Corporate Music Method
Corporate Music Method
Corporate Music Method
Content
Prologue: How To read This Book / About the author
Chapter 1: Are You A Crazy Talented 17 Year Old?
Chapter 2: How To Make Money With Music
Chapter 3: Go Corporate with the Corporate Music Method!
Chapter 4: Go Global!
Chapter 5: 25 Rules To Be Successful With Your Music In The Corporate World
Rule #1 The Plan
Rule #2 The Folder
Rule #3 Buy Time
Rule #4 Be Intuitive
Rule #5 Keyword Writing
Rule #6 No Demos Please
Rule #7 Less Is More
Rule #8 How To Get Client Focus
Rule #9 The Stems Approach
Rule #10 Contracts, What Do You Need Them For?
Rule #11 Hours Or Project? (More Dough Please)
Rule #12 Never Say No To A Job
Rule #13 Life Is A Stage
Rule #14 Always Make Your Deadline
Rule #15 Learn To Read Feedback
Rule #16 Writing For Corporate World is Different From Film Scoring
Rule #17 How To Host Your Show
Rule #18 Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Rule #19 More Than Words
Rule #20 Dont Get The One Word Feedback
Rule #21 Get a Chance!
An American example from The Huffington Post: Today, the only way to make money in
the music business is to turn an artist into a brand, and then do everything in your power to
maximize that brands value. The first step on this path still involves music. Songs make a
music artist famous in the first place and allow the artist to define his or her brand. Touring
can also be lucrative; spending on concerts in North America surpassed spending on
recorded music in 2009, and stood at $9.5 billion in 2011, up almost 20 percent from four
years before. But tours are also expensive to produce, so they arent necessarily as profitable
for the artist as they initially appear. For that reason, artists have become increasingly creative
with their business ventures. Ten years ago, if you had a hit song on the radio, and you had a
great tour, youd sell a million records, two million records. Thats not necessarily the case
anymore.
Today, if you have a hit song and you have a sold-out tour, then other ancillary opportunities
are available to you: sponsorships, endorsements, TV, movie, animated features all
different types of things. Recording an album really has become like a promotional tool, so
once an artist becomes popular through music, the four members of his or her management
team (agent, manager, lawyer, business manager) work to turn fans goodwill into revenue.
They secure deals for music-merchandise manufacturers to sell keychains with their clients
faces on them, get their clients lucrative judging positions on reality TV shows, and help
broker clothing-design jobs with apparel companies. Some artists have made more with these
kinds of deals than they would have in the golden age of the CD. Taylor Swift, for example,
collaborated with Elizabeth Arden to release a perfume that was predicted to generate $50
million in the year after its release. Swift, of course, also sells millions of records but music
manager Allen Kovac said that its possible even for moderately successful artists to start
lucrative businesses. Kovac cited his client Nikki Sixx, who has parlayed his position as the
bassist of Motley Crue into a clothing line, several book deals and a radio talkshow. Sixx is
also in talks to start a talk show on cable. Hes making more money now as an individual
than he did in Motley Crue, Kovac said.
So the famous artists are looking for new business models too. They have to!
The big companies are too slow in changing their business models and the market today is
too fragmented for the way they used to work. From Forbes Entrepreneurs: In todays music
scene there are multiple subgenres and blogs catering to niche audiences on the Internet,
thousands of cable channels, satellite- and internet radio channels etc. Massive corporations
are not built for this type of promotions, but smaller record labels, smaller marketing firms or
motivated artists are. To meet these market needs, a new and exciting business model has
emerged where entrepreneurs and small businesses supply needs that the major companies
cannot. These companies handle promotions, distribution and marketing for independent
labels and artists. They provide services so independent labels dont have to do everything inhouse, allowing these labels to compete through services that were once only available by
signing exclusive deals with major-label conglomerates. So there are opportunities for
independent artists as long as you see your music as a product, and yourself as a creative
businessman.
But are you good enough for market demands?
The drawing of the little circle stands for the evolution that, in my opinion, every musician,
songwriter and composer needs to go through. Youll want to become just as good as your
heroes and your competition, and in the meantime discover your own unique selling point.
The market demands a certain quality and getting up to that standard is hard enough. But
what makes you different from the rest? Why should people buy your music? Why would
clients be interested in hiring you? So you need to go around the world, learn and complete
the circle, be just as good as your competitors, and then find that One different spot!
Because thats what makes you different and helps you to stand out from the rest. First try
hard to be just as good as your heroes and put as much of yourself into the journey as
possible. Then you will need to find the part where you are different and can make the
difference. One different and step One beyond from what the rest is offering. This is
very important, so much more on this later in the book.
source: http://thetrichordist.com/2014/11/12/the-streaming-price-bible-spotify-youtube-and-what-1million-playsmeans-to-you/
Adding more subscribers also adds more plays. This means that there is less paid per play as
the service scales in size. This means that Spotify and YT retain their margin, while the artists
margin is reduced! In the above example the 3,000,000 plays ad up to $ 7,802.00 of total
revenue You can make the same amount by selling 1125 albums on iTunes. (However, if
you were to sell 3,000,000 tracks on iTunes you would earn 2,100,000 dollars!.. Wow! but
these days are long gone..)
A couple of years ago most people thought that the Internet would bring a whole new middle
class of independent artists, composers, painters, musicians, creative people, etc But, in
reality, it brought us a whole generation of amateurs, hobbyists and semi-pros. Only the big
companies like Apple, Spotify, Google and YouTube, make serious money. Artists are poorer
than ever Thats just the plain truth.
Geoff Barrow of Portishead tweeted in dec 2015: 34 million streams, my income after tax=
1700. Thank U @apple @YouTube @Spotify for selling our music so cheap. Another clear example
of a bad deal..
I did a little investigation with a song of mine to see for myself what the revenues would be,
and it turned it was even less than the above example! I put the song on Spotify and iTunes
through Music Kickup. You need a publisher or a service like Music Kickup or Catapult to
get your music on iTunes, Spotify, Deezer, Google Play etc. Catapult is an official distributor
for iTunes, but there are more companies offering this kind of service for a small fee.
Heres what Taylor Swift says about her choice not te be on Spotify anymore:
Ms Swift says that the argument about fair compensation isnt really about her. She can
support herself, her band, crew, and entire management team by playing live shows: at last
count, her 1989 tour had grossed over $86m. The real problem is for those whose starpower is more modest than that of Ms Swifts supernova. Despite technology that puts more
power into the hands of musicians to make websites, sell merchandise, book their own shows
and connect with fans, many continue to sign old-fashioned, complex paper contracts
regarding the rights to their music. These play to the strengths of lawyers and accountants,
not lyricists and tunesmiths, ensuring that more money flows to handlers than to creators.
(The Economist)
So, what can you do to make a living from music as a creator? As a songwriter, composer or
writing artist? Here are the answers:
1 Be on the radio all day, and be on all radios worldwide. That would bring you loads of
royalty money But, it would take a while getting it. It can take somewhere between 1 and 3
years. And, you would have to share with publishing, the record company and collecting
societies like ASCAP. But, depending on where you are signed, which has a lot to do with
where you live and work, most of the time you will only get on national radio. You will need
to be a signed artist with a worldwide record deal to get on all these radio stations worldwide.
Thats the way most radio stations work, they get new music from record companies
promoting new artists. So, first, you would need a great deal. I know of a great singer who
can write well, but every time she records a single she signs this pretty useless distribution
deal with a record company. They havent even managed to get her on national radio, not
even once! But she did sign their publishing contract, meaning she lost all control over her
own music and recording. No shopping around and no synching with this track, no more
freedom to do what she wants with her song, and for what? There are thousands of artists
that keep signing these bad paper contracts just because it sounds so great: Ive got a record
deal, Ive signed with this great, big publisher, but the truth is that 90% of the times, it
wont get them anywhere. Got a great deal? Sign! If not, remain free and work it yourself, or
work with smaller companies who understand how the new music to business ways work.
If youre good, the big ones will come back for you anyway. About the deal from my singer
friend: That record company put no effort into her song at all. They didnt pay for the
recordings, and these days singles arent even hardware, anymore, only digital. So, no costs at
all. None. They need to use their distribution and marketing system, but if theyre not totally
behind you, or you arent a well known artist already, this deal will be of no use. Also, it will
always only be national. So find a company that believes in you. Even better if its smaller and
knows how modern day marketing works. Stay away from the big companies unless they can
offer you a great (worldwide) deal. Otherwise, do it yourself and use the Method. Get your
music on films, commercials or tv series and built it up from there.
DJ Martin Garrix left his record company Spinnin records and management in august 2015,
after failing to get his Intellectual Property Rights back. He signed a bad deal when he was
very young and trying to change it did not work. He cut his losses, left the company and now
only concentrates on new music and he is currently (as I write at least,) available for a new
label and a new (better) contract. We all know about the struggles of George Michael and
Prince with their companies, but we also all know of artists who dont live in the UK or US,
who can only have national success. The road to success is a one-way street; going from the
UK and US to the rest of the world. Youre not allowed to enter the street from the other
side! This is how old-school record companies work and its about time this changed!
Whats the second way to make a living from music?
2 Gig! Tour! Play live, play, play, play.. Most musicians pay their bills with touring, playing
live! Play as much as you can and ask decent money for your live appearance. Thats what all
the big acts are doing. They tour and earn a lot of money with it. Thats why all the old acts
are touring again. No more record sales, so they have to. Build a loyal following and keep on
playing and touring. (Coldplay costs 1 million for a show Ive heard). Costs for touring can
be high though and health problems from an important band member could mean no money
at all for the whole crew when a show has to be cancelled.
3 Teaching is the third answer. Many musicians have a teaching job, or had one at some
point in their lives. For songwriters and composers this happens less often, but its
increasingly becoming a subject at music schools and conservatories. But be honest.. does
answer 1 and 2 really apply to you? If youre a songwriter or composer, but not a performer,
you wont make much money by playing live. And the only way to earn royalties would be to
write that hit song, or get your tracks on TV shows. My guess is that, for most musicians,
composers, songwriters and bands, the above answers would probably not apply at all.
For media composers, another troublesome thing is happening right now. In a crowded
market, which advertising is, and where many composers are offering their services, the
following happens more and more. A normal working situation for a media composer writing
tunes, jingles, radio and tv commercials would be to get paid for the work; the writing and
recording for a commercial. After that, the commercial would appear on tv and the composer
should get 66% of the royalties (34% for the publisher when there is one). Thats how its
agreed upon by law.
In the real world, however, the following two situations are often occurring:
The agent or advertising agency writes its name on the music, pretending to be a co-writer,
and thus getting 33% of the writers part, leaving the composer with only 33% of the
royalties. So the ad agency director brings in the lead, negotiates the fee and gets most of the
money for making the spot. Then negotiates a fee with the composer where he also uses the
royalties as a negotiating tool. So, suddenly, getting backend is not a right anymore. The client
goes like: hey, you will get royalties, so why do you need a fee for writing at all? This fake cowriter now earns most of the money thats being paid for the commercial, and he also takes
33% of the royalties
Its almost the same with getting your song on a Rihanna album or a similar hot artist; every
other producer thats in her team wants his name on your track too, because only the
singles sell. Kids do not buy the rest of the album, but only the hits. So you sign that deal and
share your writing credits or your song wont appear on the album at all. Thats the reason so
many names appear in the song credits.
It gets even worse for the modern media composer when broadcasting companies turn into
publishers themselves (which they do often enough) and besides getting 34% as a publisher
they want up to 80% of the leftover 66% writers share. The composer wont get the job if he
doesnt agree to pay back these 80% of the royalties to the broadcaster. This is done in paper
contracts and composers are so scared of saying no, and losing clients and income, that they
agree.
living or even a great living with your music? My answer is, as you probably will have guessed
already
Chapter 3: Go Corporate!
Films, tv series, commercials, games, corporate videos, brands, events, product launches
they all need great music! They need songs that have the same quality as the ones that are
played on radio, they need great orchestral music thats just as good as the music in movies,
they need dubstep, rock, singer-songwriter songs, EDM you name it.. Theres a market and
this market pays well. This market needs music! Dont think this is an easy market, though!
The stock music days are long behind us. You need to be really good! Dont think that these
media composers only do 10 second jingles or 20 second commercials. These people, the
clients and brands really need top notch tracks and real music. Music that is now, music that
rocks It needs to be up there with the best. It needs to be like the music your clients listen
to in their cars when driving to work. These brands work hard and spend a fortune on
developing their products, so the music for these products needs to be great too.
The market needs epic tracks, instrumentals and songs in all styles, from dramatic to dance
and from rock to singer-songwriter.
There are 2 ways to make a great income with your music in the corporate way:
1 Write directly for brands or via event and advertising agencies. It will get you paid for your
writing and the use of your music. (many times there will also be royalties)
2 Synching.
Synch your music to tv series, films, commercials. It will pay you license money and royalties.
Questions you now might have:
Can I do this too? How do I get clients? How do I write for such a client?
How much time do I have when i get a composing job?
How much money can I ask?
How does it work with music rights?
How do I get synched?
Is my music good enough?
What kind of music do they need?
I dont have clients, what am I doing wrong?
Can I make money too? And how can I make money too?
What should I be able to do musically?
What do brands like BMW, Philips, LG or Nike really want?
Whats it like working with film or ballet, a choreographer, advertising or event agencies?
What do I need to know in order to pull it off ? Whats it like?
In the following chapters I will give answer to the above questions and more.
But first:
What is the Corporate Music Method and what can it do for you?
Over the past 15 years I have been working hard as a one man company. I have seen my
company grow and get big opportunities and assignments. Ive had great successes based on
the Method. I found there are ways to make a great living with your own music, without
sailing the same routes as most others do. Its not easy and for sure the Method is not for
everyone, but it can be done, and the journey is an exciting one!
Getting clients who are loyal, getting assignments that are out of the ordinary, the worldwide
trips Ive made, the cities Ive visited and the musical friends Ive made. The music Ive had
the chance to write, music I would never have written otherwise. It made me a much better
composer and songwriter, and it also gave me great insights into how corporations and
businesses work and think. When I decided to share what Ive learned, a feeling of coming
home fell over me, kind of like reaching the harbour of your hometown after a long and
adventurous journey. And since were already in the nautical world; The Corporate Music
Method is based on 4 anchors.
You will need all 4 anchors to work in order to get your boat safely into harbour. If one
anchor doesnt work or is broken, your boat could go adrift.
These anchors are: Create, Learn, Market and Earn.
