How to Become a Music Composer or Sound Effects Designer

It is a daunting task to try and become a professional sound designer or music composer for television, film, and new media. A hopeful audio professional can face choice anxiety on how and where to find work, promote their art, and create a paying business even though music in media is clearly everywhere. The following step by step method is very simple but absolutely effective in moving from a bedroom musician or studio rat to a independent professionally paid music composer or sound designer.
1. Sift through all of your previous mixes and sounds to create a demo of 30 second clips categorized according to mood, genre etc. to give to prospective clients either on CD or hosted online.
2. Build a website which includes demo samples, a short relevant bio, credits, and a video reel of any previous work.
3. Hunt out low paying or even free gigs in order to gain credits and experience, establish business relationships, and build your resume, using your demo and website for demonstration of your work.
4. Grow a database of prospective clients with budgets by contacting video editors, producers, directors, post-production companies, and animators. Find these people, by joining professional organizations, asking family and friends, finding gigs through online posts, participating in online film group forums, and cold emailing the above mentioned persons.
5. Follow up on prospects and check in every few months via email and send out a periodic e-newsletter regarding your work, your services, and interesting industry information or tips.
6. Build skills and knowledge in all aspects of audio including audio sweetening and mixing including relevant skills such as FTP, video conversion, and the differences in sample rates and file types.
7. Have contracts at the ready for music licensing and invoice templates for billing.
Follow the above 7 steps to create a career as a music composer and sound effects designer out of thin air. The clients are out there in all forms and music is needed everywhere and with the world wide web the entire world is literally at your fingertips. The above process from start to finish may take two to three years of determined effort, but it will work if your talent and skills are up to par. The demand for music and audio is great but elusive. However, when your preparation meets the opportunities you create, your career will catapult.

Article Source: http://www.mycontentbuilder.com

In addition to writing articles, SFXsource also offers vast amounts of royalty free production music which can be listened to Music Library and hosts an sfx library at Sound Effects

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated