#74: Today's guest is Nathan Moody, a composer, sound designer, mastering engineer, and interaction designer based out of California. He has worked on an insane variety of projects ranging from The Callisto Protocol, Pentiment, to MLK: Now Is The Time.  He has also created sound effects for World War II Battleships, and is even currently working with Skywalker Sound.

In this episode, we talk about the benefits of being a generalist in the world of professional audio, how Nathan started his full-time sound career after the age of 40, how he built his skillset and network over a huge period of time, how to stand out in an industry where audio is becoming more commoditized, and so much more.

Find Nathan Moody here:

Shipscape Website: https://noisejockey.net/main/project/shipscape/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/n4th4nm00dy/?hl=en

Twitter: https://x.com/noisejockey?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

IMBD: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11708054/

Get info on The Game Industry Professional, my flagship course that teaches you how to make a great living in game audio here: bit.ly/gameindustrypro

#73: Today's guest is Ariel Gross, a game audio veteran based out of Texas with over 20 years of experience in the game industry. He started his career on PC and Game Boy Advance games in the late 90s and early 2000s, and eventually ended up as an audio lead—working on titles like Saints Row, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and so many more.

Ariel is now the founder of Team Audio, a team of approximately 30 audio professionals working across dozens of projects in the gaming industry.

In this interview, we dive deep into how Ariel got into game audio long before it was “cool”, working on small projects as a teenager to becoming an audio director on AAA games, how he founded Team Audio in the first place, and so much more.

Find Ariel Gross here:

Twitter: https://x.com/arielgross

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arielgross/

Team Audio: https://teamaud.io/about/

Get info on The Game Industry Professional, my flagship course that teaches you how to make a great living in game audio here: bit.ly/gameindustrypro

#64: Today's guest is Bastian Gerner, a Foley artist based out of Düsseldorf, Germany. He has worked in the film and game industries as a Foley artist for decades and, most recently, worked as a full-time senior Foley artist for Ubisoft. Nowadays, on top of his freelancing business, he also coaches up and coming sound designers on breaking into the film and game industry, as well as how to record high quality using a home setup. 

In this episode, we talk about Bastian's career and how he started with Foley in the first place, how he teaches sound designers the skills they need to succeed, why he decided to freelance instead of being a full-time employee forever, and so much more. 

Find Bastian Gerner here:

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5588918/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_foley_teacher/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCES-9zV4CV9_BIGrqczAwLA

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

#63: Today's guest is Nicolas Gasparini, also known as Myuu. Nicolas is a long-time pianist and composer who's been uploading dark piano horror music since 2006 and has built a huge following in that time with over 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and another 300,000 subscribers on YouTube. He's also worked on short films and video games and is currently working on the upcoming horror game Post Trauma.

In this episode we talk about finding your niche as a composer and how important it is to dive deep into your interests. We also talk about how Nicolas started writing horror music in the first place, why he releases music for free, and what up and coming composers can do to get out there, and so much more.  

Find Myuu here:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Myuu 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5sP3ci0jwrXUBo76t8pGTF?si=sVFG_WI_TVuUVIUYudUwhQ

Website: https://www.thedarkpiano.com/bio

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myuusic/

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

#62: Today's guest is Joy Ngiaw, an award-winning composer based in Los Angeles. Joy has worked on a ton of projects including the animated short Blush, Disney's experimental short series Short Circuit, Cobra Kai, What Remains of Edith Finch, and many others. 

In this episode, we talk about how she grew up in rural Malaysia, made her way to Shanghai, China, and eventually Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music. We also talk about how she got into composition from her early days as a classical pianist, how her first gigs came about, and much more. 

Find Joy Ngiaw here:

Website: https://www.joyngiaw.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyngiaw/

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7267486/?ref_=rvi_nm

Twitter: https://twitter.com/joyngiaw 

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

#61: Today's guest is ZW Buckley, a musician, producer, and composer based in Seattle writing in a broad variety of genres and styles for a ton of different projects. His work includes writing a pop soundtrack for Barbie: You Can Be A Fashion Designer VR, teaching music production at Point Blank Music School and running the game audio co-op, Plant Based Audio. 

In this episode, ZW and I talk about how to join and be a part of the game dev community quickly, how to find your first projects, how to learn and practice the skill of music production, getting over the fear of jumping in and becoming a full-time artist, and so much more. 

