Film Music: The World View
In recent weeks I’ve traveled to Australia, Beijing, Los Angeles and New York, and have noted a significant increase in the “world view” in terms of how composers, songwriters and musicians worldwide see the world of film music, and how they are structuring their careers to take advantage of new global opportunities. Some observations:
Composers: Regionalization vs LA-Centric Attitudes
In the past, many composers outside the US believed that to be successful, they needed to move to Los Angeles and compete with LA composers for the attention of filmmakers. More and more this is not the case, with composers in different countries finding more and more local independent film opportunities where the films are being picked up by top Hollywood distributors, providing more exposure, visibility and prestige for the composers involved. While many composers still look to LA as the “top of the mountain” of film scoring, composers are increasingly able to live elsewhere and work with LA filmmakers via Internet, thanks to a new generation of Internet-savvy filmmakers who look globally for the talent and music they need.
Licensing: Worldwide Dealmaking Today
Since licensing music doesn’t involve face-to-face contact in most cases, the world of music licensing has already taken on a significant international component. Composers and songwriters worldwide pitch their music to libraries, production companies and music supervisors on a daily basis via the Internet, and with some luck and a lot of talent, an international composer can find some significant success working with US production companies and libraries. Likewise, US composers may want to spend more time and resources considering the increasing regional and international marketplace for licensed music and score composers for international films.
Score Recording: More Orchestras, More Recording Opportunities
While the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) union considers whether to offer buyouts for film and television score recordings as the rest of the world does, an increasing number of international orchestras are competing for score recording projects, for both face-to-face live scoring and scoring live via Internet using Source Connect ProTools plug-ins to provide a “live” studio experience. The increased number of orchestras present composers with more options, both financially and musically, for using live instruments in their score recordings. We’re also seeing increased competition within the US for score recording, with Seattle keeping very busy (some months working 20+ scoring days a month) and new competitors like Louisiana, and soon Arizona creating new opportunities for composers. The AFM faces a very tough decision: offer a buyout to better compete with the growing number of domestic and international scoring orchestras, or preserve residual payments to protect US musicians’ hard-fought benefits, gained over decades of negotiations. There’s no easy answer to that question, and AFM President Tom Lee has the unenviable task of trying to carve out a solution that addresses both international competitive aspects and the livelihoods and existing contract benefits enjoyed by AFM recording musicians.
While there are those in our industry that will bemoan the fact that more composers, songwriters and musicians are competing for a finite amount of work, I cannot support that attitude. Things are evolving quickly in all aspects of our culture, technology and business, and the music industry is no exception. The record industry complained and ignored the worldwide “free music” Napster phenomenon until it was too late, and now what’s left of the record industry spends much of its time and money playing catch-up, trying to salvage what’s left of its business with questionable schemes including lawsuits against individual music users and adding recording industry fees to college tuition bills to compensate for file sharing.
Composers, songwriters and musicians focusing on the film and television market cannot afford not to be aware of the worldwide aspects of the industry, and the worldwide competition. While worldwide competition may make things tougher and more competitive, smart musicians will realize that the same expanded world environment also presents new opportunities for work and career success, whether it’s accessing a foreign indie film market for composing or licensing gigs, or musicians playing on an international composer’s tracks via recording by Internet.
The real danger is not global competition, it’s ignoring global competition and not factoring it into your overall career plan.
