American composer, conductor, orchestrator, pianist and producer Dan Redfeld has had his music and arrangements performed internationally from the concert hall to the musical theatre stage to the recording studio. He attended New England Conservatory before transferring to UCLA where he received his degree in composition with an emphasis in conducting. He and his wife, violinist Elizabeth Hedman, make their home in Sherman Oaks, CA, where he still works at the piano with pencil and paper.
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In this episode composer and conductor Dan Redfeld shares what you need to know to be a viable composer today and how he created his new album, A Hopeful Place.
Topics discussed in this episode:
- Being a producer
- Licensing
- Harry Fox Agency
- Residual income (royalty income)
- Orphaned works
- Bruce Broughton
- Using union musicians
- Recording in the U.S.A.
- Package deals
- Sacrificing your salary for the project
- Music publishing
- ASCAP
- Bear McCreary
- A Hopeful Place
- Kristy Holden
- Bob Lord
- Funding the recording
- Hiring the best people for the job
- You have to ask for things
- Believing in your work
- Learn how to market yourself
- Know how to write music
- Learn how to arrange
- Be technologically savvy
- Listen to a lot of music
Website:
Recommended Listening:
- Dan Redfeld, A Hopeful Place
- Harold Arlen, Somewhere Over the Rainbow
- John Williams, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 5
- Serge Rachmaninov, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Recommended Reading:
- Fred Karlin and Rayburn Wright, On the Track: A Guide to Contemporary Film Scoring
- Fred Karlin, Listening to Movies: The Film Lover’s Guide to Film Music
- Gardner Read, Music Notation: A Manual of Modern Practice
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