Turning Sound Design Into A Career 💰 // Some Tips And Advice

[@VenusTheory]

Perhaps we'll explore the business side more at some point - hard to distill all this stuff into a single video that isn't 3 days long 😅 🎸 Create a website with Bandzoogle ► bandzoogle.com/?pc=venustheory

[@zantrex4]

A 3-day video is precisely what the people want!

[@BrianKupferschmid]

I find diversity keeps you busy. I’ve only scored a couple of gigs in sound effects and foley, but I’m also working on other avenues of production. This is what is keeping me busy until the steady work comes in. I am learning that it can be feast or famine, which is why it’s good to be fluent in a few practices of the business. Keep these types of videos coming, because I know a few folks who could definitely benefit from your content.

[@sonofdirt]

For anyone starting out I highly recommend buying the super handy & affordable Zoom H2n. You can use it as a field recorder, audio interface, and USB mic. It also can record 4 channel surround sound & VR audio.

[@liamltf1783]

Holy shit venus theory has a youtube channel awesome

[@Luftrum1]

Great tips and advices! I will add a little bonus tip here: If you are going for PC, make sure to choose silent components. I prefer my own environment to be dead-quiet and for this, the "Be Quiet!" components are highly recommended (but there are likely similar components out there) both for PC case, the fans, air coolers, PSU etc. just my own extra 2-cents added on top of these fine advices.

[@omniburn]

the mighty luftrum is here?! love love your products!!!

[@Luftrum1]

Thank you!

[@dovepaige]

This is a lot of what I was looking for, I didn't get into synthesis for a career in sound design but it keeps presenting itself to me, and its starting to look like what I started doing as a distraction during an ugly breakup could become a career that I actually enjoy

[@caxtnova]

Love hearing about the business side of sound design! Learning about fancy tools and techniques is always fun, but there's nothing more inspiring than hearing stories of people turning their passions into a life. Sign me up for the 3 day video :)

[@benwearne542]

A ridiculous amount of useful and relevant information in this video. Everyone should favorite this for future reference

[@qracle]

Thank you for sharing your skills, knowledge and experience in such an open and selfless way. You're going a long way to making the world a better place. Thanks for encouraging enlightenment.

[@nogoodshiftlessjunglebum]

Thanks for the video! It would be really useful to see more content related to the business side of things, and how to get started in the industry.

[@biggrime]

Bandzoogle is awesome been using them for years

[@zookeeper2103]

Yes for more of this :) Curious what your first paid sound design gig was? What was your most fun assignment? Your worst gig? Etc. Don't have to name names but general idea would be interesting for me.

[@dystopiannoise6782]

this video is fire, was waiting for sth. like it to pop up on youtube since a long time!

[@Ramjiveb]

Thanks for the video...this kind of advice or guides are needed to learn the other side of music production or sound design, in this case. There are many tutorials and informational videos that focus mainly on the "how to do" this or that thing; but, few share how to obtain a financial stimulus to continue the cycle...

[@tracktionwaveformtips]

Well done. I can see why you’d procrastinate on a video like that, there’s a lot of info to consider and structure into something coherent and engaging. You got there. This will help a lot of people.

[@katulamwangi9164]

Looking to start sound designing more after watching this video. Thanks! Practice makes perfect. Keep going!

[@Zerroth]

While I don't mind the idea of working as a sound designer and composer. I feel it is more of a hobby. I can only do in it the morning up until lunchtime. I have strong doubts that I could live up to other people's expectations. Also have some bad experiences networking in the past. Have made some rude and toxic connections that I had to cut out of my life and I deleted all of my social media for the betterment of my mental health. I am confidant I can make some good stuff but I don't think it would be very monetizable or monetizable enough to keep a roof over my head.

[@souppe12ea94]

same here mate ! Taking music too seriously like a job sucks all the fun out of it and so having a financial safety net helps a lot which on the other hand leaves you with no time or even a compromised emotional state to make music. miss the time when music production felt like a game

[@brownmoney27]

Don't do it then

[@fiero_sound]

Insightful and very inspiring video. Thank you!

[@DaddaPsy]

Great video! I personally would love to see more videos on this. It's a perspective of the music industry not many speak that much about tbh. Why I don't know but could be because it's kind of... boring but still essential to know more about. Keep it up! Always enjoy your videos.

