Sound Business with Akash Thakkar

The Psychology of Working in Game Audio with Raison Varner Oct 30, 2024

#78: My guest today is Raison Varner, a voice actor, sound designer, composer, videographer, and writer. He’s had a very broad and varied career, starting in 2006 as an intern on the original Prey game, then working as a composer, sound designer, voice actor, and writer for the Borderlands games for 12 years. He has also worked as an art director for Obsidian Entertainment.

In this episode, we talk about Raison’s wide array of interests and skills, how to stand out as someone who’s interested in working across multiple disciplines, the deep psychology of working as a team in gave development, and so much more.

Find Raison here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raison-varner/

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1770713/

Twitter / X: https://x.com/raisonvarner?lang=en

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/rvarner

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

Becoming a Sound Designer Later On During Your Career with James Thatcher Oct 16, 2024

#77: My guest today is James Thatcher, a sound designer and nature recordist based out of Seattle, Washington. He has had an incredibly diverse set of experiences before getting into the world of pro audio, most notably working in Michelin Star restaurants in France before making his way into the world of game audio years later. He has released approximately 17 sound packs, with the most recent titled, “Firearm Mechanics and Handling”.

In this episode, we talk about James navigated the past starting off as a cook and then transitioning into audio much later, how he transitioned from working on Halo Infinite to going out into nature and recording, how he releases, edits, and sells as many sound libraries, and so much more.

Find James Thatcher here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skyriversound/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-thatcher-6871469a/

Sound Library: https://www.asoundeffect.com/sounddesigner/sky-river-sound/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAab3LSvQIIpzQ0N-WH-_6lBny6T3EQQEGjRV4F-d9bsfJYrlFuAffv75YMU_aem_5nMgdxQ-UOp1vXWIKTv6fw

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

Creating the Audio of The Bear with Steve “Major” Giammaria & Evan Benjamin Oct 02, 2024

#76: My guests today are Steve “Major” Giammaria & Evan Benjamin, who are re-recording mixers and dialogue editors based out of the audio production house Sound Lounge in New York City.

In this episode, we dive into their recent work on the hit series The Bear, their process for creating and enhancing the soundscape for such a tense and dramatic show, the realities and life of working in post-production sound, and so much more.

Find Evan Benjamin here:

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0071301/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-benjamin-a6aa304/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fortytwofortypost/

Find Steve Giammaria here:

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2652377/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hearsmajor/

Twitter: https://x.com/hearsmajor?lang=en

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

From Sound Designer to Hollywood Composer with Nainita Desai Sep 18, 2024

#75: Today's guest is Nainita Desai, an award-winning composer based out of London, England. She has worked with dozens of high profile clients including Peter Gabriel and A24, as well as documentaries, film, game, TV, and game projects such as Immortality, American Murder, Call of Duty, and Tales of Kenzera: Zau.

In this episode, we talk about Nainita’s upbringing as a sound designer first and how she transitioned her career into composition, learned tons of compositional and scoring skills—mostly on her own—the importance of saying “no” to great opportunities, why we should advocate for our art, and so much more.

Find Nainita Desai here:

Website: https://nainitadesai.com/

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0220831/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nainita_desai/?hl=en

Twitter: https://x.com/nainitadesai?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

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

Standing Out as an Audio Generalist with Nathan Moody Sep 04, 2024

#74: Today's guest is Nathan Moody, a composer, sound designer, mastering engineer, and interaction designer based out of California. He has worked on an insane variety of projects ranging from The Callisto Protocol, Pentiment, to MLK: Now Is The Time. He has also created sound effects for World War II Battleships, and is even currently working with Skywalker Sound.

In this episode, we talk about the benefits of being a generalist in the world of professional audio, how Nathan started his full-time sound career after the age of 40, how he built his skillset and network over a huge period of time, how to stand out in an industry where audio is becoming more commoditized, and so much more.

Find Nathan Moody here:

Shipscape Website: https://noisejockey.net/main/project/shipscape/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/n4th4nm00dy/?hl=en

Twitter: https://x.com/noisejockey?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

IMBD: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11708054/

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

Building Team Audio with Ariel Gross Aug 21, 2024

#73: Today's guest is Ariel Gross, a game audio veteran based out of Texas with over 20 years of experience in the game industry. He started his career on PC and Game Boy Advance games in the late 90s and early 2000s, and eventually ended up as an audio lead—working on titles like Saints Row, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and so many more.

Ariel is now the founder of Team Audio, a team of approximately 30 audio professionals working across dozens of projects in the gaming industry.

In this interview, we dive deep into how Ariel got into game audio long before it was “cool”, working on small projects as a teenager to becoming an audio director on AAA games, how he founded Team Audio in the first place, and so much more.

Find Ariel Gross here:

Twitter: https://x.com/arielgross

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arielgross/

Team Audio: https://teamaud.io/about/

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

Building Your Own Path & Dealing with Game Industry Layoffs with Aaron Brown Aug 07, 2024

#72: Today's guest is Aaron Brown, a video game composer, sound designer, and audio director based out of Austin, Texas. He has worked in the game industry for over 20 years now and has worked on projects such as Call Of Duty, Uncharted, Redfall, Donkey Kong: Country Tropical Freeze, and so many others.

In this episode, Aaron and I talk about how to make your own path into the game audio world, how he’s been dealing with countless layoffs and studio closings, how people should network and make friends within the game industry, and so much more.

Find Aaron Brown here:

Website: https://www.aaronbrownsound.com/

E-mail: aaronbrownsound@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aaronbrownsound

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

Composing for Film & Theater with Philomène Gatien Jul 24, 2024

#71: Today's guest is Philomène Gatien, a composer and orchestrator based out of Montreal, Canada. She has worked on films like My Salinger Year and theatrical plays such as Thank You For Coming, and even game-specific software such as Wwise in her theater performances.

In this episode, we talk about how Philomène started as a composer, how she started at a later stage than so many others, how she got her first gigs by being in touch with fellow musicians, how to develop a unique voice as a composer, and so much more.

Find Philomène Gatien here:

Website: https://philomenegatien.ca/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philomenegatien

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

Surviving Cancer & Winning Grammys with Carla Patullo May 15, 2024

#70: Today's guest is Carla Patullo, Grammy-winning songwriter and composer based out of Los Angeles. She has worked on projects such as Maxine on Disney Plus, films like The Ignition, and more recently her personal project and Grammy-winning album, So She Howls.

