This Is Why You're Failing As A Composer

[@danielgreen4484]

The killer of composing is procrastination by watching too many KZbin videos about composing.

[@MichaelOrtega]

Or little kids… family.. it can get pretty complicated

[@instrumentalmike]

No truer statement has been stated.

[@WillyJunior]

​​@@instrumentalmikethis man stated a true statement, a statement like no other statement that has ever been stated.

[@stephenpower1475]

What's worse is watching badly made videos. John should take more time to study lighting for videography, if he's going to waste his own time making videos and not writing his music.

[@WillyJunior]

@@stephenpower1475 nobody cares dude, video was fine

[@stevescooking]

Great video Jon, this really helped a lot, thank you

[@JonMeyer]

You’re welcome! Glad it was helpful.

[@audioartisan]

I've always had lot's of children around. They have been some of my biggest musical inspirations, and also the reason my time and concentrated efforts are limited. When I was young, I could stay up until 4am, after all of the children were sleeping to work on projects. When you're in your 60's, that kind of energy depletes lol. So now, I do it when I can, and the children are the best source of inspiration, even after all these years. (If you're wondering why I still have children after all these years: I adopt disabled children ...that's my real full time gig ;) )

[@rickfowler3710]

It's just like going to the gym. You have to force yourself to do it and you're always glad you did

[@ricardojmestre]

👆🏼Exactly this!

[@Ahmad-Mounir44]

Life is not easy for real. When I succeeded in defeating procrastination, here comes nursing my 78 yrs old mum 24/7 after her lumbar spine stenosis surgery. My last written track was a month ago and it's a part of a trailer music album of 10 tracks. Still have 3 more tracks to go! But I'm not complaining at all and I'm so grateful to everything.

[@samburtyboy]

Brilliant, honest and important video. Thanks Jon and cheers for responding to some of my thoughts on this subject.

[@dominiquecharpentiermusic]

Great video anyway, as always.

[@jackmansfield4637]

This is the best possible video you could’ve made going into the new year. Thank you.

[@rocketturtleproductions]

Thank you for this Jon! I needed these reminders right now more than anything. I’m in a whole new place with my production and composition career and I’ve got to get over a lot of these hurdles.

[@jimrogers7425]

I know more than a few successful composers and musicians who did NOT go to school for music training. Instead, it was something innate within them that drove them into their music careers. Back in the 80s there were plenty of people who saw writing music as a career as a way out of the rigors of a rock band. In Portland, Oregon, from the 80s through the 2000s there were at least four local musicians who had created successful careers in music as composers... for commercials, 'industrials', and even for instructional and or entertainment videos. One even transitioned from that to forming a band that was very successful in Japan, while not even beginning to move the needle in the states. Don't concern yourself with the fact that you've not had any formal training. Remember... your ears and what you uniquely hear are what is most valuable. You may only right one out of twenty (or fewer) tracks that do well, but it's that ONE track that will help move you forward. My two cents... before taxes!! 🙂

[@audioartisan]

You just reminded me of Quarterflash! (one of P-Towns successes in the 80's) ...Now I have to listen to 'Harden' my Heart' to get it out of my head LoL

[@jacobpittman1996]

Thank you for the Ross King cue! I found him 20 years ago; he’s a great musical influence in the world.

[@jacobpittman1996]

…well, Texas.

[@dominiquecharpentiermusic]

I can't relate about the burnout risk concerning the work as composer for production music but I guess you're right about this. What I don't understand is why you (and other composers in the same situation) don't try to earn money with streaming by releasing more music on these platforms. You've proven to be a good composer (I really liked Paper Trail). You could do more of this. And release "your" music, not only production music for others.

[@JonMeyer]

Thanks for the nice words about Paper Trail. Writing and releasing more personal music is high on my list for 2025. Thanks for the encouragement.

[@MrCraigSayer]

Thanks Jon. 100% agree and relate to everything you said. It's so good to not feel alone.