[@zither715]

Thanks man! Definitely up for some more videos

[@hieroglitch_noise]

Really great video. Thank you. I’ve watched a few of your sound design videos and noticed there hasn’t been a mention about the mixing / mastering stage. Is this something you can discuss? I’m curious to know how in depth this needs to be when submitting work to clients.

[@aons5481]

beautifully explained man! And the most important message as you told is to simply just keep doing 🖤

[@TraxtasyMedia]

Some advices that are super simple and also very logical: learn your gear and tools. So I've met some people who came up to me and said that sounds amazing, how did you do that? months, days and years of fiddling around and testing stuff. I don't work in the audio field yet, but I try to soak in as much knowledge as possible to learn techniques, plugins, gear, effects and stuff. There will be many moments of frustration, anger, desperation and stuff, but what helps me pretty well out is: compare only if it's really necessary. Because I've seen people who just started doing music in general and were frustrated that they don't sound like their idols or someone else whom's music they heard. One last advice: B A L A N C E! Don't stress too much on your projects. Time is a key and nothing to be chased after. So find projects, that suit you and don't go for the first big shot to be offered.

[@midsoulmusic]

Man, this was so helpful for beginners! Definitely will reference peeps to your video

[@marcelocg]

Would you kindly make a video on how to start a film/game scoring career? Mainly on the business side of things, like how to find their first gig etc

[@patriciooc]

Great video and I really appreciate the level of honesty you put in every video. Not trying to sell a simple thing as “the only way to go”…. But presenting great alternatives as possibilities. Thanks a lot for your work! 🙏🙏🙏

[@iamaarbear]

this is a video that i am very thankful for. I've always wondered how you managed this profession over these years! Thank you for making this!

[@glenesis]

Good morning Cameron! I'm excited to be watching this. I watched your take on this from 2 years ago, just earlier this week. Have a great one! Happy Coffee cheers.

[@prod_by_gabe9972]

lotta great info in here. Thank you

[@wojtczyk]

Thanks for sharing! This is very helpful

[@olymoon2008]

Thank you for this video, yes I'd like more videos about the businessy side of things, please.

[@soundmechanicssd]

Some great advice thanks.

[@jameshorner1131]

That's a nice and insightful video, thanks!

[@SpiralFlip]

Woud love more music buissness videos!

[@jayrose4804]

really great video! i’d love to see more videos about your experience in sound design and advice on how to get into it. specifically maybe talking about how you got your first few gigs and some ideas on how other’s can start getting work in sound design without a portfolio of jobs for other companies. again really great video! i love this kind of content and it’s definitely not talked about enough in the youtube music world

[@darkdogstudios]

What do you use to clean your glasses? They’re possibly the cleanest glass lenses I’ve seen on KZbin!

[@bengsynthmusic]

The cleaning cloth that came with the glass. And occasionally ethanol.

[@vernonfarley1700]

Good stuff. Thank you.

[@KennethNordin]

...And also, don't forget TAL Noisemaker !! The best synth to grow with and learning the more advanced ones as Vital och Surge XT!!!!

[@c_0rv_a431]

Congrats on 100K man🥳

[@OperculumAudio]

I created a discord where I upload weekly Vital Presets that I've designed as well as other synths.

[@genuinefreewilly5706]

good advice. I wish I had downloaded Vital synth earlier before I started with Surge, but both are excellent tools to make patches and music for myself. Also have been watching David Hilowitz's channel on sampling and how he works, and he also uses Reaper in his workflow. Lots of good information there.

[@TheElectricRoseShow]

That was a good one! Super interesting AND informative. Your tool choices are always so dang valuable... :-) Keep up the great work man.

[@juliangregg6507]

Rather than spend much on a field recorder (especially if you aren't using it for its mic), I would say get an audio interface that works with your phone. A lot of the ones that are $200, or less, will work with phones if you run them into a cheap usb hub ($25-$35) that plugs into the wall and run that into the phone. They almost all have phantom power, XLR connection, and there are a ton of free options for recording on your phone. Some decent USB mics will plug directly into phones, too. I could think of a couple ways to go for both Iphone, or Android, that would definitely be $200 or less and would allow you to use your shotgun, or condenser mics. Phones record really nice and clean; if you don't try to use the mic you talk into off the phone!