In this episode, we talk about how Carla's career as a songwriter and composer, how she likes to experiment in her day-to-day work, the importance of slowing down, her fight with breast cancer, and so much more.

Find Carla here:

Website: https://www.carlapatullo.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlapatullo/

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

The Myth of Overnight Success with Aaron Cherof Apr 24, 2024

#69: Today's guest is Aaron Cherof, a composer based in Seattle. He has been composing for indie games for well over a decade and has most recently worked on two games that have become huge hits, such as Cobalt Core and Minecraft.

In this episode, we talk about how Aaron has spent 15 years as a composer before he was able to go full-time. We also talk about the importance of creating work, even when you're not getting hired to work on projects, how to find your own musical voice as a composer, and so much more.

Find Aaron Cherof here:

Website: https://www.cherof.com/

Bandcamp: https://cherof.bandcamp.com/album/cobalt-core-original-soundtrack

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

How to Build a Composing Career with Zach Heyde Mar 06, 2024

#68: Today's guest is Zach Heyde, a composer based out of Los Angeles. He has worked on a ton of different projects with clients like Disney, Dreamworks, Roblox, and many others. He also runs an online course called "The Composing Career Bootcamp" where he teaches composers how to build a full-time career.

In this episode, Zach and I talk about the importance of being uncomfortable, the types of opportunities there are in the world of composition, how to start networking as an introvert, success as a content creator on YouTube, and so much more.

Find Zach Heyde here:

Composing Career Bootcamp: https://www.zachheyde.com/composing-career-bootcamp

Website: https://www.zachheyde.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

How to Thrive in Game Audio (Even after Countless Rejections) with Kian How Feb 21, 2024

#67: Today's guest is Kian How, a composer, sound designer, and music performer based out of Shanghai, China. Kian has worked on a ton of different projects, such as games like Spec Ops The Line, Dishonored, and Marvel: Heroes Unite. He has also worked with clients such as Huawei and is also a player of the Egyptian oud, which is similar to a lute.

In this episode, we talk about Kian's start in Boston and how he ended up moving to China after college, the truth of what a sound designer does in their job, the importance of learning new skills for fun, and so much more.

Find Kian here:

Website: https://www.kianhow.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

How to Stand Out as a Composer with James Landino Feb 07, 2024

#66: Today's guest is James Landino, a composer and DJ based out of Tokyo, Japan. He has worked on a variety of projects including Battlegrounds Mobile, No Straight Roads, Tower of God, Roblox, and many, many others.

In this episode, we talk about how James developed his iconic electronic music style, what upcoming composers can do to stand out in a saturated industry, what's next for James now that he's been composing for 20 years, and so much more.

Find James Landino here:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/jameslandino

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6xMMOflXnoIA3grU3seMjh

Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/JamesLandino

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

From the Philippines to Hollywood with Mastering Engineer Jett Galindo Jan 24, 2024

#65: Today's guest is Jett Galindo, a mixing and mastering engineer and soprano singer based in Los Angeles. She has worked on countless high-profile projects such as the soundtracks for La La Land, Chicory: A Colorful Tale, and has worked with artists such as Pink Floyd, Towa Bird, and countless others.

In this episode, we talk about Jett's journey from the Philippines to the U.S., how she got into music mastering in the first place, how she faced overt sexism in the industry she wanted to be a part of, and so much more.

Find Jett Galindo here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jettgalindo/?hl=en

Find The Bakery here:

Spotify: https://www.instagram.com/bakerymastering/?hl=en

Website: https://thebakery.la/

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

Teaching the Art of Foley with Bastian Gerner Jan 11, 2024

#64: Today's guest is Bastian Gerner, a Foley artist based out of Düsseldorf, Germany. He has worked in the film and game industries as a Foley artist for decades and, most recently, worked as a full-time senior Foley artist for Ubisoft. Nowadays, on top of his freelancing business, he also coaches up and coming sound designers on breaking into the film and game industry, as well as how to record high quality using a home setup.

In this episode, we talk about Bastian's career and how he started with Foley in the first place, how he teaches sound designers the skills they need to succeed, why he decided to freelance instead of being a full-time employee forever, and so much more.

Find Bastian Gerner here:

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5588918/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_foley_teacher/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCES-9zV4CV9_BIGrqczAwLA

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

Creating a Niche of Your Own with Myuu Dec 20, 2023

#63: Today's guest is Nicolas Gasparini, also known as Myuu. Nicolas is a long-time pianist and composer who's been uploading dark piano horror music since 2006 and has built a huge following in that time with over 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and another 300,000 subscribers on YouTube. He's also worked on short films and video games and is currently working on the upcoming horror game Post Trauma.

In this episode we talk about finding your niche as a composer and how important it is to dive deep into your interests. We also talk about how Nicolas started writing horror music in the first place, why he releases music for free, and what up and coming composers can do to get out there, and so much more.

Find Myuu here:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Myuu

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5sP3ci0jwrXUBo76t8pGTF?si=sVFG_WI_TVuUVIUYudUwhQ

Website: https://www.thedarkpiano.com/bio

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myuusic/

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

How to Move to LA (And Succeed) with Joy Ngiaw Dec 06, 2023

#62: Today's guest is Joy Ngiaw, an award-winning composer based in Los Angeles. Joy has worked on a ton of projects including the animated short Blush, Disney's experimental short series Short Circuit, Cobra Kai, What Remains of Edith Finch, and many others.

In this episode, we talk about how she grew up in rural Malaysia, made her way to Shanghai, China, and eventually Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music. We also talk about how she got into composition from her early days as a classical pianist, how her first gigs came about, and much more.

Find Joy Ngiaw here:

Website: https://www.joyngiaw.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyngiaw/

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7267486/?ref_=rvi_nm

Twitter: https://twitter.com/joyngiaw

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

How to Quickly Break In to the Game Industry with ZW Buckley Nov 22, 2023

#61: Today's guest is ZW Buckley, a musician, producer, and composer based in Seattle writing in a broad variety of genres and styles for a ton of different projects. His work includes writing a pop soundtrack for Barbie: You Can Be A Fashion Designer VR, teaching music production at Point Blank Music School and running the game audio co-op, Plant Based Audio.

