yes, I do actually (I know this was posted a year ago but it's nice to see this kind of question box) this is career path is somewhat similar to something I've been looking to pursue for some time now that is OST/original soundtrack/score composition for forms of media (Specifically, Japanese's Anime, though games and other things I wouldn't mind, but I have a passion for anime.) I don't want you to think that I'm somewhat already involved in this field or close to as I'm not even finished with high school yet. (That being said I am a bass guitarist, a violinist and a soon to be pianist and am also currently learning FL studio and Muse score.) I know this looks like a flex I just didn't want you to think I have zero experience in music getting to the point though, my main question. how do I get hired not but a company or brand but the developers for these things. studio/developers, whoever would be the most in charge of these form of media (game, movie, tv show ETC) Thank you very much for taking your time to read this. It is much appreciated.
The music industry is brutal. I have been doing music forever and still feel so lost with all my efforts. It's brilliant that you are helping others to branch out into other directions. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I believe that you helping others is just a beautiful thing. Thanks Tommy.
It is brutal indeed - had a taste of it early in my journey. One has to learn how to grow a thick skin without losing your sensitivity and soul as a creator. Appreciate your kind words. It is up to each of us to be the change that we want to see. Thanks for being here!
I have been composing and producing music for 23 years. I composed jingles and background music for brands. Produced hundreds of instrumentals and mixed thousands of songs. The orders only come through word of mouth. Just like you describe in the video, I tried contacting the brands myself and soon gave up. What you said just woke me up again. I'll watch more of your videos and hope I get wiser. Thank you!
dude - when they start selling the "how to" of the business - it means the business is well and truly saturated ( AI is already making decent stock music )
@@CFox.7 🤣🤣 TRUE! Like the recording studio owners who make "workshops" under the promise that you will be able to work in a major recording studio, where only 2% of the music market do their productions, because today each idiot (me included) had a home studio and make the mastering process online 🤡
It's all about "who" you know. You have to be in the correct circles and usually its from his experience. Someone you know reaches out to you and then you get your foot in the door. You won't know how a business works until you're IN IT. I will say it again, it's all about who you know. I appreciate your enthusiasm with this but to be honest, I've dj'd for over 15 years. Doesnt matter your talent or passion, if you don't KNOW the correct people you won't get anywhere.
It’s the same as how I retired from the music industry by doing the forensics publishing administration. So many people were having issues getting their money and audits were not correct… I did something about it and BOOM. All of a sudden, I’m 10 points in on 260 major albums JUST for finding all of their missing money. I honestly stumbled on a conference that no one attended and Price was there… He schooled me for hours. I took that info and began hunting the large amounts first. Then I’d contact the artist and tell them about it and how to get it. I’d say, “here’s a contract for 10% if you wish to reward me.” And I’ve never had a band or artist NOT sign the contract. There, rant over… haha.
Good night. Thanks for sharing this story. How can we learn more about your service? Will check your channel here for contact info. Thanks again, have a good night 🙏🏾
TOMMY. You've lit a fire in me. I've been writing songs and soundtracks for decades, hundreds of catchy tunes that would be great for brand content. I need to learn the skills you've discussed. Will follow up with more of your videos.
I dig your energy! Please look around this channel as there's lots of actionable information about how to get started. The Free Training is also a good way to get a proper introduction to this "hidden world" that almost no one is talking about. Keep that fire going!
I did music for TV commercials with Ciani Musica. The budget for music for a TV spot was around $250,000. This is nothing compared with what they spend on the visuals and time on TV. The industry was killed by home studios, which are usually too small to use real musicians . All the major recording studios closed. Arranging fees were usually around $30,000. The musicians union has contracts with the three major networks, for residuals and pay rates.
@@doasty I knowI was Grammy nominated for What’s Going On which we recorded at Stanley’s home but you usually cannot record a live band in someone’s bedroom
@@doasty for wind instruments such as sax it greatly effects the sound of that instrument as it’s recorded. The “sound of a room” is influenced by its size. The natural reverb is also influenced by the size. Room sound matters a lot more for acoustic bands recording “live in the moment” but it influences everything really. Hope that helps. The size of a room if money is no object can be an artistic sonic choice. Of course budget limitations can limit what size rooms are affordable. Larger room = usually higher cost
Tommy’s wisdom and mastery of this industry have made a TREMENDOUS difference in my musical growth and journey this year. Grab a pen and a journal, there’s SO MUCH to learn from him!
