When watching TV, the average viewer most likely isn’t thinking much of how much creativity is pulled into a 30 minute show. Camera work, lighting, audio, editing, music, etc - the list goes on. The average music producer & songwriter is always trying to find their way into getting their music published on TV, which is probably the most lucrative means to make money off your music right now aside from touring. Though this truly wasn’t a lucrative situation, and no one would ever know I had anything to do with this other than this particular blog post - I was fortunate enough to be able to have another producer/music supervisor interested putting some of my music on the Lifetime TV show Life Flight: Trauma Center Houston.
Starting at 0:37 in the video above you can hear a snippit of the song I wrote, recorded & orchestrated. The original song, titled “Interlude”, was really just an composition I had in my head, a piece I’d written on piano and played several times for fun, and didn’t ever think much of it going anywhere - nonetheless on an album or TV show.
So why allow it to be used if it isn’t lucrative…bragging rights? Another credit for the resume? Validation in a life-long pursuit in music?
Funny that when you’re young & trying to build a business in music that you will make strange, uneducated decisions. Whether for exposure, money, career leverage…sometimes any form of recognition is good enough. Early on, I certainly think a lot of creatives get excited over exposure. Why wouldn’t we? Someone is interested in using our art, and that’s pretty cool! Then, later in our careers, we’re offended by exposure. As we get more seasoned - we realize that we can’t feed ourselves with exposure - none the less with exposure that’s essentially non-existent in this instance because of the lack of credit (seriously, myself and I’m sure many other artists were not given end credits for use). After all, someone got paid and recognized using my small clip on a TV show - so, why didn’t I? To be clear, I’m not saying this to lack gratitude for the “opportunity”. Being completely honest, it probably wouldn’t have resulted in enough money to even celebrate over.
I just think that sometimes people, myself included, hesitate pushing back or asking important questions about what exactly happens to our intellectual property during and after we say yes to an opportunity due to fear of losing opportunity. Young and excited artists are somehow expected to know “the business” and know what they’re agreeing to. Just something to think about for all you up-and-comers: Be wary on your agreements, be willing to ask questions and/or push back and it’s always ok to say “NO” if something doesn’t seem right. New opportunities are almost always right around the corner.
Silver lining here is that there have been and will be MANY more of my songs written, recorded, produced and published somewhere - with proper credit. One little clip of a song that I never intended to go anywhere is no sweat off my back. But the lesson learned was still extremely important in my growth as a musician and businessman. Hopefully the story will help some of you too!
It’s just another tale of where you never know where your creativity will end up. Stay creative, my friends!