Create: This work is all about passion for music and being creative. Corporate brands want
and expect the best, so you have to write as much as you can and be the best you
can. Its all about creativity and your music, your creations. This first anchor is the
most important one because your know how, professionalism and out-of-the-box
thinking, is what your new business is all about, and cant do without.
Learn: Learn from your mistakes, because thats the only way to grow and get better. Learn
from teachers and from friends, learn by reading and watching tutorials. Learn from
how your customers respond and from the feedback you get. Make sure your
creativity grows and flourishes. The learning never stops, and neither should your
creativity. This is a do it to learn it business and you can only become successful
if you keep on practising and work hard.
Market: View your music and your work as a product, a product that is needed by a huge
market. Be open-minded and never say no to a job. Bring your creativity and
knowledge and go out shopping for gigs, assignments, synchs and clients. To
succeed you have to compete, meaning that you have to keep your costs low and
make the profit come to you and your company, and nobody else. You need to be
creative, not only with your music and words, but also with production, mix, master
and as a businessman.
Earn: Once your first 3 anchors have been dropped well the earning will start. You will land
writing jobs and you will start making money with synchs. Release your own music
and become an authority who clients will want to rely on. Investigate what the
market needs and find out where your opportunities lie.
Be creative, keep on learning, market well and expand your network, then earnings
will come!
I am proud that our online course Corporate Music Method is now also an official minor (a
subject earning 15 ECs) at the ArtEZ Institute of the Arts, Netherlands biggest
conservatory. Music students from all over the world can follow these lessons and earn
valuable Course credits. All other music writers can follow the course via our website. Whats
most special and unique about this course is that real clients and music supervisors are part
of the course! School meets market and students get network and a chance to earn money.
Participants will meet, write for and sell music to the corporate market within this course.
This has never been done before, and really is the missing link between music education and
the market. You can find more info on the Corporate Music Method course on our website
CorporateMusicMethod.com
Chapter 4: Go Global
Be aware of the fact that music, like money, is a global thing. It seems like a logical thing to
say but most schools, musicians and even record companies dont work this way, or are,
themselves, even aware of it. They mostly work locally or at the most, nationally. Its how they
constructed their business models in a time when there was no internet and our world was
much smaller.
Money really is global and music? Well, music is even bigger its universal. Everyone can
relate and respond to music, a song, it doesnt have boundaries. So why only promote your
work, your music, locally or nationally? Look at it this way:
The world is your marketplace and little dots of success on the globe can give great success,
and make great income for your family and yourself. It buys freedom! You decide what to do
with your life, and nobody tells you what to do. That is a great feeling and, although its not
the easiest way to choose to live your life, its very rewarding and can give a great sense of
fulfillment.
Stop thinking small and start thinking big!
Schools all around the world are now discovering that this is the new way to reach students,
and more and more online education is available. Schools like Harvard and Berklee are
working hard on this, thus making their great programs available to students all over the
world.
We need education to build our world, and, even more, we need creative people to change the
world. Global thinking is indispensable in these modern times.
So, how can you use this new way of thinking?
If you want to be a successful entrepreneur and run a creative business you will need both
local and international clients, and both local and international success to keep building and
growing your business. The market youre getting into does not see borders, the internet has
made sure there are no borders where music is concerned. Learn to think global and big, see
where the opportunities are, and use these opportunities. Send your music to potential clients,
send it to libraries, send it to music supervisors, directors, show callers, ad agencies, event
agencies, publishers, record companies, clothing designers, website designers, video
companies, film directors, creative schools, but dont stop at the border of your country!
Make sure you get these little dots of success all around the globe, and keep building your
business. Be someone the market wants, and be someone the market needs.
These days an independent artist needs to be an independent businessman, too!
It really is perfectly possible, without a record company or publisher, to become a
self-supporting composer or songwriter, and make a great living out of it. But youve
got to Think Global!
special moments in the film. This makes it more interactive and more powerful.
You can see the final result here, although its only filmed with an iPhone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoWxoFTb8H0
Whenever you get stuck in the writing process, you go back to the Folder. Listen to what is in
there and get instant inspiration that steers you in the right direction again. A small sound or
the way another track is mixed will give new ideas you can use in your new track. This has
helped me greatly over the past years and it can help you.
Composing can be a lonely job, working alone under the pressure of a deadline and people
calling you every 2 hours asking when the music will be ready.. so you need something to fall
back on. The Folder is your chosen path, the way you think your music should sound for this
particular job. The Folder will help you every time!
Rule #4 Be intuitive!
Intuitive Music Writing 2.0
This is a very important one! Like with rule# 2 the Folder, you need to trust your first
emotion, your gut feeling. Whenever writing chords or a theme, making a sound, mixing,
writing lyrics etc. be intuitive. Trust your musicality. Rest assured that you will know what is
the best musical decision immediately.
99% of the time your initial idea will be the best, changing it against that first feeling will
result into long hours of unsatisfied feelings and struggle. If you trust these intuitive feelings,
you will know which things need to be better and which to leave alone. After the intuitive
choices, the hard work of finding that better chord, sound or voice will start. But again,
when you find it.. you will know and you have to stick with it immediately! Ive tested some
extreme Intuitive Music Writing a while ago and called it: Intuitive Music Writing 2.0
Being in the business that I am, Ive learned to trust my musical gut. Being able to write,
record, mix and master a song, including the lyrics, in a short amount of time, and have a
happy client, is part of the daily life of a corporate composer. Looking back on how I started
and what Ive learned, it all comes down to musical knowledge, taste or sometimes being able
to adjust my own taste to that of the customer, the right mindset and trusting my musical
guts. Maybe a better words for gut would be intuition, musical intuition! Being intuitive
when you write and trusting you first instinct. Your initial ideas are almost always the best. We
sometimes lose these initial ideas by overthinking or by going into detail too soon.
You might argue that all your music is done intuitive, but hear me out, im going to take it a
few steps further
Pitfalls!
Regarding going into detail too soon; I see this a lot with my students and a conversation
during class might go something like this: Student: listen to that bass drum, I have layered 10
kicks! Me; Eh, well yeah, the kick sounds nice but your song sucks!..But, Ive used 20
synths for this chorus part!, eh yeah, but your song still sucks (And I say this with a
smile, of course).
Another pitfall can be the use of plugins when you just keep searching for a sound, going
through hundreds of presets and lose many hours on that. Picking sounds should be intuitive
too! Dont waste time on all these presets. Decide fast if you need piano, strings, or whatever,
and when finished, record or bounce these tracks to an audiotrack. Then kill the plugin so
you wont be able to go back easily. Again, trust you instincts, be intuitive. It will save huge
amounts of time, but more importantly it will keep the creative process alive. Learn to mix
while you write, make the right choices and pick the right sounds. Do it, be intuitive!
Be Intuitive 2.0
So, I took my be intuitive workflow even further. Trusting my own musical intuition when
working alone is great, but what about working with other musicians in the same way?
Could this be done? Usually when I hire musicians like horn players, cellists, violinists,
drummers or bass players my track is pretty much ready and it just needs that live feel of a
really good musician. (Real instruments always win from plugins and midi stuff imo. It is
more difficult to get the sound right, but it immediately becomes your own sound, where
the plugin sound is being used by many, many others). The musicians I am lucky to work with
are very talented, but i always have the feeling I am not using their talent to the full extent. So
I tried something new. I asked two wonderful musicians and long-time friends of mine into
my studio, a world-class drummer and an amazing bass player. I set up some nice mics and we
made sure everything sounded great. The kit was miced with 8 mics (kick, snare, tom1, tom2,
stereo OH, room mic about 2 mtrs in front of the kit) and the bass player had his pedalboard
with a couple of effects and a DI. I played guitar and keys myself. All went into my UA
Apollo and Protools and we were ready to go But, this time we had no chords, no plan, no
lyrics, nothing!
jam
the end my first version was used and the reveal was a huge success. I never heard a thing
from those hipsters, of course. This is a no-compliments business, so you had better get
used to it.
Now, what about those keywords. Here are some examples:
For an assignment I received for the new BMW M4 GTS, a seriously fast supercar, I received
these keywords:
Bold, heavy, grungy, powerful.
As usual, I was leading and the film came after the music. This show was in Tokio, Japan and
music had to be delivered asap.
This is what I came up with:
https://soundcloud.com/erwin-steijlen/m-4-launch
I am usually careful not to go over the edge or to be too extreme, because most of the time
clients dont like that (unfortunately). So the M4 music is a bold mix of orchestral with
modern electronic and dance sounds, mixed all quite heftily. But, my music was turned down.
Why? Heres the feedback I got:
I like this track. However I was expecting something different. I think the tempo is too slow
and it should be more heavy and wild right from the start. It should fit to the fast driving
sequences (without seeing this material until now). Its too sublime and majestic for me, it
should be more extroverted and rude. I would also love a hint of Japan in the music, since
this launch is in Tokio.
I love the dark bass in this track, please keep it!
Pretty good to get such musical feedback. Unfortunately for me he didnt like my first track,
but its not often that I get positive or musical feedback, so I became inspired to write a new
one.
Heres what I came up with. It is unusual for a company like BMW to accept this kind of
music, but they liked it. I also enjoyed making a heavy rock track like this.
Important: I used Anime and Manga movies as the inspiration for the hint of Japan!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd0Lc4TAIGw
Heres the final feedback I got:
Great! Love it! Lets do it like this. It turned out really cool!
Its pretty unusual to receive a compliment, but I got one this time and thats nice! After all, us
musicians need some applause every once in a while.
A nice job I got this summer was to write the Anthem for a newly-built horse riding stadium,
the Champions League of horse jumping. A Global Tour for worlds best riders was to be
held here and this event would be witnessed by the rich and famous, including Bruce
Springsteen and Elton John. Apparently the first composers did not do well, so they came to
me with only 4 days left. I took the assignment after a nice phone call and here are the
choreography, film, event, ambience and audience, all at the same time. So I will make decisions that would not
necessarily be my own taste, but are the right ones to bind all the above factors together. Concerning the opening
and reveal I would rather go more minimal, arty and daring. Make a statement, just like the car does.
However, when my keywords and briefing tell me otherwise, I oblige. Reveal: This piece is based on a triplet
feel, as the piano starts with triplets and these, over the next 3 minutes, grow and grow. We go from one little
piano on the high notes all the way to a big orchestra with modern beats, real drums and percussion in the end.
From small to really big.
Part 1, for me, represents the turning parts of the car. The wheels, the parts in the engine. Everything that is
hidden and constantly moving, allowing the car to drive smoothly and allowing for a superb driving experience.
So these triplets are the base of everything in the car and thus also my music. Taking them out would be like
removing the engine from the car. As for changes: Over 30 seconds have been cut out of part one. Also the
high notes dont play anymore in the track, except for part one, but have been made much lower in volume.
The really high notes are played on glass to give a brilliant and fresh sound, but maybe these are the ones the
client doesnt like. I can adjust these easily. The first 7 seconds (15 in V1) are there to make a transition
between movie and dance. Also, they give the dancers time to assume their position on stage. At 7 seconds the
other piano comes in, giving warmth and lowering tension. At 22 seconds, a live drummer has played drums
and percussion and you can hear him start to playing cymbals and hi-hat very clearly. These werent there in
V1. The build in this part 1 V2 is much faster. Also, mix adjustments where made all over, constantly
improving the sound, but you will need to listen over a good set of speakers! The piano triplets are also very
good for classical ballet and widely used by composers all over the world. They speak for classy, classical,
beauty, tension (something is about to happen, the start of something) all at the same time. In part 2, the cello
starts. I find the stop where the strings fade and the solo snaredrum plays very beautiful and strong (40 sec).
The dancers need points in the music which they can respond to, moments things that stand out rythmically or
with sound fx or hits. This is one of those moments which dancers need and can respond to very well. So
making this change more smoothly is not what I would advice. Keep it strong, like it is. Like holding ones
breath, one moment of silence before touching the accelerator and a beautiful drive through the countryside and
woods starts. Tomorrow I will record a real cello and this will make a big difference. One has to be able to
listen through this, it is a work in progress, after all. From 1:13 the real drums start playing. This gives alot
more depth and reallness to the music. More movement and colour. Human feel in combination with machines
and technical devices. Just like the car. Part 2, for me, is about the beauty of the car, the cello plays lyrical
lines, gives emotion and feeling. But, in the background there still is the engine working smoothly with its
triplets. Part 3. I have to make another 20 seconds of music there. It will have more build, but first I want to
record the cello and see how that inspires. This part 3 is about now, the modern high-tech times. Combining
old with new, cello with beats, real drums with synths and orchestra with samples and dance music. At around
2 minutes the real drums kick in again, giving more life and movement. Try and see the 12 dancers moving,
look at the total result of whats happening. Strong music combined with strong dancers, film, the car. All
together it will be a great and strong statement. We have to go for the edge, not the middle of the road imo.
That is not what this car is about and not what this music should be about. Emotion is what people
remember, its what people talk about, what moves them. That is what I do my utmost best for to achieve. I
have to say that asking me to write music that has to fit other music but that Iam not allowed to hear is an
impossible task. So the only thing I can do is write the best I can, given the keywords, feedback, time and
budget. In my opinion, thats exactly what I did and what Im doing.
Best, Erwin Steijlen
I got no reply, but the music was accepted and the event a big success. When you work hard
at your music, and you have really thought about what is right, you sometimes have to make a
stand. It can go both ways, depending on the who youre addressing.
Have a listen to the end result:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVe1WL1C34Q
I get many pitches from music supervisors looking for music to synch. Songs and
instrumentals for commercials, tv and film.
Heres what they look like:
We have a briefing in from a music supervision firm for an undisclosed (but very
recognizable) client in the mobile industry. They are seeking a sexy R&B track.
Looking for songs with vocals only for this one.
From client:
Keywords: R&B, sexiness, swagger, self-confident, party poppin!
Overall, we want a track with a modern R&B/hip-hop feel that has some some selfcongratulating swagger to it. Think Genuine, R. Kelly, etc. Music that is ironically
fantastic. A bedroom track that has energy, impact and confidence and is not
sleepy. Think R. Kelly Ignition and not Barry White.
Track could be from a current/emerging artist or something from the 90s when this
genre reigned supreme (but must fit within budget!).
Should have a great beat, not sleepy.
A track to match our lead characters confidence and attitude. He thinks hes the
shit and we want something that would be the first track on one of his playlists.
Lyrical connection pertaining to: meeting you, loving you, I found you, come to me,
sexiness, party popping, optimism, just got paid, confidence, popping champagne,
looking good, feeling good, getting ready for a party or to have fun.