Dude, I’ve been thinking about my future so much. I just finished my associates and art degree which is not gonna do anything for me in the job market as a musician, but I did learn a lot of valuable fundamentals and skills even became top of my class for jazz guitar I have all the necessary tools now to become a better musician, but I’ve been creating music since I was playing guitar at 15 years old 14 years ago you just opened my eyes and earned my subscription and I’m so happy that I found this video while working here eating my lunch at work you are doing Gods work, my friend and I appreciate you opening my eyes to more possibilities of how to make an income as a working musician with the brand deals. Thank you
This is such an amazing video. I actually got into publishing My music but honestly I've been looking for a way to do what your talking about in this video
I’m glad this resonated with you. Click around our channel for more videos that show you specific actions to take to get into our biz. Sending you good energy. 🙏
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 *🎵 Alternative Music Career Path* - Introduction to an unconventional music career path focused on creating music for brands. - Personal experience of transitioning to this career and achieving long-term success. - Explanation of the financial challenges in the music industry and the need for innovative revenue streams. 01:12 *💼 Opportunities in Brand Partnerships* - Recognition of brands as lucrative opportunities for music placement and original composition. - Insight into the demand for original music in advertising and marketing campaigns. - Personal anecdote illustrating the discovery of the brand partnership niche and its financial potential. 04:12 *🚪 Breaking into the Industry* - Personal journey of breaking into the music production industry for brands. - Challenges faced in initial attempts to enter the industry without understanding its dynamics. - Importance of seeking mentorship and understanding the industry landscape before pursuing opportunities. 07:02 *🌐 Teaching and Mentorship* - Transition from full-time music production to mentoring aspiring musicians. - Motivation behind sharing knowledge and empowering musicians to succeed in the industry. - Description of an educational academy dedicated to training musicians for brand partnership opportunities. Made with HARPA AI
Thanks for this video man. I've been playing and making music for fun for like 3 years and im having trouble with the next step. There's way more to it than just creating a song and posting it on social media
Reminds me a lot about graphic design/3d work. Similar struggle as a freelancer while there are all those corporate pools of designers/3d modelers catering to large brand directly.
Feel like this is the direction I need to be going in. Been really struggling to make any headway recently my journey seems to have come to a stand still. Thanks for sharing the knowledge 🙂
Hey man. I'm a musician that feels like I am very very unique. I have exceptional theory knowledge in experimental areas from jazz, jungle/dnb, technical metal, avant garde classical...zappa. This job sounds like a dream.
Appreciate the good energy coming from you. I meet a lot of older composers who are bitter....unfortunately. It seems that you have a good spirit. Are you still composing?
My superpower is bass my man. This video is wonderful and I never thought of that either. Surprisingly considering I’ve been teaching since the late 90’s and have also been a more than avid gamer for many decades. There’s always some killer bass tracks there. Thank you.
When I used to make music this is something I always tried to do, only back then it was very difficult to get a placement in an ad, commercial, or film. There was so much competition and the briefs look for very specific sounding tracks. Also, with all the music libraries available now it makes it even more difficult.
Always was and always will be competition. But what we try to teach musicians is that it’s not about the song - it’s about transforming yourself into a remarkable craftspeople that others will trust and keep coming back to - that’s the focus. Sync and music libraries are not about the craftsperson. It’s a lottery. Imagine if you had the reputation of someone with great skills and sensibility - that could solve creative briefs. Would people come to you or a library? You have to strive to put yourself in a place where the connections you have are immune to competition. Do you think Hans Zimmet competes with Danny Elfman? Each is their own distinct flavour that is clearly preferred by different film directors.
This is something i really want to do. The idea of making music for movies really got me excited, making aounds that reprecent object and adventures feels really really cool. Time to build my skills and drive my self. Thank you
I would not recommend taxi for our corner of the world. It’s best for talented freelance musicians to reach out and make the connections with music production company producers.
Yo Zee! I'm very hip---been building up this moment in time for 22 years now as a composer-producer-engineer and singer. I was inspired from working at one of the biggest ad firms in SF during the 90's. The audio interfaces and administrative software that track data wasn't available 10 years ago. It's game ovah. Good work bro!
Thanks for been honest and willing to share those "hidden treasure path".Thats true:those kind of doors are keep closed if You don't know how to knock to....I do music for 30 years.I almost dropped that a few times.I'm close of that again,but... Hopefully thanks to You,I can recover and re-belive that I can finally make money on my music...
The simple reality is that brands hold all the money in the world - and they have the need for creative content....so it's logically a path that a creative cratfsperson can find commissions and projects. It's not easy - but if you have the right talent and the right approach - it becomes your daily bread. Keep moving and sending you good energy.
Some of my favourite little sounds are somehow from commercials but they were either a piece of a song or sometimes there's songs that remind me of some thing i must have heard in an ad!
True. You can work from anywhere but you should have high speed internet for fast delivery and be aware of time differences for deadlines. Thanks for being here!
I do appreciate you speaking about this and sharing your knowledge and experience on this. However, as much as I would love making money out of music, I personally feel that I shouldn't write music for somebody else (in this case clients that require the music to fit to a commercial). I would rather do the music I like and enjoy, and just do it for myself. If nobody wants to pay or even listen to it, that's fine, I don't care. I'll do my own thing, as a hobby, just to have a good time and relax in my free time, maybe jam with some friends, and make a living out out of a corporate job just like most other people. But great video nonetheless!