Find ZW Buckley here:

Website: https://www.zwbuckley.com/ 

Newsletter: https://zwbuckley.substack.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

#60: Today's guest is Christian Büttner A.K.A. TheFatRat, who is a producer, DJ, and musician based mainly out of Germany. Chris has millions of listeners from all over the world, and has accumulated billions of plays so far. He did this without a major record label, all while giving his music away for free. 

In this episode, we talk about how he started in the world of classical music and transitioned into electronic music much later. We also go into how he taught himself electric music production skills, why he releases basically all of his music for free and lets people use his music, why he steers artists away from signing with major labels, and much more. 

Find TheFatRat here:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa_UMppcMsHIzb5LDx1u9zQ

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3OKg7YbOIatODzkRIbLJR4

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefatratofficial/

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

#59: Today's guest is Henri Sorvali, a musician and composer based in Finland. He started off his career has a classical and jazz pianist who ended up starting two successful Finnish black metal bands, Moonsorrow and Finntroll. He is also a full-time game composer working in-house at Rovio Entertainment, the company most famously known for The Angry Birds games. 

In this episode, we talk about how why Henri stopped his life of being a touring musician in front of thousands of screaming fans to instead focus on video game composition, how he ended up in the world of metal music, and how he made the transition from heavy metal music to making lighter-hearted video game music, and much more. 

Find Henri Sorvali here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/trollhornmusic

Website: http://www.trollhorn.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

#58: Today's guest is Nuno Fonseca, founder of the company Sound Particles. Sound Particles started off their journey by making a piece of software with the same name, which allows anyone to create immersive 3D audio. Since their founding, Sound Particles has gone on to be used in countless movies, TV shows, and video games such as Oppenheimer, Assassin's Creed Origins, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and many others.  

In this episode, we talk about how Nuno got started in the world of creating audio software, what it was like promoting Sound Particles in the beginning, what he believes the future of audio is, and much more. 

Find Nuno Fonseca and Sound Particles here:

Website: https://soundparticles.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soundparticles/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoundParticles

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sound.particles

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

#57: Today's guest is Katherine Tole, a voice actor and dialogue editor based in Seattle. She's a dialogue editor at Jackbox Games and is working on the soon-to-be released Jackbox Party Pack 10. She's also teaching courses on how to get jobs as a voice actor, especially through the voiceover marketplace Voice123. She's currently working on some exciting top-secret projects as well. 

In this episode, we talk about how Katherine transitioned from being a full-time engineer in Silicon Valley to becoming a voice actor, how she got her first gigs in the world of voiceover, how to stand out in a sea of thousands of other voice actors, and much more. 

Find Katherine Tole here:

Website: https://katherinetole.com/

Video Game Audio Collective: https://plantbasedaud.io/

Jackbox Games: https://www.jackboxgames.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

#56: Today's guest is Dawn M. Bennett, a voice actor based in Los Angeles. Dawn has been a professional voice actor for almost ten years, and has voiced hundreds of characters across games, movies, and anime. She's worked on iconic franchises such as Dragon Ball Super, World of Warcraft, Street Fighter VI, Monster Hunter, Diablo IV, Pokemon, and Attack on Titan, among many others. 

In this episode, we talk about Dawn's rise to voice acting success considering she didn't go to theater or acting school, her advice for up and coming voice actors, how she made the move to Los Angeles and thrived there, and many more. 

Find Dawn M. Bennett here:

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/DawnMBennettVA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dawnmbennettva/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DawnMBennettVA

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

#55: Today's guest is Amit May Cohen, a composer based in Los Angeles. Amit has worked on projects such as Zombies 2 and 3, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone, and many others.

In this episode, we talk about her journey into becoming a film composer in L.A., her growth as a musician over the years, how she recommends new composers break into the industry and Hollywood scene, and so much more. 

Find Amit May Cohen here:

Website: http://www.amitmaycohen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amitmaycohen_composer/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0XmtL3Aq8d8KtOoqb77MKV?si=htVO1smWRw6n4uK2OeS8Hw

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

#72: Today's guest is Aaron Brown, a video game composer, sound designer, and audio director based out of Austin, Texas. He has worked in the game industry for over 20 years now and has worked on projects such as Call Of Duty, Uncharted, Redfall, Donkey Kong: Country Tropical Freeze, and so many others.

In this episode, Aaron and I talk about how to make your own path into the game audio world, how he’s been dealing with countless layoffs and studio closings, how people should network and make friends within the game industry, and so much more.

