Besides, of course, composing and producing music for the projects you're hired to, what else do you do that has made you get more visibility on the job market as a professional?
-And what has worked the best for you?

For example, I really like playing some covers on the piano. For a while I've being posting them on Instagram and associated it to my persona as a videogame/multimedia composer. Not so rarely some people reach out to me specifically interested on my work after watching some videos, which I'm always happy to talk about and show more of it.

Also, I really like writing articles on a big variety of themes that I like learning about (silent-era films, classical music, entrepreneurship, etc); when I believe it might relate with music composition or media, I also post it on my professional website - again linking my professional persona with the knowledge on those texts.

Both of these methods are way more successful on attracting people outside of the industry than potential clients, but just by bringing people who are willing to listen and knowing your work makes it worth — and I like doing it anyway.

And for you? What has worked the best?

Always better to serve other people first and let them come to you, rather than the other way around. I think to really stand out, you have to be a specialist in some field. For me, I've decided to focus all my attention on composing for video-games primarily in the orchestral and electronic styles. The number of clients is narrower, yes, but if a developer is looking for an orchestral/electronic score for their game, they are much more likely to come to me than someone who dabbles in everything music.

For me it's all about the slow burn. Sure, you can do certain things to have a lot of exposure pretty quickly but it may not be the best kind of exposure.

- What I try to do is be active in my industry. I interact with artists and other devs on projects I'm not working on. This could be as simple as just saying a compliment on someone's art style. Or commenting on a game design feature you admire. The key thing here is it's not self serving. I'm just interacting, being invested and interested. 

- I attend conferences and local meet ups as I can. GDC is expensive so I can't go every year (for example, this year I'm skipping it) but I've got many years before. Having people see you and interact with you directly always helps. And folks seeing you invest the time and money to attend conferences like that helps. On the local level there are TONS of much more affordable ways to interact with your community. Take part! Be active! The more people see you, the more they will remember you. 

- Focus on your branding and marketing. I cannot tell you how many times I see people using the exact same post over and over when marketing their skillset. This is a major mistake. If you're not adapting and growing in your branding and marketing approach, then you're becoming stale. You're becoming redundant. People skip over old stuff for new, shiner things. How do you know what the market is doing? Go back to the first two steps. 

- Know your skill set and focus on that. I'm always in favor of being a life-long student. Grow, learn, stretch and expand! But also focus on what you do best and what makes you the most happy. Find the problems you're naturally good at solving and then try to tackle only those problems! Then people will begin to see you as a problem solver. Someone who's dependable. Someone who enjoys their work! That is all highly attractive. 

- Put stuff out often. Of course with NDAs and such, you may have to wait until things become released to promote them. But then put it out there! And if you have a whole bunch of work locked behind NDAs, do some personal stuff that you CAN release more often. And don't be afraid to revisit some old(er) stuff too! I do that every once in a while. Share something you did a while back that you still feel shows well because you never know who might see it now (or see it again) and then wanna reach out to you. 

- Give back. This is what Alex hit on and I definitely agree. I have a vlog where I answer questions and give tips and feedback on my personal journey as a game audio nerd. I also moderate this forum. I write articles. I mentor folks freely. I enjoy doing all of these things. This all keeps me more grounded, more active with folks in this business and helps motivate me to push farther. 

Hope that helps!

Nate

2 hours ago, nsmadsen said:

For me it's all about the slow burn. Sure, you can do certain things to have a lot of exposure pretty quickly but it may not be the best kind of exposure.

- What I try to do is be active in my industry. I interact with artists and other devs on projects I'm not working on. This could be as simple as just saying a compliment on someone's art style. Or commenting on a game design feature you admire. The key thing here is it's not self serving. I'm just interacting, being invested and interested. 

- I attend conferences and local meet ups as I can. GDC is expensive so I can't go every year (for example, this year I'm skipping it) but I've got many years before. Having people see you and interact with you directly always helps. And folks seeing you invest the time and money to attend conferences like that helps. On the local level there are TONS of much more affordable ways to interact with your community. Take part! Be active! The more people see you, the more they will remember you. 