Terms / usage: Global Digital 1 yr. Broadcast 3-6 months (limited to US, Brazil,
India). No Retail. Industrial 1 yr. Material is 1 x :45 with cut-downs and revisions for
territory. Budget: $25K to you (max).
Good info here and a nice budget. Most of these pitches are pretty short notice, max 2 days
and usually even shorter. This means its hard, if not impossible to write, record, mix and
master something entirely new. You can, however, send in anything that fits.
Another one looked like this:
We have a cool new search in from a MAJOR music supervision firm. This is for a
Motorola spot. The spot is already live right now in some markets with the track in
the video, and they are working on replacing this music.
Heres some information from the client on exactly what theyre looking for: We are
looking for an up-tempo, colorful, worldly track with modern pop/dance influence. It
towards)
Peaches - Mud (we like the sexy, distressed, slowly paced, sexy instrumentation)
Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know (Seriously cool walking riff)
Terms / usage:Materials: 1x:30 & 1x:15 (with edits, and versions, etc)Terms: 6 months
TV, 1 year Internet, Industrial & PR.Territory: North America (includes Mexico and
Canada), New Zealand, Costa Rica, Panama. Worldwide with respect to the Internet.
Media: TV, Internet,
Industrial, PR
Budget: $22,500 to you.
All very clear on what they need, great pitches to work on.
Let me tell you a little about some tracks I sold through synching.
Eco Pop; This little instrumental did well for me. Originally written for a Seat corporate
video. When I later sent it to some music supervisors, it got used by Delta Airlines, VW and
for US tv commercials by Verizon Fios, Clairol and Time Warner. (The piano I manipulated
with Waves H-Delay by turning the feedback knob and recording its random effects. People
like this different use of the piano and its one of the reasons this track was used so much).
https://soundcloud.com/erwin-steijlen/eco-pop
This Unstoppable Fire; a track I call my ode to U2, since I love their simple but effective
use of chords and fantastic delayed guitar sounds. I first made this for a VW corporate film in
France, but it was later used by LG, Hitachi, Siemens, Honda, Delta Airlines and many more.
(Have a listen also to the amazing bass lick by Rogier Wegberg at 1:21 min)
https://soundcloud.com/erwin-steijlen/this-unstoppable-fire
Walk The Line; a song I originally wrote for Wrangler who did an MTV commercial with it
and a fashion show. Later I did a complete re-recording and it was used in US tv series
Parenthood. The instrumental version was used by Jaguar for their XF car commercial and a
game called Hazard Ops. Link to Jaguar commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS0jKcJAvPM
Link to Hazard Ops trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvyHjFQ_odk
Heres the hard rocking song:
https://soundcloud.com/erwin-steijlen/walk-the-line
Makin Me Dance: this happy song was used in US tv series Ben & Kate, The Mentalist and
Pretty Little Liars:
https://soundcloud.com/erwin-steijlen/makin-me-dance
One thing you can discover in all these tracks is that they are a little bit out of the ordinary.
Remember the drawing of the circle stating you should be just as good as your heroes, but try
to be one different? Walk The Line, Makin Me Dance and Eco Pop are one different.
Listen to the quirky piano in Eco Pop and how the vocals are mixed in Makin Me Dance.
There are different fx on almost every word in the verses. The loud rock track Walk The Line
was inspired by Johnny Cash and mixes loud guitars with dance synths and different vocals
in sound and vocal style. Just a little bit off but remarkable. They are not your usual song,
and therefore they provoke a reaction from people who are looking for something cool, new
and different. Ill explain what I did in these tracks musically in the plugin chapter later on in
the book. Some typical keyword examples for BMW look like this:
I do push her out of my domain once in a while, angry that she didnt like what I wrote that
day. But most of the times she is right and I make changes to my music.
Keep your ideas simple and put as much passion and effort into it as you can. Its all about
emotion and nothing else.
When it needs to be beautiful, make it really, really beautiful
When it needs to be heavy, make it really, very heavy
When it needs to be dark, then make it dark..
What Im trying to say here is youve got to make clear choices, choices that other people
understand and can relate to. Your music will be so much stronger and your clients will love
you for it. This may sound easy, but this rule is hard to follow. Less is More..
04.04 Ending. Antje can walk away or stay for the applause.
I think everything is in this song: pride, emotions, wow-factor, its catchy, big, grand, positive and everything
fits Antje and the event. Its all there
Another example, this time for the new Opel Insignia launch.
This live presentation of the new Insignia to the world press was with a film and a live dancer.
Very interactive, since the dancer was both on film and present live.
I think the music came out very cool
Nice mix between classical, orchestral, big, but also modern and now just like the car Please read while
you listen:
00.00 - 00.45 tension, build, something is about to happen atmosphere
00.45 - 01.20 Bigger, more classical, wide, film part
01.20 - 01.47 Dubstep style, dance part for the live dancer
01.47 - 02.02 4x4 dance beat, more positive
02.02 - 02.32 Filmpart. big, warm, emotional
02.32 - 03.03 Pretty, build, I added a voice
03.03 - 03.43 Dubstep variation, live dance part 2
03.43 - 04.12 Finale. Live dance and film together. Beats and orchestral together
04.12 - 04.27 Beats are gone for a moment, beauty, wide, big. Nice moment for the car to start driving
04.27 - 04.46 Beats are back, build to ending
04.46 Ending with tata feeling and a Picardian Third (look that one up ;-)
A unfinished preview version of the above track can be seen on this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTQ80Zuwgrk
The above examples show how effective these focus tricks can be. This way, the client has to
focus on your music and will visualize what he or she is hearing. This really works very well.
This even works so well that once, when I wrote music (with my explaining email) for a pitch,
the agent I was hired by liked my email and ideas so much that he pretended it was all his
idea, presented my email to his client and got the job!
Damn, no extra money for me.. but it proves how well this works. Also, while recording and
writing I will often get ideas that would work well for the show. (Lights, sound, live musicians,
where to be on stage, audience participation, make things more dramatic and emotional with
small changes etc..). I write these down and present them. Often, they end up being used.
Cool!
you write. This would be impossible to achieve with an exclusive contract where you give
your music to a client or a publisher.
For instance: If a track is used in a TV commercial, I wouldnt dream of using it for another
brand unless the other brand is ok with this. If a track is used for a corporate video or a onetime event, after a while I feel, I can use this track again. Why not? In the non-exclusive
publishing world the clients know that the music has been used before and will be used again.
It means they can get it cheaper, while for the composer it means having freedom to place
this track somewhere else, also. So, in the publishing world this is already normal, a standard.
I just decided a long time ago to do it with my clients too. I wrote this music and I didnt sign
anything this means theres no legal reason not to reuse your music. The client got his
music and used it for what we agreed upon (commercial, event, product launch, corporate
video, film etc..) and you get to shop around with your track and sell it over and over again.
Not writing or signing a contract gives you free reign over your own product. Always be
careful though, you dont want to lose your client over this!
If a client really wants to own a track, then you can give them the rights, but I would never do
this. Usually, its ignorance about the facts. They think that they wont have to pay royalties
because they paid for the writing work. Untrue! They think they can do anything they like
with the track. False!
But, if you make a contract you would have to deal with all of these facts and the have
lawyers reading and changing everything.
Decide yourself whats best in any given situation. Whats the best way to deal with that
particular client and assignment. Of course, where a worldwide deal and rights are concerned,
lawyers write contracts and I have to sign. Of course I do, but in other situations you might
be better off without them. I know this is a tricky one but it worked out well for me, so think
about it.
Re-using of music.
Think of it this way; when a client rents a PA and lights for a show they dont expect to keep
it. Then why would they be owners of your song? However, if a client really wants to own the
track, ask for extra money. When a client doesnt want any trouble with YouTube rights (this
happens a lot), tell them that it is the law that decides about rights, not you. What you could
do is to not register that particular track with your Performing Rights Organisation (PRO), so
nobody will know its yours and they wont have to pay for any extra rights. That sucks, of
course, but you keep a good paying customer satisfied. These YT royalties are usually pennies
anyway. Better to keep your customer satisfied and go for the big bucks and have returning
customers. When a client asks for a contract, I give them one, let me make that clear clear. In
15 years I always got my money. It has been difficult once every so often, but in those cases, a
contract wouldnt have helped. My customers are all around the world, so what am I
supposed to do when one in China, Malaysia or Brazil refuses to pay? Fly over and start a
fight? No, this is a business where you need to have some trust and need to be trusted. Client
asks for music, I deliver, and the client pays.
When the event or launch is done, 99,99% of the time, my music is forgotten about. Its sad
but true. Its left in a computer somewhere. Only very rarely will they be used again. Bentley,
for instance loved my World of Bentley song so much that they kept using it. (When the
CEO died, they even played it at the funeral! Wow). So I decided to send music tracks to
libraries and make some extra money with them. This works like a charm, because these
tracks have gone through multiple rounds of feedback and have been approved by big
brands. These companies liked them and paid money for them, so other brands and
companies are likely to like them too! There are tracks I sold over 50 times. This nonexclusive publishing really is a great way to earn money and get your music or band known.
Read the interviews I did with Lee Johnsson of Audiosparx and Jordan Passman of Score A
Score. They are two success stories built on synching music.
Part of the contract for the use of Eco Pop for Verizon Fios.
Every new use was paid extra and I was lucky enough to have many uses..
Conducting
Let me tell you a little, not so pretty story about a composer who did have signed contracts,
but still got into a terrible mess. It goes like this; After working for a client multiple times over
the years, all was well and all collaborations were very successful. A certain trust grows and
you tend not to think about what can go wrong. However, me being as naive as I was some
10 years ago can now be a lesson for all of us.
I did a tough show for the new BMW 7-Series in Munich, Germany. I let them talk me into
conducting the orchestra, which of course I should never have done, since Im no orchestral
conductor! I must admit it is a great feeling of power when you stand there before these great
players and they follow your every move.. Its like having a huge guitar with the biggest amp
ever and sound comes out by waving your arms. I didnt know much about conducting and I
guess I stood there like a kind of fake James Last, smiling and waving a bit. Must have been
funny for the orchestra players, because I saw them shaking their heads and looking at each
other like what is this guy doing?. Well, besides that funny part, this event was very
stressful. The opening went wrong when the movie we had to accompany live started, but I
had no click on my in-ears. So we were late and in no way did the music sync to the film
anymore! It turned out the sound guy forgot to give me volume on my in-ears In the
audience was Chancellor Kohl (boss of Germany at that time) and a lot of other VIPs. They
all stood when I came out on stage with my tailcoat tux, because I was after all, the
conductor. This added considerably to my stress level, I can tell you that. The opening failed
because of the no click situation, but the finale was no pretty sight either. It was way worse!
Picture this; a singer with a 100 meter dress was singing while the dress was slowly being risen
into the air, this way fully hiding the stage and orchestra. The plan was to drop the dress at
the most epic part of the music and then show this new car to the world. However, in order
to do this, an electric system was made to split the orchestra in two parts, it would move the
stage to the left and right. But this little piece of science stopped working before it was fully
open and the car couldnt come through! So instead of conducting, I was pushing and pulling
like crazy together with the roadies and stagehands, thus trying to open this stage for the car
to come through. Picture me giving it all I had to open up such a big part of the stage with so
many people, an entire orchestra, on it. On the other side of the dress was the audience, who
had absolutely no idea what was going on behind that huge piece of fabric. In the last
seconds before the drop, we managed to get the car in, but it lost its side mirrors and got
some serious scratches in the process. All the musicians and myself were totally stressed, but
the audience rose and clapped for the show and the new car. Afterwards, I promised myself
never to play conductor again. At least it ended well, or so I thought.
But, unfortunately, the real problems began when we all went home. The owners of the
company who hired me had apparently sold their company a couple of weeks before, but had
told nobody about it. My client hadnt told his employees either, so everybody found a letter
of resignation in their mailbox. Now, who was going to pay my bills, including that of the
whole orchestra? My client didnt exist anymore and all I heard was that I was supposed to get
my money (and that of all the musicians) from the new owners; a big player from the USA
with its closest department in London, UK. When I approached these people, they had no
idea who I was and why they should pay this bill at all.
I couldnt reach anybody who could or wanted to help and it started to look like I was going
to go bankrupt. I had to pay an enormous amount to the orchestra and I needed the cash also
for my family. It was nearly christmas and I had to borrow money from my parents to pay the
bills, but even worse, I had no idea whether I would get the money at all!
This situation took months and, of course, all the musicians started calling me asking when
they would get their invoice paid. This was a terrible situations in which my contracts didnt
help, because the company I made it with didnt exist anymore. That period gave me a
stomach ulcer and, for months, I thought I didnt have any friends anymore, and just a huge
pile of debt.
Finally, tracing my client, he promised to pay me, but it took several more months to get it all.
He started sending couriers with German marks in envelopes, but every time there was only a
small part of what he owed me. I finally managed to pay everybody and learned a big lesson
to never trust anybody again when such a big amount of money is concerned. I should have
asked for half beforehand. Never, ever take the responsibility for that kind of money! Theres
a risk with every job, but hiring an entire orchestra under my own name and not demanding
any money upfront, was a seriously bad business mistake. It was plain stupid!
first act. My initial feeling tells me we need a different build for this music. My suggestion would be to build it
more like a dance-track;
1 Give the DJ a bit more time to make a sound and atmosphere
2 Strings come on stage..
3 Etc, etc..
I dont have standard prices, since every assignment is different, but I usually never start working under
3500,00
In this case it might be better to count days. The price for a day is 850,
Ill be working Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Also the 2 days of recording in an external studio, like we agreed, (Monday and Tuesday), including mix
and master
The final day (Wednesday) would be for the extra edits you need (Price Giving Ceremony, Lap of Honor etc.)
I wont calculate a full day there, only 500,00
With regards to orchestration and parts for the players, Im happy to do this, but it would be better to ask
someone else, since we we are pressed for time
on having the new version by Monday morning, which means you Make your deadlines and
be clear about what can or cannot be done. The client really doesnt understand what it means
to make a new piece of music from scratch and make it sound like Hans Zimmers last movie,
or the Foo Fighters last album. You will get better and faster at writing and mixing and you
will get better and more loyal clients if you always deliver by the agreed time.
Use every tool available and use your time wisely to get your music approved.
I put important changes in the show, film or commercial into the session first with markers.
This way I know where to build and where beats need to start, etc.
In this case markers like; car sound fx, start beat, start driving, break.
You can listen and see the final result, which was for the 2016 BMW M2 launch in Monterey,
USA.
