Composer Resources
One of the things that I'm passionate about is helping composers & lyricists to build a staircase that can be followed by others. That's not to say it's going to be a straight staircase... keep in mind the one from the end of The Labyrinth with David Bowie and the baby and that would be more accurate. But regardless of it's winding, meandering nature I want there to be a path, something permanent and helpful, to help people build a sustainable career in the sometimes overwhelming business of show making.
The Composer Resources is the beginnings of my attempts to do this. I do not profess to be an expert businessman. But I've learnt some things over the years. I guarantee you, I didn't start out that way. I was so damned grateful that anyone was even allowing me to write for them that I was willing to take any job. Unpaid, slave wages etc... simply because I LOVE what I do. Over time, that sort of attitude became unsustainable as the work got bigger, harder, higher in professional profile and it meant that if I was really going to make a go of it, then I would need to dedicate the majority of my time to it. And that of course meant that I had to start making the majority of my money from it.
When I was starting out, there were very few resources that documented this path into the woods. Biographies of great composers and lyricists tended to entirely ignore the realities of the difficult years prior to a sustainable career and often the only way to get the real story was to try and meet some of the people who had been there and done it. Some of whom are more than willing to give you their time, and others who, through no fault of their own are just way too busy. There are documents out there in the interweb world that are useful to an established composer & lyricist who has been offered a commission at a large professional theatre company or organisation. But there is less in the way of personal experiences of how you get to that first job. Unless you're very lucky and well connected, it's going to be a long road. But damn it's going to be a hell of a ride.
SO what am I doing here? I'm putting up stuff that I think would have been useful to the historical version of me.
The Me who didn't know where to start.
The Me who didn't know who to ask.
As with anything that is personal, it is filled with anything and everything as seen from my own perspective and those of my colleagues who have been kind enough to share their own experiences with me. It's not going to be perfect and it's not going to be ideal. But it is going to be true. As in Judge Judy, the characters portrayed here and the events that took place are real. The documents are real and have been used in all cases to get paid for writing songs for the theatre.
I hope you enjoy this personal history and collection of documents which have helped me make this wondrous thing my career.
DISCLAIMER:
Once you've read this stuff, read the official stuff!
Writers Guild of Great Britain
The Musical Theatre Guidelines
Make yourselves familiar with these sites. They are really helpful. I understand there is some much more detailed information and work being done on Musical Theatre by The Writers Guild so check them out regularly. As ever, a personal history is filled with bias and personal bollocks and it isn't meant to be a replacement for these official pages.
The Composer Resources is the beginnings of my attempts to do this. I do not profess to be an expert businessman. But I've learnt some things over the years. I guarantee you, I didn't start out that way. I was so damned grateful that anyone was even allowing me to write for them that I was willing to take any job. Unpaid, slave wages etc... simply because I LOVE what I do. Over time, that sort of attitude became unsustainable as the work got bigger, harder, higher in professional profile and it meant that if I was really going to make a go of it, then I would need to dedicate the majority of my time to it. And that of course meant that I had to start making the majority of my money from it.
When I was starting out, there were very few resources that documented this path into the woods. Biographies of great composers and lyricists tended to entirely ignore the realities of the difficult years prior to a sustainable career and often the only way to get the real story was to try and meet some of the people who had been there and done it. Some of whom are more than willing to give you their time, and others who, through no fault of their own are just way too busy. There are documents out there in the interweb world that are useful to an established composer & lyricist who has been offered a commission at a large professional theatre company or organisation. But there is less in the way of personal experiences of how you get to that first job. Unless you're very lucky and well connected, it's going to be a long road. But damn it's going to be a hell of a ride.
SO what am I doing here? I'm putting up stuff that I think would have been useful to the historical version of me.
The Me who didn't know where to start.
The Me who didn't know who to ask.
As with anything that is personal, it is filled with anything and everything as seen from my own perspective and those of my colleagues who have been kind enough to share their own experiences with me. It's not going to be perfect and it's not going to be ideal. But it is going to be true. As in Judge Judy, the characters portrayed here and the events that took place are real. The documents are real and have been used in all cases to get paid for writing songs for the theatre.
I hope you enjoy this personal history and collection of documents which have helped me make this wondrous thing my career.
DISCLAIMER:
Once you've read this stuff, read the official stuff!
Writers Guild of Great Britain
The Musical Theatre Guidelines
Make yourselves familiar with these sites. They are really helpful. I understand there is some much more detailed information and work being done on Musical Theatre by The Writers Guild so check them out regularly. As ever, a personal history is filled with bias and personal bollocks and it isn't meant to be a replacement for these official pages.
