more than the amount of demand for music?

If I were to guess, which is all we are doing here, I would guess that the supply is increasing BECAUSE of the demand. That's not a bad thing is it?

Over the past 5-10 years, due to home studio technology, the number of composers has increased dramatically.

But cable TV has also increased the demand many fold. Hundreds of cable shows need background music.

My guess is supply has increased more than even the increased demand. And the barrier to entry for starting a music library (even if a low quality one) these past 5-10 years has become pretty light, so the music libary field is mega-saturated.

Please don't get me wrong... There are plenty of opportunities to have your music placed in film/TV, especially TV. You can see how many Taxi members have recent successes, getting their music on TV. Quite a lot!!

Casey

[Dwayne Russell]

If one is starting a hamburger joint in a sea of McDonald's, one will have to find something that sets them apart from McDonald's so when folks get hungry they think of the little guy first. If a potential hamburger seller was to go on market alone, they would close their business plan and find something else because Wendy's, Burger King, McDonald's would seem to have the market tied up. So the entrepreneur has to have something unique that the big guys don't have, believe passionately enough to be the David in Goliath-land, and be agile enough to respond to feedback from the market.

Just a thought

What can a composer going to do to set his music apart? I have had stuff that I thought was crap get selected and used so many times. So maybe what I could do is put in more crap!

Find out what about it they liked. How was it used? The clients think way differently than we do as musicians, often we're too close to it to hear what they are hearing.

Maybe you can become Dwayne "King of Crap" Russell!!

If it makes me money then I dont care what they call me.

How often do you get to talk to the editors or supers?

[mazz]

I never talk to the editors or supers, the library does that. I write music, they sell it.