Find Aaron Brown here:

Website: https://www.aaronbrownsound.com/

E-mail: aaronbrownsound@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aaronbrownsound

Get info on The Game Industry Professional, my flagship course that teaches you how to make a great living in game audio here: bit.ly/gameindustrypro

#54: Today's guest is Chris Parker, a freelance sound designer based in Seattle. He has worked on games such as Shadows Over Loathing, Wizard with a Gun, Beast Breaker, and is also the wonderful editor of this podcast. 

In this episode, we talk about how I met Chris years ago at a PAX Conference in Seattle. Since moving from Seattle, Chris has gone from being a budding sound designer to a being a full-time pro. We also talk about his journey on becoming a full-time sound designer knowing especially that he did not go to college for it. 

Find Chris Parker here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CpSqueaks Website: https://www.chrisparker.audio/

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

#53: Today's guests are Adam Lukas and James Everingham, composers based out of Los Angeles and working in Hans Zimmer's collective known as Bleeding Fingers Music. Adam and James have worked on tons of film and TV projects over their careers and have recently written music for the document Frozen Planet II, alongside Hans Zimmer.  

In this episode we talk about how there's quite a lot of opportunity for film composers and how you have to be willing to look for it and why these composers decided to work within a composers' collective. We also talk about working on insanely short timelines in Hollywood, what to do if you're not working in Los Angeles, and so much more. 

Find Adam and James here:

Frozen Planet II on Spotify and Apple Music: https://open.spotify.com/album/6sUYeUEUvgvnMIff7pTNnJ

https://music.apple.com/id/album/frozen-planet-ii-original-television-soundtrack/1641264317

Adam's Website: https://www.adam-lukas.com/

Adam's Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/adamlukasmusic/?hl=en

--

James' Website: https://www.jameseveringham.com/

James' Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jameseveringham/

James' Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2gn4jnqcC9yMXt6433gleQ

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

#52: Today's guest is Nathan Ruyle. He is a sound designer and founder of the company This Is Sound Design.

In this episode, we talk about Nathan's climb in the industry, why he decided to start a sound design company that focuses on more creative and independent projects over the big Hollywood blockbusters, the identity crisis that sound for film is currently going through, and much more.

Find Nathan Ruyle here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tisdstudios/

Facebook: https://tisd.tv/

Website: https://tisd.tv/

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

#51: Today's guest is Philip White, a composer who has worked on video game, TV, and film projects such as Agent Carter, The Sims 3, and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. He has composed for over 142 episodes of Supernatural and is also currently composing for Supernatural's pre-sequel, The Winchesters. 

In this episode, we talk about how what it's like to compose for hundreds of episodes of the same TV show, how he stays fresh creatively between projects, and how he started as a drama major before transitioning into the music world, and so much more. 

Find Philip White here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philipwhitemusic

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@philipwhite9905

Email: philiptwhite@me.com

Personal Website: http://www.philipwhitemusic.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

#50: Today's guest is Tony Manfredonia, who is a composer and singer-songwriter based in rural Michigan. He's worked on projects such as Kharon's Crypt and Call of Saregnar. He is also a concert composer who teaches composition students online. 

In this episode, we talk about how Tony manages to make a living in music online while living in a rural town, how he handled low points in his career, and how balancing work and life is one of the best decisions he has ever made, among many other things. 

Find Tony Manfredonia here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tony_manfredonia/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TonyManfredonia

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tonymanfredonia

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tonymanfredoniamusic

Personal Website: https://www.manfredoniamusic.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

#49: Today's guest is Mason Lieberman, a composer for games, TV,  film, and anime. He has worked on a huge variety of projects including RWBY, Beyblade, Gundam, Apex Legends, and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).

In this episode, we talk about how Mason grew such a successful career in a short amount of time, how he learned to write in so many musical styles, how he networks with people around the world, and so much more. 

Find Mason Lieberman here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mason.lieberman/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MasonLieberman

Personal Website: https://www.masonlieberman.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

#48: Today's guest is Troupe Gammage, a composer, voice actor, and sound designer who's currently travelling the world and not staying in one place for very long.  

In this episode, we talk about Troupe's work on games such as Solar Ash and Lord of the Rings Online, how he learned the skills of both music and sound design, and how he got into voice acting and voicing multiple characters. We also talk about his days touring with his bands SPEAK, RAC, and The Chain Gang of 1974 and how he's managing his work as a frequent traveller. 

