Sound Business with Akash Thakkar

#26: Jongnic Bontemps had a very different path into film and video game music, in that he initially started his career in the tech world as a programmer, and didn't officially start his music career until he was 36 years old.  In this episode, we talk all about how he restarted his career in his thirties (with a wife and kids!) all while giving up his high-salary tech job that had supported him and his family for so long, and how he made sure that he got the opportunities that he did, even though he started his music career "late" by most people's standards.    Find Jongnic Bontemps here: Instagram: @Jongnic Twitter: @Jongnic Spotify: Jongnic Bontemps Website: https://www.bontempsmusic.com/   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

#25: Michael Sweet is an award-winning composer, sound designer, and game audio educator who's worked on over 100 games and has had a huge impact on educating the next generation of game audio designers. I was lucky enough to study under Michael at the Berklee College of Music, and he is one of the handful of people I can point to and attribute a large amount of my success to.  In this episode, we chat about his starting in game audio before it was as big of a field as it is today, how he grew his career, what's most important for up and coming composers and sound designers to know, what he would do if he needed to start his career over, and so much more.  Find Michael Sweet here: Twitter: @MichaelSweet101   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

There's a lot that goes into preparing for a video game conference... but most composers and sound designers totally miss the mark when it comes to making the most of a networking event.    So, in this episode, host of The Video Game Composer Podcast, Tyson Cazier, and I sit down to discuss how to prep for a video game conference - whether it be online or off.    A huge thank you to Tyson for giving permission to post this episode of his podcast on my feed.   Check out the Video Game Composer Podcast below! Apple Spotify Google

Most budding audio designers I see coming in to the game industry are so worried about finding work, that they tell everyone that they're a "composer/sound designer".    But, does being both things actually end up with us getting less work? In this episode, we cover why you should (or shouldn't) focus on just music or just sound design throughout your whole 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

#24: Fryda Wolff has amassed hundreds of game, TV, and film voice acting credits in her career so far. You can hear in places like Sailor Moon, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Final Fantasy 7: Remake, Apex Legends, Fortnite, and so many other games, shows, and movies. In this episode, we talk about her transition from sound design to voice acting, how to run a freelance voice over business, the lack of importance of social media, and so much more.    Find Fryda Wolff here: Website: Fryda Wolff Twitter: @freethewolfvo 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's super tough to find work as a composer... or is it?  It turns out, many of the woes that composers face in their careers stem from being completely invisible to people who want to hire them. In this episode, we'll talk about what you need to do to put on your visibility cloak so that you can start attracting tons of clients.   Links Mentioned here: www.meetup.com www.IGDA.org www.gameconfguide.com   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

#23: Lena Raine is an award-winning and BAFTA-Nominated composer for video games who has worked on projects like Minecraft, Celeste, Steven Universe: The Movie, Deltarune, Guild Wars 2, and many other projects.  In this episode, we cover the financial realities of being a composer full-time, finding your way in the game industry, and the importance of learning multiple skills to keep yourself afloat while building that artistic career.    Find Lena Raine here: Website: http://lena.fyi/ Twitter: @Kuraine Instagram: @Kuraine Spotify: Lena Raine Bandcamp: https://radicaldreamland.bandcamp.com/ 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

Can you build a game audio career, even if you live in a small town or live outside the US? In this episode, we cover exactly that, how to do it, and how you need to think differently about your approach to your 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

#22: Unlike Pluto (AKA Armond Arabshahi) is a music producer, singer, and songwriter who has amassed hundreds of millions of plays of his songs, has had his music featured in commercials for Dell, and is known for releasing at least 3 ultra-well-produced songs a month for years at a time in multiple genres.  In this episode, we dive deep into what it's like to be a full-time creative, the highs and lows of releasing monstrously successful #1 hits, producing music when you don't feel like it, what it's like being the child of immigrants, and so much more.  Find Unlike Pluto here: Website: www.unlikepluto.com Twitter: @unlikepluto Instagram: @unlikepluto Spotify: Unlike Pluto 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

There’s a lot of great advice out there on what to do with your career, but very little of it tells you *when* you should execute on it. Is it really a good idea to do a bunch of self-promotion when you have tons of clients? Is it a good idea to stop networking when you have no work coming in? Should you always be looking for work even if you’re good where you’re at? The Four Seasons Method helps you know exactly where you’re at and what you should do at any given time. Just like we have four seasons in real life, we can break our career down into similar “seasons”. ❄️ Winter: no gigs are coming in, no work, no nothing. This happens to everyone and can feel hopeless. 🌧Spring: We have a little work, but it’s not enough ☀️Summer: We have TONS of work. Maybe even too much. 🍂Fall: Our work is done, the money has come in, and life is good. Each of these “seasons” can last a day, a month, a year, or decades. What you do in each one (outlined in the post up above!) determines how well your next season will go.   In this episode, we dive into what you should do in each of these seasons, and how, exactly, you should spend your time.    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