Akash Thakkar interviews successful audio professionals from every corner of the music and sound industries. From educators, performers, pop stars, game audio professionals, voice actors, composers, sound designers, plug-in designers, audio programmers, and everything in between, we dive deep into the business and mindset skills it takes to ”make it” in the worlds of music and sound.
Episodes
Wednesday Apr 06, 2022
Wednesday Apr 06, 2022
#27: Bad Snacks is a violinist and music producer who is known for her string-centric lo-fi hip hop style. Bad Snacks has played violin on countless sessions, has produced music for Google & Youtube, and has released her own successful albums such as Neat Tapes 1 & 2 and Bathtub Bumps.
In this interview, we talk about building a community to help support a music career, moving to/away from big cities like Los Angeles, building up an income as a full-time musician, and much more.
Find Bad Snacks here:
Instagram: @lilbadsnacks
Twitter: @lilbadsnacks
Spotify: Bad Snacks
Bandcamp: Bad Snacks
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Mar 30, 2022
Wednesday Mar 30, 2022
If you want to dodge problem clients in your career, asking the right questions before the project starts goes a very very long way toward helping with that.
And to download my full client questionnaire, you can go here: bit.ly/gameaudioquestions
Send me a message:
@akashthakkaraudio on Instagram
Wednesday Mar 23, 2022
Wednesday Mar 23, 2022
#26: Jongnic Bontemps had a very different path into film and video game music, in that he initially started his career in the tech world as a programmer, and didn't officially start his music career until he was 36 years old.
In this episode, we talk all about how he restarted his career in his thirties (with a wife and kids!) all while giving up his high-salary tech job that had supported him and his family for so long, and how he made sure that he got the opportunities that he did, even though he started his music career "late" by most people's standards.
Find Jongnic Bontemps here:
Instagram: @Jongnic
Twitter: @Jongnic
Spotify: Jongnic Bontemps
Website: https://www.bontempsmusic.com/
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Mar 16, 2022
Wednesday Mar 16, 2022
#25: Michael Sweet is an award-winning composer, sound designer, and game audio educator who's worked on over 100 games and has had a huge impact on educating the next generation of game audio designers. I was lucky enough to study under Michael at the Berklee College of Music, and he is one of the handful of people I can point to and attribute a large amount of my success to.
In this episode, we chat about his starting in game audio before it was as big of a field as it is today, how he grew his career, what's most important for up and coming composers and sound designers to know, what he would do if he needed to start his career over, and so much more.
Find Michael Sweet here:
Twitter: @MichaelSweet101
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Mar 09, 2022
Wednesday Mar 09, 2022
There's a lot that goes into preparing for a video game conference... but most composers and sound designers totally miss the mark when it comes to making the most of a networking event.
So, in this episode, host of The Video Game Composer Podcast, Tyson Cazier, and I sit down to discuss how to prep for a video game conference - whether it be online or off.
A huge thank you to Tyson for giving permission to post this episode of his podcast on my feed.
Check out the Video Game Composer Podcast below!
Wednesday Mar 02, 2022
Wednesday Mar 02, 2022
Most budding audio designers I see coming in to the game industry are so worried about finding work, that they tell everyone that they're a "composer/sound designer".
But, does being both things actually end up with us getting less work? In this episode, we cover why you should (or shouldn't) focus on just music or just sound design throughout your whole career.
Send me a message:
@akashthakkaraudio on Instagram
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
#24: Fryda Wolff has amassed hundreds of game, TV, and film voice acting credits in her career so far. You can hear in places like Sailor Moon, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Final Fantasy 7: Remake, Apex Legends, Fortnite, and so many other games, shows, and movies.
In this episode, we talk about her transition from sound design to voice acting, how to run a freelance voice over business, the lack of importance of social media, and so much more.
Find Fryda Wolff here:
Website: Fryda Wolff
Twitter: @freethewolfvo
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Feb 16, 2022
Wednesday Feb 16, 2022
It's super tough to find work as a composer... or is it?
It turns out, many of the woes that composers face in their careers stem from being completely invisible to people who want to hire them. In this episode, we'll talk about what you need to do to put on your visibility cloak so that you can start attracting tons of clients.
Links Mentioned here:
Send me a message:
@akashthakkaraudio on Instagram
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Feb 09, 2022
Wednesday Feb 09, 2022
#23: Lena Raine is an award-winning and BAFTA-Nominated composer for video games who has worked on projects like Minecraft, Celeste, Steven Universe: The Movie, Deltarune, Guild Wars 2, and many other projects.
In this episode, we cover the financial realities of being a composer full-time, finding your way in the game industry, and the importance of learning multiple skills to keep yourself afloat while building that artistic career.
Find Lena Raine here:
Website: http://lena.fyi/
Twitter: @Kuraine
Instagram: @Kuraine
Spotify: Lena Raine
Bandcamp: https://radicaldreamland.bandcamp.com/
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Feb 02, 2022
Wednesday Feb 02, 2022
Can you build a game audio career, even if you live in a small town or live outside the US? In this episode, we cover exactly that, how to do it, and how you need to think differently about your approach to your career.
Send me a message:
@akashthakkaraudio on Instagram
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod