r/composer • u/Far_Huckleberry_2585 • Jul 06 '26

Discussion Can't be bothered...

I have been making music for while now, and it might be just me but doesnt it feels like music industry is so overly saturated.

I just can't be bothered to compete anymore.

Most of time working with music is not worth it at all, bad income, hard to get into anything that pays more than 50 bucks beacause theres already tons of people offering less. Offer is much bigger than demand, and yet devs and producers cant seems to find each others?

I didnt think i was going to say this, but it seems like that post your own content on youtube and spotify to try get views and what not is the best option... activily looking for work as a musician is very hopeless.

So now as a musician the main goal is to get a lot of views to become somewhat famous... it doesnt feel like there is love for the art of music, now isl about who can make a shitload of generic samples/tracks so you can have a "portfolio".

And dont even get me started on AI...

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u/Any_Flight5404 Jul 07 '26

Teaching is not composing music full-time. Teaching also usually pays far less.

I only can do it for totally different genres that I don't care much about.

So you would want to collaborate with a film director or game studio, spending months writing music full time for a genre you don't care much about? That wouldn't work in reality. If you have no passion for the project, that will come through in the music.

It's far better to turn down jobs that don't inspire you professionally than to do a bad job and then be judged on it.

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u/r3art Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

It does work for me. I write a lot of “beats” (i.e. instrumentals) for HipHop-artists. I don’t care about the genre at all, but it is quite fun, easy to do and earns money. You also learn a lot by being reduced to this kind of simplicity.

Could not compromise on my art though.

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u/Any_Flight5404 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

I'm happy doing music genres I both enjoy and get paid for. Getting to travel the world, hearing my music in cinemas, having my music recorded at the best scoring stages in the world by some of the best players in the world and collaborating with other artists (directors & producers) on amazing projects that I believe in is great fun and very fulfilling.

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u/Any_Flight5404 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

Could not compromise on my art though.

So you believe a film director should have to completely compromise their art and films and have no say in the emotional direction of the score for THEIR films in THEIR art, telling THEIR story? Everyone else should 100% compromise entirely and shut up, because only composers are artists, and no one else should be able to collaborate with them on storytelling. A composer is "compromising" their art to collaborate with others, try different ideas or work with other people in different fields, like visual artists, etc. and therefore it should be avoided.

I would honestly hate to be you. It's a very sad perspective you seem to have.

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u/r3art Jul 07 '26

A movie is very much a team effort. Composing usually is not.

As I said multiple times in this thread: It’s obviously different for everyone to what degree he or she wants to compromise on his or her art.

But to pretend that compromising on your own vision somehow does not affect the art and change it, is quite silly, I am sorry.

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u/Any_Flight5404 Jul 07 '26

A movie is very much a team effort. Composing usually is not.

So a film score is not usually a collaborative effort between the direction/producer and composer?

But to pretend that compromising on your own vision somehow does not affect the art and change it

Of course, it will change it. You are the one arguing that anyone who compromises their art somehow has no integrity and is below you.

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u/Any_Flight5404 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

I write a lot of “beats” (i.e. instrumentals) for HipHop-artists. I don’t care about the genre at all, but it is quite fun, easy to do and earns money.

Is this your full-time job? And if a hip hop artist wanted orchestral strings in their track, would that be "compromising your art" and you would refuse?

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u/r3art Jul 07 '26

My full time job is art direction. Which has the exact same relation to more pure forms of art.

It’s very creative work, but you always have to negotiate with your client (and often also your creative team) on your artistic vision. The results can be awesome, but they are not a deep form of self-expression. Often very far from that.

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u/Any_Flight5404 Jul 07 '26

Right. So I do the same thing. I compose music for a living; I get to pick projects that I enjoy and collaborate on. I get paid six figures a year to do this, and that doesn't include back-end royalties.

I also still release music written entirely for myself in my free time that isn't compromised by anyone else. How are you better than me again, exactly?....

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u/r3art Jul 07 '26

I never said that you were better than me.

I just said that the the thing we both do for a living is by my very own definition not pure art. Why would you even feel the need to write music entirely by youself if you would not know that this is true? Your very own behaviour contradicts the argument.

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u/Any_Flight5404 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

Why would you even feel the need to write music entirely by youself

Why are you assuming I do? A lot of my work is collaborative with other composers, sound designers and musicians. A lot of ideas I start on my own for fun, end up being collaborative.

Your very own behaviour contradicts the argument.

What behaviour?

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u/r3art Jul 07 '26

Erm. I give up on you.

YOU just said five minutes ago that you still write and release music done entirely by yourself in your free time.

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u/Any_Flight5404 Jul 07 '26

No, I did not. You are misquoting me here. I said -

I also still release music written entirely for myself in my free time that isn't compromised by anyone else.

I write music FOR myself. As in the context being, not for a specific project, intention or for financial gain. Those musical ideas do often end up being collaborative and worked on further with other musicians, etc much further down the line. It is not "compromised" in the context; there is no film studio or record label that has an input or needs to approve that music. Therefore, it's not "compromised" in the context of your original argument. However, now you seem to be implying that any form of collaboration, such as a cellist recording your music, is wrong and a "compromise" to your art and should be avoided. How sad.

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u/r3art Jul 07 '26

That's quite a misrepresentation of what I said, but it doesn not matter anyway. You're trying to split hairs. I am also not only bringing my own view to the table, but a while history of art that was always (for good reasons) against "selling out". This is not only in music, but in all forms of art. There even is that term for the problem.

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