[@YankInches]

I'm a part of SOOOO many large discord groups where people can share their music for feedback. I leave feedback all the time for people and then I never get the same back. It always just seems like people want feedback but never want to take the time to give theirs and it's maddening.

[@jlarts]

So much this

[@bobrv8]

Let's say you play golf and you want to get better. Where do you go? Other amateurs or a Pro? I know where I'd go. The best feedback I get for my music is from a pro. Sure I have a cadre of musician friends I use too but the best I get is from the pro.

[@jlarts]

@bobrv8 Good for you that you have access to pros who have the time and desire to give you feedback. For the rest of us the only avenue to get something like that is to enroll in degree level courses which cost thousands of pounds. It's fine if you have someone who can support you financially while you do that but that's not affordable for many of us.

[@bobrv8]

​@@jlartsThe pro who provides my feedback charges 50 dollars/hr - about the same hourly rate my golf pro charges. Sometimes you have to invest to improve faster.

[@leanof-618]

@@jlarts ​ I understand your point but agree with @bobrv8, and there's a more basic point regarding pros imo: who's willing to pay attention to another person's work? I don't think my mother could stand a 2-minute track of mine, regardless of quality. You'll have to pay someone to listen to it and comment, preferably before you submit it to a library.

[@NickBDesigns]

This video was just what I needed. A year ago I decided to write something new (big or small) every day. I gained so much confidence and love for the craft. This last Christmas season was very full burn out for me. So instead of pushing myself too hard, I am taking January off to just listen to everything my ears can hear before jumping back in. Sometimes a little time to catch your breath is all you need.

[@StoneyGround-zs8oh]

Great video, I’ve never really put it into words before but I’ve always felt that it’s kind of important that creativity is not an efficient process. Not as in how long it takes to make a track, that can vary lots, more as in how much f-ing around you might do and the time you spend in an idea and then abandoning it etc. all perhaps plays an essential part in some way.

[@TheLeon1032]

thanks Jon, this content can really help people take a little pressure off themselves, ur not only helping people in their music life, ur helping people in their mental health, that's gold, thanks, Leon

[@HandWiredAmps]

I spend too much time on youtube. I don't really watch how to compose music videos, thank the algo, but do watch vids on studio gear, guitar amp related, bees, and various things of current interest. I have lots of little riffs, or just short jams, some while testing guitars and amps, sometimes a new plugin inspiration. I never finish them, but sometimes come back to them years later and think "I made that, it needs to be finished". Don't know if I'll ever get to it, I love starting things, it's the finishing I have a hard time with. Your friend Dave made a good point about leaving feedback, and a lot of times that's why I comment, writing out your feedback makes you dive deeper.

[@WillyJunior]

I used to be the same. This was a tough lesson for me. Being a composer/writer is being someone who finishes tracks. If you never finish anything, you're not a composer, you're a loopmaker.

[@stewartmproductions]

A good video - thank you. Thanks also for the F1 references! 🏎️

[@JonMeyer]

Formula 1 videos are on non-stop in our household. Race 1 of 2025 can't get here soon enough!

[@CCxRC]

Great thoughts! Really enjoyed this. Cool Losi JRX2 as well

[@WillyJunior]

Excellent video!

[@opasnakokos]

Hi! I'm from Europe and watch your videos regulary. Everything you say is so true and helping. And your videos are so well created and edited, original and interesting. Would you be so kind to tell me what camera and lens do you use, it looks gorgeous! Thank you and wish you all the best!