In this episode, ZW and I talk about how to join and be a part of the game dev community quickly, how to find your first projects, how to learn and practice the skill of music production, getting over the fear of jumping in and becoming a full-time artist, and so much more.

Find ZW Buckley here:

Website: https://www.zwbuckley.com/

Newsletter: https://zwbuckley.substack.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

Releasing Hit Music (Without a Record Label) with TheFatRat Oct 25, 2023

#60: Today's guest is Christian Büttner A.K.A. TheFatRat, who is a producer, DJ, and musician based mainly out of Germany. Chris has millions of listeners from all over the world, and has accumulated billions of plays so far. He did this without a major record label, all while giving his music away for free.

In this episode, we talk about how he started in the world of classical music and transitioned into electronic music much later. We also go into how he taught himself electric music production skills, why he releases basically all of his music for free and lets people use his music, why he steers artists away from signing with major labels, and much more.

Find TheFatRat here:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa_UMppcMsHIzb5LDx1u9zQ

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3OKg7YbOIatODzkRIbLJR4

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefatratofficial/

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

From Creating Metal Music to Writing for Angry Birds with Henri Sorvali Oct 11, 2023

#59: Today's guest is Henri Sorvali, a musician and composer based in Finland. He started off his career has a classical and jazz pianist who ended up starting two successful Finnish black metal bands, Moonsorrow and Finntroll. He is also a full-time game composer working in-house at Rovio Entertainment, the company most famously known for The Angry Birds games.

In this episode, we talk about how why Henri stopped his life of being a touring musician in front of thousands of screaming fans to instead focus on video game composition, how he ended up in the world of metal music, and how he made the transition from heavy metal music to making lighter-hearted video game music, and much more.

Find Henri Sorvali here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/trollhornmusic

Website: http://www.trollhorn.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

Creating Sound Particles with Nuno Fonseca Sep 27, 2023

#58: Today's guest is Nuno Fonseca, founder of the company Sound Particles. Sound Particles started off their journey by making a piece of software with the same name, which allows anyone to create immersive 3D audio. Since their founding, Sound Particles has gone on to be used in countless movies, TV shows, and video games such as Oppenheimer, Assassin's Creed Origins, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and many others.

In this episode, we talk about how Nuno got started in the world of creating audio software, what it was like promoting Sound Particles in the beginning, what he believes the future of audio is, and much more.

Find Nuno Fonseca and Sound Particles here:

Website: https://soundparticles.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soundparticles/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoundParticles

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sound.particles

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

From Engineer to Voice Actor with Katherine Tole Sep 13, 2023

#57: Today's guest is Katherine Tole, a voice actor and dialogue editor based in Seattle. She's a dialogue editor at Jackbox Games and is working on the soon-to-be released Jackbox Party Pack 10. She's also teaching courses on how to get jobs as a voice actor, especially through the voiceover marketplace Voice123. She's currently working on some exciting top-secret projects as well.

In this episode, we talk about how Katherine transitioned from being a full-time engineer in Silicon Valley to becoming a voice actor, how she got her first gigs in the world of voiceover, how to stand out in a sea of thousands of other voice actors, and much more.

Find Katherine Tole here:

Website: https://katherinetole.com/

Video Game Audio Collective: https://plantbasedaud.io/

Jackbox Games: https://www.jackboxgames.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

Becoming a Full-Time Voice Actor with Dawn M. Bennett Aug 30, 2023

#56: Today's guest is Dawn M. Bennett, a voice actor based in Los Angeles. Dawn has been a professional voice actor for almost ten years, and has voiced hundreds of characters across games, movies, and anime. She's worked on iconic franchises such as Dragon Ball Super, World of Warcraft, Street Fighter VI, Monster Hunter, Diablo IV, Pokemon, and Attack on Titan, among many others.

In this episode, we talk about Dawn's rise to voice acting success considering she didn't go to theater or acting school, her advice for up and coming voice actors, how she made the move to Los Angeles and thrived there, and many more.

Find Dawn M. Bennett here:

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/DawnMBennettVA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dawnmbennettva/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DawnMBennettVA

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

Breaking Into Hollywood Film Scoring with Amit May Cohen Aug 16, 2023

#55: Today's guest is Amit May Cohen, a composer based in Los Angeles. Amit has worked on projects such as Zombies 2 and 3, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone, and many others.

In this episode, we talk about her journey into becoming a film composer in L.A., her growth as a musician over the years, how she recommends new composers break into the industry and Hollywood scene, and so much more.

Find Amit May Cohen here:

Website: http://www.amitmaycohen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amitmaycohen_composer/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0XmtL3Aq8d8KtOoqb77MKV?si=htVO1smWRw6n4uK2OeS8Hw

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

Becoming a Sound Designer (Without Going to School) with Chris Parker Aug 02, 2023

#54: Today's guest is Chris Parker, a freelance sound designer based in Seattle. He has worked on games such as Shadows Over Loathing, Wizard with a Gun, Beast Breaker, and is also the wonderful editor of this podcast.

In this episode, we talk about how I met Chris years ago at a PAX Conference in Seattle. Since moving from Seattle, Chris has gone from being a budding sound designer to a being a full-time pro. We also talk about his journey on becoming a full-time sound designer knowing especially that he did not go to college for it.

Find Chris Parker here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CpSqueaks
Website: https://www.chrisparker.audio/

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

Scoring for Hollywood Films with Adam Lukas and James Everingham Jul 19, 2023

#53: Today's guests are Adam Lukas and James Everingham, composers based out of Los Angeles and working in Hans Zimmer's collective known as Bleeding Fingers Music. Adam and James have worked on tons of film and TV projects over their careers and have recently written music for the document Frozen Planet II, alongside Hans Zimmer.

In this episode we talk about how there's quite a lot of opportunity for film composers and how you have to be willing to look for it and why these composers decided to work within a composers' collective. We also talk about working on insanely short timelines in Hollywood, what to do if you're not working in Los Angeles, and so much more.

Find Adam and James here:

Frozen Planet II on Spotify and Apple Music: https://open.spotify.com/album/6sUYeUEUvgvnMIff7pTNnJ

https://music.apple.com/id/album/frozen-planet-ii-original-television-soundtrack/1641264317

Adam's Website: https://www.adam-lukas.com/

Adam's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamlukasmusic/?hl=en

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James' Website: https://www.jameseveringham.com/

James' Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jameseveringham/

James' Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2gn4jnqcC9yMXt6433gle Q

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

Sound Design Success in Indie Films with Nathan Ruyle Jul 05, 2023

#52: Today's guest is Nathan Ruyle. He is a sound designer and founder of the company This Is Sound Design.

In this episode, we talk about Nathan's climb in the industry, why he decided to start a sound design company that focuses on more creative and independent projects over the big Hollywood blockbusters, the identity crisis that sound for film is currently going through, and much more.

Find Nathan Ruyle here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tisdstudios/

Facebook: https://tisd.tv/

Website: https://tisd.tv/

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

Staying Creative in the World of TV Scoring with Philip White Jun 21, 2023

#51: Today's guest is Philip White, a composer who has worked on video game, TV, and film projects such as Agent Carter, The Sims 3, and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. He has composed for over 142 episodes of Supernatural and is also currently composing for Supernatural's pre-sequel, The Winchesters.

In this episode, we talk about how what it's like to compose for hundreds of episodes of the same TV show, how he stays fresh creatively between projects, and how he started as a drama major before transitioning into the music world, and so much more.

Find Philip White here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philipwhitemusic

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@philipwhite9905

Email: philiptwhite@me.com

Personal Website: http://www.philipwhitemusic.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

Building a Music Career Entirely Online with Tony Manfredonia Jun 07, 2023

#50: Today's guest is Tony Manfredonia, who is a composer and singer-songwriter based in rural Michigan. He's worked on projects such as Kharon's Crypt and Call of Saregnar. He is also a concert composer who teaches composition students online.

In this episode, we talk about how Tony manages to make a living in music online while living in a rural town, how he handled low points in his career, and how balancing work and life is one of the best decisions he has ever made, among many other things.

Find Tony Manfredonia here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tony_manfredonia/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TonyManfredonia

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tonymanfredonia

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tonymanfredoniamusic

Personal Website: https://www.manfredoniamusic.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

Composing for Anime, Games, and the World’s Biggest Franchises with Mason Lieberman May 24, 2023

#49: Today's guest is Mason Lieberman, a composer for games, TV, film, and anime. He has worked on a huge variety of projects including RWBY, Beyblade, Gundam, Apex Legends, and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).

In this episode, we talk about how Mason grew such a successful career in a short amount of time, how he learned to write in so many musical styles, how he networks with people around the world, and so much more.

Find Mason Lieberman here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mason.lieberman/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MasonLieberman

Personal Website: https://www.masonlieberman.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

Traveling the World While Working in Game Audio with Troupe Gammage May 10, 2023

#48: Today's guest is Troupe Gammage, a composer, voice actor, and sound designer who's currently travelling the world and not staying in one place for very long.

In this episode, we talk about Troupe's work on games such as Solar Ash and Lord of the Rings Online, how he learned the skills of both music and sound design, and how he got into voice acting and voicing multiple characters. We also talk about his days touring with his bands SPEAK, RAC, and The Chain Gang of 1974 and how he's managing his work as a frequent traveller.

Find Troupe Gammage here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/troupegammage/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/troupegammage

Personal Website: https://www.troupegammage.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

Staying Confident as a Composer with Joel Corelitz Apr 26, 2023

#47: Today's guest is Joel Corelitz, who is a composer for film and games based in Chicago. He has worked on a large number of projects such as Hyper Light Breaker, Halo Infinite, Solar Ash, Death Stranding, The Unfinished Swan, and many others.

In this episode, we talk about Joel's creative process, how he ended up working on such huge projects despite his distance from LA, what he does when feeling a creative block, and so much more.

Find Joel Corelitz here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelcorelitz/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/joelcorelitz

Personal Website: https://joelcorelitz.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

Working in TV, Film, & Advertising with Bill Lacey Apr 12, 2023

#46: Our guest today is Bill Lacey, a grammy-award winning sound designer, re-recording mixer, and mastering engineer based in New York City. He has worked on countless projects including Major League Baseball, the Halo TV series, Showtime, and much more.

In this episode, we talk about the industry changes Bill has seen in his time in the audio field and how he broke into doing such a varied amount of projects. We also talk about his teaching work and how he brings up the next generation of audio students, and why he's still pushing himself to learn new things such as game audio even with an established career in the world of TV, film, and advertising.

Find Bill Lacey here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/protoolsmixer

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-lacey/

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

Becoming a Music Editor with Adam Kallibjian Mar 29, 2023

#45: Our guest today is Adam Kallibjian, who is a composer and music editor based in Los Angeles. He has worked on projects such as The Last of Us 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and much more.

In this episode, we talk about what a music editor does, how to break into this field, and how there are countless different ways to get to the career of your dreams in music or sound.

Find Adam Kallibjian here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkallibjian/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamkallibjian

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

Finding Your Musical Voice with Azuria Sky Mar 15, 2023

#44: Our guest today is Azuria Sky, AKA Sky Lu, who is a composer and producer based in Los Angeles. While Sky has worked on games such as Solar Ash and is currently working on Hyper Light Breaker, she's also known well-known in the world of electronic music production.

In this episode, we talk about how Sky found her voice as a musician, why she decided to sing on her own music despite being told she couldn't be a vocalist, and how she taught herself to create music in her own style, and much more.

Find Azuria Sky here:

Personal Website: https://azuriasky.cc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/azuriasky/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/azuria_sky

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/azuriasky

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

Building a Great Online Music Income with Fabiana Claure Mar 01, 2023

#43: Today's guest is Dr. Fabiana Claure, who is an award-winning pianist, educator, business strategist, and entrepreneur who occupies a great niche in-between music, business, and helping musicians make a great living from their art. She's also the CEO of the The Musician's Profit Umbrella.

In this episode we talk about the struggles that most musicians deal with and how to get through them, particularly business struggles. We also talk about what business skills actually are and how to start developing the mindset of an entrepreneur as a musician.

Find Fabiana Claure here:

Personal Website: https://fabianaclaure.com/

Business Mentoring: https://fabianaclaure.com/gift

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

Helping Musicians Grow with Mark Abrams Feb 15, 2023

#42: Our guest today is Mark Abrams, a mixing engineer, producer, and audio educator who has worked with people such as Angel Lopez and clients such as Sony, Toyota, Nintendo, and many others. He is also a mentor at PureMix.com and runs the company Echopunch.