(The film stops at a certain point because real cars come driving in.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meNt-Rao4XM&feature=youtu.be
This music was turned down unfortunately (with some serious bad feedback) but i got back
in the studio and came up with something they liked and loved.
You can hear and see that version and read the feedback in Rule#20.
drew the conclusion that I was probably not good enough for this job and I told him to keep
his money. I cannot and will never accept anybody being that disrespectful, and I assure you
he really was. There is no reason to use certain words and we all know that in an email, they
can have even more impact.. So I told him, in words I cannot repeat, to go to hell.
That weekend I felt great for standing up for myself and making a stand, but I also felt bad
for losing a big client (really big, actually my biggest client at the time!!). The next week, to my
surprise, there was suddenly a lot of money in my bank account and an email from the same
guy, almost begging me to come back. I was enabled to double my fee and they chose a song.
#1 (surprise, surprise.)
So, if youre not sure how feedback is intended, try and get a conference call and ask what
exactly is not OK with the music. In case you do have to start again, start at rule #1; have a
Plan.
Think again, listen, make that new plan, make that folder. Then, go to bed and start fresh the
next morning. Use rules #1, 2 and 3. In the morning, sitting at your desk with that nice cup
of coffee or tea, youll look at it differently. With that fresh energy you can and will make
something great.
Working with international clients can bring along other challenges besides language and time.
Chinese customers tend to respond differently than European and American ones.
The Chinese may say they love the music, while really they dont! You have to keep asking
until youre sure theyre being totally honest. I once wrote a track for Geely, a big company in
China. They seemed happy with my music, but after asking several times, I received an email
with some ideas from the client / CEO himself, asking whether I could make it more like
this (he attached a track in the email). When I listened I couldnt stop laughing; this was miles
away from what I had written. He send me some kind of karaoke track with high-pitched
Chinese vocals and loads of cheap reverb. It sounded like an old cassette tape that didnt play
back properly anymore. I got his point, however; I was sounding too European and not
Eastern enough. After adjusting my track with an almost too corny piano theme and a lot of
reverb and adding a nice choir from Spectrasonics Omnisphere (Japanese choir) they where
really happy and they used the track extensively. Maybe its just how the business people
communicate, but Americans tend to be mostly positive, with words like awesome, but can
also be blunt in their feedback. In the Netherlands, where I live, people usually trust my
knowledge and expertise. In Germany they always seem to know better themselves and rarely
give compliments. However, in all countries around the world the same thing happens when
your stature/authority changes. When you become more well-known or even famous youre
instantly recognized as an expert and your price goes up. In music, often having a name
counts more than having any real knowledge or expertise. I often do live shows where I play
guitar or Im behind my DJ booth and people think this is all I do for a living. At some point,
someone from the company were performing for comes on stage during rehearsals and asks
me the most asked question i get all the time: Can you really live from this work?
Now, you wouldnt ask the local baker the same would you? Or your account manager
working at the bank Hey, can you live from this work?. So why is it that people wonder
how musicians get by? Maybe its because there are so many musicians who are not, or barely
getting by. Maybe thats true, but I do at times find it slightly insulting. It is almost expected
from me to play the poor musician part and my answer has to be: Yeah, its hard sir, but I
made a profession out of my hobby, so Im not complaining
Oh, come on. I studied, I work way harder than most people do, I travel, Im building my
own company and I do make a great living with my music but to keep things friendly,
mostly Ill oblige and play my poor musician part like a method actor with true conviction.
It feels like in music you can only be at the bottom of the ladder or at the top. There are no
steps up, like in the business world, youre either known, famous and rich or you are
struggling and poor. Theres nothing in between, at least in the minds of most people. A
while ago I was doing a show that was hosted by a well-know Dutch TV host. When I played
some guitar, he wanted to know if I could really play, so he started calling out famous tracks
in front of the audience which I then had to play. I had to convince him I was a real artist, a
real musician. Thats another thing most normal people dont have to do every day: Prove
themselves over and over again. Or do you ask the baker to prove himself by letting you taste
his bread? And do you ask the account manager to do some math before you make a deposit?
So, in the corporate world you will always be an outsider and someone who has to prove
himself over and over again. Remember this when you read feedback too. This is just how
fame and being well known works in the minds of most people. So, until youre famous, learn
to read that clients feedback, keep em satisfied and play your part as well as Daniel DayLewis
Rule #16 Writing for the Corporate World is Different from Film scoring
Youre the master, youre first in line, lead us to success..
Why is corporate writing different? Because 99% of the time music is leading with product
launches, events, shows, corporate videos and, everything else is build around it. You will
have to get used to staring at a black screen or an empty DAW and use your imagination.
Even for small corporate movies, film companies tend to want to cut to music and will ask
you to go first. Tips here are: Ask for a timeline and get them to send you whatever they have.
Speak to them about what they want and then start writing.
I start with markers and keywords in my session like we talked about in Rule #14. That way I
can build a timeline based on events that will take place in the film or show.
All these events take time and I place markers into my DAWs timeline, giving me my first
basic idea of where the dramatic highlights should be. I then decide upon a tempo and,
looking at the markers, Ill see a pattern for where the energy will be, where to built and
where to hold back.
Are there special moments that will be in the film or on stage? These are important points to
work on with your music, just like where the climax needs to be, or the singers chorus. No
different from film is that projects and ideas change. The client may not like some parts of
the film, which means that your carefully put together music will have to be shorter or longer
or change with the scenes. These changes can be difficult when you work with beats. Use
things like filters in your music to make half-bars smoother, but make sure your important key
points stay intact. Never make drastic changes in your original music score or session, because
the possibility is always there that you will need to go back to that first idea. Always make a
copy! Save a copy into the same session or make a copy of the whole session and continue
your work in that one. Call it copy or V2 and always make sure you can go back to V1!
Earlier, we talked about keywords and writing with keywords. You can now see how
important this is. When you are leading and there is no image or footage to write to, its all up
to you, good keywords, and a choice of direction. So learn to read these keywords well and
always keep investigating into the brand and company values. Try to understand what they
want to achieve with this product or event. If you dont do your homework, theres a good
chance you wont get the right tone of voice, chords or feel for that client and job.
Heres an example. The music i wrote for the BMW i8 launch in Brazil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZJCn-R4ICw
I got a really special assignment in late 2014 for the Inauguration of the biggest ship ever
build. This boat is 500 mtrs long and it is used to lift an entire oil rig from its place and bring
it to the shore. This huge ship would be baptised on open sea in front of a big audience, and
besides the speech of the founder there would only be music and a 3D animation during the
show. The show was called Heart of the Matter, so a big heart was build that could be
moved in realtime. Usually there are flying elephants, big choirs of 500 people and 150 meter
filmscreens. None of that for this reveal, all should be very pure and musical and make use of
this huge ship and the open sea as a background or decoration.
My only keyword was: emotion, pure emotion.
Now with the real heart moving and images of the father of the founder, who had passed
away, it would be easy to go over the edge and make it too sweet or kitschy. So I had to be
careful with what instruments to use and be careful on how much drama I could put in. The
3D fx where amazing and made you feel as if you were in a sort of Jules Verne book. Check
out this video of the inauguration to see how it looks and what music I wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bTPlAo_iAY
Since there were to be no live performers at the inauguration, I recorded a great violin player
and he did a really good job playing my parts. (Xander Nichting, send him an email if you
need finely recorded and played violin parts.. http://www.violintracks.com/).
Its a very emotional piece, and I got proof I was on the right track when I played to the
client for the first time. The founder cried and shook my hands. I used a trumpet further on
in the music, because it gives me the feeling of the sea and its wideness. The drums and
orchestra fit the roughness of the sea and those maritime travellers, who are at sea for
months, battling the elements. A big organ also shows up every once in while, which fits this
big ship perfectly. A great assignment with a happy customer, who gave me freedom and
trust.
A trick I use is to loop my chord progression, open up my iPhone and record whatever I sing.
Every single time a nice theme or line will come up. Just trust your musicality and sing. It
doesnt matter if its off key, its the line and the timing that counts. You can refine it later.
3 Decide on what style you need for the assignment. If its pop, youll need the obvious pop
instruments, like drums, guitars, bass, piano and synths. If its more like film music, an
orchestra library and orchestral percussion will be needed, and so on.. If you use libraries, try
to be creative and dont just use presets. Youll want to stand out and be recognizable, so
when you have your chords and your theme, its time to make the best sounding track you
possibly can. It has to be top-notch for your clients, as they are only familiar with finished
records and radio songs. Try and use as many live instruments as you possibly can! An
instrument you record yourself will always sound unique, because of the player, mics, mic
settings and room. In combination with modern day DAWs and the great plugins that are
around, you should be able to get a good sound pretty fast. Be intuitive, as always, and decide
quickly if the sound fits the job or not. Recording a live band is lot more difficult than
starting up EZ Drummer, but itll give you a unique sound right away, and so much more
satisfaction. But of course, the amount of budget and time required for this are not always
available, so libraries and plugs can often be life savers.
You now have: great fitting chords, a strong theme and a unique sounds.
4 Mix!
Depending on the musical style, you can get very creative in the mix.
Add plugins to improve, destroy or beautify your music. The mix/production amounts to at
least 20% of your music. In the case of electronic music its even a lot more. Always have a
couple of reference tracks ready in your session. Check these mixes for sound and build every
couple of hours, this will greatly improve your own mix. You will instantly have new ideas
sound-wise when listening to great mixes. Analyze whats happening and what makes these
mixes great. Proceed to use this knowledge for your own mix. Turn that reference mix down
about 10dB, because it will be a mastered track and it will be a lot louder than your music
while youre in the mixing stage. Louder always seems to sound better, which it obviously
isnt, but it works that way in our ears. Its more in-your-face, more direct, more like the
radio So turn it down and try to get similar results by analyzing and learning.
All the above means nothing if rule #13 is not done right. Performance always rules and
gives people goosebumps. Check your performance and decide to let somebody else play a
certain part if needed. It will make your music so much better and will get it approved faster
by your client and will give you more sales in the future!
creative. Imagine a certain singer in your head and imagine him or her singing your song.
Does it work lyrically? Your musical instincts will tell you when it does or when it doesnt.
Some companies business people sometimes seem to think they can also write the lyrics
themselves (most of the time they cant, of course, but you have to let them give it a try), so
then what I do is sing a version of the vocal line with just la,la,las. This top line has to be
catchy, clear and easy. Unfortunately, when I sing a line that consists of 10 syllables, they
often manage to put in 15 or more.. impossible to fit in and the top line is ruined.
So instead, ask them for keywords! Words they think are important for their brand and
product. I then start writing to my top line using their keywords. I start with a brainstorm
session, writing down everything that comes to mind, coming up with my own words that
mean the same as the keywords, or fit well. Then Ill do a Google search on certain words,
feelings, products and again, Ill intuitively add in these words. By now, you should have a
couple of A4 pages full of ideas. Go put them together and pick the strongest for your
chorus. Dont make it harder than it is, its just a song, just music and not the cure for a deadly
disease.
Heres part of my lyrics for the inauguration of another ship I did a while back. Its called the
Aegir and its name is based on an epic god from Scandinavia. The event was pretty epic and
so are the lyrics: https://soundcloud.com/erwin-steijlen/aegir
You ride the tops of waves across the ocean
Ruler of the ever cresting waves
I call upon your never ending motion
Let your ears, ring with siren
songs of whales and mermaids tales of
water worlds and boundless sea
Where the tides and billows flow where,
waters wild but still below for
wind and waves are ruling here
So, let us see, you are the chosen one
Chorus
The lord of seas, commander of the ocean
The ruler of the ever cresting waves
You call upon its never ending motion
You got just what it takes
You ride the tops of waves in great devotion
With flame and wind you set the sky alight
Hail to Aegir, ruler of the ocean
The music sounds unpleasant to the ears and we miss synchronization between rhythm and film.
Music sounds unpleasant to the ear???? Come on! But hey, client is king
I already talked about this one in Rule#14 but here is version 1 again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meNt-Rao4XM
Heres what I came up with next and my client loved (more bass indeed, i de-tuned my guitars
to a low C): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-95GqsXewl0
Try and get one yourself, work as hard as you can and get in business! Just do it take em.
You can bluff like I did, as long as you deliver!
Do understand that when people do something, help you, buy your record, give you that
chance in the music industry
Their decisions are made on the three following criteria: first money, then personal politics
and then music. In that order!
So stay objective and try to figure out why things are going the way they are and then do
something about it. Its easy to respond emotionally. I know, I do it all the time. Creative and
musical people need to be more emotional than most others in order to be able to make
music in the first place. But try and stay objective, use what youve learned and create an
opportunity out of it. Stay positive and approach it like tenor sax player Albert Ayler:
Make a folder where you collect hits, drum rolls, snare sounds, swooshes, swells, fills. When
you give these sounds and loops a name, also note the tempo in BPM. When youre working
on a track, make 3 or 4 stereo tracks and call these FX1, FX2, FX3, etc.. add these fx at
random and adjust the tempo with a plugin (for example Waves Soundshifter, which is pretty
amazing). These sounds will make you sound more live and real. Especially in more hybrid
tracks where you combine orchestral with rock, pop or dance, these transition fx are gold.
Heres a nice example of a hybrid track, orchestral and dance in this case.
I made it for a big lease company early 2016
V1 is music and film. Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UWfvgSMYxc
V2 is how its used by client, with voice-over. Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf9x7VMC6Lw
- Some samples, no matter how expensive, just wont cut it. Guitars will always sound fake
and will immediately be picked out as such by listeners. Maybe somewhere subtle on the
background they can work, but when it counts they wont. This has to do with the way you
play that instrument and how well people know its sound. Its the noises, the strumming and
how hard they hit the strings that all make for the sound. A plug just cant replicate that, so be
honest about your mix and music and whenever a guitar is important, record a real one. For
an amp recording you only need one mic: The Shure SM57, which you can get real cheap.
Remember, its always more about the playing and the chords than about gear. A great player
will even sound great on a cheap instrument, amp and mic and a bad one will still sound bad
when miced with a Neumann.
I had a large, difficult session to mix. I made it easier for myself by making stems and starting over in a new
session. In this case I kept all drumtracks separate, but mixed guitars and vocals in groups. I made choices
that couldnt be altered anymore. Gaining a better oversight of the mix is what I needed to complete this song.
Modulate into a major key at the end of the track for the Aha moment:
A nice, dramatic, more classical ending could be like this.