[@JeffreyBoggie]

Thanks for this, Jon. I have my own perspective on the time element, which involves a wife with cancer and other sh*t who for the last 2 years has required near 24/7 attention and care. I had a solid year where it was impossible to get even 30 minutes a day in the studio. Even though she’s mostly beaten the cancer, she’s still unable to do much around the house. So I do all the cooking, cleaning, finances, everything it takes to run the household. Nowadays I can squeeze in an hour or two. And some of those other hang-ups are showing up. Insecurity, perfectionism, imposter syndrome, etc.. Noodling around with no clear purpose. Distractions. Anyway, this video was a great reminder and really helped to clear my head. Onward ho as they say. Just keep going with a better game plan. BTW, I’m 66 yo, this was going to be my retirement career. Thought I’d have all kinds of time to do music and build it as a business. Then the cancer hit us. Yes, I did the right thing with regards to my wife’s health and happiness, my own goals took a back seat (and rightfully so). I’ve been finding it really hard to get back to the creative flow I had before. This is very very helpful and encouraging. Thanks.

[@bobrv8]

Hopefully time will reward you for your love and care.

[@donnieharrisonn]

I can relate with everything in this video. Thanks for posting 👊

[@alanredversangel]

Biggest hurdle I have at the moment is health. I feel like I've piggybacked from one cold or ailment to the next for about a year. Nothing too debilitating but It affects my focus a lot. And then I have to prioritise sleep over making music into the night.

[@jlarts]

Often it's not being in the right mood to compose. I still have a day job and it can be frustrating sometimes, other times the family can be frustrating, this degrades my ability to slip into a creative flow and unfortunately it doesn't take much to kill that flow. I also relate to all the examples cited in the video, especially the feeling of inadequacy. I'm not a great musician, I'm not formally trained either as a composer or a musician and the competition out there is mind boggling. If I make music for someone else, I'll more often than not be more likely to sacrifice my much needed hours of sleep to work late at night but if it's just for me, projects will rarely get finished. It's frustrating but also serendipitous that this comes now when I've really been trying to figure out a solution for this.

[@paulmccormack2843]

Creativity has its own unique way of making an appearance, it’s not on the 9 to 5 clock as we all know from the memo on our phone to capture them little magic moments of hummed melody that turns into something worth recording, can we really expect to pump out tunes like a machine that have quality over quantity im not sure but technology is definitely playing a part in mass production of popular music , AI is part of music now , kills me to say … I was born in Dublin Ireland in the 70s so the 80s and 90s was my musical playground , if I can get one song out on Spotify every few months I’m happy it’s my hobby so no explanations . But trying to make a business out of it is a pressure that may block creative vibes , deadlines don’t always bring out the best results.. anyway great channel .. ❤

[@jimsanger]

I can relate to pretty much every point in this video

[@daveassender1099]

So good, thanks.

[@UnrealSoundDesigner]

spotted a thalia capo during ross's part! :D

[@cremersalex]

Yes, I agree, simple repetitive sequences (arpeggios or patterns) made me more money than anything else I made. No need to be a trained or a schooled composer for that. Simplicity is the key.

[@RufusJacson]

I have a proverb from a fortune cookie stuck up above my workstation "You don't have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great." It sometimes helps with the imposter syndrome...(Sometimes 😂) Keep going everyone, it's about finding your way of expressing yourself honestly.

[@MatthewSwasta]

doubt - I write with intention as a personal sonic journal, for mostly myself. my pieces are not always "songs" or "compositions", but...sometimes. A few will make an album planned for 2026. Most will end up as snippets on a hard drive, CD, and Bandcamp. I am not a composer as such, but more of a hobbyist. I have a full time aircraft restoration career, so, time IS the most precious thing.

[@Whally]

I love your videos, nice picture, very nicely edited, you deserve more views ... You are in Tshirt, here in France, it's freezing... I was wondering where you are, but you indicate the location later. 😁 I felt miserable in comparison with other artists in the past, now, I sometimes prefer what I do, because I don't really like current music that plays on the radio, it's only in the field of video games, or certain obscure bands from Bandcamp that I find what I like..., over-compressed tracks, autotune everywhere, it's not my cup of tea. I create some tracks every 2 or 3 years. The problem for me is not creativity, I just wonder about the point of composing music today, I do it for myself, I do zero marketing, I don't like social networks, I say to myself: "what's the point of composing, so that barely 10 people listen to my music...", that's the most frustrating thing, we all want an audience, fans, and that requires crazy energy... Could be nice next time to add the names of your friend in the editing... ;-)

[@Childhoof]

Great video, I would add: show up & write something, anything every day with zero concern about the quality...like turning on an old faucet, just flush out the crap & you'll start finding gold to work from.

