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In and around LA, one music house that’s quickly developing a reputation for excellence is Transcenders (www.transcenders.tv). In this interview, company co-founder Terence Yoshiaki reveals the secrets of dealing with music supervisors in the fast-paced media world. It’s a great blueprint of how to get ahead and stay ahead – so wise we had to put everything he said in ALL CAPS.
When did you start Transcenders, and what was your inspiration for doing it?
TRANSCENDERS WERE OFFICIALLY FORMED BACK IN THE SUMMER OF 2003 BY TERENCE YOSHIAKI, BRIAN LAPIN AND MIKE FRATANTUNO. PRIOR TO FORMING THE COMPANY, WE MAINLY WORKED WITH DIFFERENT BANDS IN A PERFORMING, WRITING AND PRODUCING CAPACITY. THE THREE OF US WERE ALSO ORIGINAL BAND MEMBERS OF THE BLACK EYED PEAS, AND TOURED WITH THEM FOR CLOSE TO EIGHT YEARS. DURING DOWNTIME IN BETWEEN TOURS, WE WERE INSPIRED TO BRANCH OFF INTO OTHER CREATIVE ARENAS MUSICALLY. THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER MEDIUMS THAT MUSIC IS A VITAL PART OF, AND WE WANTED TO EXPLORE THOSE OPTIONS.
What is the business model, and why are you optimistic for growth in 2006 and beyond?
WE LOOK AT WHAT OTHER SUCCESSFUL COMPOSERS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THROUGHOUT THEIR CAREERS, AND TRY TO SEE HOW WE CAN ACHIEVE THE SAME KIND OF SUCCESS. WE ANALYZE EVERYTHING FROM GETTING THE MOST OUT OF OUR MUSIC LIBRARY TO RETHINKING HOW WE PRODUCE MUSIC TO BECOME MORE EFFICIENT. OUR BUSINESS MODEL FROM DAY ONE HAS BEEN TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT IS REQUIRED OF US. WE UNDERSTOOD EARLY ON THAT DIRECTORS AND PRODUCERS WANT THEIR COMPOSER TO MUSICALLY SHAPE THE VISUAL IN A WAY THAT BEST CONVEYS THE EMOTION OF THE PROJECT. WITH THIS, COMES THE EXPECTATION OF CREATING MANY DIFFERENT VARIATIONS FOR THEM TO CHOOSE FROM. PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING HAS BECOME AN INVALUABLE TOOL OF OUR TRADE.
WE ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT OUR GROWTH BECAUSE WE ARE BUILDING A GOOD NAME FOR OURSELVES ON THIS SIDE OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. INITIALLY, OUR HISTORY WITH THE BLACK EYED PEAS WAS A BIG SELLING POINT, NOW IT'S MORE OF A SIDENOTE TO WHAT WE DO AS TRANSCENDERS. THE QUALITY OF THE WORK IS WHAT BRINGS PEOPLE BACK.
What are some projects that Transcenders has composed music for?
NBC'S FRIEND'S SPINOFF, "JOEY", THE CURRENT THEME MUSIC FOR ABC'S "20/20", "BRING IT ON, ALL OR NOTHING" FOR UNIVERSAL, MUSIC FOR "THE 40 YR. OLD VIRGIN", "GARFIELD 2" END CREDIT THEME SONG, "JOHN TUCKER MUSIC DIE", AND A LOT MORE.
What do you feel are the needs of music supervisors today? How often does Transcenders work with music supervisors, and how have you honed
getting them what they need?
WE GENERALLY WORK WITH MUSIC SUPERVISORS A FEW TIMES A MONTH ON FILM AND TELEVISION PROJECTS. WE HAVE FOUND THAT THERE ARE SO MANY VARIABLES TO THEIR JOB, FROM CLEARANCES AND MAINTAINING BUDGETS, TO FINDING THE PERFECT PIECE OF MUSIC AND PLEASING THE DIRECTOR. TEMPED-IN MUSIC, NO MATTER HOW LONG IT'S BEEN LAID TO PICTURE, CAN BE REMOVED AT THE LAST MINUTE FOR A MULTITUDE OF REASONS. MANY TIMES, THE MUSIC SUPERVISOR WILL BE UNDER THE GUN TO FIND SOMETHING THAT WORKS WITHIN BUDGET IN A DAY OR SO. HAVING WORKED WITH ARTISTS ON HIT RECORDS, THEN ON FILM PROJECTS AND TELEVISION SHOWS, HAS GIVEN US A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ON HOW BOTH SIDES OF THE INDUSTRY WORK. OUR ABILITY TO PRODUCE RECORD QUALITY MUSIC WITH A FAST TURNAROUND HAS BEEN A VALUABLE COMMODITY FOR THEM.
You said that composing for the 2006 film Bring it On: All or Nothing, directed by Steve Rash, was an interesting learning experience. What happened during the work for that film, and what did you learn?