[@prodbygunter]

This video is so informative thank you!!

[@KennethNordin]

About Midi keyboards, don't forget M-Audio's Oxygene-series !!

[@Gideonwolf111]

Appreciate the content as always..I have thought about taking my Gideon Wolf solo work into sound design alongside scoring work but have yet to make that jump. Seems as I was thinking about it your vid popped up…🤔 Keep em’ coming…

[@ToreHansen]

Very cool video and cool seeing you're name in many of the last software learning incl Arturia, Descent Sampler etc...

[@jonwatte4293]

I love the advice "make sure you're pleasant to work with" -- clients are what makes or breaks a service business. You can also get started for free with just a copy of Audacity, if you have enough grit and skill. Making sure that you're mentally ready to do the boring stuff needed to make a business work, is probably the most important thing. Especially "on time and on brief" as you say. That's not something they sell at B&H though :-)

[@atibakojo3478]

Thank right on time

[@ana303_]

I've i5 7500, 16GB 2400bus RAM ( mid range gaming pc i build back in 2017 to play Rainbow Six Siege ). Never saw a full project of Ableton cross 50% cpu usage. I'm talking bout project that has over 26tracks.

[@JudgeFredd]

Great informative video

[@BWP-u3y]

Veddy cool indeed! Wish I'd seen this a while back! 😅 Still likin' the PRS stuff? I'ma be watching for your foray into that world of electric-madness! Can't wait! 🎸

[@axcellgrease]

Can you tell us about your signal chain on your intro voice over? Vst, mic, etc.

[@RichardGroulx]

I'd definitely like a series about the business side please! ;)

[@avsystem3142]

The software section was bizarre, You only said "DAW" once in passing. The DAW is the heart of the software. Unless cost is no object there really is only one choice. That would be the most mature DAW available, i.e., Cakewalk by Bandlab which is completely FREE.

[@VenusTheory]

I mean I figured it was safe to assume if you're looking at sound design as a career, you already have/know about DAWs.

[@jaysherman4149]

Reaper, Bitwig, Ableton, Logic, FL studio, Cubase, etc are all fine.

[@avsystem3142]

@@jaysherman4149 Those all cost money and can't do anything Cakewalk can do.

[@TitoSilversax]

@@avsystem3142 a good workflow is important too..it’s good to explore

[@cuulcars]

You'd honestly be better off endlessly trialing Reaper until you get your first paid gig and use the first paycheck to pay for Reaper.

[@illustercol7544]

Thank you so much for this, very useful video! What shotgun mic would you recommend?

[@TheGhostRecordsChannel]

Also I found this recently but Windows already have a pretty good backup solution , this maybe can help you (and I will for sure do a backup in the upcoming weeks) dealing with a lot of google drive accounts or general cloud management. Youu can backup every stuff right on windows OR if you just need to maybe restore windows for whatever problem , this is a good , fast and the most easy solution

[@bengaljohnny6308]

Thanks for this! More bus videos please and thank you!! Great stuff

[@maydaygoingdown5602]

Thanks mate, I really appreciate listening to your insight on the buisness aspect. It would be great if you could do a series about getting started into the buisness once you have your gear.

[@shahzebqader1268]

So, have you started painting your kitchen?

[@VenusTheory]

............................................no.

[@TonyThomas10000]

Very helpful info!

[@mattwoodman3017]

great advice, my friend. An idea for a future episode: How about an in depth tutorial on HOOK THEORY. Navigating around their website, Where to begin in Learning theory ,excercizes,,Improvizing,. It seems like a great learning Tool, but I am sure there is more to HOOKTHEORY than placing MIDI Files here and there to build a song, would love to see a Venus Theory tutorial :)

[@systematic-sound]

Nice video!

[@Overxpossed]

There is something I don't get. I bought a sony mdr 1rnc about ten years ago when I was able to; is the Tascam, better?

[@heyhawtie53]

What field recorder and shotgun mic do you use the most?

[@jimmydekeersmaeker]

Hi Cameron, can you please do a tutorial on the TX16Wx sampler?