In this episode we talk about how important it is to promote our music and how to do it, how to help others in our field and how helping others helps us, and how to start looking at our music career as a business so we can start getting the career results we really want.

Find Mark Abrams here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mark_abrams_audio/

Personal Website: h ttps://www.markabramsmixing.com/

pureMix website: https://puremix.com/

echopunch website: http://echopunch.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

Finding Your Way in Game Audio with Anne-Sophie Mongeau Feb 01, 2023

#41: Today's guest is Anne-Sophie Mongeau, a sound designer based in Montreal, Canada. She has worked on projects such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider and It Takes Two. Anne-Sophie is currently the lead sound designer at Eidos Montreal.

In this episode, we talk about Sophie's growth as a sound designer, her leaving Eidos Montreal to work in Sweden, and what it's like to return to Eidos many years later to work on a new project. We also discuss what new sound designers should be focusing on to grow their careers and much more.

Find Anne-Sophie Mongeau here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anso.sound/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ansoaudio

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-sophie-mongeau-50483185/

Website: https://ansoaudio.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

Working with the World’s Biggest Brands with Michele Arnese Jan 18, 2023

#40: Our guest today is Michele Arnese, who is the founder and CEO of amp sound branding. Based in Munch, Germany, amp has done audio branding for top companies such as Mercedes, Mastercard, Porsche, and much more.

In this episode, we talk about what audio branding is and how Michele got into the field, how he brought his company to work with all these big names, and how he's using AI in audio work and much more.

Find Michele Arnese here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_michelearnese/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelearnese/

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

From Sound Designer to Composer with Maclaine Diemer Nov 02, 2022

#39: Our guest today is composer Maclaine Diemer who has worked on projects such as Guild Wars 2, Salt and Sacrifice, Rock Band, and many others.

In this episode we talk about the simplicity of networking in our field, transitioning from being a rock star to being a sound designer, and then transitioning from sound design to composition, and much more.

Find Maclaine Diemer here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maclainediemermusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/maclainediemer

Website: http://maclainediemer.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

How to Write Music for Film & TV with Sherri Chung Oct 19, 2022

#38: Our guest today is Film and TV Composer, Sherri Chung who has worked on projects such as Family Guy, Arrow, Supergirl, The Flash, Kung Fu, and many others.
In this episode we talk about what it takes to become a full-time composer, the difference between composers and film composers, dealing with impostor syndrome and much more.

Find Sherri Chung here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherrichung/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sherri_chung
Website: https://www.sherrichung.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

The Creation of Song Exploder with Hrishikesh Hirway Sep 21, 2022

#36: Today, our guest is Hrishikesh Hirway - musician and creator of the wildly successful podcast, Song Exploder.
In this interview, we talk about growing up in an Indian immigrant household, the fear of side projects taking away from our main musical interests, how his studies in philosophy and graphic design in college contributed to his career, how he created Song Exploder in the first place, and much more.

Find Hrishikesh Hirway here:
Song Exploder Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/songexploder/
Song Exploder Twitter: https://twitter.com/SongExploder
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hrishihirway/
Personal Twitter: https://twitter.com/HrishiHirway
Song Exploder Website: https://songexploder.net/
Personal Website: https://hrishikesh.co/

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

Composing for Film, TV, Games, Concerts, and more with Steve Horowitz Aug 31, 2022

#35: Today, our guest is Steve Horowitz - a composer who has worked on quite literally hundreds of film, TV, concert, and video game projects throughout his career.
In this interview, we talk about not niching down as a composer, why he chooses to compose for practically every type of media, what it's like to compose for over 100 projects in radically different styles, and much more.

Find Steve Horowitz here:
Game Audio Institute Website: https://www.gameaudioinstitute.com/
Personal Website: https://www.stevehorowitzmusic.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

Becoming a Youtuber and Educating Musicians with Red Means Recording Aug 24, 2022

#34: Today, our guest is Jeremy Blake, the man behind the wildly successful music-focused Youtube channel, Red Means Recording!
In this interview, we talk about the importance of educating others in our field, how getting fired from his day job helped him become a full-time musician, the importance of pivoting and changing our goals within our career, and so much more.

Find Red Means Recording here:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RedMeansRecording
Twitter: @jjbbllkk
Website: https://rmr.media/

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

Building, Growing, and Sustaining a Music Composing Career with Edouard Brenneisen Jul 06, 2022

#33: Edouard Brenneisen is a composer for video games, film, and TV who has worked on projects such as League of Legends, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dr. Oz, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, and tons of other projects!
In this episode we talk about the long uphill climb to becoming a full-time composer, how composers sometimes need to pivot and transition their careers, what a composer's actual job is, and so much more.

Find Edouard here:
Website: https://eb-music.net/
Instagram: @ebrenneisen

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

Touring, Teaching, and Improvising on the Cello with Bryan Wilson Jun 22, 2022

#32: Bryan Wilson is a touring, composing, and performing cellist based out of New Jersey. Unlike most cellists, however, Bryan doesn't focus exclusively on the world of classical music, instead focusing on the worlds of music improvisation and comedic music.
Bryan is also the author of two books: String Jams and Cello Chords, both of which help cellists play their instruments in a more improvisatory way.
In this episode we talk about the struggle of building up an income as a touring cellist, touring in Vietnam as a western musician, and so much more.

Find Bryan here:
Website: https://www.bryanwilsoncello.com/
Instagram: @bryanwilsoncello
Spotify: Bryan Wilson

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

Making It as a Sound Designer with Marshall McGee Jun 08, 2022

#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

3 Things I’ve Learned Since Last Year May 27, 2022

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

The Tiny Decisions That Will Get Us Big Results May 18, 2022

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

Succeeding in Post Production Audio with Vanessa Flores May 13, 2022

#30: Vanessa Flores is a sound designer and post production audio expert who works at Banana Post in Los Angeles.
Vanessa's work focuses on the world's of TV, ads, and film, working on projects like Total Bellas, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Top Gear and many others.
In this episode, we dive into how to break into and succeed in the worlds of linear media, how she got her first jobs (even though no one was hiring), and why stepping away from game audio helped her succeed.

Find Vanessa here:
Instagram: @vanny.audio
Twitter: @vannyaudio
TikTok: @vanny.audio
Youtube: Sound Design 101
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

How to Escape Your Day Job and Work in Game Audio Full Time May 04, 2022

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

Writing Trailer Music for the World’s Biggest Movies with Sigurd Johnk-Jensen Apr 27, 2022

#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

Three Ways to Make Money off of Music & Sound Apr 20, 2022

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

From Humble Beginnings to Full-Time Composer with John ”Slide20XX” Smith (AKA Star) Apr 13, 2022

#28: John "Slide20XX" Smith (AKA Star) 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

Becoming a Full-Time Music Producer with Bad Snacks Apr 06, 2022

#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

The Questions You Need to Ask Every Client Mar 30, 2022

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

Restarting Your Career with Jongnic Bontemps Mar 23, 2022

#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

The Business of Game Audio & Teaching the Next Generation with Michael Sweet Mar 16, 2022

#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

How to Prepare For GDC (And Any Other Networking Event) - The Video Game Composer Podcast Mar 09, 2022

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

Music, Sound Design, or Both? How to Choose Which One to Do Mar 02, 2022

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

The Business of Voice Acting with Fryda Wolff Feb 23, 2022

#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

The Visibility Cloak Method: How Composers Can Find Work Feb 16, 2022

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

How to Make a Music Career a Reality with Lena Raine Feb 09, 2022

#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

How to Build a Career from Anywhere Feb 02, 2022

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

How to Always Stay Creative with Unlike Pluto Jan 26, 2022

#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

Know Exactly How to Spend Your Time with the Four Seasons Method Jan 19, 2022

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

Working with the World’s Top Brands & Creating Twenty Thousand-Hertz with Dallas Taylor Jan 12, 2022

#21: Dallas Taylor is a sound designer, creative director of DeFacto Sound, and podcast host of the #1 podcast Twenty Thousand Hertz.
DeFacto Sound has worked with brands like Tesla, HBO, National Geographic, Cartoon Network, and so many others. On top of that, he and his studio produce Twenty Thousand Hertz, a #1 audio-focused podcast that takes at least 200-300 hours per episode to create.
In this episode, Dallas and I talk about running an audio business, how to choose your clients, why creating content online can be so helpful to us as audio creators, and so much more.

Find Dallas Taylor and Twenty Thousand Hertz at:
Website: www.20k.org
Twitter: @20korg
Instagram: @defactosound
Spotify: Twenty Thousand Hertz
Apple Podcasts: Twenty Thousand Hertz
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

Taking a Holiday Break + Some Announcements! Dec 17, 2021

We'll be taking a short holiday break until January 12th, 2022! New episodes will be coming out then!

In the meantime, I announced 4 new game audio courses for those of you interested in working as a full-time game audio designer! These will all be coming out in 2022.

First up is The Game Industry Professional, which focuses on the business side of working in game audio - how to get paid, how to negotiate, how to find work in the first place, and how to make a great full time living off of game audio.

Next, I'll be re-opening my course Step-By-Step Sound Design, which sold out in less than one minute last month. This is the course that will help you create great sound design, faster, with less randomness, and more confidence. This one is totally beginner friendly, as well.

After that, there will be Step-By-Step synthesis, which will teach you how to make great sound design from scratch using the synthesizer Serum. If you really want to know what you're doing in a synthesizer and want to stop just twiddling knobs, this will be for you.

And last up is Step-By-Step FMOD. If you want to be able to actually get your sounds into a game, this will be the course for you. I'll be teaching Unity, FMOD, and C# programming to help you be more flexible and confident on every game you work on by giving you the power to place your sounds in a game. No programming experience required here.

Just head over to bit.ly/soundbizpod to sign up for my newsletter so you can know when those are coming out

Why You Need to Move to a Big City to work in Audio... and Why You Don‘t Dec 15, 2021

Most people think you absolutely need to live in a big city to make a living in music, sound, or just art in general. But is that true? Let's cover that in today's episode.

Also, this is a new format for me! Did you love it? Hate it? Let me know!

Send me a message:

hello@akashthakkar.com

@akashthakkaraudio

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

Making Your Own Path in Music, Just Showing Up, & Touring with Omniboi Dec 08, 2021

#20: Omniboi's path toward a full-time music production and performing career isn't like what you see in so many other musicians. He doesn't have a musical family, didn't go to music school, and didn't start music lessons when he was 3 years old. In fact, he didn't even have a love of music when he was growing up, either.

Omniboi is a perfect example of how you don't need to be a childhood prodigy, or even focused on music early in your life to "make it" in this field.

In this episode, we talk about finding your own way into music, how practice doesn't have to be a torturous process, and so much more.

Find Omniboi at:

Twitter: @omniboi
Instagram: @omniboi
Spotify: Omniboi
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

Game Audio & Music Law with Cory Shackelford Dec 01, 2021

#19: Cory Shackelford is a music attorney who has been working exclusively in music law for over 10 years. He's represented everyone from video game composers to world-famous songwriters.

In this episode, we talk about music law, how Cory made the transition to working in game audio law specifically, when every audio designer should consider getting an attorney, and so much more.

Find Cory Shackelford at:
Twitter: @coryshack
Website: https://www.musicrightshub.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coryshackelford
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

Hitting #1 on the Charts with Thomas Powers of The Naked and Famous Nov 24, 2021

#18: Thomas Powers is a singer-songwriter, music producer, and frontman of the band The Naked and Famous.
In this episode, we talk about the rise of The Naked and Famous, Thomas' next steps in his musical career, how to actually think about self-promotion and social media, staying sane as a pro musician, and so much more.