Play a nice slow piano or strings part with the following chords
Cm / Bb / Abmaj7 / Cm / Fm / Cm / Bb / Bb
Now the surpise comes:
Fm G / C# F / F
Youve changed to the key of F thus ending more up, epic and positively than the Cm key
and chord. Heres an example of these very chords:
https://soundcloud.com/erwin-steijlen/allseas-emo-part3
In film trailers and movies a lot of minor thirds modulating happens.
Play something like Am / Fmaj7 / Am / Fmaj7 / G then do the same in Cm:
Cm / Abmaj7 / Cm / Asmaj7 / Bb
Go back to Am or go up another minor third to Ebm / Cbmaj7 / Ebm / Cbmaj7 / Db
Using a 7th chord to go to a bridge or chorus.
Mostly we hear this used with the V chord, the Dominant 7th
So in the key of F this would be a C7.
But the Beatles used it differently in their song Hey Jude.
Chords are: F / C / C7 / F / Bb / F / C7 / F / F7
That last chords, the I chord with a 7th, really pushes it towards the next Bb and the bridge.
In the last epic part of their hit, they needed to borrow from the minor key.
Singing: Na, na, na, na, na, na, na over F / Eb / Bb / F
Much more dramatic and strong than staying in the major key.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2JYfNhuxAg
Using both a 7th on the root chord and a VIm Moll/Dur in a great way can be heard in
Extremes More Than Words. The chords go like this:
G G/B G/C
Saying I love you is
Am7 C D G
not the words I want to hear from you
G G/B G/C
Its not that I want you
Am7 C D Em
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDACj0tkD-s
These above examples are simple but great and can really be used in film music or orchestral
work too. But as always, less is more, so only use it when its needed and really helps the
music and fits the chord progression.
Most Coldplay songs are epic without the use of these kinda tricks. They use mix, sounds
and words to create epicness and drama in their songs which usually use no more than 4
chords. I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas is a very good example of a major key epic
song, but the sound, build and message is so positive and groovy that it doesnt need extra
chords or musical tricks. Only 3 chords are used: G, C and Em.
Using harmonic minor works great in chord progressions too.
When a piece of music is in Dm for instance, try these chords:
Dm / A/c# / F/c / G / Bb / F / E7 / A
In the Dm chord the note A is the fifth, playing an A chord next to this, A becomes the
one. But were playing a slash chord with C# in the bass, forcing it into the next chord: F
with a C bass. The A note is the third in an F chord so the same note is still playing.
With the G major we use the same trick we saw earlier in this chapter, we go out of the key
of Dm, which is a great way to go to Bb.
The E7 uses a G#, forcing it to the next chord A.
Then the A major chord makes it Harmonic minor and forces the C# note into the D
This is a very dramatic use of chords. Heres a famous Dutch song using these chords:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi0EnrHp3dU
In jazz and classical music a lot more goes on musically, but in the corporate world try and
use it with sparsity and with the less is more approach. You will often have only 1 minute
of musical time to get to the aha moment. Use the songwriter form and the musical builds
that work with songs, it will please most corporate customers way more than deep classical
music. Make a memorable theme instead of a difficult chord progression. Itll be easier for
the client to identify him/herself and their brand with.
An amazing song, very special to me, is Ordinary World by Duran Duran. Some great chord
changes happen in this track and thats for sure a big reason for its huge success.
According to the sheet music this piece is in the key of E major / C# minor. However one
could argue its in B major since the B chord in the chorus feels like coming home.
Intro: B / F#m / D13 A9/c# / Am/c
Verse: C#m7 / Emaj7 F#sus4 / 4x
Pre: C#m7 / G#m / D#7 / Emaj7
Chorus: B / F#m7 / D C#m7 / Eadd9
B / F#m7 / D C#m7 / Eadd9
2 Sometimes all those libraries and MIDI instruments sound dull and alike. Heres an idea:
If you have some outboard gear like a pre-amp or a compressor, re-record these parts
through the analog gear. Make it sound more interesting, make it more analog. Just send it
through these machines for extra warmth. Warm Audio for instance has great stuff for a
good price. Their WA-76 and the Tonebeast give you an immediate analog sound at a low
cost. (I have no stake in this company, I just like their stuff.)
3 Automate, automate, automate.. use the strength and force of the DAW.
Let the parts of your music rise and go up and down with the vibe of your music. In a nice
mix you should see a lot of movement from the faders. Automate the volume, but also the
verb, delay, panning and so on. Be creative and use the DAWs power. Of course this works
better with modern EDM than a country ballad, so be careful. A small lift on the chorus part,
for instance, can work wonders. Or riding the verb on a drumbus. Be creative and dont be
scared, find the One difference in your mix too!
4 Use delay on vocals. I love the Waves H-Delay for this because it has a dirty sound to it.
Make a stereo bus and send your lead vocal to it. Ride the send and/or volume fader to the
vibe of the music. Makes it sound alive and live. H-delay works wonders on piano and guitars,
makes it sound more dirty and has some nice unexpected sounds that randomly happen when
fiddling with the knobs. I love that kinda of thing. Its like playing guitar: Noisy and never
hard on the grid.
I often re-record a track while playing with the feedback knob. Try it yourselves. You can also
put a reverb after the delay, put the delay on an AUX, delay all wet, this way the verb gets only
fed with the feedback/repeats of the delay instead of the entire signal. This can work great
on vocals.
In the following example I recorded all the drum parts as single instruments, so as to make
the groove and feel extra different (I didnt record any cymbals on this song, by the way):
https://soundcloud.com/erwin-steijlen/make-me-feel-good-by-skyshouter
You can record real instruments like violin, cello, horns such as sax and trumpet, but attack
them with plugins and fx. So instead of making them sound as natural as possible, try and
make a new sound with them.
An example of that is the horns in this track I did a while ago. Listen to the intro and youll
know what I mean, its still live played horns with their timing and swing, but the sound is
certainly not natural anymore:
https://soundcloud.com/erwin-steijlen/makin-me-dance
Horns always work for optimism and up! Since horn libraries sound pretty lame to me, I
only use real ones which I sometimes blend with a synth. I love writing horn parts:
https://soundcloud.com/until-mars/today
https://soundcloud.com/until-mars/huhuhu-new-york-master
https://soundcloud.com/until-mars/im-your-man
In this track there was no money for extra musicians, but I made it sound lively anyway. I
made the drums as loud as possible, looping multiple tracks together and, although it would
be impossible to play all the parts at once with one drummer, the wild effect and something
is gonna happen feeling is achieved. This was for another inauguration of a big ship (Ive
done quite a few over the years):
https://soundcloud.com/erwin_steijlen_epicness/3-conquer-the-world-audio
Often my music is for a live event, so real instruments will play parts of the music I wrote
and recorded. In this track, besides live vocals, a big group of percussionists is featured. Tip:
whenever you get one of these jobs, do not make the parts too difficult! Choose for the big
moves, otherwise there will be nothing left of your music live. The percussion starts at 2:00
min:
https://soundcloud.com/erwin_steijlen_epicness/10-city-of-dreams-audio
The guitarsolo I played on Universe, a song for a special friend of mine who passed away
much too early, I love because I played it through a Fulltone Octafuzz. This is a fantastically
noisy guitar pedal that somehow never does what you expect. So these nice, rich overtones
come at random and make the solo more emotional and definitely more interesting to listen
to. Love it when this happens!
http://www.fulltone.com/products/octafuzz-2
These overtones only appear when you play on your neck element and between 10th and 15th
fret. Heres the song, solo starts somewhere around 2:35 min. https://soundcloud.com/untilmars/universe
A nice trick to bring more happiness and a positive feeling to your music is to use a (live)
tambourine. You can play a rhythmical part, but its more subtle if you just play one hit on the
second snare hit in every bar. So on every fourth quarter note of every measure. The first hit
is just snare and the second would be snare and tambourine. Always works.
For those interested some of the epic music I wrote I put on an album in 2015 and can be
found on iTunes or on Spotify.
Its called Epicness Presents: The Beauty & The Beast
https://itunes.apple.com/nl/album/epicness-presents-beauty-beast/id1038595307
I love mixing styles up; using dance techniques such as side-chaining in more classical or
ethnic tracks. In the M4 music that was turned down by my client I put the whole orchestra
through some serious side chaining. This way your music ends up sounding now and
modern, while you still keep that epic orchestra sound we all love.
Check it out around 0:40 min.
https://soundcloud.com/erwin-steijlen/m-4-launch
An older track I have sold a lot is another example of the above. Its called Shanghai,
Chinatown and was originally made for a show in well Shanghai, China
https://soundcloud.com/erwin-steijlen/shanghai-chinatown
More ethnic music, this one was written for and used by the Beijing Olympics in 2008
https://soundcloud.com/erwin-steijlen/china
The use of delay in music is really great. Dont be scared to use it louder in your mix, esp. on
vocals!
I love to automate the delay track and ride the fader along with the music.
Listen to how Katy Perrys vocals sound on an acapella track of her hit Hot N Cold.
Especially in the chorus parts it is almost too much, but when mixed in with the music its
perfect. It gives it that live, raw and wild flavour. Try it! Love delays!
https://soundcloud.com/erwin-steijlen/hot-n-cold-acapella
And heres the full track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTHNpusq654
Making MIDI drums sound more alive. Thats a thing I often hear lacking in demos and
even finished songs. Step one is to program like a real drummer and when thats difficult, just
keep it simple. Use the drumroom trick I talked about earlier in this chapter.
This is what I would do to get a lively, big sounding drumtrack with MIDI instruments:
I mostly use SSD (Steven Slate Drums) for something like this, but there is a lot available. Ill
pick a drumkit and make a couple of fills, a HH drumpart and a Cymbal drumpart, usually
for the chorus. I will build this drumtrack and then finish the rest of the music.
When the mixing starts, I make an AUX track and use the DrumRoom Trick (see above).
Next thing I will do is copy the Snare and the Kick to another track. I then put an instance of
Trigger on these tracks. This plugin will play any sample I put into it with the exact same
timing and feel as the original track. I usually choose a sample from a dance library, something
Despite having developed a huge studio complex at Media Ventures, Hans Zimmer now does most of his own
projects in the home studio shown here. This is his main work area, with master keyboard, computer screens
and monitoring. (SOS)
need to be forced into being creative again, because when youre always working and caught
up in the daily stress, you tend not to think about the future. Then when a crisis lands you are
unprepared. I surely wasnt prepared at all and it taught me a lot about what I was doing
wrong as a businessman. One of the things I started doing, more as a why not give it a try
kind of thing than anything else, is submit music to libraries and music supervisors. I found
these on the internet and just starting uploading music. I had hundreds of tracks, so I thought
Why not?! One thing I did wrong here was sending music to certain companies that ask
money for submissions. Please, do not pay these websites any money! Never pay anybody to
listen to your music unless youre absolutely sure its all legit. The real music supervisors and
libraries dont ask for money and companies like Taxi and Broadjam are fake in my opinion.
Some of these do give you feedback, but your songs will never be pitched, despite the fact
that thats what they claim. You can spend thousands of dollars on these companies, but it
wont get you anywhere. The client, if there even is one, will never hear your tracks. Lets face
it, they have better things to do than to listen to hundreds of mostly crap songs. Do send
your music to companies and websites, but first do a Google search on these. Check em out.
The first library I sent music to was Pump Audio (theyre now a part of Getty Images). I kind
of forgot about my submission after a while. I was just about to give up when I received my
first check in the mail. Apparently I had made a lot of money in the past 6 months and this
got me thinking. If Im getting this kind of money (about 10,000 dollars) from one library,
lets find ten more! Unfortunately its not that easy and earnings change every quarter, but
there really is a lot of money to be made and its a very easy to do. Just send over music you
already have and wait to get it placed. Your music must, however, be really good, because you
are competing against grammy-winning artists and composers nowadays. The synching
business has grown and, because of fading income with royalties and sales, all the pro writers
also need to get their music placed. So work hard on your music, mix well and have your
tracks mastered!
Of course a famous artist or band will get more for a placement than an unknown artist, but
there is real money to be made. But maybe just as interesting is the marketing side of a good
placement. Suppose your song is featured in a worldwide TV series or film. Think of the
commercial marketing it can bring you as an artist and as a composer. Your audience is
suddenly worldwide and if you play it well, you might end up in the newspaper or a national
TV show. You can use this in your biography to get gigs or new customers for writing jobs,
because people are always more impressed with music thats been on the radio, or featured in
a TV series than just any old song you wrote. Thats just the way people are. Wow, hes on
that show, hey, shes featured in that series, etc.. It makes you seem more important I guess,
more successful and everybody loves a winner. So, use that system. Anybody can do it as long
as you deliver first class music.
Not all of the synch business is non-exclusive, but there are great companies out there that
are. There is a list at the end of this chapter, so make sure to check that out. Companies,
brands, film directors and music supervisors are always looking for great, new music. They
want something that fits their clients needs, something that fits the film scene or commercial,
why shouldnt it be your track they place? Nowadays synching and licensing is a part of my
income just as my customers are. Besides that, it has brought me new friends and a worldwide
network. This brings in new opportunities and work. I guess I should be grateful for the crisis
of 2008, because it made me creative as a businessman again and it opened new doors for
me. It made me go worldwide, it helped me go global.
How does this work?
In order for someone to sync a particular composition (the song, melody, lyrics, etc.) to
their new project (the show, commercial, movie, etc.), they must get permission from the
publisher/songwriter and acquire what is called a sync license. In return, a synchronization
royalty (also called a sync fee or licensing fee) is paid to the publishers and songwriters.
This process grants the new content creator the right to use the music and lyrics of an
existing song in their work, but not the existing audio recording. For that, a person wishing to
sync an existing recording to their new content must acquire a master use license from the
owner of the sound recording (usually the label). In the major label world, the publisher, the
songwriter, and the owner of the master recording could all be different entities. If youre in
the independent music world, its likely that you are all three people in one.
So, in this case its great to be independent and own your music. If your track feels finished
and you really feel like its the best you can do, just send it to one of the libraries in the list
below or find more online. It might be a good idea to get your music mastered first. You can
do this yourself, but in many cases its better to have a pro do it. There are plenty out there
and doing it online works very fast. After mastering, your track is usually louder and the bass
and highs sound better, more like whats on the radio or on cds nowadays. You will sell your
music more easily if you have it mastered, thats my experience.
Read the rules of the music supervisor or library and follow them. All of them will first want
to know if you are any good, so they will take some sort of audition. Send them a couple of
tracks and wait. If they like it, you can send more. There are also libraries that are very picky
about what and who they accept, but its their rules so you need to obey. You always need to
be registered with a PRO, which will usually be the one you have in your country. The biggest
ones are ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. They will ask a small fee for joining most of the time.
