The BIG picture and the importance of style

[MichaelL]

Hi David,

Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge with the EW Forum.

1) Many of the posts seem to be focused on career development, i.e., "how do I make it big -- like you?" Could you comment on opportunities for composers, other than scoring "blockbusters," such as television, gaming, "smaller" independent films, and advertising? It seems that some of these opportunities are decentralized from L.A, (and while they do not offer the glamour and perceived Hollywood fees, it IS possible to earn a living, and the royalties can provide ongoing passive income.

2) There also seems to be some discomfort among posters who are concerned that broad access to inexpensive high quality sounds (EW) will dilute the composers' market. Could you comment on the importance of developing one's own sound/style, vs being able to copy your sound, or John Williams', or Nick Phoenix's...?

Thank you,

Michael

[David Newman]

I don't really know that much about opportunities for young composers. I do know there are more outlets to study then there used to be but there are also so many people that want to be film composers. My life has been in LA doing Studio Films (at least mostly) - I can speak to that but not the other career paths. Royalties are fantastic....but?? you need lots of product for it to really pay. I don't worry about technology diluting anything. Technology has always been a part of music that all composers, musicians thoughout time have had to deal with. You want develop your own voice, whatever that is. That is the difficult aspect of composing for any medium. Best of luck