MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER Yoav Goren has been in Los Angeles for 25 years now, and on any given day he has multiple film-trailer projects in the works at Immediate Music, a motion picture music composition company he co-founded. But Goren got his start making background noise. More than 25 years ago, he realized he didn't want to use the film degree he got from NYU, at least not to make films.
"I had done a bunch of film scores and started liking it," he says. "I came to L.A. primarily because of the weather and just met a few choice people I started collaborating with and got me into composing."
Those first compositions were for music libraries, or genre-based production music premade to play in the background on television. A day job at a music store in Santa Monica led to Goren's first encounter with his Immediate partner Jeffrey Fayman, who hired Goren for music lessons. From there, the two managed to score a gig writing music for the trailer for the Academy Awards in the early 90's.
A lot of it was luck back then, but advances in technology have made it easier for aspiring composers today, in some respects. "When I started out," Goren says, "you really had to have a big credit line on your card in order to afford the gear--computers, samplers, synthesizers, a mixing board. Today, it's a lot easier to get into composing. Most of all, the tools are software-based and not expensive. The problem with that is everybody has access. Now there are a lot of people in the mix who can compete with you."
But if you're good, "the cream rises to the top," and music libraries are always looking, he adds. "The old adage is if you submit to record labels or film, it's nearly impossibly to even get considered. The opposite is true of libraries. It's a great way to start, because you can land a commercial, TV show, or get discovered for film. It's a combination of writing a lot and getting it out there into the social media world."
For more information, visit ImmediateMusic.com.