Ask them for your CAE/IPI number. This is your international identification number as a
songwriter or a publisher which is used to uniquely identify rights holders. You need this to
apply to any library. You can only send in music thats yours, of course, and you can only send
in music if you are the owner of the master recording. Submit your music to your PRO and
then start sending music to these companies, get a conversation going, start making some
sales. (More on this in the next chapter.)
Some of these libraries send pitches, mostly they are short notice but very interesting moneywise. If you have a studio and some free time, try and get some placements this way, because
usually they pay very well.
Other libraries can make you a steady stream of income which may be more important than
scoring one big one.
Doing this non-exclusively gives you the freedom to do whatever you like with your tracks.
Shop around and try to get some success. Meet people, write more and build your business.
Synching is only one part of your income, of course, but if you work it well, it can certainly
become significant.
A long time ago, some 17 years ago, I was in a band called City to City. That band scored a
big hit with a song called The Road Ahead, which turned out to be the best selling single in
the Netherlands ever up to that time. The song became a hit through a Hyundai TV
commercial. It actually wasnt even a whole song, just a chorus. But the public loved it anyway
and literally ran to the record shops wanting to buy that track. So a real song was made out of
it and quickly released as a single. That year we played the biggest festivals, which was great.
But the story here is, like in so many other stories about songs and money, not one with a
nice ending.
The lead singer who had written the music for that commercial had been given a choice by
the studio doing the spot. He could take a fee (about 1200 dollars) and give away his
rights/royalties or no fee and keeping his rights. Having no clue about music rights and that
this song would become a huge hit, he gave away his rights. He really needed the cash at that
time. To make a long story short: The studio owner became a millionaire because he had put
the music rights on his name. Although its not a pretty story, you can see the strength of
When you join a (non-)exclusive library you wil be asked for your CAE/IPI number.
IPI stands for: Interested Parties Information and CAE stands for: Composer, Author and
Publisher. Ask for this number with your PRO as you will need it to pursue a collaboration
with a music supervisor or a music library.
Does the music youre working on feel great when played on one instrument?
It should be sounding epic and amazingly played only on piano or guitar. You should be able
to feel the groove even without the real groove playing. The idea needs to be strong otherwise
youre selling hot air. Many composers rely on their mixing and use of libraries, but that way
they will never write that one really emotional piece that people still talk about months later.
Does your music need mixing tricks? If so, your idea is probably not strong enough.
Be careful not to let your own love of mixing tricks and sound manipulation come between
you and the client / what the client wants and needs.
This Gold and Silver medal talk is only a bit of fun of course and Im not trying to say
anything bad about great mixers, just never forget whats most important in this business! I
see many students make the mistake of giving too much attention to the mix. Mix as much as
you need and be as creative as you can, but make sure the chords, the words, the performance
and the song as a whole are at least just as good!
I can mix songs for days or even weeks even though Im aware that Ive embarked upon a
never ending search for perfection. True beauty is in imperfection and the spur of the
moment. Too much mixing can kill this, so be careful.
All the mixing tricks in the world that sound crazy awesome can sound amazing when used in
a great track with great ideas, but will sound totally stupid and senseless if the ideas arent
there.
Whenever you get stuck, remember, The Beatles could do it on 4 tracks, The beach Boys
could do it on 8, Queens Bohemian Rhapsody was recorded on 24 tracks, so why do you
need 256 tracks?
Of course.. if you do need these tracks, then go for it, use the DAWs power. But whatever
you do, never give the Mix the Gold medal.. ;-)
Chapter 10: interviews Interview with Lee Johnson, Executive VicePresident of Audiosparx.
AudioSparx is an industry-leading music library and stock audio website that brings together a world of
music and sound effects from thousands of independent music artists, producers, bands and publishers in a hot
online marketplace. In operation since 1996, AudioSparx specializes in licensing high-quality audio content
to clients in film and TV production, game production, ad agencies and others needing world-class audio cues
for their productions and projects. With a vast library of audio content now exceeding 689,000 tracks,
AudioSparx has become the definitive site of choice for stock audio.
Lee, youre kind of a mystery, not much to be found about you on the internet. You
obviously love your privacy. Is there a reason for this?
Yes, with the pervasive nature of the Internet, one of the hardest challenges I face is
eliminating the unwanted noise coming from the Internet it is highly distracting and timeconsuming to deal with. I find that the more I refrain personally from participating in social
media and putting personal information out on the web, the more I can keep the unwanted
noise level reduced as much as possible. Doing so allows me to focus on my job and conserve
my time.
How did you get started in this industry/business?
My parents were very musical and inspired me from a very early age. Ive been playing piano
for about 45 years now, and drums for about 40 years. I played in bands for many years, lived
in LA for a good number of years, and have a solid understanding of music and the music
industry in general. Another critical factor was the emergence of the commercial internet in
the early 1990s, without which much of this would not be possible. The Internet eliminated
many barriers to a meritocratic world, and has provided a level playing field that rewards
ability, perseverance, and hard work.
What else would you be if not the Executive VP of AudioSparx?
I would probably be either a professional commercial graphic artist, or involved in advanced
bioengineering, computerengineering, or software engineering work, or potentially involved in
astronomy; I have an interest in these other areas.
If you had a chance for a do over in life. What would you do differently?
I have made MANY mistakes in my life, both small and large. With the benefit of hindsight,
there are many things I would have done differently. But, that said, it is important to
emphasize that even though I and people in general make mistakes in life, it is never too late
to correct them and move forward with the lessons learned. Life is a continuuma journey,
not a destination. So you can alter that journey for the better with enhanced knowledge and
wisdom, and continue forward. It is never too late.
What do you feel most proud of ?
Helping music artists and composers around the world to be able to make a living from their
art. Before the Internet came along, I worked for many years to be a professional music artist,
with only occasional success, and I know first hand how difficult it can be.
Why did you choose this profession?
A sheer love for music!! The sensation and feeling I get when I discover a great new song, or
a new artist/band that is writing great music gives me chills up and down my back and neck.
Very few other things in life touch me in the same way.
Who do you most admire in business? Other VPs? CEOs? Companies?
Definitely I admire most the talented artists who participate here at AudioSparx without
them we would have nothing. I know the sacrifices they make and have made over years to
pursue their own love of music, and to me they are heroic and magnificent.
What is your strongest personal quality?
A superlative ability to get along with all different types of people, from all walks of life.
What do you feel is your biggest achievement ?
Personally, having and raising my amazing son. Professionally, to be working full time in the
music industry, in a company of which I am a co-owner. The people at AS and yourself are
very committed to the company. I always get an answer to my emails within a couple of
hours, even on Sundays! Thats pretty amazing and very composer friendly compared to many
other libraries.
How much time do you put into your work? Any time left for family or hobbies?
My typical week varies from 50 to 70 hour week. I definitely make time for my family and
hobbies, and savor the leisure time that Im able to experience with them.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years and what are the future plans for AS?
The partners at AudioSparx and I will be still operating and growing AudioSparx. It is a labor
of love for us! Future plans are confidential for competitive reasons.
Any more tips for artists, songwriters and composers?
What do you think needs to be better in the music you get submitted?
Where do most go wrong?
There are just a few of the main issues we see that need to be taught to young up-and-coming
composers and artists:
MIX. We get a huge amount of new applications where the music is very poorly mixed, even
missing the most basic things, like trimming excessive leading and trailing silence, and
avoiding distortion from too-loud mixing. Especially young African-American artists writing
Hip Hop, Dance, and RnB mix their music INSANELY loud, thinking that by maxing
everything at the red line that somehow the louder it is, the better it will sound WRONG!
They destroy their music immediately when they do that.
Many artist applications have highly repetitive music that are essentially the same idea
repeated over and over (e.g. like AAAA, or ABAB) for 4 minutes with only minor tweaks
along the way, totally lacking in any kind of structured development with a meaningful start,
in general, to allow both direct-licensing and statutory licensing simultaneously and in parallel
like what is done in the US, this will be an absolutely critical move for young composers who
want to earn a living from their music.
The music industry is changing and the old rules dont apply anymore. Is this an
opportunity or a problem for AS and how do you see the market evolving?
I am a strong advocate that the laws in the Netherlands concerning BUMA/STEMRA and
SENA, and in Europe in general, should be changed to compel the societies to strictly have
non-exclusive rights, NOT exclusive rights, in the music they license and represent from
composers and artists, so that Dutch composers and artists, and European artists in general,
are not deprived of their ability to direct-license their music in order to participate in
statutory licensing services provided by the collecting societies there. This is a fundamental
monopoly/anti-trust issue that exists in Netherlands and Europe in general that is staggering
in the scope of its excessive abuse and utter unfairness to creative composers and artists.
(ASIDE Erwin, with your considerable influence, you should advocate for this change in
Netherlands.)
What skills do you need to do your job?
Among other things, I need top-notch organizational skills, advanced computer skills, the
ability to read and write in multiple languages, advanced people skills, a smooth temperament,
imagination, a willingness to push boundaries. These are some of the most important
things.
Can you describe your first sale/customer and the feeling you got?
It happened when I was five years old, selling home-grown tomatoes door-to-door to my
neighbors (Ive been an entrepreneur for avery long time). Closing my first sale was both
inspirational and illuminating it lit a fire that has never gone out!
Why does your company beat the competition?
We have a talented team, and we persevere in the face of adversity, which in some cases can
be extreme.
Can you give me one word that describes you best?
Driven!
http://www.audiosparx.com/
Interview with Rob de Vries, Founder and CEO of De Vries&Partners Germany and
DvP Group International Rob de Vries.
DvP Group International are a full-service events company with offices in the Netherlands, Germany, China,
USA, Singapore and Brazil. They have delivered communications concepts and realizations, worldwide, for
the biggest brands for more than 20 years now.
Rob, like some other CEOs theres not much to be found on you on the Internet.
Why?
I love my privacy and I dont like being visible on the internet, dont like to give interviews
either. I love to work behind the scenes but dont like to be in the spotlights or on stage.
How did you get into the event business?
I went to the Hotel Management School and during a night when I witnessed an event I
immediately knew that this is what I want to do. So I applied for a job with a small event
agency. I was about 20 years old I think and they hired me despite the fact that I knew
absolutely nothing about business. I loved it and learned quickly. I decided early on that I
wanted to have my own company, and make my own decisions, so I started an event agency
with a friend of mine.
Did you always wanted to go for the big clients?
Definitely! I made a list of the 100 biggest companies and started at the top. Pretty daring for
a young company with no name, but we did it anyway. I combined my love for cars (Rob has a
whole bunch of amazing cars including an Aston Martin) with the list, and decided we had to go to
Germany first. We went to BMW, Mercedes, Audi, VW and with Opel we scored. From there
it took off and it stayed that way.
Why do these big clients choose to work with you and your company?
Creativity, enthusiasm and real passion. I really believe I am the man for the job, and I always
go into meetings and into pitches feeling this way. I am 100% sure I can pull this off, and I
tell the clients precisely that; Im your man! I can deliver a mix of ingredients that will give the
client something extra. Its like a salad, it needs great dressing, some balsamico, oil etc. the mix
will make it great, otherwise its just plain salad. The rest is preparation, going all the way for
the client before we even get the job. We usually spend between 40.000 and 50.000 Euro on
pitches, so our presentations and books look absolutely stunning. This also helps to win a
client over, of course, and it should because its a huge amount of money. Last year we lost a
lot of money in pitches we didnt win, so we need a big client to earn that money back. We
lost 6 pitches where we came second every time, thats quite frustrating. The client told me we
were the best and most creative in our ideas and plans, but they doubted if we could handle
such a big event. Which is total nonsense if you look at what we already achieved in the past.
Our competitor was bigger and had more staff. Thats what made the client choose for them.
It was a wrong decision based on fear and doubt. Very frustrating.
Do you think young companies can get into your business? And at your level?
Thats going to be harder and harder because you need to be financially strong, really strong.
The big clients today do not pay anything up front, which means we have to pay for all the
costs ourselves and then wait for our money after the event and show is done. This means
hundreds of thousands of Euros in investments. Think about the costs for event locations,
were talking Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, race tracks in the US, travel for guests
and so on. These parties all want their money upfront. Were like a bank without the interest,
because the client wont pay any. There are even clients that want to see my bank account
statement! They want the financial figures of my companies to see if we are financially
healthy. If I dont show these, I wont get the job! They need to be sure we dont go bankrupt
during the collaboration, thats supposed to be the reason. Thats the way the market is
changing nowadays. So what youll see is that the big players will be doing all the big jobs and
it will be really hard for smaller, younger companies to get into the business.
Rob, what else would you do if you werent the boss at DvP?
I would have started a charter company for boats, yachts.
When I was young I had a boat of 27 mtrs esp. made for this reason, I wanted to rent it out
in France and the Caribbean, go out sailing with clients. Unfortunately there was a law in the
Netherlands that wouldnt let me start this company, and we eventually had to sell the boat.
But its still in the back of my mind, so who knows.
Has your style of managing changed?
I do work differently than I used too. Nowadays I have good staff and great people working
for me but I am involved in everything thats happening. Im always the one in control and I
make the important decisions. When its about music I really want to know what the
composer has done before we send it to the client, because it is so important for every event,
show and product launch.
Do you have tips for starting creative entrepreneurs?
Believe in yourself and show that belief. Be the best you can and work as hard as you can.
Doors will open, I absolutely believe in that. Dont be scared to show your vulnerability, be
emotional and honest. I once stopped a presentation I was doing because it went all wrong. I
said to the business people Im going leave, then come back in and were going to start over,
because I really, absolutely believe I am the man for this job, we just started off on the wrong
foot. So I really did go out of the room, came back in and started over. They were amazed,
but I eventually did win them over and landed the job. Believe in yourself and be yourself,
thats it.
Whats your strongest quality?
Thats a tough one. I guess Im always positive, I believe in people and give them a lot of
freedom to do their job. I never shout and almost never get angry. Oh, now I know my
strongest quality; Im a really good problem solver. Whenever things go wrong, Ill step in and
solve it. The Trouble shooter thats me. In Kuala Lumpur last year we hired the Petronas
Towers for an event. And the already huge amount for rent was suddenly doubled by the
owner. This was one week before the event and it looked like we really had a problem that
nobody could solve. So finally I flew in and managed to settle the dispute. We still paid a little
more than what was initially agreed, but the event went through and the money trick they
wanted to play didnt work. I really was prepared to completely call off the whole thing and
take my loss. The Towers owner got scared, because he didnt expect me to make that move
and so he gave in.
What do you think other people admire you for?