- Focus on your branding and marketing. I cannot tell you how many times I see people using the exact same post over and over when marketing their skillset. This is a major mistake. If you're not adapting and growing in your branding and marketing approach, then you're becoming stale. You're becoming redundant. People skip over old stuff for new, shiner things. How do you know what the market is doing? Go back to the first two steps. 

- Know your skill set and focus on that. I'm always in favor of being a life-long student. Grow, learn, stretch and expand! But also focus on what you do best and what makes you the most happy. Find the problems you're naturally good at solving and then try to tackle only those problems! Then people will begin to see you as a problem solver. Someone who's dependable. Someone who enjoys their work! That is all highly attractive. 

- Put stuff out often. Of course with NDAs and such, you may have to wait until things become released to promote them. But then put it out there! And if you have a whole bunch of work locked behind NDAs, do some personal stuff that you CAN release more often. And don't be afraid to revisit some old(er) stuff too! I do that every once in a while. Share something you did a while back that you still feel shows well because you never know who might see it now (or see it again) and then wanna reach out to you. 

- Give back. This is what Alex hit on and I definitely agree. I have a vlog where I answer questions and give tips and feedback on my personal journey as a game audio nerd. I also moderate this forum. I write articles. I mentor folks freely. I enjoy doing all of these things. This all keeps me more grounded, more active with folks in this business and helps motivate me to push farther. 

Hope that helps!

Nate

 

Wow what an answer! Simply great and precise tips.

I already do some of those like attending conferences and events and I can say it DOES payoff, not only for "boosting" exposition but for career knowledge too.

Don't mind I'll be taking notes and saving this awesome reply for further use.

Thanks!

8 hours ago, Alec Weesner said:

Always better to serve other people first and let them come to you, rather than the other way around. I think to really stand out, you have to be a specialist in some field. For me, I've decided to focus all my attention on composing for video-games primarily in the orchestral and electronic styles. The number of clients is narrower, yes, but if a developer is looking for an orchestral/electronic score for their game, they are much more likely to come to me than someone who dabbles in everything music.

Yes, even (and maybe mostly) on the market finding a niche and speciality is a great way to filter your clients and getting their attention to your new works as you'll be giving them targeted content, basically. So it might come to a moment when you'll be a reference in your style.

Now as a personal experience: sometimes it can be quite difficult to find out exactly what is your style anyway. In my case, I really like going with a big variety and it reflects on my work.

The solution I have for now is being very diverse on my portfolium and, when publishing something on medias with wider audiences, try to be consistent with only one unique style.

Yeah, that's how I started off as a composer. I didn't know what style I was strong at, so it's best to dabble in everything when you're starting out until you find the style that comes most naturally to you.

3 hours ago, Jema said:

2 things  i know that i have that works well for me is.

1 My eager to develop my craft. Everyday i work as hard as i can to get better, to learn and grow

2 is networking. With musicians, developers, directors and more.

This 2 things i think is the biggest reason am in that rare position that musicians, ensambles and so on regulary contact me to get permission to perform my music. 

Sure its alot of hard work behind it but am also feel very blessed because that dont happen to many composers if your name isnt Philip Glass o something.

Wow that's awesome! And surely your methods are correct, networking is essential.

Of course it can be too much demanding sometimes but it brings the best results.

I'm curious about your work tho. If you may post some kind of contact or DM me I'd be very glad!

On 3/4/2019 at 12:47 PM, frozen.dragonfly said:

.don't be a douchebag and try to help people

Haha, spot on frozen.dragonfly! In order to become a music composer for video games, you really need to be interested in video games. All of us that love games, it's so easy to show interest in games that are being developed. As a newly emerging composer, just reach out to developers and show genuine interest! That will help if you listen to Alec and nsmadsen:

On 1/29/2019 at 1:24 PM, nsmadsen said:

Know your skill set and focus on that

On 1/29/2019 at 7:48 AM, Alec Weesner said:

you have to be a specialist in some field

Focus on showing interest in games you love to play, that will need music that you love to compose. Build a relationship, don't just look for immediate work.