Last week I posted the first part of my 5 Ways to Become a Better Film Composer, which focused more on the non-musical side of the profession. This week is part two, and I'll be focusing more on the musical aspects. Today's film composer is very interesting, it's not at all the same as the classically trained composer of the pre-1970s or 80s eras. Because of this, there have been some drastic changes in musical styles and aesthetics in film, so today I'll try to be broad about the genres, but will include some things I think are still very necessary.

There's a lot that goes into being a good film composer, it's more than writing good music and having expensive equipment. This is the first of a two-part list where I'll give you a few ideas on how to be a better film composer. This is not a "how-to" post, but rather a list to inspire you to take a critical look at yourself as a musician and address areas you can improve upon. When you're confident in your abilities, I also have an article for 10 Ways to Make Money as a Film Composer!

It's true that working in the music industry is incredibly competitive, and making a living as a musician can seem impossible for many musicians. The truth is that in today's music industry, for most musicians, it is impossible to make a living doing just one thing, but it's not impossible to make a living if you're able to find income from various sources - this is how many musicians work today, and I'd argue it's the only way to work today. You shouldn't stretch yourself too thin with these income sources - you can master only a small handful of skills and use those to generate lots of options. Let's take a look at 10 ways to make money as a film composer:

The Fans of Film Music Society began in 2008, when Film Score Monthly president Lukas Kendall decided to invite fans to get together and meet one another. The first official Fans of Film Music event wasn't until 2010, when Kendall passed the event leadership over to Peter Hackman. Each year, the event brings in composers and music enthusiasts of all levels, with panelists such Harry Manfredini, Chris Young, Bruce Broughton, and many other amazingly talented musicians. I have yet to make it to a gathering, but one of these days I will. For those of us who weren't able to attend this year, The Fans of Film Music Society has posted video of the panels!

Normally I write articles directly relating to the music and film industries, but today I wanted to talk about something that consumes many of our lives: the pursuit of "success." For many people success means money and authority, for others it's related to health and quality of life.  In the music industry it's often getting signed to a label, scoring a hit TV show or blockbuster movie, or working with a company or individual we consider "successful." Some people are even willing to give up everything else they have just for a chance to be "successful" in the music industry, with no guarantees of course. In this article, I'll talk about some recent thoughts I've had on "success" and a few ways you can find it for yourself.

It's no secret that, in today's music industry, we are all expected to wear several hats - and, in many cases, it is absolutely required in order to find any sort of success. So maybe you're a composer or songwriter, and let's say you're working on maybe a TV show or a movie or a short indie film. Among many other hats you may have to wear, one that is very likely to come up is the music editor hat. So what is a music editor? What do they do? And why should you, the writer, have to deal with it?