making money with music isn't a good idea if you rely only on album.
I am but a dreamer of impossible feats, of lands unknown and worlds unexplored.
Age 30, Male
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Comments
Yes, which is why I spread out to music commissions and commercial tracks/trailer soundtracks.
Troisnyx
I think, where there is an audience for music, there is always going to be a fraction of that audience who would like to purchase it. Cinematic music does not initially start off by getting "sold" as much; rather, it starts off with a good place in a good trailer that fits the atmosphere that it's trying to convey. Once the trailer and the film are well-received, then and ONLY THEN comes the soundtrack, which, almost purely because of the film, people will buy it.
And I agree, the hardest part of being a musician is self-promotion. We are musicians. We are not businessmen, selling our wares. We are here to give a feel, something that has been severely lacking in the big music scene for years since it got heavily taken over by men in business suits. I think the more people have this in mind, the better it will be. But it is an attitude that needs changing, and needs to be started by a big group of us. Not everything has to be reduced to "how much does this cost?".
Grandvision
The trailer industry is quite sporadic at times, people that edit trailers up seek specific music for their trailers, and could be anything ranging from what they listen to on various sites or on royalty free stock music offers such as Audiojungle. They are seeking a track that just works with the vision they have in mind, so your track could be chosen, or not, you are fighting against a million other talented composers out there, the trick is being consistent and also professional with the compositions, that fit a certain niche. I always composed music from the heart, and didn't cater to any standard or way of thinking that music should SOUND this way, I always tried to go for my own sound, which is probably why my music isn't commercially viable, at least the tracks that I didn't have a "commercial approach" in mind. At Any Cost was commercial, strictly was composed to be commercialized, but it still wasn't on Audiojungle because it did not meet their standards for some reason, weird to me, but oh well, you live and you learn. I'd love to compose something more coherent to a trailer of something bigger than indie but then again I haven't even tried contacting Indie animators or film makers to offer music. It's a very weird business to get into, you need connections and to show yourself professionally that you can do it, and you can do something more that thousands of others are offering the very same thing. Style can be one of them, something that sticks to you, or you could be catering to the trend such as Electronic orchestral soundtracks with sweeping hybrid instruments and industrial feel. It's all about knowing your job section inside and out and having the right network of people, which can take years to develop and find.