{"id":7,"date":"2012-07-02T18:52:09","date_gmt":"2012-07-02T18:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dkwmusicworks.com\/blog\/?p=7"},"modified":"2012-07-03T20:25:31","modified_gmt":"2012-07-03T20:25:31","slug":"thats-a-very-competitive-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dkwmusicworks.com\/blog\/2012\/07\/02\/thats-a-very-competitive-field\/","title":{"rendered":"That\u2019s a Very Competitive Field"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThat\u2019s a very competitive field<\/em>.\u201d<\/em> Now I realize that this is quite an unusual way for two, aspiring Film Composers to begin an introductory Blog. But since my Composing Partner Eric Nedelman and I formed our partnership for San Diego-based DKW Musicworks in 1996, this<\/span> has been THE response we\u2019ve gotten from almost EVERYONE, family, friends or others, when we stated our Career Goals, and the one response that probably 99.9% of aspiring and successful Film Composers alike, have heard as well.<\/p>\n

But whether one admits it or not, it\u2019s the single, most important response we\u2019ll hear, one that will be THE Driving-Force for our Journey; which is why I felt compelled to name our Blog as such, and why I\u2019ve chosen to kick it off it, by focusing on this, particular statement.<\/p>\n

At first, you\u2019re naturally put-off by this response, since there are SO many negative ways in which to take it; \u2018What, am I not talented, passionate, or disciplined enough?\u2019 <\/em>And when it\u2019s coming from loved-ones or friends where you expected the most support, you either think or say out loud; \u2018Well, thanks a lot! I didn\u2019t expect that coming from you, what do you know anyway, \u00a0you\u2019re not a composer, you\u2019re not me, you don\u2019t know about the Business, how it works, what I\u2019m capable of, it\u2019ll be different for ME\u2026,\u2019<\/em> etc.<\/p>\n

But after the initial shock wears off, you must admit to yourself what really<\/span> bothers you about this response: It\u2019s TRUE.<\/p>\n

The harsh reality is<\/span>, Composers have ALWAYS outnumbered the jobs offered in the Entertainment Industry, whether they\u2019re for Film, TV, Radio, or newer media that\u2019s been popularized over the last couple of decades, such as Video Gaming, or Online sites. And most of those jobs go to those Composers who already \u201cIn.\u201d So to hear what you already know<\/span> to be true, and from someone you expected to get a boost from, can be quite defeating when you\u2019re your just coming out-of-the-gate. However, aside from the \u201cunexpected\u201d, it\u2019s what one does<\/span> with this statement, which will dictate the course of their careers.<\/p>\n

As seasoned Composers who have spent more time trying to \u201cBreak-In\u201d than getting \u201cBreaks,\u201d aside from the most obvious, there are three Key things Eric and I have learned, along the way:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Being Talented Or Having Connections Are NO Guarantee<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure there are many Composers out there who, along with their bruised egos, have fallen by the wayside, for assuming that because they were \u201cTalented-Geniuses\u201d, they would immediately stand-out and get work. But fact is, there are many more<\/span> so-called \u201cUntalented\u201d Composers who get steady-work in Hollywood, than there are talented geniuses. And, while we never considered ourselves to be \u201cGeniuses\u201d as Musicians, in the beginning we both naively assumed that because we had talent, it wouldn\u2019t be as hard, or take that long for us \u201cto make it.\u201d And later on, assumed that using \u201cFamily Connections\u201d such as Eric\u2019s Cousin Kelli Ross, former Vice President at RCA Records\u00a0http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pub\/kelli-ross\/8\/b55\/4b5, would finally \u201copen doors\u201d for us.<\/p>\n

But when things didn\u2019t end up happening the way we thought they would, we quickly ate and absorbed the slices of \u201cHumble-Pie\u201d that were handed to us, and wisely applied them to our continuing efforts.<\/p>\n

