Sound Business with Akash Thakkar

#31: Marshall McGee is a video game sound designer who's worked on projects like Just Cause 4, Roblox, Outriders, and has worked with clients such as Nike and Adidas. He also has a wildly successful (and incredibly fun) Youtube channel where he breaks apart sound design in a beautifully clear way that anyone can understand.  In this episode, we talk about the importance of showing up, building a network, creating your own opportunities in your field, and much more.    Find Marshall here: Website: https://www.marshallmcgee.com/  Youtube: Marshall McGee And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

It was my birthday this week, and in what's become an Akash tradition, here are three things I've learned over the last year about life, careers, and what I've learned to focus on.   Send me a message: hello@akashthakkar.com @akashthakkaraudio on Instagram

Every single one of us is making tiny decisions every single day, and those micro-decisions make all the difference when it comes to our life and career. In this episode, we dive into some of the most important decisions you can make to ensure a successful game audio career and life.  Book recommended in this episode: Personality Isn't Permanent by Dr. Benjamin Hardy   Send me a message: hello@akashthakkar.com @akashthakkaraudio on Instagram

Vanessa Flores, a skilled sound designer at Banana Post in Los Angeles, shares her journey in post-production audio for TV and film. She dives into the challenges of breaking into the industry when jobs were scarce, emphasizing the importance of networking and community. Vanessa highlights the delicate balance between honoring original audio works and showcasing personal creativity. She also discusses the pursuit of perfection amidst tight deadlines and offers strategies for achieving work-life balance in a demanding field.

A lot of us are working day jobs while pursuing or dreams to work in game audio full-time. That's great! But, ideally, we'll want to leave those boring careers behind as soon as we can. So, how can we make our escape from those more normal jobs and transition into our dream career?   Send me a message: hello@akashthakkar.com @akashthakkaraudio on Instagram   And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

#29: Sigurd Jøhnk-Jensen is a guitarist, drummer, sound designer, and composer who's had an insanely successful career as a touring musician, as well as a composer for some of the world's biggest movie trailers. He's worked on trailers for movies like House of Gucci, Scream, Marvel's Eternals, and many others. In this episode we talk about the importance of creating and working no matter what results you're getting, what the world of writing trailer music is like, how he went from writing music that no one wanted to getting placement after placement, and so much more. Find Sigurd here: Instagram: @sigurdthemusicdude Twitter: @sigurdjj Website: https://sigurdmusic.com/ Youtube: Sigurd Johnk-Jensen And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

In my 12+ years of working as a full-time game audio freelancer, the thing I see trip people up most is asking for money for their work. To help with that, here are three ultra-effective ways to make sure you're paid super well for your music/sound in and out of the game industry.  Check out my course, which opens on April 25th, 2022: bit.ly/gameaudiopro Send me a message: hello@akashthakkar.com @akashthakkaraudio on Instagram

#28: Star Victoria Power is a video game composer who's worked on projects like The Stars Between Us, Calico, and the Steven Universe Anti-Racism PSAs.  In this episode we talk about breaking in to the music industry from humble beginnings, finding the right teachers and musical education, working day jobs, dealing with non-deserving complex when things start to go well, and so much more.  Find Star here: Instagram: @Slide20XX Twitter: @Slide20XX Spotify: Slide20XX And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

#27: Bad Snacks is a violinist and music producer who is known for her string-centric lo-fi hip hop style. Bad Snacks has played violin on countless sessions, has produced music for Google & Youtube, and has released her own successful albums such as Neat Tapes 1 & 2 and Bathtub Bumps. In this interview, we talk about building a community to help support a music career, moving to/away from big cities like Los Angeles, building up an income as a full-time musician, and much more. Find Bad Snacks here: Instagram: @lilbadsnacks Twitter: @lilbadsnacks Spotify: Bad Snacks Bandcamp: Bad Snacks   And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

If you want to dodge problem clients in your career, asking the right questions before the project starts goes a very very long way toward helping with that.  And to download my full client questionnaire, you can go here: bit.ly/gameaudioquestions Send me a message: hello@akashthakkar.com @akashthakkaraudio on Instagram