I think it's very good that you have thought about your music conciously and made a decision about your relationship to it. I really wanted to spend my time in a creative career rather than having an unrelated day job and then doing music at night. So essentially - i made writing music for ads my dayjob - thereby keeping myself in the studio all the time - and then at the end of a long day of writing for others - I'd write for myself. But it really is up to every musician to develop their philosophy around this.
There are tons of people talking about this form of music income, for many years. It’s called sync licensing. I don’t feel like this video explains how to actually get the work for these types of projects, though.
Love your content .. great stuff for independents like myself :) Thanks for sharing your experience! Always nice to have straightforward grounded people! have a fantastic day man .. just working on new material myself now that it’s fall.. :)
If it wasn’t still relevant - we wouldn’t do it. But watching it today - everything here is still relevant and applicable in 2023. Nothing has changed. Thanks for being here. ❤️🙏
When I read about the title, my first thought was "wtf this is ridiculous, how is it possible to make money from music if you don't sell or stream your music?" but I decided to click on the video anyways, and when you told about the business, I became interested. Especially because I want to be a music producer but I don't want people to know who I am so I planned to make myself anonymous. Maybe this is the career path I'll take instead of the regular selling/streaming/touring etc so I don't have to be anonymous.
I work with a few artists who choose to not put their name on some of the commercials they make - they just want to "lease" their musical skills and get paid. It's definitely a viable idea. As long as you are able to deliver magic - no one cares what you call yourself...dive into more videos on this channel - you'll learn some specific actions to take to begin your journey. The free training is probably the most effective introduction to our business. Start there.
Great to hear about your path Tommy. And thanks for sharing your experience and advice, and congratulations on securing your career path! In my path so far, I've managed to land a bunch of commissions for corporate, commercial work here in Japan, but still struggle to get consistent work, (my mainstay is exporting bass guitars so I still work in the field daily) but that is probably because I haven't got tied to a good agent as yet. Would love to do more of that kind of work as I have an abundance of ideas play guitar, bass, drums, keys and can do vocals (to an extent). Always interested in licencing opportunities, if you need any one to work on stuff on short order in multiple styles let me know. I have the time, a fairly extensive portfolio of varying work, and a home studio at my disposal. Greetings from Japan!
Great video. To be fair I notice it was uploaded two years ago, however the recent creation of Stable Audio AI will make this business model much much harder now. Good luck though, it’s probably still worth looking into.
We ourselves are very curious about how AI will affect the business - and in that spirit - we have invited the top industry insiders from the world of music and AI to a conversation with us on this very channel - stay tuned for that! I appreciate your thoughtful comment Charlie. Thanks for being here!
As someone who has had a few jobs for a music production company let me say the fallowing: - I didn't think I was good enough until my stuff actually got picked and released. - the companies will pay you as little as they can. Don't expect your first invoice to have a number on it that excites you like Zee was excited when he wrote his first invoice. There is still lots of money in the industry but it's not easy to actually get a good percentage of it. - these companies don't need fancy studios anymore and so they might actually not have one. - Having only one revision on your layout and then it's already getting released is a highly unlikely scenario from my experience. Usually you'll have a lot of layouts from different producers, then the client likes different stuff from different layouts, then you try to combine them, then the client (hopefully) likes the direction it's going and after 5 revisions it's actually ready for release.
You’re absolutely right on all points. My first gig in the biz was an exception in many ways. But you can still see big cheques - it’s just a lottery. If you happen to be on the right gig - you can get big final fees. All depends on the right campaign and right usage. Thanks for sharing your insights. 👍🙏
Thanks for being here. Appreciate you. Feel free to browse around for other videos where we do into more details about exactly what to do to move on this path. ❤️🙏
I just finished a project for a client, yes you go into the studio and with this original that I wrote, I emerged from the finished music product fifteen hours later. You may have days like this, so take care of yourself, it takes stamina.
One more source of knowledge from Tommy Zee, to spread some real value and wisdom towards achieving a life making music full-time....I'm in!! Congrats and good luck with the channel ;)
I did the same thing when I was younger; whereas, I tried to pitch myself to Ad agencies.... No one got back to me.... Thanks for explaining all this Tommy.... 🙏
Very interesting! But what would be the very first step you need to make in order to get things going? Let’s assume one knows how to make music and has a decent home studio - how do you begin?
AI is going to ruin this industry, just keep your heads up about that and hope for regulation... That said, I love the video and the idea, and I'll be looking into it more deeply now lol anything to end the suffering in this cubicle
So let me understand a thing, this is only for riting music for advertising? I mean what if I have already some music and I want to find someone who could need for its advertise or on tv show or film? Is it possible with you or you only make new music for advertise?
I felt the same when I first did some production music then realized - would you rather write commercial music so you can eat and write your own music, or work in a cubicle? Honestly any 'day' job involving music in anyway is more fun than anything else IF music is your real calling.
@@studiomilo I worked in radio for 20 years, writing music for commercials and I just found it very un fulfilling. It would be a backward step for me now.
