Do you have any advice for new TAXI members who want to create instrumental cues and pitch to music library listings, as to what they need to know and do to make their music viable and valuable to the companies they’re pitching to?
In order to make your music viable and valuable to the companies you’re pitching to, give them what they are asking for. Closely follow the description and listen to the examples given in the TAXI listings. These are instructions coming from the requesting companies themselves. Some of these things include: having buttoned endings, good edit points, staying out of the way of dialog, sticking to a single mood, etc. After being contacted by a company, make sure the deliverables are correct (aiff, wav, etc.) and any metadata is filled out correctly and done in a timely fashion. In other words, be professional in your music and your business. If they know they can trust you in that regard, they will want to keep working with you.
“With all the complicated musical devices used, what it comes down to is, how it makes you feel.”
Have you watched a lot of TV shows and studied the music used in order to up your game?
I absolutely have watched a lot of TV shows and studied the music to up my game. I’ve recorded cues from TV on my phone to study. For years, I use to go to bed listening to original motion picture soundtracks, on repeat. These included: Dancing with Wolves, Gladiator, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, King Kong, Pirates of The Caribbean, Mission Impossible, Lord of the Rings, The Bourne Supremacy, Vantage Point, etc. Hans Zimmer’s Gladiator had me hooked for about a year. My poor wife would wake up in the middle of the night feeling like someone was chasing her. I guess the volume wasn’t quite low enough. What I loved about listening to all that music was the mood it created. With all the complicated musical devices used, what it comes down to is, how it makes you feel.
Do you ever check out music that other TAXI members have forwarded to see what made those tracks good enough and on-target enough to get the thumbs up?
The forwards blog is my favorite place to hang out. It gives me the opportunity to compare my production to others. It also allows me to hear other approaches and instrument choices in a particular genre. Finally, it’s both inspiring and humbling to hear the music of so many talented members.
I’m really glad that you spend time on the Forwards Blog. I think that’s a gold mine that not enough members take advantage of! Have you found that the more mistakes you made in the early part of this career, the better you got?
I definitely find that the more mistakes I made early in my career, the better I got. I learned how to avoid certain pitfalls, while adding gems to my bag of tricks. That holds true now, as I continue to make mistakes in order to get even better in the future.
Have you become better, faster, and more efficient in your workflow over time?
Yes, my workflow has definitely become better, faster, and more efficient over time. A lot of it had to do with my day job. Due to having limited time to write, I had to learn to be efficient with my time in order to keep up with the listings. As a result, I got better and faster.
“It took me years to get to the point where I would do revisions for a track that didn’t get forwarded. I couldn’t hear the track any other way than the way I first approached it.”
Have you found the feedback from TAXI’s screeners to be valuable?
The screeners’ feedback has absolutely been invaluable to my development. Without their detailed critiques with specific suggestions on how to improve my music, I wouldn’t get better. I haven’t completely agreed all the time with the critiques, but after making the suggested revisions, I felt better about the track. It took me years to get to the point where I would do revisions for a track that didn’t get forwarded. I couldn’t hear the track any other way than the way I first approached it. I would just write a new track the next time a similar listing came up. Now, when a desirable listing comes up, I check the feedback on past submissions to see if there is a track I can revise. In most cases, it’s just a few minor changes that are needed to make a track better suited. One of the greatest feelings I get is when I revise a track with the screener’s suggestions, and it gets forwarded. Even better, is when it gets forwarded by the same screener! Getting it signed to a publisher is the best. The ultimate is getting a placement and making money. The screeners know what they are talking about, and listening to them allowed me to give new life to tracks I had written off.
Have taken advantage of the feedback and advice from your fellow members on TAXI’s Forum to be helpful?
The times I’ve spent on the TAXI Forum have been helpful and insightful. Whether I’m looking for a specific topic for advice or information, or whether I’m looking for inspiration, the forum always delivers.
“I try to come up with titles that best describe the track in three words or less.”
I’ve noticed that your cues have excellent titles. Some of the best I’ve seen! Congratulations on that! I believe that short, descriptive titles that telegraph what the music will likely sound like, can give composers a big advantage in getting their music used. How did you learn to create such awesomely descriptive titles?
I try to come up with titles that best describe the track in three words or less. My process uses several tactics. I use the listing itself for ideas. I get suggestions from my wife and kids. I listen and to imagine what type of scene it can be used for. I listen for how it makes me feel. I also use Google and a little pocket-sized dictionary of cliches for ideas. I don’t have to go through all of those tactics each time. Sometimes, it’s instant. But I do give it serious thought.
Well, your efforts in titling your tracks have certainly paid off! I’m a big believer that musicians can create a substantial and sustainable income, and a retirement fund with nothing more than their music. I know you used to teach music to elementary school kids, but are you ever tempted to turn them on to the basic concept of earning income by creating music, or are they just too young to even be concerned about things like income?
I’ve had conversations with my elementary age students about what they want to be when they grow up. I had many who wanted to be athletes, singers, and rappers. I would also ask them how many would like to be able to work at home, make money, and be on TV. Many hands went up and questions about how to do that. I would go on and explain to them how the music they hear during TV shows is created by regular people like me. I’ve even shown them my TAXI profile and let them choose a song to hear. I tell them that I do music for TV and that they can do it too, if they do well in my music class. They think it’s cool and are fascinated with the idea, but that’s about as far as I go with 8-to-10-year-olds.
If you were teaching high school or college-aged students, what would you tell them about that same topic?
If I were teaching high school or college-aged students, I would go more in depth with the prospect of a career creating music for TV. I would ask them what are some ways you can make a living with music. Assuming they wouldn’t say they’d like to be a TV/Film composer, I would ask them if they ever noticed the music on TV shows, and who do they think creates that music? They often think it’s all famous artists or people. Among other details, I would share with them that I am one of those creators and they could also become a creator of TV/Film music. I would have them listen to examples of library music and necessary equipment/software they would need. For students this age, technology comes pretty easily to them. But finally, I would share with them, it’s a rewarding venture and starting at their age, they could set themselves up for an early retirement and new career path with passive income.
“If you try to build a catalog of music before joining TAXI, you’re building in the dark.”
And finally, what advice would you have for people who are thinking about joining TAXI but feel that they need to build a catalog of music before they join? Should they create that catalog before they join, or should they create music in response to TAXI’s opportunities?
My advice to people thinking about joining TAXI is, don’t wait to build a catalog before you join! Instead, build your catalog in response to TAXI’s opportunities. That way you have professional guidance, peer support, and you’re building a catalog of music that someone is in need of. If you try to build a catalog of music before joining TAXI, you’re building in the dark. Look at joining TAXI as on-the-job training.
Thanks for taking the time to do this interview, Derek. You’re an inspiration to me and I’m sure, your fellow members as well! Continued success to you!
Check out a bunch of Derek’s music, here!