Composer and cellist Philip Sheppard discusses the importance knowing what your audience wants, finding freedom in restriction, arranging all the national anthems for the London Olympics, and his rules for success.
Topics discussed in this episode:
- Starting on cello
- The separation between composer & performer
- What audience’s want
- The meritocracy of movie music
- Seeking approval
- Freedom in restriction
- Library music
- Philip’s Rules:
- Play Bach in the pub
- Join a band
- Have a bucket list & a business plan
- Study outside your expertise
- Own a niche
- Work with people better than you
- If it’s at 70% start again
- Fire yourself
- Never relay a problem upwards
- Be busy even if you’re not
- If being asked to work for free, ask for a time exchange
- Own everything
- Be in the habit of writing
- USP (Unique Selling Point)
- SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis
- Impostor Syndrome
- You are a business
- Building a Kitchen Cabinet
- The 2012 London Olympic Games
- The bigger the project the less everybody knows
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This episode was edited by E.J. Sadler at Studio184.