I wish you good luck. I write my own material since 1986, just to discover that the music scene (at least here in Germoney) is dominated by....... Cover bands (98% of them all with the same lame repertoire). I survive hardly by giving lessons, a hotel room cleaning employee earn better as me because I am overtaxed (I worked 1 year in Austria as guitar teacher, the Germans taxed me with 1.200 euros. Life is beautiful 🤡
With the growth of royalty free music platforms, has this made finding work more difficult? Do you find that enterprise brands making commercials are most of the work or do you also feel smaller companies can pay decent money for custom music? I'm curious because as a video editor, most of the brands we work with don't have custom music, but also, I feel like an enterprise brand with a large budget would be the companies you would want to work with. I am little outside of my wheelhouse here though, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. Thanks for sharing your journey!
Smaller brands and local campaigns will indeed settle for library music most of the time. And it is bigger brands, their agencies, and production companies that will normally go through the process of sourcing original music from companies like ours...but the world is changing now - there are a lot more content creators these days and you can develop relationships with them to help them level up their content creation with original songs and sound design. It might not be as lucrative as working with a big brand - but even if you got paid $300 to jam in the studio all morning - that's something..
Do you have any questions about this niche music career path? Ask below!
yes, I do actually (I know this was posted a year ago but it's nice to see this kind of question box)
this is career path is somewhat similar to something I've been looking to pursue for some time now
that is OST/original soundtrack/score composition for forms of media
(Specifically, Japanese's Anime, though games and other things I wouldn't mind, but I have a passion for anime.)
I don't want you to think that I'm somewhat already involved in this field or close to as I'm not even finished with high school yet. (That being said I am a bass guitarist, a violinist and a soon to be pianist and am also currently learning FL studio and Muse score.)
I know this looks like a flex I just didn't want you to think I have zero experience in music
getting to the point though, my main question.
how do I get hired not but a company or brand but the developers for these things. studio/developers, whoever would be the most in charge of these form of media (game, movie, tv show ETC)
Thank you very much for taking your time to read this.
It is much appreciated.
How do you think the AI explosion will affect this career path?
I'm located in Central Florida is this a really hard nich to get into
I have basic studio equipment to need major studio equipment. To get into this industry?
How is AI affecting this business?
How do you expect it to affect this business in future?
The music industry is brutal. I have been doing music forever and still feel so lost with all my efforts. It's brilliant that you are helping others to branch out into other directions. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I believe that you helping others is just a beautiful thing. Thanks Tommy.
It is brutal indeed - had a taste of it early in my journey. One has to learn how to grow a thick skin without losing your sensitivity and soul as a creator. Appreciate your kind words. It is up to each of us to be the change that we want to see. Thanks for being here!
I have been composing and producing music for 23 years. I composed jingles and background music for brands. Produced hundreds of instrumentals and mixed thousands of songs. The orders only come through word of mouth. Just like you describe in the video, I tried contacting the brands myself and soon gave up. What you said just woke me up again. I'll watch more of your videos and hope I get wiser. Thank you!
dude - when they start selling the "how to" of the business - it means the business is well and truly saturated ( AI is already making decent stock music )
@@CFox.7 🤣🤣 TRUE! Like the recording studio owners who make "workshops" under the promise that you will be able to work in a major recording studio, where only 2% of the music market do their productions, because today each idiot (me included) had a home studio and make the mastering process online 🤡
It's all about "who" you know. You have to be in the correct circles and usually its from his experience. Someone you know reaches out to you and then you get your foot in the door.
You won't know how a business works until you're IN IT.
I will say it again, it's all about who you know.
I appreciate your enthusiasm with this but to be honest, I've dj'd for over 15 years. Doesnt matter your talent or passion, if you don't KNOW the correct people you won't get anywhere.
@@evanistrans-dimentional2092 "Hans Zimmer" entered the chat.
15 years been doing this and counting 🙌🏼
It’s the same as how I retired from the music industry by doing the forensics publishing administration. So many people were having issues getting their money and audits were not correct… I did something about it and BOOM. All of a sudden, I’m 10 points in on 260 major albums JUST for finding all of their missing money. I honestly stumbled on a conference that no one attended and Price was there… He schooled me for hours. I took that info and began hunting the large amounts first. Then I’d contact the artist and tell them about it and how to get it. I’d say, “here’s a contract for 10% if you wish to reward me.” And I’ve never had a band or artist NOT sign the contract. There, rant over… haha.
Who is Price?
Hey this is really interesting, would you mind to elaborate a little to give us some insight on how to do that ?
how can we find out about this/get your info and one of these contracts?
Good night. Thanks for sharing this story. How can we learn more about your service?
Will check your channel here for contact info. Thanks again, have a good night 🙏🏾
You mean Jeff Price?
TOMMY. You've lit a fire in me. I've been writing songs and soundtracks for decades, hundreds of catchy tunes that would be great for brand content. I need to learn the skills you've discussed. Will follow up with more of your videos.
I dig your energy! Please look around this channel as there's lots of actionable information about how to get started. The Free Training is also a good way to get a proper introduction to this "hidden world" that almost no one is talking about. Keep that fire going!