2. Promotion, Promotion, Promotion!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Like many Musicians who \u201cjust want to create,\u201d the one thing<\/span> Eric and I have been VERY lousy at is \u201cSelf-Promotion,\u201d with me much more than Eric, as I could get totally lost in Composing pieces and hoped that just by posting it online, or sending out demos to a select few it after they were done, would be enough. But it takes constant PR to even get an Agent that can get you work to pay attention to you; And after Eric finally called me on this, forcing me to admit this weakness in myself, timed with reading an inspirational post from online friend Anne Marie Howard\u2019s Blog, (http:\/\/queenofeverythinginc.blogspot.com\/<\/a>), I vowed to take it Head-On, beginning with getting our own Website up and running, and using services such as Facebook, ReverbNation, Google+, Constant Contact , and renewing our former, joint TAXI Music Service membership this year, all in an effort to jumpstart our promotional efforts. And though we\u2019ve dealt with some initial setbacks, such as choosing to use \u201cFlash\u201d to create our site, over the standard HTML that people have more access to, we took it as another<\/span> slice of that \u201cPie\u201d to eat, and are<\/span> moving forward.<\/p>\n

3. It Won\u2019t Happen Overnight, So Stick With It<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

As you\u2019ve probably figured out by the \u201cSeasoned\u201d comment, Eric and I have been going at this for quite some time. And unless you\u2019re one of the lucky few, I can guarantee you will NOT \u201cMake-It\u201d overnight. But this<\/span> is where the statement, \u201cThat\u2019s a very competitive field<\/em>\u201d really comes into play, since there will come a time when even the most confident Composer will reach a crossroads, when it\u2019s taken longer than they thought to achieve a degree of success as a \u201cWorking-Composer,\u201d \u00a0when the self-doubt that you\u2019d managed to keep on the Back-Burner for so longs comes forward, and you begin to ask those questions, the ones you were hoping you\u2019d avoid because you were SO sure you\u2019d \u201cMade-It\u201d beforehand: \u201cAm I really as good as I think I am, or have I been kidding myself all along? Do I want to keep pursuing this, or join the \u201cReal World,\u201d find a steady 9-5 Job, and raise a family before it\u2019s too late?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Though Eric and I have never<\/span> doubted our \u201cabilities\u201d to the point of giving up, and managed to balance Music with the \u201cReal World\/Life\u201d for the first few years, starting in 1999, we\u2019ve both dealt with a series of events, Good and\/or Bad, where Music and Life \u00a0have collided, with Music taking the brunt of the blows: Marriage; Caregiving for, then losing a Loved-One; Having to study abroad; Getting a home, and a full time job outside of Music to keep it; A surreal, 4-year period where we didn\u2019t even have a Working- Studio; Welcoming new family members; and, dealing with a late family-member\u2019s betrayal, with a huge mess left behind that has yet to be completely cleaned-up.<\/p>\n

At certain points, one or more of these events have put either Eric or me at that \u201cCrossroads-Moment,\u201d where we considered throwing-in-the-towel. And living in a \u201cParadise-City\u201d such as San Diego, where it\u2019s WAY too easy to kick-back and to NOT do things outside of the usual on a regular basis, a city that makes L.A. seem like a far-away foreign country in comparison, can make an agenda like ours especially challenging.<\/p>\n

And any ONE of these events could compel an aspiring Professional Composer to just \u201cforget about it,\u201d and sadly, for MANY who have experienced similar<\/span> issues, it has<\/span>.<\/p>\n

But thankfully, Eric and I share two \u201cVoices\u201d inside of us that will simply NOT leave us alone to settle for anything less than what we\u2019re capable of achieving in our lives: A Passion for Music, and Tenacity. And as long as these two voices are constantly nagging away, we cannot<\/span>, and will not<\/span> give-up.<\/p>\n

So join us on our<\/span> Journey, as we Blog about working towards our ultimate goal to become Film Composers, including the \u201cNon-Musical\u201d High and Low moments that will accompany our efforts, which can\u2019t be helped but be put Front and Center, initially; After all, it is<\/span> \u201cA Very Competitive Field.\u201d<\/p>\n

~Derwin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThat\u2019s a very competitive field.\u201d Now I realize that this is quite an unusual way for two, aspiring Film Composers to begin an introductory Blog. But since my Composing Partner Eric Nedelman and I formed our partnership for San Diego-based … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film-composer"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dkwmusicworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dkwmusicworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dkwmusicworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dkwmusicworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dkwmusicworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.dkwmusicworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.dkwmusicworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7\/revisions\/40"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dkwmusicworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dkwmusicworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dkwmusicworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}