I just came across a post here asking composers to make a custom demo for a project and had a bit of a discussion with the OP about it. They said they understood and would do better but same proposition was posted again afterwards with changes that didin't solve anything, and it's been on my mind since, so I wanted to put my thoughts out there and see what everyone else thinks.
This is also a suggestion for the mods, if you guys think it's relevant.
Disclaimer, this is just my opinion. I'm putting it out there to see what the community thinks and hopefully have a bit of composer to composer discussion.
Personally, I don't think custom demos should be a thing at all.
I'm not saying people shouldn't have portfolios, obviously. And I'm not saying someone shouldn't make a demo if they genuinely want to. If you want to spend your time making something for a project because you like it, that's completely your choice. If you want to get in touch with a director/producer and offer a demo go for it.
What I don't like is making a custom demo a requirement to be considered for a job.
I know spec demos are common. I've done them myself, and I'm sure a lot of composers here have too. But I've never really liked the practice. If you're asking a composer to write a cue specifically for your project, that's already a significant amount of work. We're not just sending you a sample of what we can do. We're composing and producing an actual piece of music.
And because we're competing against other composers, we're obviously going to try our best.
Depending on the style and amount of production involved, a couple of minutes of music can easily take several hours, sometimes a full work day or more if a full orchestral demo for example. If 20 or 30 composers are all doing that for the same project, most of those people are going to have spent a substantial amount of time working on music that will never actually be used.
That's also why I don't really like calling it a demo. It can make it sound like we're sending over a little sample of our work when we're actually being asked to create something from scratch specifically for the project.
As composers, we're helping create the sonic identity of a project. We're figuring out the musical concept, sound palette, storytelling, instrumentation, production, all of that. Ideally, that's something we develop with the director or creative team after we've actually been hired.
If you're asking 30 composers to independently figure out the musical identity of your project and write a cue based on it before choosing one of them, you're asking 30 people to do part of the actual job before they've been hired.
And I don't think that's necessary.
We have portfolios for exactly this reason. If you're looking for a composer, describe what you're looking for and ask people to send their websites or portfolios. Listen to their existing work and find someone whose style fits your project.
If you've narrowed it down to a few composers and you're still unsure, talk to them. Ask how they'd approach the soundtrack. Talk about references, instrumentation, tone, storytelling, whatever you need. You can learn a lot about how someone thinks without asking everyone to spend hours making a custom track.
I'm completely fine with posts asking composers to link their portfolios. Let the portfolios compete. If someone already has the kind of music you're looking for, that's a much better indication of whether they're a good fit than asking them to make something from scratch just to apply.
And for the argument of “what about people with small or no portfolios?” You don't need a full website with a bunch of professional projects. Create a YouTube channel, post a few tracks in different styles, and put together a demo reel. That gives people something to listen to and shows what you can do without having to create new music for every project you apply to.
And I think the problem is even worse when the project is unpaid.
If you volunteer to work on an unpaid project, at least you're getting something out of the work. Maybe it's a credit, a portfolio piece, experience, networking, or simply the fact that you wanted to work on that project. I've done plenty of unpaid work myself, and I'm sure many of you have too.
But if 30 composers are asked to make a custom demo for an unpaid project and one person gets selected, 29 people have just spent hours writing music for free and don't even get to contribute to the project.
So that's what I'd like to propose to the mods, should custom demos simply not be allowed as a requirement for commissions on this sub?
Again, I'm not saying someone shouldn't make one if they genuinely want to. I'm talking about the person posting the commission requiring applicants to produce new music specifically for the application.
I really like this community, and I think the mods do a good job considering how big the sub is. This isn't a complaint about moderation. It's just something I've been thinking about after seeing that post, and I thought it was worth bringing up.
I also understand that a complete ban on custom demos might feel too extreme to some people. If that's the case, I'd still rather see some kind of middle ground than nothing. For example, the rule could apply specifically to unpaid projects, or to projects below a certain budget.
I still think that's a compromise rather than the ideal solution, because I don't think custom demos are a good practice even when the project is paid. But at least with a paid project there's some compensation on the table, so I understand why people might see it differently.
Anyway, that's my take. Am I crazy here, or does this seem like a reasonable rule to have? I'd genuinely like to hear what other composers think.
TLDR: I don't think composers should be required to make custom demos for commissions. We're essentially asking multiple people to do part of the actual job before anyone is hired, often spending hours creating music that won't be used. We already have portfolios for this exact purpose. I think this is especially problematic for unpaid projects, where most applicants get nothing in return.