I did music for TV commercials with Ciani Musica. The budget for music for a TV spot was around $250,000. This is nothing compared with what they spend on the visuals and time on TV. The industry was killed by home studios, which are usually too small to use real musicians . All the major recording studios closed. Arranging fees were usually around $30,000. The musicians union has contracts with the three major networks, for residuals and pay rates.
what year / era was this for these budgets you mention?
What does room size have to do with whether you are a musician or not. Real musicians.. Grammy award winning musicians have recorded in bedrooms.
@@doasty I knowI was Grammy nominated for What’s Going On which we recorded at Stanley’s home but you usually cannot record a live band in someone’s bedroom
@@doasty for wind instruments such as sax it greatly effects the sound of that instrument as it’s recorded. The “sound of a room” is influenced by its size. The natural reverb is also influenced by the size. Room sound matters a lot more for acoustic bands recording “live in the moment” but it influences everything really. Hope that helps. The size of a room if money is no object can be an artistic sonic choice. Of course budget limitations can limit what size rooms are affordable. Larger room = usually higher cost
Tommy’s wisdom and mastery of this industry have made a TREMENDOUS difference in my musical growth and journey this year.
Grab a pen and a journal, there’s SO MUCH to learn from him!
Dude, I’ve been thinking about my future so much. I just finished my associates and art degree which is not gonna do anything for me in the job market as a musician, but I did learn a lot of valuable fundamentals and skills even became top of my class for jazz guitar I have all the necessary tools now to become a better musician, but I’ve been creating music since I was playing guitar at 15 years old 14 years ago you just opened my eyes and earned my subscription and I’m so happy that I found this video while working here eating my lunch at work you are doing Gods work, my friend and I appreciate you opening my eyes to more possibilities of how to make an income as a working musician with the brand deals. Thank you
This is such an amazing video. I actually got into publishing My music but honestly I've been looking for a way to do what your talking about in this video
I’m glad this resonated with you. Click around our channel for more videos that show you specific actions to take to get into our biz. Sending you good energy. 🙏
This is great! I need to go this route
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 *🎵 Alternative Music Career Path*
- Introduction to an unconventional music career path focused on creating music for brands.
- Personal experience of transitioning to this career and achieving long-term success.
- Explanation of the financial challenges in the music industry and the need for innovative revenue streams.
01:12 *💼 Opportunities in Brand Partnerships*
- Recognition of brands as lucrative opportunities for music placement and original composition.
- Insight into the demand for original music in advertising and marketing campaigns.
- Personal anecdote illustrating the discovery of the brand partnership niche and its financial potential.
04:12 *🚪 Breaking into the Industry*
- Personal journey of breaking into the music production industry for brands.
- Challenges faced in initial attempts to enter the industry without understanding its dynamics.
- Importance of seeking mentorship and understanding the industry landscape before pursuing opportunities.
07:02 *🌐 Teaching and Mentorship*
- Transition from full-time music production to mentoring aspiring musicians.
- Motivation behind sharing knowledge and empowering musicians to succeed in the industry.
- Description of an educational academy dedicated to training musicians for brand partnership opportunities.
Made with HARPA AI
Very interesting use of AI. Thanks for this
If I'ld have heard about this path years ago I would be thrilled to be sitting next to you Tommy, being a mentor is great.
The best time to plant a tree? 20 years ago. The next best time? Right now. 😎Thanks for being here Greg!
@@studiozeeandco Well said, do it folks, my roots are planted!
Thanks for this video man. I've been playing and making music for fun for like 3 years and im having trouble with the next step. There's way more to it than just creating a song and posting it on social media
Agreed. Relationship with folks who need custom music and have the ability to pay for it. That’s where it’s at. In short. Brands.
Find free music compilations to get your tracks on, it's a great promotion tool for your self...
No idea what I'm doin, but music always been there.
No such thing as coincidence, just truth talkin.
Thanks, man.
No coincidences, only signs. Amen.
Reminds me a lot about graphic design/3d work. Similar struggle as a freelancer while there are all those corporate pools of designers/3d modelers catering to large brand directly.
Love this video! You're real and true!
Appreciate your kind words!
Feel like this is the direction I need to be going in. Been really struggling to make any headway recently my journey seems to have come to a stand still. Thanks for sharing the knowledge 🙂
Stay tuned - lots more practical lessons to help you get unstuck. Thanks for being here!
Hey man. I'm a musician that feels like I am very very unique. I have exceptional theory knowledge in experimental areas from jazz, jungle/dnb, technical metal, avant garde classical...zappa.
This job sounds like a dream.
Loved the video. Just an old composer man now. Wish I had saw a career path like this for myself here in my youth. Great job on sharing.
Appreciate the good energy coming from you. I meet a lot of older composers who are bitter....unfortunately. It seems that you have a good spirit. Are you still composing?
Tommy is one of the best lads in the world - his words are gold!
