The Protege Podcast

We’ve had a couple of weeks off from the podcast while I got married to my wonderful partner, Kate.

Marriage is a lifelong commitment - and just like in the trailer/library music world you have to commit yourself to it fully if you want to succeed.  The weekend just gone has inspired this week's topic and it’s such an important thing to keep in mind when working on your music and working with publishers.  Committing to sounds and moving on with tracks is an incredibly important key to writing consistently licensable music.

In this episode I talk through all the advantages of committing to all aspects of your career.

If you have any questions, composers you’d like me to interview or would like to hear me cover something on the podcast please feel free to email me: info@protégé.school
 
If you would like to apply to be in the coming year of the Protégé Masterclass then you can follow this link to fill out your application: https://protege.school/lp/protege-master-class/  

In this week's episode of Composer Stories we talk to  Shane Farnan, musician, composer and member of the team at the Protege School and Blue Pearl publishing.

We talk about Shane's background and the his path to becoming part of the Protege team with Guy, Vik & Rich.

Then we discuss writing processes, referencing, solutions to some common problems we face when composing and of course, a chat about favorite plugins and libraries!

If you have any questions, composers you’d like me to interview or would like to hear me cover something on the podcast please feel free to email me: info@protégé.school
 
If you would like to apply to be in the coming year of the Protégé Masterclass then you can follow this link to fill out your application: https://protege.school/lp/protege-master-class/  

How to increase your chances of getting picked up by music libraries and publishers is a question that seems to come up on a daily basis. While there are no strict rules on how to network with potential colleagues and clients there are some absolute 'no no's' and some things that go a long way to give you a big old thumbs up.

What it really boils down to is making sure you know who you're contacting. Address them personally and avoid generic emails. Plan your submissions carefully and make sure your catering to the needs of a specific library you want to work with.

You can ask yourself these questions:

What do you see this library regularly releasing?
Do you have knowledge on the types of composers they sign up?
How many albums do they release a year and in what genres do they release?
Can you offer them something unique?

In this episode and I share with you everything I know about getting your foot in the door with the right libraries. Libraries that don't just accept your tracks but get your tracks placed on Trailers, TV and Advertising and get you paid!

If you have any questions, composers you’d like me to interview or would like to hear me cover something on the podcast please feel free to email me: info@protégé.school
 
If you would like to apply to be in the coming year of the Protégé Masterclass then you can follow this link to fill out your application: https://protege.school/lp/protege-master-class/  

In this week's episode of Composer Stories we talk to Rory Cairnduff, sync and licensing manager at Elephant music and an incredibly respected composer in his own right. 

We cover his custom work on the new Rainbow Six trailer in great detail, his experience writing music for indie films and composing for his football team of choice: Glasgow Rangers! 

As with a lot of these podcasts we go deep into his process, workflow and mindset. What Rory brings is an incredible amount of inside knowledge on what it’s like dealing with music supervisors, editors and clients while coming from the mindset of a composer.

If you have any questions, composers you’d like me to interview or would like to hear me cover something on the podcast please feel free to email me: info@protégé.school
 
If you would like to apply to be in the coming year of the Protégé Masterclass then you can follow this link to fill out your application: https://protege.school/lp/protege-master-class/  

It’s so exciting to be back after a long extended break. Things may have been quiet with the podcast this year but The Protégé school and Blue Pearl Music Library has been in full swing. We’re coming to the end of our first year and it’s been an incredible experience for everybody involved. The students have risen to the challenges we’ve thrown at them and myself, Vik and Rich have taken a lot from what has been an incredible year with an incredible group of composers. Protégé and Blue Pearl has been expanding with Shane Farnan being at the forefront of helping steer the ship in the right direction.
 
 It’s also been a great year so far for me personally. I’ve moved house, been blessed with a good number of awesome placements and plenty of music has been written!
 
 It’s the right time to get this podcast back up and running. We’ve got some AWESOME chats lined up over the coming months.
 
 If you have any questions, composers you’d like me to interview or would like to hear me cover something on the podcast please feel free to email me: info@protégé.school
 
 If you would like to apply to be in the coming year of the Protégé Masterclass then you can follow this link to fill out your application: https://protege.school/lp/protege-master-class/ 

This week on the Composer Stories podcast: Christmastime Is Here!

In honor of the holidays, Guy spends some time this episode talking about producing cover versions of classic Christmas music.  When should you start producing an album?  Who would be interested in it?  What is the process?  What Christmas songs can you cover without infringing on copyrights?

Guy talks about all that and more - even a musical demo or two in Logic!

Thanks to you all for listening this year - have a safe and happy holiday season and we'll see you early next year!

Check out https://protege.school/ to try a free music production course from Protege.

Hello and welcome to another Composer Stories podcast! This week we talk to Simon Haglund. If you've heard any of his music you know exactly who wrote it the minute you hear it start. He has developed a unique sound and we talk about the advantages of being unique in an industry where it's so hard to put your own stamp on things.

He gives us some cheeky hidden features of a couple of sound toys plugins and some of his production secrets as well some pointers on how to continue to get work when so many composers are after those spots with publishers.

Be original, work hard and be reliable. That sums up what we talk about in this podcast and it really is a must listen if you're wanting to break into the world of music licensing and trailer music.

Check out https://protege.school/ to try a free music production course from Protege.

This is an incredibly special one, we're not going to hear from one guest, not two guests but 11 of the most successful working composers in the trailer music and music licensing business today. It's the aftermath of Black Friday and it's a chance for us to buy all the plugins and gear that we've wanted at HUGE discounts.

Here's a full list of who we're going to hear from today!

Kent Carter
Simon Haaglund
Sergiu Muresan
Joël Dollié
Aaron Harris
Richard Schrieber
Shane Farnan
Espen Haagensli
Michael Maas
James Murray
Cody Still

That is some pedigree and I'm hugely grateful of such a wonderful community we all work in. This is a huge amount of insight from some of the front runners in our industry.

Check out https://protege.school/ to try a free music production course from Protege.

Hello and welcome to another Composer Stories Podcast, brought to you by Protege!

Today we're talking to Ash Cutler. He's an incredible mix and master engineer but also an incredible composer and live performer. He's performed all over the world with a highlight being a year ago supporting Bon Jovi on his recent cruise live show.

When he's not performing he composes for various libraries and makes a majority of his living producing artists, mixing and mastering.

We talk about:

-His musical background
-Ash's approach to mixing a track
-His DAW
-What his favourite Plugins are
-What he looks for in a mix
-Common errors he hears in other people's mixes
-What are the most important things when approaching a mix

Check out https://protege.school/ to try a free music production course from Protege.

In this weeks episode we talk to the amazing Matthew Cotterill. He's an incredible producer, engineer and composer. He's seen placements on the global rugby world up advertisements as well as a gigantic list of mixing and mastering credits.

- Finding your own feet in the industry
- The advantages of being a chameleon
- Mixing in the box
- Outboard gear
- UAD interfaces and plugins
- Outboard gear emulations: There own things or should they be exact replicas? 

Check out https://protege.school/ to try a free music production course from Protege.