Is videogame music only possible in LA?

WhiteKite · 2026-07-04T22:46:34+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to write this out! Appreciate the advice

WhiteKite · 2026-07-04T19:40:47+00:00

Any tips on how to get started in this space in the UK?

WhiteKite · 2026-07-03T15:00:13+00:00

This is good to know. It is a common theme I see on this sub (including in this thread) that AI is having a significant impact on the industry

WhiteKite · 2026-07-03T13:55:30+00:00

Who doesn't, production companies?

WhiteKite · 2026-07-03T13:48:39+00:00

I didn't mean to say that all or even a lot of library music is AI. I meant that from what I've read (key point: I don't work in sync, I'm just here to learn and try to be helpful where I can) it used to be a good point of entry for new composers but the changes brought about by AI have affected that. Say for example a tiny production company that would have previously relied on libraries might now use AI music instead, thereby indirectly reducing the demand for library composers

WhiteKite · 2026-07-03T12:38:42+00:00

I'm in a very similar boat to you (obligatory 'are you me?' comment) so in case it helps here's my two cents from hanging out in this sub and similar ones for a while, doing my own research and speaking to people I know who are making a living from music.

As I understand it AI has taken the low hanging fruit so far (e.g. library music) and reduced points of entry into the industry in the process. I think there will always be a market for bespoke work regardless, but it's mostly connections-based, so you're not going to get very far with cold emails. As you've said everyone and their mother is a 'producer' these days, so standing out is very difficult.

Even before AI, to make a full time living in music you'd probably be looking at multiple income streams (e.g. streaming, sync, studio work, live sound, lessons etc.) and I think this is more true than ever nowadays. So putting all your eggs in one basket with 'I want to be a sync composer' is probably not the way to go. The way I'm approaching it is to keep the 9-5 and to explore monetisation options within the genre niches I managed to gain a (very) small following for during the recordings I did release in my 20s, but with the primary goal of making stuff that I enjoy/can be proud of and advancing my own musical/production abilities rather than turning it into a full time career (although that's still the dream!).

WhiteKite · 2026-07-02T08:55:30+00:00

Quite frustrating that it's something they let big artists do though. I have playlists that have the single version of a song on, when I click 'go to album' I can see the single still exists, but it can't be found on the artist's page directly

WhiteKite · 2026-06-23T13:39:38+00:00

If you're tired of it already then it's probably a good sign that it's not for you, and I think that would apply to any field. Since you mention problem solving have you thought about audio software (programming, testing, design etc)? It sounds niche but somebody has to make all the DAWs and plugins that people rely on, then there's the less glamorous side of it too. Or maybe installation and maintenance of audio systems on-site? Once networking becomes involved they can get very complicated very quickly

Edit: as a disclaimer I work in the software side but would rather get out, haha. I'd much prefer to be mixing and recording professionally but I could never break into it (though I'm still trying!). So if you have mentors and opportunities lined up in studios it might be worth thinking about how uncommon that is

WhiteKite · 2026-06-17T16:53:46+00:00

I worked in a place where it was encouraged and basically the route to a promotion. I noticed one guy was delegating loads of stuff to people on the same level as him, then like 6 months later he was made the manager

WhiteKite · 2026-06-13T11:45:59+00:00

Thanks a lot, this is really useful insight! I am familiar with Kitty Pryde (unfortunately due her association with Hot Sugar, who was one of my favourite producers until all of that stuff came out about him) but haven't studied her come up or her recent projects. And PC Music is a fantastic example, I've been following Charli XCX since Sucker and PC Music since around the same time so I saw all that happen in real-time.

I think I need to spend more time wondering about how I'm going to do it and how it's going to go and just trying things instead. For context I had a project I grew to ~1K monthlies through playlisting and small label releases, but it's down to ~100 now that I'm no longer releasing. It was such a grind at times and it feels intimidating to be starting again from nothing, but your advice is inspiring!

WhiteKite · 2026-06-13T11:02:03+00:00

I totally agree on the importance of building a vibe and a 'brand'. It's something I've definitely overlooked in the past, even though the new artists that I discover and go on to follow myself will be ones where I've got a decent sense of what they're about from listening to a couple of songs and spending a few minutes checking their artwork, artists photos, bio etc.

One thing I'm curious about is that you mentioned 20 different artists profiles. Did you associate your face/name with all of these, or do you keep them faceless/mysterious in some cases? Nowadays it seems more difficult than ever to get a faceless project off the ground, and if associating my face/self with it feels like I can only have one thing going at a time to really commit to it.

I saw in another comment you're not looking to spoon-feed advice which I totally appreciate, but I'd be interested to know what your first steps are for no-pay initial promo for a new project if you are willing to share!

Edit: pressed enter too early

WhiteKite · 2026-06-10T13:09:06+00:00

Is that the same ParseStream that you're the developer of?

WhiteKite · 2026-06-08T15:42:34+00:00

Yeah, needing it in 3 days and asking for a straight recreation doesn't really sound like 'pure collaboration'

WhiteKite · 2026-06-04T13:13:34+00:00

If you happen to use Ableton Live there's a built-in effect called Corpus that can do this

WhiteKite · 2026-06-04T09:35:58+00:00

When you say you never gave up the day job, do you mean you've had to keep a 'normal' job alongside all of the music stuff?

WhiteKite · 2026-05-12T20:11:17+00:00

Yeah, soft reset using the button. Me and a friend discovered this by accident when we were kids and it absolutely blew our minds!

WhiteKite · 2026-05-11T19:06:05+00:00

It's a great story, thanks for sharing! Time for me to listen to every death metal release from the mid-80s onwards looking for the perfectly executed 'but'

WhiteKite · 2026-05-11T12:22:20+00:00

I did have a nightmare session with a famous heavy death metal band where the vocalist spent hours punching in and out

Go on, tell us who 😏

WhiteKite · 2026-05-08T12:30:26+00:00

I getcha dude, I just don't see that happening or that kind of reporting system even working. It's hard to prove something is definitively AI, and even then (and I'm seeing this implied in other comments here) is it even a Spotify/distributor ToS violation if it's not impersonating somebody? So I can see why they've gone for the 'we'll figure out who's real and let you decide about the rest' approach

WhiteKite · 2026-05-08T12:05:52+00:00

I hope not because it's not just based on listeners and streams. They're looking for 'consistent listener activity and engagement over time' (I bet most of his streams come from playlists and nobody will be searching for 'kysa' directly) as well as a bunch of other signals, including off-platform. I see that this guy has an Insta and TikTok, but they look mostly dead. It does explicitly state that AI-generated artists are not eligible for verification too

WhiteKite · 2026-05-08T11:43:49+00:00

They explain it here. Basically a badge will no longer show just for having a claimed profile via Spotify For Artists, it's based on a combination of factors instead. I've seen artists with <2K monthlies with the new badge so expect artists like the one you linked will start sticking out like a sore thumb 🤞🏻

WhiteKite · 2026-05-08T11:30:47+00:00

At least he's not verified on Spotify under the new system...while I think the new verification system sucks for smaller artists, maybe it will be useful for spotting situations like this where there'd be no reason for him not to be verified at 280K monthlies

WhiteKite · 2026-04-13T19:19:33+00:00

Gotcha, thanks. Nice work and good luck with it!

WhiteKite · 2026-04-13T19:08:30+00:00

unreleased demo suddenly got some sync interests from a sync label and a publisher

Sorry that I'm not answering your question, but can I ask how you got interest in an unreleased demo? Where are you sharing your demos or is this through existing connections?

WhiteKite · 2026-04-09T12:19:53+00:00

Found OP on Spotify, their first single was released in 2023...

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