Thank you Matteo! ❤️
Toronto! What up!
I see you!
My superpower is bass my man. This video is wonderful and I never thought of that either. Surprisingly considering I’ve been teaching since the late 90’s and have also been a more than avid gamer for many decades. There’s always some killer bass tracks there. Thank you.
ive been trying to get into this world for years...im excited.
I’m a struggling artist and I’m highly motivated to follow this path! I’ll check out the free course and come back with questions!
Come back with money if you're truly serious
@hitzoneproductions7858
nah
@@Nolan14235 You're not willing to put money into your career?
When I used to make music this is something I always tried to do, only back then it was very difficult to get a placement in an ad, commercial, or film. There was so much competition and the briefs look for very specific sounding tracks. Also, with all the music libraries available now it makes it even more difficult.
Always was and always will be competition. But what we try to teach musicians is that it’s not about the song - it’s about transforming yourself into a remarkable craftspeople that others will trust and keep coming back to - that’s the focus. Sync and music libraries are not about the craftsperson. It’s a lottery. Imagine if you had the reputation of someone with great skills and sensibility - that could solve creative briefs. Would people come to you or a library? You have to strive to put yourself in a place where the connections you have are immune to competition. Do you think Hans Zimmet competes with Danny Elfman? Each is their own distinct flavour that is clearly preferred by different film directors.
@@studiozeeandcomakes very good sense to me. Musicians need to think out the box and explore opportunities.
your testimony is beautiful brother! thankyou! inspiring me and leading me in the right way
thank you for your kind words! sending you love....
Good grief! A music business advice video that isn't complete bullshit! Steps back in amazement! I'm subscribing.
Glad we passed the bullsh** test - happy to have you here. I guess the difference here is we don’t do theory - we just describe what we do.
I enjoyed this. Peace to you
Peace to you as well brother. 🙏
I am so ready to pursue this type of career path I will be watching each video tonight
Right on - let us know if you have questions. Appreciate you being here!
This is something i really want to do. The idea of making music for movies really got me excited, making aounds that reprecent object and adventures feels really really cool. Time to build my skills and drive my self. Thank you
It's a clear and concrete path....and it's about you as a craftsperson selling your skills....and not about the "lottery" of sync....so go for it!
Facts! I can vouch for this... especially bougie luxury brands, they have the budget 😉🍻
very interested in the topic, subbed, keep it up brother, work being fun is something everyone should seek out.
There can't be enough videos with Mr Tommy Zee sharing these priceless pieces of wisdom! Thanks for doing this 🙏
Thank you Ivo - we're glad to have a talent like you in our family!
Thanks for the video ! Is Taxi a good service to start ? I saw its a bit expensive , anyone knows more ?
I would not recommend taxi for our corner of the world. It’s best for talented freelance musicians to reach out and make the connections with music production company producers.
Yo Zee! I'm very hip---been building up this moment in time for 22 years now as a composer-producer-engineer and singer. I was inspired from working at one of the biggest ad firms in SF during the 90's. The audio interfaces and administrative software that track data wasn't available 10 years ago. It's game ovah. Good work bro!
Thanks for being here and being hip!
Thanks for been honest and willing to share those "hidden treasure path".Thats true:those kind of doors are keep closed if You don't know how to knock to....I do music for 30 years.I almost dropped that a few times.I'm close of that again,but...
Hopefully thanks to You,I can recover and re-belive that I can finally make money on my music...
The simple reality is that brands hold all the money in the world - and they have the need for creative content....so it's logically a path that a creative cratfsperson can find commissions and projects. It's not easy - but if you have the right talent and the right approach - it becomes your daily bread. Keep moving and sending you good energy.
I've been doing music for media for years. Definitely a great career move.
Some of my favourite little sounds are somehow from commercials but they were either a piece of a song or sometimes there's songs that remind me of some thing i must have heard in an ad!
What i like in this path is the flexibility it can give you around the world
True. You can work from anywhere but you should have high speed internet for fast delivery and be aware of time differences for deadlines. Thanks for being here!
Great information! I’m glad this recommended video popped up on my computer today!
I'm glad the robots brought us together!
I do appreciate you speaking about this and sharing your knowledge and experience on this. However, as much as I would love making money out of music, I personally feel that I shouldn't write music for somebody else (in this case clients that require the music to fit to a commercial). I would rather do the music I like and enjoy, and just do it for myself. If nobody wants to pay or even listen to it, that's fine, I don't care. I'll do my own thing, as a hobby, just to have a good time and relax in my free time, maybe jam with some friends, and make a living out out of a corporate job just like most other people. But great video nonetheless!
I think it's very good that you have thought about your music conciously and made a decision about your relationship to it. I really wanted to spend my time in a creative career rather than having an unrelated day job and then doing music at night. So essentially - i made writing music for ads my dayjob - thereby keeping myself in the studio all the time - and then at the end of a long day of writing for others - I'd write for myself. But it really is up to every musician to develop their philosophy around this.
Thank you for sharing this! I’d love to learn more.