I hope they feel that Im a real pro. My motto is deliver more than what is expected. I listen
very carefully to a briefing and then try to give them more. What you need for this is technical
insight (this business has become very technical), organisational skills, we need to see the
build of the event, the drama and the ability to calculate really quickly. I can give a client a
good price almost instantly and on a 12 million dollar event I wont be 30,000 off. I know
Jack Morton Worldwide, producing ceremonies for two Olympics, two Commonwealth
Games, as well as three G8 summits.
What would you do if not running DvP?
I love to create. If I would sell my company, then the next day I would call my competitors
and offer them my services and expertise. I would be for hire, I guess. I have a good
relationship with the competition. This is what I do and what I am. Im not the kind of
person to do nothing.
One word that describes you best
Unique.
http://www.devries-partners.de/
Interview with Jordan Passman, Founder and CEO of Score A Score.
SCORE A SCORE is a music production and licensing company that delivers custom music on-demand.
SCORE A SCORE is a marketplace for sounds, a fast-growing and leading company. Jordan made the
Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2014.
1 Jordan, you are very visible on the internet. Many other CEOs arent. Do you think
this has helped your company grow? And was this visibility planned or more
coincidental?
This absolutely has helped my business, SCORE A SCORE, grow. I believe that publicity is
one of the most powerful tools a CEO can utilize, and learning how to sell your company in
a unique way is extremely important. In the beginning, success is a perception, and visibility
from trustworthy outlets is very helpful.
2 How did you get started in the music industry? And are you a musician yourself ?
I always loved connecting people, and seeing/hearing how music complimented visual art. I
started by quite literally dreaming up the idea for a platform to connect musicians with jobs. I
wanted to create the first dedicated online marketplace for composers and people who need
them to connect and collaborate. I am a musician myself, but very amateur compared to the
modern day Mozarts on my roster ;-)
3 When did you take the decision to start a business, to be an entrepreneur?
I was 23 when I decided to start my own business
4 Who do you most admire in business? (other CEOs, companies?)
Amazon, Uber and Postmates. I love the process of finding the best and the most efficient
way to execute plans, ideas and goals.
5 What do you think is your strongest personal quality?
My strongest personal qualities are my passion for people and business, as well as my drive to
help make the world a better place.
6 What kind of manager are you?
DiMeola play, I decided to do something else entirely. Besides studying economics, I played in
bands and made some money as a FOH sound man, mixing bands live. When I found out I
could make good money as a cameraman, I entered a world where I could combine my
creativity and business instincts. But, since there was no education for becoming a cameraman
at that time, I just taught myself. I was one of 5 cameramen who made the step from film to
video really early. Video was pretty ugly at that time, but I saw it would be the future, since
news programs here in The Netherlands were looking to transition to video too. I saw a big
opportunity there. Buying a video set was very expensive, about 250.000 Dutch guilders
(125.000 dollars) and I had no money, or any securities needed to loan that kind of money. I
had studied economics, however, and was able to put together a great business plan. The
bank understood my story, plan and vision. I explained what my USP was and how I would
attack the market. The daily rate for a cameraman was pretty high in those days, about 2500
(1200 dollars) per day! I calculated exactly how much money I needed to live and how many
working days I needed to pay back the bank.
My tip for starting creative businessmen is to really calculate what you can earn. Be honest
about this, learn to understand cashflow, learn to understand the dynamics of money coming
in, and money going out.
Of course, it was easier back then to get money from the bank, but you can do it today if you
have a well-written business plan and a clear vision. Show those bankers that you understand
business besides being creative! I believe that successful artists are not only great creative
people, but strong in their business thinking too. So make sure you understand the market,
and that you know how money works. Collaborations between management and colleagues
mostly go wrong when there isnt enough money, or too much. Always be aware of this fact.
So, I worked day and night, wasnt picky about jobs, went to bed on time, and started early.
Youre competing in high-level sports here and you have to prove yourself to, and survive in,
a world full of sharks. Why should clients pick you? Why are you special? Why do you
deserve their trust?
I jumped into a hole in the market where I only had competition from 4 other cameramen,
and I was the only one who had studied economics! I was also good with sound and since I
had some goodwill with my clients, they gave me a chance. When they see youre very
motivated, work hard and deliver something extra, you will get more clients and they will stay
more loyal to you. Thats what happened to me and I really believe the goodwill-factor is
crucial here!
And so is communication. Communicating is not just talking, its mainly listening. Not just
listening to what somebody is saying, but learning through body language and reading
between the lines. Some directors became annoyed with me because I kept asking for more
info on a job. But I really wanted to completely understand what it was this director wanted. I
wanted to deliver the best I possibly could, every time, over and over. If this meant to be a
little annoying, then so be it.
As an artist and a businessman, you need to completely understand your customers profile.
So make sure you understand what you client wants, really wants. Just keep asking away until
you have all the information you can get.
I made a lot of money. In my best year I worked 300 days at 2500 guilders a day, as a one man
company! But after that, year my marriage was broken and I had no private life left. Theres
always a price to pay. Once I was at the top of the Dutch camera world, commercial TV came
along. This was new in Europe and in the Netherlands and I saw great opportunities there.
Besides delivering good work and being creative, I needed to be as cheap and efficient as
possible. Here, my study economics helped me again. I had 3 sets at that time and I rented
out everything every day. This was possible since there were so many news items that needed
to be filmed (I rented out the third set just in order to pay my alimony, by the way).
It was then that I thought of a new business model: combining the renting out of freelance
cameramen and technical people with renting out gear, all in one company. It seems logical
enough, but until that time it was all separate and nobody did this. Combining the two made
it much easier for my clients and I was much more efficient than the rest. Besides that new
model, I always delivered something extra to my client (go One further). I knew the market,
knew what my competitors where doing and I knew what my USP was. This way it was easier
to find my spot, my place in the market. Always keep learning, from the market, your
customers, your target group. Make sure you fully understand the process. When it comes to
artists, I often find their creativity to be great, but, to them, business-thinking is considered to
me something dirty and wrong. I think you should get rid of those thoughts quickly or
remain an amateur.
The first 4 or 5 years after I started my business, I took almost no money out of my
company, just a decent salary. I saw possibilities and always tried to be one step ahead of my
competitors. I did this even when they started using my new business model (which, of
course, was inevitable).
So, in 1988 in started my ENG (Electronic New Gathering) company United (later on I
acquired about 30 cameras and had mostly freelancers working for me). After that, I started
educating camera people myself and I offered them jobs. Clients like to work with the same
people over and over, and this is hard to manage when using only freelancers, so it was just a
logical step. In 1994 I attached a multi-camera company to my ENG company and after that I
added post-production, thus becoming a full-service company.
I achieved this by merging companies and by doing so I became the market leader and had no
more growing possibilities. I saw there was a need for competition for NOB (the biggest
broadcasting company in the Netherlands, which at that time was transitioning from a federal
/ State company into a privatised company). They werent used to working commercially,
because they automatically just got the job, there was no competition, they were a monopoly.
I decided it was time for competition. I challenged NOB. They were four times bigger than
any other company and, to do this, I needed to merge with other, smaller companies. So,
basically, I researched the market and offered a solution. In my mind it was the market that
decided I needed to be the commercial opponent of NOB. The market also decided whether
I was to stand a chance. Merging with other companies wasnt simple. I was laughed at by a
multi-camera company I approached. I remember how they kept laughing, even as I left that
meeting. A couple of years later I bought that company, so I guess I had the last laugh
I offered the full package and by the year 2000 we were the second biggest broadcasting
company in the Netherlands. NOB was about 20% bigger and I understood it was of no use
trying to become bigger than them. That would be brutalising the market and would make
lose me the goodwill factor. I would become what NOB used to be; a monopolist and
nobody likes those.
So my role in the Netherlands was done when I became #2, so I decided to do take-overs
abroad. With money from share holders, I bought companies in Germany and Belgium. Some
take-overs I couldnt do because of the NMA (commission of protection of competition), so
I had to sell certain parts of companies I bought. Eventually, we became active in 5 countries
and from my solo start in 1988 there are now 1500 people working at United.
In these busy times I didnt play guitar for about 6 years and I was only talking to men in
suits. I was kind of living above the tree line; yes, it was high up, but its really cold up there. I
wanted to find my old self, be creative again, be on the work-floor more and closer to new
business models.
When my shareholders wanted to buy a big french company, I was very opposed to this. That
one French company was just as big as the whole of United put together and, in my mind,
there would be an unbalance. Furthermore, there would be a language problem and the
French have a totally different culture business-wise. I just didnt believe in that plan. They
decided to buy me out, and I decided to go back to my roots; music and creativity!
In order to do this, I had to leave behind what I had built over many years, but Ive always
been pragmatic. Besides, I loved the idea of regaining my freedom and starting new things.
Thats when Wisseloord Studios came along (2012) and the idea of making that studio great
again appealed to me very much. I am still CEO of United in the Netherlands, but no longer
the owner, so now I split my time between United and Wisseloord. I took a substantial
amount of money to rebuild Wisseloord and bring it back up to standard, but it now looks
great and we are working hard to make Wisseloord big again. (It does look great, see some
pics at the end of this chapter).
TV is under pressure, kids dont watch it anymore, but maybe they will when they get older.
Who knows? Theres a lot of movement in the music market because of YouTube. Things
have changed and will continue to do so! The record companies have problems with free
music and streaming services and so on But I see chances. You obviously need a camera
these days, just like I used to, haha So artists and businessmen: Use social media, see the
changes in the market and use these insights. Basically you need to evolve to distributing
yourself, become your own brand. Opportunities lie in being unique!
As always, its 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. I really want to get creative again with
Wisseloord Studios and be a part of this changing and damaged world of music. I havent
found the right spot yet, but I will.
Its a search, a journey thats beautiful and I feel confident that Ill find the right spot soon
enough. I see a parallel in your book and what you teach musicians. I want to bring the digital
world to Wisseloord and, besides the legacy of the old days, traditional mastering, recording
and mixing, I want to find new markets. After 4 years, Wisseloord is now financially healthy
again, but we yet have to make profit. Im now ready for step 2; to take over the role
originally played by record companies, which was talent development! There are no processes
left in which young, talented artists are brought to a higher level. I see opportunities there, in
helping these new talents. On the other side Im working on thinking corporately and doing
distribution, using a new business model with cash from investors. Wisseloord and talented
producers going international that will be our new model and were talking to big parties
right now. If you keep searching and keep moving, you will find. Im sure about that!
http://www.wisseloord.nl/
Dutch band Within Temptation are still touring Europa since their success album Mother
Earth from 2008. Wearing big dresses and singing opera-like over hard rocking music is a
concept too. Rock fans really are loyal so the band keeps selling out tours. They prove it can
be done even when youre from a small country like the Netherlands.
On a much smaller level; I once played in a band called Top2000Live, where we only played
songs from the Top2000, a hot list that is very famous here in the Netherlands and is
broadcasted every year around Christmas. You could argue that we were just a (really good)
cover band, but we did sell out 3 theater tours across the country and why? Because it was
One step different from other bands, we were a concept.
A couple of years ago, I started a corporate energy show with a friend of mine called Pump
Up the Company where we combine a power speech with music. This show immediately
became a hit and we still play about 50 times every year for the biggest companies in Europe.
Why? We are different from the rest, we deliver high quality and its a concept, a concept that
people understand and like. Even my Method is a concept! How To Make Money with
Music is a concept thinking.
Now you try and make a concept out of your plans and ideas. Dont do what everybody else
is doing, do something slightly different. Theres no need for over-the-top commercial
thinking and you dont need a We will rule the world kind of idea. Make sure that it
matches your personality, your music, you and your thoughts, you and your ideas and take it a
little further, make an easy-to-understand concept out of it. Selling a song or a band is hard,
but with a special concept behind it, it becomes considerably easier. Theres a story behind it
and we all like stories. Try and make a story out of your company, your music. Make it special!
Now lets dig deeper into the way our minds work and why creativity is so important. Edward
de Bono, Father of Lateral Thinking, a famous thinker, doctor and bestselling author:
Why do some people always seem to have new ideas while others of equal intelligence never
do? Edward de Bonos answer to this intriguing question: There are three basic aspects of
thinking:
1. What is
2. What may be
3. What can be
We are almost totally consumed by what is. We underestimate the extremely valuable
contribution that what may be has made to progress. We do very little about what can be,
even though our future depends entirely on this aspect. So, those who do think about what
can be are the ones with the best and newest ideas.
You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper. This means that
trying harder in the same direction may not be as useful as changing direction. Effort in the
same direction will not necessarily succeed. Lateral Thinking is for changing concepts and
perceptions. The brain is specifically designed to be non creative. If it were creative, the
brain would be utterly useless. It would be impossible to get up in the morning or to function
at all. With only eleven items of clothing there are 39,916,800 ways of getting dressed. To go
through these and to sort them out would take a lifetime. We do not need to because the
brain simply switches us into the appropriate routine. That is the basis of perception and of
action. Because the processes of deliberate creativity are not natural there is a need to practice
them.
Riding a bicycle is not at all natural but once we have learned to ride a bicycle then it becomes
easy. The excellent and much acclaimed Information Age is over.
We are now moving into the Idea age or Concept age. Concepts are the genes of ideas.
There was a time when information was the bottleneck. No more. We can now get all the
information we need on the Internet, our smartphones. The new bottleneck is thinking and
creative thinking in particular. The analysis of information does not yield new ideas because
the brain can only see what it is prepared to see So you have to be able to create the idea
first as a possibility.
It is not much use making a creative effort if you are then unable to appreciate your own
effort. So it is important to develop a habit of mind which sets out to find value in anything.
With time you will become more and more able to detect real and potential values. One
outcome of creative thinking is specifically to focus attention on discovering value. When we
set out to discover value there can be some big surprises. Very often there is a sudden insight
switch. A value which was never even glimpsed suddenly becomes obvious. (The ah-haa
feeling). We do not make very full value of the opportunities provided by technology because
we prefer critical to constructive thinking, argument to design. Creativity is, however, never a
substitute for competence. If the car does not start there is no point in being creative about
destinations. On the other hand, competence is only a substitute for creativity when everyone
around is being incompetent. Competence is the baseline, but creativity is the real value
creation.
Wow, I must admit that I had never read anything by Edward de Bono before almost
finishing my book. I was doing research on concept thinking when his words struck me like
lightning.
This is great abstract and academic thinking and it means basically the same as what Im
talking about in this book. You can call it lateral or sideways thinking, One different,
concept thinking, outside the box or whatever you like. All it really means is that you have to
think differently and be creative when you start a business or a band, write a song, when
youre making music for a client or thinking of a concept for yourself or for a customer. You
need to be creative in your thinking in order to be successful. Period!
