Yo, it’s Drew.
The motion picture recording industry is crumbling, and I’m freaking the f*ck out right now.
Playing the viola is how I earn a living. I am a hustler. I work feverishly as a freelancer and business owner.
Today is Friday. Since Monday this week, seven of my friends independently told me that I am a workaholic and that I need to take a break.
They are right. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I have dreams that I am trying to build here, people!
Dreams? What dreams?
I always wanted to play for movies on the big screen.
I started playing viola when I was 12 years old. This was right when first Harry Potter movie came out. John Williams cooked so f*ckin’ hard on that soundtrack, ya’ll—it changed my life. It made me want to play music and make magic.
22 years later, I am living my younger self’s wildest dream.
I had to struggle to get here.
My 4 short years in New York City gave me the foundation I needed to bring my dream to a reality.
NYC is where I learned how to be a “good classical musician”. That was my mission—go to Juilliard, learn how to play in tune, and figure the rest out.
While at school, I started writing and playing covers of pop songs by ear with my friends.
I busked in the subways with the West Village Quartet to make extra cash (I could write a whole piece on busking aloneeee. That was a saga).
There were only a few classical pieces that made any money, and we would play them over and over to make more money. But it got old…FAST.
Different genres of music consistently made more money. When we would play these songs, people would crowd around us, totally engaged. Complete strangers would stop me with tears streaming down their face. “I have had the worst day imaginable, and you guys have made me feel so much better.”
“Wow.” I thought. “I have a lot to learn.”
But I wasn’t winning auditions. So, I viewed myself as a failure with a big IG audience. I was also afraid other people looked me me that way too.
I was a Juilliard graduate who was playing weddings, playing in the subways, shooting YouTube videos that very few people watched, and I was teaching kids who did not practice. Yay, “living the dream.”
New York was beginning to feel like a dead end. No one I knew was getting called to play on motion pictures. And I could not see myself struggling in NYC for the rest of my life.
One day, I woke up and I was about to turn 27. Enough was enough.
I moved to LA and my life changed.
It is now 2025. A couple of weeks ago, we concluded sessions for a first Pixar movie—my very first Pixar movie!!!!
In a past newsletter, I talk about the 4 principles that helped me get my first motion picture call. Check it out after finishing this one:
But here’s the thing, I entered the LA motion picture session scene at possibly the worst time in history…
The Gig Is Up?
In an open letter submitted to The Hollywood Reporter, Peter Rotter calls for action to bring scoring work back to the City of Angels.
3-7 days of sessions per month? That means scoring stages are quiet 76-90% of the time.
Even well-known Substack writers are taking notice. Writer of The Honest Broker, Ted Gioia, wrote a commentary piece about Peter’s letter. Great read.
Lemonade Stand, a business/comedy podcast, featured a presentation highlighting the collapse of the Film Industry IN GENERAL. Really informative. The Film Industry is Dead.
The motion picture session industry is about to fail.
This industry collapse began years before I was born, and alone, I do not have the power to stop it.
Can I survive the collapse?
What Now?
Continue doin’ exactly what I been doin’:
Focus on building my businesses. Diversification is key.
Play as many sessions as I possibly can for as long as I can.
Expect to never get another call again
Even though I moved to LA to pursue the motion picture session circuit, I had to survive without it for 4 years. When I finally started getting calls, I saved my money and started wholesoul.
Diversified income streams remove risk in freelance careers.
I have been feeling slightly depressed. I took a chance on myself and uprooted my life for this dream. I left behind friends and family to pursue it, and it hurts to watch it crumble like a sandcastle in my hand.
That’s life, I guess.
And it is paying off. wholesoul is growing.
1 Dream Dies, 1 Dream Grows
So much has gone on with wholesoul in the since the last issue of Grace Notes.
We played a wedding in Jamaica for Meredith Ramsay and Pierre Charles
We played for a Walmart Fashion Show in front of 7000 warehouse owners and executives (including the CEO)
We recorded for a dope rock band, but I can’t tell you who it is yet cuz NDA -_-
And it’s only April! I’m very excited to see what this year holds.
Takeaways
There is so much you cannot control. Be flexible, and be willing to adapt with the shifting tides.
Trust your gut and take risks. You may not get the exact outcome you hoped for, and that is okay. Who knows? Maybe that outcome sets you up for something greater than you imagined.
Things will change all the time, forever. Make sure you’re one of them.
Thanks for sticking with me!
I am so behind on everything, and this newsletter was one of them. I’ve been hemming and hawing:
What should I write?
What do my readers want to learn?
What will be valuable to my readers?
Hasn’t someone already said this before?
And weeks writing, researching, editing, and changing me my mind has led to this…
Rest assured, I have plenty to say.
Talk to you next Friday.
I have been watching/following you since your Juilliard days..and you never fail to inspire me, despite our goals being completely different. You live the journey and I admire you for that!
so so important. Thank you for your words! Really validating as an up and coming composer — working hard to be able to keep our community going. best of luck!!