There are tons of people talking about this form of music income, for many years. It’s called sync licensing. I don’t feel like this video explains how to actually get the work for these types of projects, though.
I love the way God works. God bless you!
God Bless You Edward!
Selling those picks and shovels.
Love your content .. great stuff for independents like myself :) Thanks for sharing your experience! Always nice to have straightforward grounded people! have a fantastic day man .. just working on new material myself now that it’s fall.. :)
Love your frequency - happy to hear from folks like you. Thanks for being here!
Duuuudeee thank you!!! I was going at it all wrong! This is legendary advice
Thanks Uncle Zee! Sounds intriguing to me. I write songs and would love to pitch them to brands!
The path is here for you to walk, whenever you're ready!
I’m already walking a good path. I’m always interested in learning what you’re preaching. Now, since you’re my Uncle, that makes me your nephew ☺️
This video is 2 years old but I respect the algorithm hack bro!
If it wasn’t still relevant - we wouldn’t do it. But watching it today - everything here is still relevant and applicable in 2023. Nothing has changed. Thanks for being here. ❤️🙏
When I read about the title, my first thought was "wtf this is ridiculous, how is it possible to make money from music if you don't sell or stream your music?" but I decided to click on the video anyways, and when you told about the business, I became interested. Especially because I want to be a music producer but I don't want people to know who I am so I planned to make myself anonymous. Maybe this is the career path I'll take instead of the regular selling/streaming/touring etc so I don't have to be anonymous.
I work with a few artists who choose to not put their name on some of the commercials they make - they just want to "lease" their musical skills and get paid. It's definitely a viable idea. As long as you are able to deliver magic - no one cares what you call yourself...dive into more videos on this channel - you'll learn some specific actions to take to begin your journey. The free training is probably the most effective introduction to our business. Start there.
Hey Tommy Zee!! Congratulations on your new channel!! Thank you for being a constant source of light and inspiration for us musical Humans. xo
Thanks Jacqueline - happy to have you here! ❤️
This is dope, thanks for opening my eyes on this ❤️
Great to hear about your path Tommy. And thanks for sharing your experience and advice, and congratulations on securing your career path! In my path so far, I've managed to land a bunch of commissions for corporate, commercial work here in Japan, but still struggle to get consistent work, (my mainstay is exporting bass guitars so I still work in the field daily) but that is probably because I haven't got tied to a good agent as yet. Would love to do more of that kind of work as I have an abundance of ideas play guitar, bass, drums, keys and can do vocals (to an extent). Always interested in licencing opportunities, if you need any one to work on stuff on short order in multiple styles let me know. I have the time, a fairly extensive portfolio of varying work, and a home studio at my disposal.
Greetings from Japan!
Thanks for the video, this business models fits me very well, let's take a dive into it. Thanks again very interesting!
Thanks as a weekend musician and bass teacher. This is great information. I will subscribe to channel and learn more.😊
This is gold 🔥🔥
thanks Fiona - you're an incredible talent and we're happy you're a part of our family! ❤️
Subscribed and shared - all the best!
Appreciate it!
yo this is such a fantastic video! world peace!
You have to have a rare mindset to want to create music that is deemed appropriate for current advertising.
00:38 click here to start the video
Great video. To be fair I notice it was uploaded two years ago, however the recent creation of Stable Audio AI will make this business model much much harder now. Good luck though, it’s probably still worth looking into.
We ourselves are very curious about how AI will affect the business - and in that spirit - we have invited the top industry insiders from the world of music and AI to a conversation with us on this very channel - stay tuned for that! I appreciate your thoughtful comment Charlie. Thanks for being here!
As someone who has had a few jobs for a music production company let me say the fallowing:
- I didn't think I was good enough until my stuff actually got picked and released.
- the companies will pay you as little as they can. Don't expect your first invoice to have a number on it that excites you like Zee was excited when he wrote his first invoice. There is still lots of money in the industry but it's not easy to actually get a good percentage of it.
- these companies don't need fancy studios anymore and so they might actually not have one.
- Having only one revision on your layout and then it's already getting released is a highly unlikely scenario from my experience. Usually you'll have a lot of layouts from different producers, then the client likes different stuff from different layouts, then you try to combine them, then the client (hopefully) likes the direction it's going and after 5 revisions it's actually ready for release.
You’re absolutely right on all points. My first gig in the biz was an exception in many ways. But you can still see big cheques - it’s just a lottery. If you happen to be on the right gig - you can get big final fees. All depends on the right campaign and right usage. Thanks for sharing your insights. 👍🙏
do its not a stable income i guess??
@@Benjamin-vx2otTrue. They could stop hiring you any time. Life as a freelancer 🤷♀
Hello Tommy, how can I reach out to you please?
Hi Elam C,
If you don't get a response, maybe I can help answer your questions.
I'm just a musician who wants to help. Totally free of charge.
Very cool, thanks for sharing your experience. Not my Avenue, but good for somebody out there. 👍
Your right, networking is soooo important.