[@JonMeyer]

Good point. Thanks for sharing

[@cremersalex]

It's because I don't have any assignments (such as library music, corporate film or TV series). I used to make music simply because I wanted to but without 'assignments' I kinda don't see the point. I rather just improvise on the piano without recording stuff.

[@stuntdouble777]

Background noise made me stop vid halfway and go and compose, thanks bud

[@flolopoly]

Hey man, can you post your camera gear?

[@JonMeyer]

Sony a7cii is my main camera now. I use a Sony 20mm for my talking head shots in the studio. Most b-roll is shot with a Sigma 24-70

[@flolopoly]

@ thank you so much!

[@philoxoper]

i do a lot i just couldn't figur out how to releas them and where to marking and all spotify sound cloud or youtube so insted of posting i keep making more and now i have a lot of it and now am mixing and mastring hope by the time i end the mixing i figure out 🫠✨ Nice vedio btw

[@Ahmad-Mounir44]

Allow me to give you a quick tip. You have two paths, you either select one of them or take them both. The first path is "sync licensing" where you submit your music to online publishers (or music libraries). The second is the "solo artist" path where you submit your music to online DSPs like spotify, soundcloud, etc. The revenue stream of the first path comes in the form of frontend licensing fees set by your publisher with the clients and backend fees set by your PRO (BMI, ASCAP, etc.). The revenue stream of the second path comes from your audience directly in the form of streaming fees. If your music is for media such as trailers, advertisements, tv shows, tv spots,..etc, the first path is your path. If your music is for your direct audience, the second one is your path. For me, I selected the first path without hesitation because I intentionally write music for media since I started composing. This path roughly takes from 2 to 5 years until you see any revenue so yeah it's a long game but it might take less than 2 years with you depending on how proactive you are. My $0.02

[@OceanViewStudioArts]

Hope it is not perceived as inappropriate or disrespectful. I was told to step into production music by someone who believed I could do that.I asked him what is production music really, know what I think? It is the same that Scarlatti had to endure, writing for rich bitches in feudalism times one sonata after the other, over 500. So it is a field dominated by a business concept, that's all. From here the discussion went on ever since, and is still ongoing... Today I believe production music will change due to AI in no time, but that's another chapter. Thanks for the video, a lot of it resonates with every creative person, regardless being a musician, sculptor, painter, writer, take your pick.

[@leanof-618]

I know it's not the point (and thanks for the video, very helpful), but where is this beautiful place? My problem is: my tracks never end up sounding even close to what they should - style, arranging, the references etc. I do that in cooking, always changing recipes. I convince myself it's creativity but most likely it's lack of empathy for the final client (whoever that is) and lack of professionalism. In other words: I'm bad at following a set of rules which takes me far from a licensable track.

[@LearnCompositionOnline]

The mistake is to think that there is the “library music” quality standard and „the real serious compositional standard“

[@huntoriginalmusic-wy2rc]

I am not failing as a composer. The industry is failing to hear me. Luckily, I don't care.

[@hwynne]

Are you a formula 1 fan? See it on the TV in the background

[@dominiquecharpentiermusic]

ahah you're wrong about me

[@dominiquecharpentiermusic]

I think a lot of so called composers are just too lazy

[@JonMeyer]

tru

[@nemoralismusic]

So, what to do with all these tracks once one has beaten the creative obstacles? Send them to folk (who?) post them online, release them...file them away to gather dust on a hard drive? Great video. 20 minutes not composing that's worth every second.