Page 1 of 1
Quantity vs. Quality
Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2025 11:10 am
by eeoo
Hi all,
Been thinking about this and thought it might be a productive discussion. It seems like I've seen a lot of chatter recently about the need for speed in producing music for sync. I get it, it's a numbers game, when i was starting out it was all about the race to 1000 registered titles in your PRO. Now it's probably more like 5000. But at the same time, in recent years many of the publishers I work with have emphasized quality, they want stuff that sounds like a major label record and aren't interested in quantity. Does anyone else have a hard time reconciling these two antithetical work philosophies? I get anxious when I hear guys say that they pump out 500 tracks a year and then i think about how many other people are pumping out 500 tracks a year and how saturated the market must be. And i also wonder when AI will take over the production music market completely. And then I go sit under a tree and write a folk song
Anyway, no judgment, just some food for thought.
Peace,
EO
Re: Quantity vs. Quality
Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2025 6:18 pm
by jdstamper
I'm right there with you. I envy the 500 / year composers, I do.
I'm in awe of how they can do it. But that's not me.
Have you heard the great podcasts, webcasts & more from 52 Cues, Dave Kropf?
He's talked about this topic, and he's on the side of quality, especially as AI takes root.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfBoCi4OQY0
Re: Quantity vs. Quality
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2025 4:40 am
by telefunkin
Cranking out 500 tracks per year is fantastic, but only if you can put them in decent libraries. THAT is also very difficult to achieve but not discussed much.
Re: Quantity vs. Quality
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2025 1:10 pm
by eeoo
jdstamper wrote: ↑Tue Jul 08, 2025 6:18 pm
I'm right there with you. I envy the 500 / year composers, I do.
I'm in awe of how they can do it. But that's not me.
Have you heard the great podcasts, webcasts & more from 52 Cues, Dave Kropf?
He's talked about this topic, and he's on the side of quality, especially as AI takes root.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfBoCi4OQY0
Thanks for the info I'll have a listen!
Re: Quantity vs. Quality
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2025 1:11 pm
by eeoo
telefunkin wrote: ↑Wed Jul 09, 2025 4:40 am
Cranking out 500 tracks per year is fantastic, but only if you can put them in decent libraries. THAT is also very difficult to achieve but not discussed much.
Yeah i would think those guys/gals would already have a home in mind for those tracks.
Re: Quantity vs. Quality
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 1:33 am
by cosmicdolphin
Volume can pay off if you’ve got the stamina and know where to pitch.
Matt Vander Beogh managed to crank out 500 cues in a year and did really well out of it, but I couldn’t do it, nor would I want to. Having seen how the sausage is made through his excellent Matt’s Music Minute YouTube series, he definitely has his style and templates down to a fine art, which clearly speeds things up.
Personally, I prefer switching lanes and trying my hand at different styles, which takes more time. Someone like Matt could probably knock out three Dramedy cues in one session while I’m still finding sounds and researching a style I haven’t done before. But that’s what I enjoy — if I didn’t, I wouldn’t do it.
For me, the sweet spot is around 80–100 tracks a year — not so slow that I can’t make a decent amount from my catalogue, but not so fast that I end up with too few quality tracks earning anything. And as Graham also mentioned, where you put your music matters massively — one library might generate hundreds or thousands from a single track, while another might barely cover your coffee.
I was having a simlar chat online with a much more succesful composer who's name might be familiar but I won't mention. He only writes 30 tracks per year spending 30-40hrs per track, so I asked him what takes the time ( vs doing them at my pace or faster ) and he said for the tension cues he's currently making, each track takes around 4 - 7 days to write v1 - Then he records some live elements like guitar, real synths, live strings and brass - Then it's mixed properly. But trailer music is more like 50 - 60 hours per track. He also says he expects to each $1k per quarter from these tracks.
Mark
Re: Quantity vs. Quality
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 2:38 pm
by GaryShaffer
Another factor is the type of tracks are you creating. Most of my songs are actually songs. Two or three verses, bridge, chorus. This takes a bit more time (IMO) than an instrumental cue. Plus, I love lyric writing and will work and rework lyrics. I've had some success on instrumental cues and am working hard to improve. I am very impressed by the ones that can crank them out. I find it highly motivating.
Re: Quantity vs. Quality
Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2025 10:07 am
by eeoo
cosmicdolphin wrote: ↑Thu Jul 10, 2025 1:33 am
Volume can pay off if you’ve got the stamina and know where to pitch.
Matt Vander Beogh managed to crank out 500 cues in a year and did really well out of it, but I couldn’t do it, nor would I want to. Having seen how the sausage is made through his excellent Matt’s Music Minute YouTube series, he definitely has his style and templates down to a fine art, which clearly speeds things up.
Personally, I prefer switching lanes and trying my hand at different styles, which takes more time. Someone like Matt could probably knock out three Dramedy cues in one session while I’m still finding sounds and researching a style I haven’t done before. But that’s what I enjoy — if I didn’t, I wouldn’t do it.
For me, the sweet spot is around 80–100 tracks a year — not so slow that I can’t make a decent amount from my catalogue, but not so fast that I end up with too few quality tracks earning anything. And as Graham also mentioned, where you put your music matters massively — one library might generate hundreds or thousands from a single track, while another might barely cover your coffee.
I was having a simlar chat online with a much more succesful composer who's name might be familiar but I won't mention. He only writes 30 tracks per year spending 30-40hrs per track, so I asked him what takes the time ( vs doing them at my pace or faster ) and he said for the tension cues he's currently making, each track takes around 4 - 7 days to write v1 - Then he records some live elements like guitar, real synths, live strings and brass - Then it's mixed properly. But trailer music is more like 50 - 60 hours per track. He also says he expects to each $1k per quarter from these tracks.
Mark
Yeah I'm kinda the same, trying out new genres, figuring out how I can expand my repertoire while remaining authentic. I also do a lot of vocal songs so obviously noy gonna do 500 of those in a year
Re: Quantity vs. Quality
Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2025 10:08 am
by eeoo
GaryShaffer wrote: ↑Thu Jul 10, 2025 2:38 pm
Another factor is the type of tracks are you creating. Most of my songs are actually songs. Two or three verses, bridge, chorus. This takes a bit more time (IMO) than an instrumental cue. Plus, I love lyric writing and will work and rework lyrics. I've had some success on instrumental cues and am working hard to improve. I am very impressed by the ones that can crank them out. I find it highly motivating.
For sure, vocal songs are a different beast and I'm in the same boat as you.