Find Troupe Gammage here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/troupegammage/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/troupegammage

Personal Website: https://www.troupegammage.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

#47: Today's guest is Joel Corelitz, who is a composer for film and games based in Chicago. He has worked on a large number of projects such as Hyper Light Breaker, Halo Infinite, Solar Ash, Death Stranding, The Unfinished Swan, and many others.

In this episode, we talk about Joel's creative process, how he ended up working on such huge projects despite his distance from LA, what he does when feeling a creative block, and so much more. 

Find Joel Corelitz here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelcorelitz/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/joelcorelitz

Personal Website: https://joelcorelitz.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

#46: Our guest today is Bill Lacey, a grammy-award winning sound designer,  re-recording mixer, and mastering engineer based in New York City. He has worked on countless projects including Major League Baseball, the Halo TV series, Showtime, and much more. 

In this episode, we talk about the industry changes Bill has seen in his time in the audio field and how he broke into doing such a varied amount of projects. We also talk about his teaching work and how he brings up the next generation of audio students, and why he's still pushing himself to learn new things such as game audio even with an established career in the world of TV, film, and advertising. 

Find Bill Lacey here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/protoolsmixer

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-lacey/

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

#45: Our guest today is Adam Kallibjian, who is a composer and music editor based in Los Angeles. He has worked on projects such as The Last of Us 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and much more. 

In this episode, we talk about what a music editor does, how to break into this field, and how there are countless different ways to get to the career of your dreams in music or sound. 

Find Adam Kallibjian here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkallibjian/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamkallibjian

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

#71: Today's guest is Philomène Gatien, a composer and orchestrator based out of Montreal, Canada. She has worked on films like My Salinger Year and theatrical plays such as Thank You For Coming, and even game-specific software such as Wwise in her theater performances.

In this episode, we talk about how Philomène started as a composer, how she started at a later stage than so many others, how she got her first gigs by being in touch with fellow musicians, how to develop a unique voice as a composer, and so much more.

Find Philomène Gatien here:

Website: https://philomenegatien.ca/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philomenegatien

Get info on The Game Industry Professional, my flagship course that teaches you how to make a great living in game audio here: bit.ly/gameindustrypro

#44: Our guest today is Azuria Sky, AKA Sky Lu, who is a composer and producer based in Los Angeles. While Sky has worked on games such as Solar Ash and is currently working on Hyper Light Breaker, she's also known well-known in the world of electronic music production. 

In this episode, we talk about how Sky found her voice as a musician, why she decided to sing on her own music despite being told she couldn't be a vocalist, and how she taught herself to create music in her own style, and much more. 

Find Azuria Sky here:

Personal Website: https://azuriasky.cc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/azuriasky/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/azuria_sky

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/azuriasky

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

#43: Today's guest is Dr. Fabiana Claure, who is an award-winning pianist, educator, business strategist, and entrepreneur who occupies a great niche in-between music, business, and helping musicians make a great living from their art. She's also the CEO of the The Musician's Profit Umbrella. 

In this episode we talk about the struggles that most musicians deal with and how to get through them, particularly business struggles. We also talk about what business skills actually are and how to start developing the mindset of an entrepreneur as a musician. 

Find Fabiana Claure here:

Personal Website: https://fabianaclaure.com/

Business Mentoring: https://fabianaclaure.com/gift

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

#42: Our guest today is Mark Abrams, a mixing engineer, producer, and audio educator who has worked with people such as Angel Lopez and clients such as Sony, Toyota, Nintendo, and many others. He is also a mentor at PureMix.com and runs the company Echopunch. 

In this episode we talk about how important it is to promote our music and how to do it, how to help others in our field and how helping others helps us, and how to start looking at our music career as a business so we can start getting the career results we really want. 

Find Mark Abrams here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mark_abrams_audio/

Personal Website: https://www.markabramsmixing.com/

pureMix website: https://puremix.com/

echopunch website: http://echopunch.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

#41: Today's guest is Anne-Sophie Mongeau, a sound designer based in Montreal, Canada. She has worked on projects such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider and It Takes Two. Anne-Sophie is currently the lead sound designer at Eidos Montreal. 