[@newbiadk]

thanks for this great video

[@MabawaVocal]

your voice is amazing

[@karmatosed7211]

Top notch content as always. Grateful Cam introduced me to Falcon as well that beastly plug-in has me addicted. But I always have issues with SurgeXT on Windows10. Upon loading the plug-in I get an error, then the GUI is all kinds of messed up, and the init sounds are the only sounds that will come out since no controls can be accessed. Does same thing on Windows11 too, but oddly it works perfectly fine for me on Mac lol. I should prolly take this to a Surge msg board I guess, oh well.

[@thesamgreenmusic]

Great video! I am super keen to get more involved professionally in this world, but struggle with balance. When the work you do in sound design/music isn't a career yet and the job you have isn't relevant to sound design/music (but pays the rent/bills)... is this where the determination to keep going with the time I have comes in to play? Or does determination look like quitting my day job and focusing my efforts toward making this happen? I hope wanting it 5% more than the next person still comes with a roof and food 😂

[@bengsynthmusic]

To be honest if you have too much time, you end up with not doing much and just stare at your phone all day. And then when you're busy, you're like "I swear I will make music if given a day off."

[@jfklmk13447]

Great video !

[@BorisBarroso]

Wow this was a really great Video

[@JakeFoster01]

Have you considered private consultations? I think that could be a very valuable service and I know I'd personally pay good money to bounce some ideas off of you

[@_CharlieHarper]

Hello, I was wondering, how do music composers protect their "intelectual property", their author rights for their songs which they make? Do they need an agent or some "Record label" company (which does that for them), or how do they protect their music and how do they get their royalties for having their music played? Can you please make a video about this topic? Or can someone else help, give some links or where should one go to get more info on this? Thanks in advance !

[@alexanderkritsek]

good advices.

[@Hero_Performance]

You are my favourite person :)

[@Rightly_Divided]

What do you think of using Hardware synths?

[@bengsynthmusic]

In my opinion, they are for dexterity and tactile sensations. As well as some flexing. The age-old argument about that warm sound is nearly obsolete nowadays.

[@yvmert2816]

Why are your sound professional tutorials, are some of the rare ones sounding like done by a sound professional...🤔♥️

[@jhardindrums]

4:42 I see you are also a man of culture.

[@nextlevelminimal]

What about the luck factor

[@talgy2671]

Bruh... I'm a sound designer (kinda) and i'm pluging in my AKG k240 mkII through 3.5mm jack to my laptop. No interface.

[@vidarhjal]

do you have monitors?

[@talgy2671]

@@vidarhjal i got Krk's rp g6 and i plug them through the 3.5mm jack as well

[@vidarhjal]

@@talgy2671 ok. well - an audio interface is like an external audio card of a PC in its basic functions. if it works for you...nice :D

[@ToreHansen]

3 av 4 videos last couple of weeks Seb have a video first, is this random?

[@myceliumbug]

very interesting

[@MabawaVocal]

THAAANKYOU

[@shirounurimba6898]

Hang on. What about a DAW?

[@VenusTheory]

If you're looking into sound design as a career and don't know about what DAW you like, then maybe you're looking at the wrong line of work.

[@shirounurimba6898]

@@VenusTheory That's true. Sorry for the dumb question. I thought you'd recommend like Studio One for Mixing or Bitwig for Sound design

[@JeffyG]

Great advice, but if my kid says they’re pursuing a career in music sound design… well…

[@nbor]

TRIFONIC IN THA HOUSE

[@_DRMR_]

Arturia software is terrible, would never recommend anything that depends on it. Doesn't run cross-platform and thus forces you into proprietary vendor-lock-in territory and higher costs overall.

[@mooselessness]

mor plz

[@Rhythmattica]

Theres alot of things that can be turned into a career .. Thats your YT ch for you, and me, appreciate it. ;) but admit... Orig SD in your own music...With original music.... OWNS

[@lorenzo4708]

Yes! Less gear and software and more business please!

[@endosick3998]

your voice makes me very nervous little boy

[@VenusTheory]

👹

[@sleeptwitch8950]

His voice makes me want to drink whiskey

[@endosick3998]

@@sleeptwitch8950 Really ??

[@ThomasNelson-o2r]

this is a video that i am very thankful for. I've always wondered how you managed this profession over these years! Thank you for making this!