Why am I a Composer?: Different Music for Different Countries?


AFX Industrial (film scores)

If you're interested in selling your film globally then you need to consider international tastes in music. The wrong choice of music in your film will directly affect how your film is perceived - which will ultimately affect sales.

Who Are You Selling Your Film To?

Below China (1.3 billion) and India (1.1 billion), at 311 million the population of the USA is now the world's third largest! European countries like the UK, France and Italy have around 62 million each. So, for a western, English language film the largest market (before you head down the expensive road of foreign language subtitling) is without a doubt going to be the USA. If you're making films for fun and don't care about sales then reading this will be a waste of your time - go and have some fun!

There are so many VOD (video on demand) platforms that you can use to sell your film, like Netflix and MUBI and the audience is already there waiting, with cash in hand! At the time of writing this blog Netflix are enjoying around 30 Million subscribers all paying a very reasonable $10 per month! It doesn't take a genius to see that VOD is a very lucrative business, and you want your film to be part of that business right? Of course you do, but what if something as boringly simple as the music you have chosen to present your film to the world with has no mass appeal? Then your film could flop!

The Eurovision Effect

I'm sure most of you reading this will have either seen the Eurovision Song Contest or you will have heard of it, and, if there is such a thing as colloquial music then that best sums up the vast majority of the entrants. Music that is particular to a country or a region can often seem absurd to those outside of the region itself, a prime example is the didgeridoo. I mean it's pretty absurd isn't it? Whatever spiritual connection the didgeridoo is meant to evoke it would be an absurd noise to hear behind images from say Downton Abbey or The Tudors. And, unless you want to make your film sound like a cheap travel documentary, you'll need to decide on the didgeridoo as the musical basis for your film first and then film it in Australia just to be sure! Still not feeling me here? How about J.J. Abrams latest Star Trek TRAILER and when the bad guy (Benedict Cumberbatch) appears on screen we switch to a solo Irish whistle? Yeah that'll scare 'em! To be sure.

But what is the most popular and the most commonly used music in western film making? Well, according to many international music publishers, the most popular genres chosen to enhance film making are as follows:

1. Dramatic Instrumental Music.
2. Rock Music.
3. Classical Music.

These are the top genres that time after time, when utilized for the sole purpose of film, scoring outsell ALL other genres. Unfortunately (because it may be used only 0.1% of the time) your favourite music may not even appear on the list. And of course popular music that it's cool to like is totally dependent on which country you live in, please don't be blinded by your own musical preferences.

In retrospect, when I studied music in America, not only did I gain unprecedented insight as to where iconic composers like John Williams drew their inspiration from, I also hung out with my student buddies watching bands. But, while I visited these local bars I began to notice one thing and that was how much Americans love the guitar! They love Rock and Country, but above all what surprised me the most, was their love of incredible musicians - and those bands I had the absolute honour to watch were driven by awesome, effortless musicianship!

As a film maker, the USA is one of your biggest markets and as you can see, statistically they love 'Dramatic Instrumental Music' just a little more than they love Rock and Classical! If you're not following this example then you're probably torturing your audience with music, when you should be entertaining them - which will result in diminished sales. If you're not interested in a formula for increasing sales then what are you doing reading this far? I told you, go and have some fun! And why shouldn't we maximize sales? Film making is bloody hard work and bloody hard work should always merit a reward.

- David.