In this episode, we talk about Sophie's growth as a sound designer, her leaving Eidos Montreal to work in Sweden, and what it's like to return to Eidos many years later to work on a new project. We also discuss what new sound designers should be focusing on to grow their careers and much more. 

Find Anne-Sophie Mongeau here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anso.sound/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ansoaudio

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-sophie-mongeau-50483185/

Website: https://ansoaudio.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

#40: Our guest today is Michele Arnese, who is the founder and CEO of amp sound branding. Based in Munch, Germany, amp has done audio branding for top companies such as Mercedes, Mastercard, Porsche, and much more.  

In this episode, we talk about what audio branding is and how Michele got into the field, how he brought his company to work with all these big names, and how he's using AI in audio work and much more. 

Find Michele Arnese here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_michelearnese/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelearnese/

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

#39: Our guest today is composer Maclaine Diemer who has worked on projects such as Guild Wars 2, Salt and Sacrifice, Rock Band, and many others.

In this episode we talk about the simplicity of networking in our field, transitioning from being a rock star to being a sound designer, and then transitioning from sound design to composition, and much more.

Find Maclaine Diemer here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maclainediemermusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/maclainediemer

Website: http://maclainediemer.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

#38: Our guest today is Film and TV Composer, Sherri Chung who has worked on projects such as Family Guy, Arrow, Supergirl, The Flash, Kung Fu, and many others. In this episode we talk about what it takes to become a full-time composer, the difference between composers and film composers, dealing with impostor syndrome and much more. 

Find Sherri Chung here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherrichung/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sherri_chung Website: https://www.sherrichung.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

#36: Today, our guest is Hrishikesh Hirway - musician and creator of the wildly successful podcast, Song Exploder.  In this interview, we talk about growing up in an Indian immigrant household, the fear of side projects taking away from our main musical interests, how his studies in philosophy and graphic design in college contributed to his career, how he created Song Exploder in the first place, and much more.

Find Hrishikesh Hirway here: Song Exploder Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/songexploder/ Song Exploder Twitter: https://twitter.com/SongExploder Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hrishihirway/ Personal Twitter: https://twitter.com/HrishiHirway Song Exploder Website: https://songexploder.net/ Personal Website: https://hrishikesh.co/

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

#35: Today, our guest is Steve Horowitz - a composer who has worked on quite literally hundreds of film, TV, concert, and video game projects throughout his career.  In this interview, we talk about not niching down as a composer, why he chooses to compose for practically every type of media, what it's like to compose for over 100 projects in radically different styles, and much more. 

Find Steve Horowitz here: Game Audio Institute Website: https://www.gameaudioinstitute.com/ Personal Website: https://www.stevehorowitzmusic.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

#34: Today, our guest is Jeremy Blake, the man behind the wildly successful music-focused Youtube channel, Red Means Recording!  In this interview, we talk about the importance of educating others in our field, how getting fired from his day job helped him become a full-time musician, the importance of pivoting and changing our goals within our career, and so much more. 

Find Red Means Recording here: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RedMeansRecording Twitter: @jjbbllkk Website: https://rmr.media/

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

#70: Today's guest is Carla Patullo, Grammy-winning songwriter and composer based out of Los Angeles. She has worked on projects such as Maxine on Disney Plus, films like The Ignition, and more recently her personal project and Grammy-winning album, So She Howls. 

In this episode, we talk about how Carla's career as a songwriter and composer, how she likes to experiment in her day-to-day work, the importance of slowing down, her fight with breast cancer, and so much more. 

Find Carla here:

Website: https://www.carlapatullo.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlapatullo/

Get info on The Game Industry Professional, my flagship course that teaches you how to make a great living in game audio here: bit.ly/gameindustrypro

#33: Edouard Brenneisen is a composer for video games, film, and TV who has worked on projects such as League of Legends, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dr. Oz, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, and tons of other projects!  In this episode we talk about the long uphill climb to becoming a full-time composer, how composers sometimes need to pivot and transition their careers, what a composer's actual job is, and so much more. 

Find Edouard here: Website: https://eb-music.net/ Instagram: @ebrenneisen

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

#32: Bryan Wilson is a touring, composing, and performing cellist based out of New Jersey. Unlike most cellists, however, Bryan doesn't focus exclusively on the world of classical music, instead focusing on the worlds of music improvisation and comedic music.  Bryan is also the author of two books: String Jams and Cello Chords, both of which help cellists play their instruments in a more improvisatory way.  In this episode we talk about the struggle of building up an income as a touring cellist, touring in Vietnam as a western musician, and so much more.  