Find Thomas Powers at:
Instagram: @thomaspowers
Twitter: @thomaspowers
Spotify: The Naked and Famous
Website: https://www.thomas-powers.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

Building an Online Presence, Going Indie, & The Truth of Talent with Luna Shadows Nov 17, 2021

#17: Luna Shadows is a producer, songwriter, and vocalist based out of Los Angeles. Luna has one of the best aesthetics I've seen when it comes to being an indie artist, and does an incredible job of keeping a sustainable music career while staying totally independent.
In this episode, we talk about not being talented and not coming from a musical family, the grind of becoming a better producer, and why she focuses so much on being an independent artist.
Find Luna Shadows at:
Instagram: @Lunaxshadows
Twitter: @Lunaxshadows
Spotify: Luna Shadows
Website: www.lunashadows.co
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

Making It as a Game Composer, Side Hustles, & Helping Others with Ryan Ike Nov 10, 2021

#16: Ryan Ike is a BAFTA-nominated video game composer and sound designer based out of Seattle WA. Ryan's worked on a ton of games, including Where the Water Tastes like Wine, Frog Fractions 2, Gunpoint, Wizard with a Gun, West of Loathing, Reigns: Game of Thrones, and many many others.
Ryan has a super diverse set of compositional styles, from writing beautiful Americana folk music all the way to banging electronic music, Ryan is able to do it all.
In this episode, we talk all about the struggles of breaking into an industry, getting good at a craft when you have no time, the persistence it takes to become known, working side jobs, creating a life with balance, and much much more.

Find Ryan Ike at:

Twitter: @RyanIkeComposer
Instagram: @RyanIkeAudio
Spotify: Ryan Ike
Website: https://www.ryanike.com/
Bandcamp: Ryan Ike

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

Touring with the Lumineers, Making Your Own Luck, & Saying ”Yes” with Stelth Ulvang Nov 03, 2021

#15: Stelth Ulvang is a musician, vocalist, songwriter, and touring member of The Lumineers. Not only does he work with other bands, but also creates music alongside his wife, Dorota Szuta.

In this interview we talk about touring, playing shows with tens of thousands of people in the audience, playing alongside giant bands like U2, what it feels like to play a show with just a dozen people in the audience the night after a huge performance, and much more.

Find Stelth Ulvang at:

Instagram: @stelthulvang
Spotify: Stelth Ulvang
Website: http://www.stelthulvang.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

Coaching Artists, Transitioning Careers, & Following Your Intuition with Alarke Oct 27, 2021

#14: Alarke (aka Mary Alouette) is a pop-singer, songwriter, performer, artist coach, and entrepreneur who has worked in the worlds of opera, gypsy jazz, cuban music, and has coached award winning songwriters all over the world.

Alarke also runs SupremeSound.Life, a female-focused coaching and mentoring service that helps singers and songwriters create, release, and promote their music.

In this podcast, we talk about everything from career transitions, working in multiple genres of music, finding opportunities in the most unexpected of places, and much more.

Find Alarke at:

Instagram: @alarke_
Spotify: Alarke
Website: https://alarke.com/
SupremeSound.Life: https://supremesound.life/

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

The Rise of the Musician Entrepreneur with Doug Rogers of EastWest Oct 20, 2021

#13: Doug Rogers is the founder and CEO of EastWest, one of the largest virtual instrument companies in the world. Their plug-ins have given musicians of all sorts access to higher-quality, incredibly well-produced sounds at a moment's notice.

If you're a composer of any sort, odds are you've used or lusted after the products that EastWest makes, and if you've watched a movie, played a game, or listened to any music at all in the passed couple decades, you've absolutely heard EastWest's virtual instruments at work.

In this interview we talk about how EastWest came to be a dominant force in the music industry, their philosophy when it comes to making new products, how Doug and his team make sure what they do will succeed over the long term, and so much more.

Find EastWest at:

Website: http://www.soundsonline.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eastwestsounds/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/EWQLTutorials
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eastwestsounds

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

Working on Hollywood‘s Biggest Movies with Jason Poss Oct 13, 2021

#12: Jason Poss is a wildly prolific orchestrator, arranger, music transcriber, and music preparation expert who has worked on projects like Lord of the Rings, Coco, Frozen, Star Wars Visions, and SO many others.

In this podcast, we talk about everything from the countless alternate music paths there are out there, what it's like to work at the top of the Hollywood music scene, and the importance of being a well rounded human while pushing toward a career in music.

Find Jason Poss at:

IMDB: Jason Poss

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

The Myth of the Creative Grind, Growing a Personal Brand, & Being a Balanced Artist with Dot Oct 06, 2021

#11: Dot (aka Kate Ellwanger) is a producer, online educator, DJ, and entrepreneur who is also now touring the world opening for acts such as The Glitch Mob and Zedd. Dot has also worked with The Oprah Winfrey network, Nike, and has even made music for virtual reality installations for the Los Angeles Times.

Dot also runs Unspeakable Records, an artist-focused music production company that focuses and supports female and producers of marginalized genders.

In this podcast, we talk about everything from dealing with the myths of creativity - and how we must "grind" to get where we need to go, how to show up to get the opportunities we want, and transitioning from musical path to others.

Find Dot and Unspeakable Records at:

Instagram: @dotofficial
Spotify: Dot
Website: https://www.unspeakable-records.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

Creative Flow, Following Your Intuition & Loving the Practice with DiViNCi Sep 29, 2021

#10: DiViNCi (aka Glen Valencia) is a producer, world-class finger drummer, and creative coach who has toured with acts such as Ms. Lauryn Hill, The Soliloquists of Sound, The Fugees, and so many more.

DiViNCi also runs Studio Sensei, where he coaches creative of all types to create freely, without shame, while following their intuition. I've worked with DiViNCi before and he's rocketed my career and life to insane levels while spending a whole lot less time stressing or overworking.

In this podcast, we talk about everything from fighting through down-points in our lives and careers, how every creative can follow their intuition and get into the flow daily, and how we should not only love the practice, but how we must practice loving the practice.

Find DiViNCi and Studio Sensei at:

Instagram: @divinci | @studiosensei
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/studiosensei
Websites: https://studiosensei.com/
Studio Sensei Discord: https://studiosensei.com/dojo

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

Creating Sound Libraries, Pivoting Careers, and Building Teams with Jason Cushing of SoundMorph Sep 22, 2021

#9: Jason Cushing is a sound designer, entrepreneur, and founder of both SoundMorph and Sinematic. SoundMorph is a premiere sound effects library company that serves sound designers from all over the world, and odds are you've heard their sound effects in some of the biggest games, TV shows, and movies in the world. Jason's newest company, Sinematic, is a repository of some of the highest-end curated sound effects that are out there - simply search for what you need and use it in your project.

In this episode, we talk about building a team, what someone who wants to bolster their income with sound effects libraries should be thinking of, how Jason pivoted from focusing on a 9-5 game audio job to building his own company from scratch, and much more.

