🆘 Why Most Composers Can't Go Full-Time

📊 I Surveyed Composers Just Like You

I asked composers on the Composing Career Bootcamp Wait List to fill out a brief survey which you can check out here.

Of those composers, over 50% of them had landed paid work, but were still struggling to do it full-time.

So getting paid something for composing is pretty common, but transitioning to doing it full-time is the real challenge.

If that sounds like you, here's what I think you might be dealing with.

😓 No Money, No Time

First of all, you don't have many clients.

Without a lot of clients, you're not in demand, so you can't raise your rates. That means your pricing stays low, so you're not making enough to make the transition to full-time.

You try to solve that problem by getting more clients. You send cold emails, apply to jobs, and go to in-person or online conventions and forums. You're not sure what works and doesn't work, so you do a bit of everything (or nothing).

None of it works. 👎

You get an occasional "We'll let you know", tons of business cards and no phone calls, or a job interview where you spend time writing free music as a "trial run", followed by a prompt rejection.

And with so little paid work, you're probably working a day job to pay the bills. That takes up even more of your time, leaving you with just a few hours a week to invest in your career.

I've been there.

In 2017, I was making $90 a week at a local church while I ate through my savings as I struggled to find composing work. I tried everything I could think of, and still felt stuck.

It was frustrating, confusing, and downright maddening.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

If you can compose and want to get paid to do it, there's only one problem you need to solve. Ready for it?

🔑 You Must Earn Trust

Trust is the key that unlocks all doors.

I repeat... 📣

TRUST is the key that unlocks ALL DOORS.

In the composing industry, trust is earned over several interactions and exchanges:

When people meet you, they decide if they trust you.

✅ If they like you, they keep up with what you do.

✅ If they enjoy your work, they inquire about your services.

✅ If they trust your expertise, they hire you.

✅ If you deliver, they'll hire you again (and refer you to their friends).

Sounds simple, right?

While it may be easy to understand, we often get stuck trying to figure out how to actually do it.

Here's just a handful of roadblocks we face: 🛑

❌ Networking is awkward, so we don't meet new people.

❌ We forget to post online, so people forget about us.

❌ We don't engage our audience with our work, so potential clients drop off.

❌ We don't diagnose a client's needs, so job offers fall through.

❌ We don't know how to send follow-ups, so we lose touch with our clients.

Laying the foundation to gain trust is NOT easy.

(If it was, everyone would be doing it, and it wouldn't have taken me a decade to figure it out)

But it doesn't have to take you a decade to learn these skills.

The reason I made the Composing Career Bootcamp was to teach my students everything I've ever learned in just 6 weeks.

Here's some of the many things you'll get when you enroll:

🎓 What You Get When You Enroll

🎥 10+ Hours of Recorded Lessons

• 💬 How to build your network from scratch
• 🧲 How to draw your dream clients to you
• 🤝 How to land jobs and get paid fairly
• 📂How to hyperspeed your workflow
• 😢How to repair difficult client relationships
• 😄 How to create a top-tier customer experience
• 🚀 How to leverage existing clients for more work
• 🎁Bonus content and modules

🔴 Live Sessions

• ✋ Weekly Q&As
• 🎹 Bonus masterclasses and teaching

🛠️ The Notion Toolkit

• ⏰ Time tracking tools
• 📊 Client databases
• 💰 Pricing calculators
• 📩 Mail scripts
• 💡 Job search ideas
• 📂 Project/folder templates
• ✍️ Worksheets

💬 The Student Portal

• 💡 Try regular career challenges with students
• 🍎 Submit assignments and get student feedback
• ✋ Ask questions and suggest new lesson content
• 💬 Chat with other students 24/7

🎁 Bonus Content

• 💡 New lessons and modules added regularly
• 💬 Interviews, coaching clips, and livestreams recorded
• 🤖 Lessons on efficiency and finance
• 🎬 Scene studies and composition tips

With these skills, you'll use the time you've got more effectively, win over potential clients, and stop sending hundreds of emails and job applications to find work.

With these skills, you could turn your composing career dreams into a reality.

It's not about luck. 🍀

It's about knowing how to position yourself for luck to strike as often as possible, and how to be ready when it does.

I truly believe that with the right attitude, skills, and proper guidance, any composer can get paid to do what they love.

If you believe that, too, then I'd love to see you in the Composing Career Bootcamp.