Episode 85: How to Write Music for TV (Inside the World of TV Composers)

Big‑league scores don’t appear out of thin air—they’re built through craft, collaboration, and choices that balance art and business. I sit down with George Warren and Nico Pacella; two composers from Hans Zimmer's award winning Composer Collective, Bleeding Fingers, to trace how high‑impact music for TV and film gets made. From spotting sessions and temp tracks to the custom sounds that turn a scene into a world; Nico and George break down when they write to picture and when they build suites in advance, how they bank ideas for later, and why sound design has become core to storytelling rather than a post‑production afterthought.We dig into the tools that keep them fast and focused: Cubase for composition, Pro Tools for picture chase, and an iPad running TouchOSC to surface articulations and track groups at a tap. One bends a saxophone through Serum’s granular engine to craft pads and pulses you can’t buy in a pack—clean, licensable textures that stand out in a saturated market. The other anchors cues at the piano, moving quickly from harmony to emotion while staying out of the menu maze. Along the way, we talk about temp love, clearing samples, and how Extreme Music handles registrations and global royalty collection so the writing can stay front and centre.Their paths show how education, mentorship, and humility shape a modern composer. Classical performance gave technique and taste; graduate training added hybrid orchestration and scoring workflows; assisting seasoned composers delivered the lessons that only deadlines can teach. The advice is candid: build a reel that proves your range, network with genuine intent, be the collaborator people want in the room, and treat your career like a marathon. Diversify across libraries, games, ads, and series, protect your headspace from social media comparison, and create sounds no one else owns. Subscribe, share with a composer friend, and leave a review telling us the ideas you've gained for your next cue.https://bleedingfingersmusic.comReach out to me ! Support the showEnjoyed this episode? Subscribe to The Music Business Buddy Brief for weekly insights on the future of the music industry, AI, artist development, rights and the creator economy. The podcast explains what's happening. The newsletter explains why it matters.Join The Music Business Buddy Brief for exclusive weekly insights on the future of the music industry.Subscribe: https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.comWebsiteswww.jonnyamos.comhttps://themusicbusinessbuddy.buzzsprout.comInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/themusicbusinessbuddypodcast/https://www.instagram.com/jonny_amos/[email protected] Sign Uphttps://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com