Find Jason, Soundmorph, and Sinematic at:

Instagram: @soundmorph
Twitter: @soundmorph
Websites: http://www.soundmorph.com | https://www.sinematic.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

Mental Health, the Myth of Talent, and Impostor Syndrome with Sydney Kjerstad of Smart Game Piano Sep 15, 2021

#8: Sydney Kjerstad is a pianist, entrepreneur, and founder of Smart Game Piano, an online piano teaching site that teaches musicians of all levels how to play piano through incredibly well-produced video game music tutorials. To date, Sydney has created *over 550* piano arrangements and tutorials for Smart Game Piano and shows no signs of slowing down.

In this episode, we talk about the myth of talent in the world of professional music, the mental health swings all creatives deal with, the impostor syndrome that we all feel, the birth of Smart Game Piano, building a team, how none of us can do anything entirely on our own, and so much more.

Find Sydney and Smart Game Piano at:

Instagram: @smartgamepiano
Twitter: @smartgamepiano
YouTube: Smart Game Piano
Website: www.smartgamepiano.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 www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

Creating Plug-ins, Non-Traditional Careers, and Starting a Business with Ivo Ivanov of Glitchmachines Sep 08, 2021

#7: Ivo Ivanov is a sound designer, modular synth artist, circuit bender, and is the Founder and CEO of Glitchmachines - a company that makes incredibly unique, sound-design-focused plugins for audio designers. On top of all of this, Ivo has been a full-time touring keyboardist, and has created custom instruments for the likes of Trent Reznor and Richard Devine.

In this episode we talk about the ins-and-outs of starting (and sustaining) a business, what it's like to create plug-ins, how to thrive in the world of audio without a formal education, and how a true professional should behave when working in the field.
Find Ivo at:
Instagram: @ivanov_sound | @glitchmachines
Twitter: @Glitchmachines
Website: www.ivanovsound.com | www.glitchmachines.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 www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

Punk Music, Orchestral Mixing, and Audio Engineering with Jason LaRocca Aug 11, 2021

#6: Jason LaRocca is a producer, mixing engineer, scoring mixer, and punk rocker based out of Los Angeles. After forming and touring with his successful punk band, The Briggs, Jason is now focused on being an engineer and scoring mixer on big name projects like Bad Boys for Life, God of War: Ragnarok, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Fortnite, and so many other huge hits.
In this episode we talk about what it was like transitioning from being a touring musician to becoming an engineer, how Jason looks for new clients, and how people new to the audio can get their foot in the door.
Find Jason at:
Instagram: @jason_larocca
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1103924/
Website: https://www.jasonlarocca.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 www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

Touring, Music Entrepreneurship, and Live Show Designing with Laura Escudé Aug 04, 2021

#5: Laura Escudé is a touring musician, violinist, show designer, and entrepreneur who has worked with people such as Kanye West, The Weeknd, Cirque Du Soleil, Porter Robinson, Bonobo and many others. She also runs the Transmute Academy, an online academy that teaches musicians how to design their shows and play their music both live and over streaming platforms.
In this episode, Laura and I chat about wanting to do everything, FOMO, running an online course and education platform, burnout, taking care of ourselves, and so much more.
You can find Laura and the Transmute Academy at:
Twitter: @thelauraescude
Instagram: @lauraescude | @thetransmuteacademy
Website: https://lauraescude.com/the-transmute-academy-links/
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 www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

Working in Games & Film, Being Rejected, and Helping Others with Austin Wintory Jul 27, 2021

#4: Austin Wintory is an award winning concert, film, and video game composer who's worked on video games such as Journey, Abzu, The Banner Saga, Assassin's Creed, and countless others.
In this interview we talk all about pitching for work, building a full-time composition career, working in film, games, and concert music, being rejected for projects, and much more.
Find Austin at:
Twitter: @awintory
Instagram: @a.wintory
Bandcamp: https://austinwintory.bandcamp.com/
Website: https://www.austinwintory.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 www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

Loving Our Work, Self-Care, and Recording The World with Melissa Pons Jul 27, 2021

#3: Melissa Pons is a field recordist and sound designer who is known for her beautiful nature recordings of wolves, rainforests, and natural soundscapes from all over the world. All of her albums are available on her Bandcamp page, including her most recent release Mata Atlantica, which is a stunning collection of recordings from Brazilian rainforests.
In this episode we talk about Melissa's recording process, why she does what she does, dealing with bad clients, how to love your work, and keeping our creative work sustainable.

Find Melissa at:
Twitter: @melissapons1
Instagram: @melissagpons
Bandcamp: https://melissapons.bandcamp.com/
Website: https://melissapons.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 www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

Saying ”No”, Choosing Clients, and Building New Skills with Disasterpeace Jul 27, 2021

#2: Rich Vreeland (Disasterpeace) is an award-winning composer, musician, and audio artist who's worked on video games such as FEZ, Hyper Light Drifter, and Mini Metro, as well as films such as It Follows, Triple Frontier, and Under the Silver Lake.
Disasterpeace has released over FIFTY music albums at this point, and is always pushing what music should sound like, how it's implemented in his projects,
In this episode we talk about saying "no" to great projects, what's next for his career, negotiation, dealing with rejection, seeking out novelty, and so much more.
Find Disasterpeace at:
Twitter: @Disasterpeace
Instagram: @dzasterpeace
Bandcamp: https://music.disasterpeace.com/
Website: https://disasterpeace.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 www.bit.ly/soundbizpod

Welcome to the Sound Business Podcast Jul 27, 2021

#1: Welcome to The Sound Business Podcast! My name is Akash Thakkar and I'm a sound designer for video games with 11 years of professional experience. I've always been fascinated by people who manage to "make it" and create a full-time artistic career, so in this show, we're going to interview some of the top people from every corner of the music and sound industries and hear about their journeys to make it to the top.
We'll be interviewing musicians, composers, songwriters, sound designers, game audio professionals, educators, entrepreneurs, performers, pop stars, audio software developers, and everyone else from every corner of professional music and sound. We'll be talking about mindsets, business skills, rejections, transitions, and so much more.
My goal with this podcast is to show you that there's no one path to making a killer living off of music and sound, and that anyone can "make it" given enough time and the right mindsets and skills.
Thanks so much for joining in, and I'll see you soon!

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