BRING IT ON: ALL OR NOTHING WAS AN INTERESTING PROJECT IN THAT IT REQUIRED US TO COMPOSE SCORE, AND ALSO REPLACE SOURCE MUSIC WITH NEW SONGS. THAT MADE IT A PERFECT PROJECT FOR US BECAUSE WE FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING BOTH THINGS.
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES FOR US WAS HOW MUSIC-DRIVEN THE FILM IS. BECAUSE "BRING IT ON" IS PART OF A FRANCHISE OF CHEERLEADING MOVIES, THERE IS A SOUND AND ENERGY THAT THE DIRECTOR, STEVE RASH, WANTED TO CARRY OVER FROM THE PREVIOUS FILMS. A LOT OF THE CHEERING SEQUENCES WERE FILMED TO MUSIC THAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE HARDEST PART OF OUR JOB WAS TO CREATE MUSIC TO PICTURE THAT WAS NOT EDITED TO A MAPPED OUT TEMPO. A LOT OF THE DANCE SCENES VARIED NUMEROUS TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF A 3-4 MINUTE ROUTINE. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THERE WAS A LOT OF BLENDING THAT HAD TO BE AS SUBTLE AS POSSIBLE.
ON THE MUSIC SUPERVISOR END, THIS PROJECT WAS INTERESTING IN THAT IT CHANGED SUPERVISORS THROUGHOUT AND NEVER REALLY HAD SOMEONE GUIDING THAT END OF THE FILM. THUS, A LOT OF WHAT WE CREATED FOR SOURCE WAS MAINLY DICTATED BY THE DIRECTOR AND OURSELVES.
How do you make your back library work profitably for you?
BECAUSE OUR CATALOG IS AN EVER-GROWING ENTITY, IT IS INVALUABLE FOR US TO HAVE THAT TYPE OF RESOURCE AT OUR FINGERTIPS. MOST MUSIC SUPERVISORS WE WORK WITH DON'T HAVE TIME TO FILTER THROUGH A BUNCH OF CATALOG CD'S TO FIND THE PERFECT PIECE OF MUSIC. WE MAKE IT EASY ON THEM BY DOING THAT LEGWORK, AND DELIVERING SPECIFIC OPTIONS FOR THEM TO CHOOSE FROM. WE ARE NOT TRYING TO COMPETE WITH THE BIGGEST CATALOGS OUT THERE RIGHT NOW. WE WANT TO KEEP OUR CATALOG ON A SPECIALIZED BOUTIQUE LEVEL.
How has your understanding of licensing grown since starting
Transcenders? What have been the big surprises of this aspect of the
business?
LUCKILY, WE KNEW QUITE A BIT ABOUT LICENSING GOING IN DUE TO OUR SONGWRITING BACKGROUND, BUT WE NEVER REALIZED HOW BIG A PART OF OUR BUSINESS LICENSING WOULD BE. THE COST OF LICENSING A WELL-KNOWN SONG HAS SKYROCKETED IN RECENT YEARS. MUSIC SUPERVISORS ARE INCREASINGLY COMING TO MUSIC HOUSES LIKE OURS TO GET WHAT THEY NEED WITHOUT THE HASSLES OF DEALING WITH THE BIG PUBLISHING COMPANIES AND RECORD LABELS.
What have you learned that you wish someone had told you
starting out?
THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONTROL YOUR OWN PUBLISHING AND COPYRIGHTS. FORTUNATELY FOR US, THIS HAS NEVER BEEN AN ISSUE, AND THUS, LICENSING OUR MUSIC HAS BEEN EASY FOR SUPERVISORS.
What makes this business challenging? What's been surprising about the
process of building up Transcenders?
THE THING THAT MAKES THIS BUSINESS CHALLENGING IS JUST THAT...IT'S A BUSINESS! IT REQUIRES A LOT OF RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, CLIENT MANAGEMENT AND OVERALL HUSTLE TO GET YOUR NEXT JOB. THIS TAKES AWAY A LOT OF TIME FROM THE ACTUAL CREATIVE PROCESS OF MAKING MUSIC, WHICH SURPRISED US EARLY ON. IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO STAY ON TOP OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE.
What advice do you have for someone who may be considering developing their own music house?
TRY YOUR BEST TO GET A GRASP ON THE WORLD OF PUBLISHING. ASK QUESTIONS, READ, GET A LAWYER TO EXPLAIN THINGS THAT YOU DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND. PUBLISHING IS THE BREAD AND BUTTER. IT PAYS TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING. IN THE BEGINNING, DON'T BE AFRAID TO TAKE ON LOW PAYING JOBS, DEMOS, ETC...THIS IS HOW YOU BUILD YOUR NAME AND THE EXPERIENCE YOU NEED TO BE COMPETITIVE IN THIS INDUSTRY.
What do you think is next for Transcenders? What direction would you like it to grow?
OUR GOAL REMAINS THE SAME AS WHEN WE GOT INTO THE BUSINESS: TO CONTINUE CREATING FOR FILM, TV, ARTISTS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN. BEING ABLE TO PICK AND CHOOSE WHICH PROJECT TO TAKE ON IS A MUST.
Anything else?
YES! PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.TRANSCENDERS.TV
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