The Craft of Scoring for Picture 🎬
For composers writing for film and TV — whether you’re landing your first project or leveling up an active career. Weekly notes on craft, spotting sessions, working with directors, delivery, and getting paid. Written by a composer still in the trenches.
How Film Composers Actually Get Paid 💰
newsletter ScoreSchool The Four Ways Film Composers Actually Make Money Most beginners think a composing gig is one transaction — producer pays you, you deliver music, done. That's the visible part. A working composer's income actually comes from four streams, and the upfront fee is often the smallest over the life of a successful project. 1. The creative fee. The money the production pays you to write and deliver the score. This is what you negotiate upfront. 2. Performance royalties. Every...
No Credits? Here’s How to Get Your First Film Scoring Project!
newsletter ScoreSchool The exact steps to build a film scoring portfolio and land real projects — even if you’re starting from zero Every composer I talk to hits the same wall. You’ve spent months — maybe years — perfecting your sound. You can write tension. You can write emotion. You can write cinematic music that genuinely moves people. But when it comes to actually getting hired to score something, you freeze. Because every opportunity seems to require credits you don’t have yet. Here’s...
You already make music. Here’s how to get paid to score films 🎬
newsletter ScoreSchool The next step in your film scoring career is almost here I want to cut straight to it — something I’ve been building for a while is almost ready, and I think it’s going to be a game changer for composers who are trying to break into film scoring.It’s called Score Your First Scene — a course designed specifically for composers who are ready to stop waiting for their first real film gig and start creating it. Inside you’ll learn:• How to approach scoring a scene from...
One Focused Hour
newsletter ScoreSchool How to Maximize Your Creative Output and Hit Deadlines Professional composers aren’t defined by how inspired they feel. They’re defined by what they deliver. Deadlines don’t wait for the perfect mood. Directors don’t ask if you felt creatively aligned that week. And production libraries definitely don’t extend submissions because you were “still experimenting.” The composers who build careers are the ones who can consistently turn limited hours into finished work. Not...
You Have to Be Crazy to Want a Music Career
newsletter ScoreSchool Building a Career at 40: The Long Game I graduated from Berklee College of Music two years before my 40th birthday. I remember getting my degree thinking about all the doors that were about to open. I’d spent years in my mid-30s working toward this—taking classes, learning music production, studying how to write music to picture. Part time at that all while working full time. I had the degree. I had the skills. I was ready. The realization came slowly, then all at once:...
They’re Not Wrong About AI... Create Anyway
newsletter ScoreSchool I need to say something uncomfortable up front: if you’re getting into composing for film and TV in 2026 because you think it’s a safe, reliable path to a creative career, you’re probably making a mistake. The AI people aren’t fear-mongering. They’re not exaggerating. I’ve heard the tools. I’ve watched editors on Reddit share how they’re using AI to generate placeholder music that’s “good enough” they never replace it. I’ve seen the production library emails about...
The Mixing Decisions That Separate Library Music from Film Scores
newsletter ScoreSchool I’ve been staring at the same cue for twenty minutes. It’s punchy, it’s emotive, it’s got that Hans Zimmer-adjacent thing happening. On paper, it should work for both my library submission and as a portfolio piece for film work. But something feels off. The truth is, there’s an invisible line between music mixed for libraries and music mixed for actual film work—and most composers don’t talk about it because it’s uncomfortable. It suggests that maybe the music we’re...