Frustrated Composer

Director: I want to use these pieces you wrote in my short film. Me: Great! These pieces are freely available for royalty free use. Just make sure to credit me and send me a copy of the film so I can see how you use my music. Director: Ooooh...This is going to hit the festival circuit and I don't feel comfortable sharing the film during that time period. Me: I understand your concerns and don't want you to have to worry about the film getting leaked. I release freely useable music to help out independent projects and just like to see where my material ends up. Would you be able to send me a copy once the festival rounds are over? Director: It might be like 8 months from now, and I would need you to sign an NDA Me: I have no problem with that. Let me know what works for you. Director: I don't feel comfortable with sharing my film with anyone. I'm taking your music out. My reaction when...

I don't know about anyone else, but I find most of the struggle is telling all the former teachers, mentors, lecturers, senpais, etc, who currently live in my head to shut up. Sometimes it's extremely satisfying to write something cheesy and riddled with clichés. Sometimes the most brilliant move is to not be brilliant. Write with reckless abandon and don't let the radio, academic institutions, colleagues, or your inner demons dictate what you do.

Let alone that I've already done that, this is somehow worse when the program they suggest has no noteable prestige. Also, you couldn't pay me enough to revisit undergrad.

It's legitimate and the people who tastefully employ these resources never let them make the bulk of a track. I just can't work like that.

This look of equal parts scrutiny, confusion, and general disapproval intensifies if your discussing it with the family of a signficant other.

Unless the person you're working with knows what they're doing and does it enough to respect the craft, I feel like using a pre-fabricated melody would make rates go up. Aside from severely limiting what could be done compositionally, it usually means that the person has a very specific idea of what the end result will sound like; no matter how good you are, it likely means any derivation from this expectation will be considered a failure. I'll do it, but there's a considerable fee involved if you want to use my experience and training to play "backseat composer".

I typically buy good quality gear because I expect to have it for a long time. I know some things have a shelf life, and invest accordingly. Computers need to be updated when they are no longer fast enough to keep up with software demands, and sometimes hardware breaks or just wears out. When everything is fine and the manufacturer just decides to phase something out, I start to question their commitment to sparkle-motion. I apparently need to buy a new interface, but will look into investing in a more stable brand.

Thank you! I wouldn’t keep composing if I didn’t absolutely love it, so it’s not all frustration.