Everything that is best in your life happens because of relationships.
Great video Zee, def did a lot of the same mistakes when starting out. Jumped in to full-time waaaaay too early
Small steps every day. Patience and perseverance. And other cliche words that actually turn out to be true. Thanks for being here.
Thanks brother
I’d love to learn more, how.
Thank you
Thanks for sharing this inspirational video , subscribed . 👍👍👍
Thanks for being here. Appreciate you. Feel free to browse around for other videos where we do into more details about exactly what to do to move on this path. ❤️🙏
I just finished a project for a client, yes you go into the studio and with this original that I wrote, I emerged from the finished music product fifteen hours later. You may have days like this, so take care of yourself, it takes stamina.
You got it. That’s why routines and keeping your mind body and spirit healthy is key to a long term marathon well run.
Yes Tommy! 🔥
So sync licensing?
Nope. Making music from scratch. 👍
Great video, Really got me thinking :) it must be awesome to be able to make a living from doing music!
One more source of knowledge from Tommy Zee, to spread some real value and wisdom towards achieving a life making music full-time....I'm in!! Congrats and good luck with the channel ;)
Curious, how long have you being doing this? When did you start?
I did the same thing when I was younger; whereas, I tried to pitch myself to Ad agencies.... No one got back to me.... Thanks for explaining all this Tommy.... 🙏
That's why we're here. Glad to be of help.
Same..basically. The most I ever got from music school was an unpaid studio internship and a few $12/hr jobs at a/v companies doing event sound.
Very interesting! But what would be the very first step you need to make in order to get things going? Let’s assume one knows how to make music and has a decent home studio - how do you begin?
Watch this. ruclips.net/video/c70IMNkDts0/видео.htmlsi=YMPK6eggtcHLVDMt
AI is going to ruin this industry, just keep your heads up about that and hope for regulation... That said, I love the video and the idea, and I'll be looking into it more deeply now lol anything to end the suffering in this cubicle
The background music is amazing BTW!
3:29 Thank you so much for this!!!
Thank you for being here!
Encouraging, I still not have clear my path into audio/music but would love to follow up!
Subscribed man looking forward to the valuable priceless info and someday getting a campaign someday
Thank you brother.
How is that going ???
Tommy 🔥👑
So let me understand a thing, this is only for riting music for advertising? I mean what if I have already some music and I want to find someone who could need for its advertise or on tv show or film? Is it possible with you or you only make new music for advertise?
I don't want to write jingles for a living, I want to make music!
I feel the same way! Take a look at our work and show me where you hear jingles and not real music. www.tommyzee.co
I felt the same when I first did some production music then realized - would you rather write commercial music so you can eat and write your own music, or work in a cubicle? Honestly any 'day' job involving music in anyway is more fun than anything else IF music is your real calling.
@@studiomilo I worked in radio for 20 years, writing music for commercials and I just found it very un fulfilling. It would be a backward step for me now.
I wish you good luck. I write my own material since 1986, just to discover that the music scene (at least here in Germoney) is dominated by....... Cover bands (98% of them all with the same lame repertoire). I survive hardly by giving lessons, a hotel room cleaning employee earn better as me because I am overtaxed (I worked 1 year in Austria as guitar teacher, the Germans taxed me with 1.200 euros. Life is beautiful 🤡
@@SidAlienTV being an artist is a blessing and a curse. Good luck to you my friend.
Well who are the music production companies we need to reach out to?
Great! Thank you 🙏
Thanks for being here Danielle.
Great content. I struggled with this myself and still do, but you are correct.
Appreciate you being here.
I am trying to figure out Session Studio.
Thank you for dropping absolute gems. Much appreciated.
If you don't mind, what's the name of the microphone you used in this video?
EV RE20
@@cymbolic_space1832 Thanks
@@UrbanCraftTvone of my all time faves. Especially in black!
Can i do this from the UK?
What
Of course.
Great Tutorial!
Thanks for being here!
I chuckled when you mentioned Audi as i recently wrote a song called, she loves my Audi
This is really awesome
Great video interested in the branding new to your channel!
With the growth of royalty free music platforms, has this made finding work more difficult? Do you find that enterprise brands making commercials are most of the work or do you also feel smaller companies can pay decent money for custom music?
I'm curious because as a video editor, most of the brands we work with don't have custom music, but also, I feel like an enterprise brand with a large budget would be the companies you would want to work with. I am little outside of my wheelhouse here though, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. Thanks for sharing your journey!
Smaller brands and local campaigns will indeed settle for library music most of the time. And it is bigger brands, their agencies, and production companies that will normally go through the process of sourcing original music from companies like ours...but the world is changing now - there are a lot more content creators these days and you can develop relationships with them to help them level up their content creation with original songs and sound design. It might not be as lucrative as working with a big brand - but even if you got paid $300 to jam in the studio all morning - that's something..
Very interesting!
Brother. You are speaking my language!
Glad we're on the same frequency - much love to you.
❤ ty for video you opened my mind godbless