Selling Your Music to an Independent Trailer Editor via LinkedIn

Hello!

My name is Derek Lieu and I've been an independent game trailer maker full time for about seven years now, and in that time I've received a LOT of LinkedIn connection requests from people who make trailer music. This post is explicitly for the music companies and trailer music composers!

I want to share:

• What it's like to be on the receiving end of these requests
• What I do when I get them
• What I think would be the most mutually beneficial way to work together in the future.

Unfortunately, as of the writing of this post I haven't had the opportunity to work with any music companies or individual composers for my independent work because I mostly work with the game's original composers to create the trailer's music. The appeal for me is lower costs (since they're already employed by the game developers) and the sound of the trailer will naturally match with the game's. But, I know just like you that good music is the lifeblood of an excellent trailer so I would be remiss to discount any possible options, and also trailer music composing is a specialized skill which game composers often have no experience doing.

I get A LOT of connection requests and messages from trailer music makers. Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining; it is incredibly flattering and fortunate to be someone receiving the requests, but I don't have time to sift through and research everyone's portfolio. Therefore, the requests I receive with no message typically get ignored or lie stagnant in my network requests. I will usually respond when there's a personal message sent, simply because when presented with a sea of similar looking requests, I need to find some way to pick one, and a personal message tells me that person took that small extra amount of effort to make the connection.

Again, I receive a lot of requests; anything that makes one connection request stand out is far more likely to get my attention. Also, people generally care more about the individuals they work with rather than the work they produce. Of course, a high level of quality work is very important, but when there are five great options to choose from, the one with a better personal fit will win out all the time.

Responding to a message doesn't mean I'm instantly going to work with that person though, the next thing I'll want to know is what makes this company or composer's music stand out? I don't think you need to hear from me that a lot of trailer music sounds very similar, so the next thing I'm trying to find out is what is their specialty? Of course, it makes sense for a trailer music company to have a wide variety of music because they want to be able to work on as many projects as possible, but let's just say that if I see a restaurant that serves Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Italian food, I'm probably going to prefer going to a restaurant with just one cuisine (maybe two).

The other reason I want to know about a strength or specialty is I want people to enjoy making their music! There might be a composer out there who feels like they have to make a wide swath of trailer music types, when honestly all they want to make are music cues for games about farming. That might be too granular, but hopefully you get my point. It would make me happy to find someone who only wants to make trailer music for kung fu melee combat games. That would be an easy differentiator to note, and they'd be the first person I'd go to if I needed it.

I was recently contacted by a trailer music company, so I asked them what their strength was. The thing they said was they work with a large international group of composers, so they would have someone if I was in need of music with a very specific cultural sound. I put them into my list of music companies with the note: "Authentic International Music." That instantly makes them stand out from my list of people with the notes: "Action, Cinematic, Hybrid" or "Dark, Dramatic, Beautiful Orchestral."

I currently only have one other note for a music producer who I had a conversation with because they mentioned that games and game trailers often don't feel like they reinforce the brand of the game or company. This stood out to me because it indicated to me another level of thinking beyond "make it sound epic." So I put a note next to their name for when I'm working on a project which will benefit from that level of consideration. Of course, I don't have the time to get on a call with everyone who messages me, but if they make the effort to schedule a time then I might be more likely to.

I don't really have good advice for the larger music companies, but I suspect it's just on me to try one working with one to see the sorts of music recommendations they send me based on my brief. The few trailer music companies I am in touch with have the resources to send me an occasional email to remind me of their latest works and the fact that they exist at all. Even if I just reply to tell them I don't have any projects I need them for, it's still a nice reminder.

So to recap my advice for trailer music companies or composers contacting trailer houses or individual trailer makers:

• Send a message with your LinkedIn connection request/message
• Share your personal musical tastes, strengths, and specialties
• Show your work

That last one factors into one of my guiding business principles which is to share as much of my knowledge as possible so people understand who I am, and hopefully get a glimpse into what it's like to work with me. I would LOVE to read a trailer music composer's blog posts or even short nuggets via LinkedIn or Twitter where they explain their process, what are ideal conditions for them when it comes to working with a trailer producer or editor, etc. If you want my pep talk about sharing knowledge and content marketing, here it is!

Do whatever you can to make you and your music stand out and differentiate itself from the rest and I think you'll have a much stronger chance of making those connections.

Good luck!