Find Bryan here: Website: https://www.bryanwilsoncello.com/ Instagram: @bryanwilsoncello Spotify: Bryan Wilson

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

#31: Marshall McGee is a video game sound designer who's worked on projects like Just Cause 4, Roblox, Outriders, and has worked with clients such as Nike and Adidas. He also has a wildly successful (and incredibly fun) Youtube channel where he breaks apart sound design in a beautifully clear way that anyone can understand.  In this episode, we talk about the importance of showing up, building a network, creating your own opportunities in your field, and much more. 

Find Marshall here: Website: https://www.marshallmcgee.com/  Youtube: Marshall McGee 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

It was my birthday this week, and in what's become an Akash tradition, here are three things I've learned over the last year about life, careers, and what I've learned to focus on.

Send me a message:

hello@akashthakkar.com

@akashthakkaraudio on Instagram

Every single one of us is making tiny decisions every single day, and those micro-decisions make all the difference when it comes to our life and career. In this episode, we dive into some of the most important decisions you can make to ensure a successful game audio career and life.  Book recommended in this episode: Personality Isn't Permanent by Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Send me a message:

hello@akashthakkar.com

@akashthakkaraudio on Instagram

#30: Vanessa Flores is a sound designer and post production audio expert who works at Banana Post in Los Angeles. Vanessa's work focuses on the world's of TV, ads, and film, working on projects like Total Bellas, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Top Gear and many others. In this episode, we dive into how to break into and succeed in the worlds of linear media, how she got her first jobs (even though no one was hiring), and why stepping away from game audio helped her succeed. 

Find Vanessa here: Instagram: @vanny.audio Twitter: @vannyaudio TikTok: @vanny.audio Youtube: Sound Design 101 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

A lot of us are working day jobs while pursuing or dreams to work in game audio full-time. That's great! But, ideally, we'll want to leave those boring careers behind as soon as we can. So, how can we make our escape from those more normal jobs and transition into our dream career?

Send me a message:

hello@akashthakkar.com

@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

#29: Sigurd Jøhnk-Jensen is a guitarist, drummer, sound designer, and composer who's had an insanely successful career as a touring musician, as well as a composer for some of the world's biggest movie trailers. He's worked on trailers for movies like House of Gucci, Scream, Marvel's Eternals, and many others. In this episode we talk about the importance of creating and working no matter what results you're getting, what the world of writing trailer music is like, how he went from writing music that no one wanted to getting placement after placement, and so much more.

Find Sigurd here: Instagram: @sigurdthemusicdude Twitter: @sigurdjj Website: https://sigurdmusic.com/ Youtube: Sigurd Johnk-Jensen

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

In my 12+ years of working as a full-time game audio freelancer, the thing I see trip people up most is asking for money for their work. To help with that, here are three ultra-effective ways to make sure you're paid super well for your music/sound in and out of the game industry.  Check out my course, which opens on April 25th, 2022: bit.ly/gameaudiopro

Send me a message:

hello@akashthakkar.com

@akashthakkaraudio on Instagram

#28: John "Slide20XX" Smith (AKA Star) is a video game composer who's worked on projects like The Stars Between Us, Calico, and the Steven Universe Anti-Racism PSAs.  In this episode we talk about breaking in to the music industry from humble beginnings, finding the right teachers and musical education, working day jobs, dealing with non-deserving complex when things start to go well, and so much more. 

Find Star here: Instagram: @Slide20XX Twitter: @Slide20XX Spotify: Slide20XX

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

#69: Today's guest is Aaron Cherof, a composer based in Seattle. He has been composing for indie games for well over a decade and has most recently worked on two games that have become huge hits, such as Cobalt Core and Minecraft. 

In this episode, we talk about how Aaron has spent 15 years as a composer before he was able to go full-time. We also talk about the importance of creating work, even when you're not getting hired to work on projects, how to find your own musical voice as a composer, and so much more. 

Find Aaron Cherof here:

Website: https://www.cherof.com/

Bandcamp: https://cherof.bandcamp.com/album/cobalt-core-original-soundtrack

Get info on The Game Industry Professional, my flagship course that teaches you how to make a great living in game audio here: bit.ly/gameindustrypro

#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

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:

hello@akashthakkar.com

@akashthakkaraudio on Instagram

#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

#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