Musicians should be creative per definition, thats what making music is all about. The
amazing feeling of playing with great musicians and improvising, doing something that has
never been done before. There is use in doing things over and over again, as Mr de Bono so
well explained, but its real creativity and thinking laterally that makes real impact and
changes to this world.
Musicians are supposed have higher IQs and this has now been proven scientifically. Us
trained musicians seem to be thinking differently than non-musical human beings, as we use
both sides of our brain more often than other people do. People who are naturally creative
approach solving problems more with out-of-the-box thinking. Musicians also score higher
on IQ tests and it seems to be proven that training your musical ability can make your IQ
higher, although its also possible that people with a higher IQ tend to pursue music more
seriously (depending on the booze intake of the rockers among us, of course ;-)
So, composers, songwriters, artists; use your creative brain and amaze the world
make that brands sound. Modern brands love new artists and upcoming bands, which they
can team up with in their product campaigns. It makes them look hip and young. So pick up
the phone and start sending out your music to these people, everybody loves creative new
ideas.
Whatever you decide which road to take, be clear about the challenges and the dos and
donts, but especially be aware of the opportunities that are there. Look beyond the old
school methods. Be creative, be bold, give it the best you got
Sia used the old school road but there are also success stories with the new school way of
thinking. Dutch pride Armin van Buuren with his label and company Armada are proof of
this.
Watching Armada use YouTube is interesting, because the music is for free, but the company
does make money. Armada, and labels like them, are pioneers in adopting new media, rather
than fighting it.
Everything is free, which fosters a frictionless distribution of the music, the artist and the
associated brand Armada. The end result is massive exposure, with a huge global following,
leading to sold out gigs all around the world (which are obviously not free).
Maykel Piron, CEO Armada:
Sixty percent of the revenue comes from digital music operation. The remainder mainly
from overrides - or kickback fees - from performances and licensing of our music to our
global partners. But also money resulting from artist management and operation of the
Armada brand for the benefit of events, such as Armada Nights, where our resident DJs
perform, is part of this. The share of CD sales and downloads are declining annually. In
contrast, the streaming revenue grows proportionally. That allows us to play distributor
ourselves, so we can release new music and albums 24/7, almost anywhere. Here we are
depending on iTunes and Spotify, our most important online portals. Their success is partly
our success. Because once they start in a new country, they also opened a new market for us.
Because of their size, the entire music industry are depending on them. Thats pretty
dangerous. But it is also a perfect way to capitalize our international fanbase.
By doing it in-house, the costs are transparent and we can easily create content. Video clips,
websites and even our own online sales system, through which we can quickly see our
business results worldwide. We basically do not want to depend on others. I feel we get much
more out platforms such as YouTube, where we daily have three million views on Armada
Music alone.
Nice! You can see that the new way of thinking involves free music and giving away a lot. In
return you get loyal fans that will spend money on concerts and merchandise. If you can get
enough YouTube views and Spotify streams, making 20 Million a year is certainly possible as
Armada proves.
But you need to be a famous DJ to get this kind of following and besides that a great
businessman too! The dance scene really has shown the big record companies how its done.
Podcasts and internet radio are growing rapidly and Armins State of Trance radioshow is
supposed to have 30 million listeners. This would make it the most popular radio station
worldwide.
All without the help of old school companies and publishers. They did it themselves!
Internet radio is a great way for young artists to get more known and get income.
Last month my music was played 47,000 times on different internet radio stations worldwide.
Its another new school way of building your brand and business.
Armadas story is very inspirational if you ask me. Taking the future into your own hands is a
great feeling and the experience of doing it on your own, choosing new paths is very
rewarding. While I was writing this book I had some interest of a couple of publishers. I
admit being honored by the fact that they wanted to publish my story. But when I was almost
finished writing I saw that they were hardly any different from old school records labels. They
all think small, they only see their old network and they mostly see problems instead of
opportunities. They completely forget or dont see huge markets that are out there, purely
based on pre-internet thinking. They seem to be unable to reshape their business model.
All they could talk about was their home market like a baker who sells his bread to the
neighbourhood. No fresh views and ideas here, only old school thoughts.
So I decided not to sign a paper book publishing contract. What better way to promote my
Method than to do it myself, anyway?!
So in the same way I do with my music and the Corporate Music Method I just publish this
book myself, through the great services of Kindle and Amazon. Once again; the possibilities
are there, the services are there, use them to help sell your creativity and buy your freedom.
Coming back to the Method, what about a film composer who wants to do big movies?
Well lets be clear, to compose for big movies you have to live in a country that has a big film
industry. I see many film composition students and some of them are really good. But in their
country there is no film industry. So they should really move to the US, UK, France or
Bollywood. This market is not yet ready for overseas work, directors want to be close by and
walk in during the writing process. Of course in time there will be changes and more
opportunities, but for big budget Hollywood films it will remain as it is for a while.
You can, however, start smaller, with young, beginning film directors or with commercials
and try to get noticed. Its a crowded world at the top of the film industry and more and
more people want in. You have to be different and really good to get noticed. But no matter
how good you are with your libraries, you wont beat the sound of a real, great orchestra.
So, make something unique! Use special chords or orchestration, find your niche and blow
people away with your ideas and music. First make sure you have the circle round and then be
your own unique self. In the real world you will need to shop around with your music and
ideas as much as possible. Dont be afraid of somebody stealing your music. Theres no point
in putting energy into thoughts like that and theres no real way to protect your music anyway.
So reach out and ask film people to give you feedback, advice and to give you a chance.
How did other composers do it? How did they get the big movie jobs?
demo CDs of your work. Youll be able to send different ones, depending on the type of
music that is needed. But remember that directors and producers are more likely to be
interested in your (film) credits than your music. Go where the jobs are (yep). Although the
Internet makes long-distance work relationships possible, most film composers need to be in
the same location as the directors and editors they work with. Most of the jobs are in
Southern California or New York. Finally, be persistent if this is the career you want. With
talent, education, contacts and some luck you could wind up composing one of those movie
themes that linger long after the closing credits fade.
Again, the same here as with the songwriters and artists:
Whatever you decide, whichever road you take, be clear about the challenges, the dos and
donts, but especially the opportunities that are there. Look beyond the old school ways. Be
creative, be bold, give it the best you got and May the Force be with you!
Now look at the circle (see diagram) again and know this is a road every businessman has to
go down. You have to be at least just as good as your competitors and up to the highest level
for your customers. But thinking One different and One beyond gives you a piece of the
market. It means recognition and visibility. In music you need haters just as much as you need
fans! If youre only middle-of-the-road youll earn nothing. Apple has haters, Google has
haters, Windows has haters. But they all have fans too! Being creative is hard work, finding
your niche, that One step different, that One step further and One beyond time after
time. Think of the gold medal athlete and try to be one.
I sometimes hear people in museums say I can do that while looking at a painting, and I
hear those comments about music too. But these people miss the point, they dont
understand the art, they dont understand how it feels to be the first, to be really creative and
think differently from the rest. Theres no point in copying because, even if you are really
good at copying, you will only just make it the circle around. But there will be no One step
further and there will be no success or sales for your music or your company. Youre just a
copy.
You can make money this way for a while, (listen to the commercials on TV that are
soundalikes). But its boring and uncreative and leads nowhere in the end. Most people can do
this and it will be hard to keep getting work for a good price. Theres too much competition,
and too many people who will work for almost nothing. At least try to be creative and try to
find your One different.
The above story works for just about every product available. Why do we buy product A
instead of B. Most has to do with marketing and how products look. But if its only looks
and the products are bad, they will disappear soon enough. Now, if product A really tastes
good, better and a bit different, you become a fan. But your neighbour might not like that
taste at all and become a hater. Now think about Apple. Its a computer, a damn good one,
their technology is ahead of the rest and its easy to use. Much simpler than most PCs. New
software just instantly works. Thats great, but it only means they are circle round. The
difference is their beauty and their ease-of-use (and the way they market of course). They
thought One step further before getting on the market. These products look so great and
its nice to have them around in your home. People love em. Now think about those old PC
towers man were they ugly.
In music you need to find the edges, you need to go out of the middle musically and get
lovers and haters. If people only say nice about your tracks they wont buy it. You need to
achieve real response and get followers and fans. This also means you will get haters in the
process, but look at this as a good thing. Nobody gets 100% of likes, there will always be
people that dont like what you do. This means you are getting out of the comfortable
middle and your music is getting edgier and more of a statement. I believe this way you will
find your USP, your own unique value.
The One step different rule works, but to make money with it you do need marketing. You
can have a brilliant idea, a perfect song, the best band on earth, but how do you get known?
In the case of music, its hard to do this by yourself. A band needs a good record or EP, some
special videos. Do online marketing and play as many live gigs as possible. It will still be
almost impossible to get a worldwide deal or worldwide recognition if you are not from US
or UK, but finding an audience through their website could well be possible. Think of Armin
and Armada and try to get a loyal following.
The Corporate Music Method works here too; get your music in those big TV series and you
will reach so many people, potential fans, because of 2 reasons. The first is that otherwise you
would never reach that particular part of the population. Most people are reactive, they
respond to music, but are not really searching for new bands themselves. So when it reaches
them in their homes through a film, series or commercial, it makes it so much easier. And the
second reason is that music and film work so well together. They make the message so much
stronger, giving it way more impact.
There is a song by a duo called The Civil Wars that where pretty much unknown until they
got a song in the hit TV series Greys Anatomy. The song is great and worked even greater
with a scene in that series. It made them famous and changed their lives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNlxKH9Jtmc
When people get older they tend to keep to their music, the music they loved when they were
younger; Once a rocker always a rocker, people who used to go to dance parties still like
dance music (though maybe not as edgy as in the old times). Most Prince fans remain a
Prince fan for life. The many good memories and being proud of having a great taste in
music account for this. The only people who are really open for new stars and music are kids.
And kids are also much more open to the marketing tools companies use. Kids become fans
really quick or hate something really quick. They need role models and stars to look up to.
I remember wearing buttons of John Travolta when I was a kid. Its nice to belong to a group
of like-minded friends. In marketing that is a good thing, so here we have the reason why
there are so many young singers on the radio and tv getting opportunities. It really does help
when youre a talented 17year-old with a great body and you can dance like Beyonce. For this
reason, lyrics, clips and music are adjusted to kids level: Four chords, lyrics about growing up
and falling in love, lots of sexy dancers and only pretty people in clips and in the band. And
of course our star can really sing and dance! The succes of Taylor Swift or Rihanna is easily
explained. When Swift makes $86 million just from one tour, you can double that amount in
royalties worldwide, advertising merchandise, YouTube earnings and sales through iTunes.
(Remember, shes not on Spotify). But Taylor wont stay a role model and a hero for most of
these young people when they grow up. Unless she grows with her fans and her music
matures. Thats hard to do, as is shown by Christina Aquilera, for instance. Her success faded
when she got older and her fans got older.
So its no use trying to land a deal when youre a band of 42-year-olds, not the old school way.
But you can use the new school ways and get your band noticed through films, tv,
commercials and corporate use. Spread your music through your website, but before you
think you are ready, do the circle check! Look at the great artists who did it themselves like
Joe Bonamassa and Chris Stapleton. They didnt fit the rules and looks record companies
use for signing artists, but became famous anyway. They did it themselves. And their
approach, for sure, is full circle and One different.
Coming back to the circle and your work as a media composer. Many clients want to hear
more of the same. They often think they know best and if they have little trust in the
composer, they usually tend to want the same music over and over again. So, even if you want
to be One different every time, you may not be allowed by your customers. Sometimes I go
Two further and instantly get overruled by my client. When its too off from what they are
used to, you wont get your music approved. This depends a lot on the brand and how daring
they want to be.
But out-of-the-box thinking really works and gives the brand and product a face and a choice
for the customers to be a hater or be a fan.
I once had a Jaguar commercial with a really heavy and loud metal track on US TV. When you
think about the brand Jaguar, you wouldnt immediately think of metal music. But it really
worked well together with this particular car and ad. Out-of-the-box thinking made this work.
The hardest thing to do is to start. Start a new song, start a new plan, start a new business. Its
really hard to go from thinking about an idea to putting it into practice. But once you do,
youll feel better about yourself and youll have started a chain of events. Things will happen,
action/reaction and whatever happens, it will absolutely always be better than if you had done
nothing.
So indeed, why write another song? There are millions already. Why start a band when you
know you wont be the best. Why shop around with your music when theres so little chance
in making it big? Why?
Well, it will make you feel better about yourself and if you feel better about yourself other
people will notice. And getting noticed gives you other and new opportunities. Its nice to
work with other musicians and its even nicer giving a concert to an audience, and even better
still, when your music, your playing makes people happier. New and positive things will
happen that can be life-changing. My wife became a little bored when the kids got older, so
she started a new company called Stuff to Love. Clothes and jewelry she started to sell at
parties at peoples homes. Nice evenings with happy people that liked her style and ideas. So
now, as her company starts to get bigger and more successful, it takes up a lot more of her
time than she anticipated, but shes happy about it and it truly changed her life. She just
started
In the beginning of this book I quoted Goethe. I dont quote much and sometimes these
sayings can be corny and empty when they are overly used, but then again, if it makes you
think and makes you start.. why not?! So here it is again:
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it Boldness has genius, power, and
magic in it..
I really believe he is right. Whenever you have the chance and you really want to do
something new, start a company, make a product, write a song, start a band, make a movie
just start. It will eventually get you a response and it will change your life one way or another.
We cannot all become world famous or filthy rich, but we can try and make the most out of
the time we have here on earth. Making music and making people happy with your music is as
good a reason as any other.
Think about what you really want and how you can achieve this. Be honest and ask for help
when you need it. Listen to people with knowhow and use their feedback. Whatever you do,
do complete the circle and be as good as the market and your heroes. Clients expect it. And
then look for the extra component, the One different, One beyond, One further,
your USP, your value proposition and go out into the world with it. You really can be
successful if you stay true to yourself and work hard. Be as unique as you can and always
deliver high quality. Learn from feedback like a real champion, a gold medal athlete and keep
growing as an artist and as a person.
Realize that how simple the above might seem, not many people do this, not many really try
it, not many people really and actively change their lives and go for it. Most people are scared,
lazy or whatever excuse they can find to convince themselves it cannot be done. But those
who do, they are the creative ones, the leaders, the thinkers, the game changers. Why not be
one of those people? Now go and build yourself a successful company with your music!