In early May this year, ASCAP’s signature event returned to a virtual stage on a twice-monthly basis. After the May 12 kickoff, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) announced that its 2021 ASCAP Experience event created to inspire, educate and connect aspiring songwriters and composers everywhere, would continue twice a month on Wednesdays through the end of 2021.
Songwriters, composers and music business professionals can join the ASCAP Experience community for access to singular conversations with A-list songwriters and producers from pop, hip-hop, R&B, country and across the musical spectrum, plus panels with top industry executives, song feedback, networking opportunities and more.
The educational panels happening this Wednesday, July 14, bring together some of the top songwriters and composers for TV/film for a back-to-back lineup of educational sessions. The sessions – featuring the likes of Segun Akinola (Doctor Who), Lorne Balfe (The Crown, Black Widow), Ruth Barrett (Victoria), and Isobel Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) – will present aspiring professional songwriters with insider tips on scoring a scene, film/TV scoring business basics, dealing with criticism and difficult personalities, and more. Simon Greenaway, from ASCAP, will be the moderator during the panels.
Things you can’t learn in the classroom
The first session starts at 3pm ET, under the title “What They Don’t Teach You in Music School” and is a candid conversation about crucial career lessons between three top-tier British film/TV composers Isobel Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Emma), Ruth Barrett (Victoria) and Segun Akinola (Doctor Who). Music education is of course important to being a successful composer for film or TV. But there are plenty of crucial career lessons that you simply can’t learn in the classroom.
The ASCAP Experience invited the three professionals, some of today’s most exciting British composers for film and television, to discuss what they’ve learned on the job the hard way. They’ll talk about how to manage difficult personalities, dealing with criticism, meeting deadlines, managing expectations, how to say “no” and more.
The second part of the session starts at 3:45pm ET, with world-class composer Lorne Balfe, a professional who can do anything. Over 20+ years in the scoring trenches, he’s crafted world-class music for action thrillers (Mission: Impossible – Fallout), animated comedies (The Lego Batman Movie), historical dramas (The Crown), video games (Assassin’s Creed III) and more. His most recent big score is Marvel Studios’ Black Widow, in theaters now.
Lorne Balfe and the music of Black Widow
Under the title “Scoring for Superheroes: Lorne Balfe and the Music of Black Widow” the Scottish composer will not only discuss some of his previous work (The Crown, Assassin’s Creed III) but also to explain what it was like to capture one of Marvel’s most complex heroes with music. As a bonus he will break down his process for scoring one of the Black Widow’s scenes with a group of up-and-coming composers.
The virtual sessions are free to attend and will take place on a variety of platforms, including YouTube, Instagram and on the ASCAP Experience website. Participants can RSVP to the 7/14 sessions, which begin at 3pm ET, at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) website space dedicated to the 2021 ASCAP Experience. According to the organizers, additional programming will be announced in the coming weeks.
The 2021 ASCAP Experience follows the success of last year’s first-ever virtual version of the event, which reached 10,000 registrants from 120 countries and included over 38 panels, featuring the likes of Finneas O’Connell, Hans Zimmer, T.I., Brandy Clark, Priscilla Renea, mxmtoon, Shaggy, Claudia Brant, Rep. Adam Schiff and more.