Here, composer and Media Council Chair Dru Masters shares how he got started, what he’s learned along the way, and why creative longevity is built on integrity, collaboration and staying curious.
How did you land your first big opportunity in the music industry?
When I left school, I happened to see a new music equipment shop opening in my local area and on a whim, I asked for a job. I intended staying a few weeks and ended up staying two years, during which time I spent most of my wages on gear! Through that, I met a lot of artists, session musicians, songwriters and a couple of TV composers, including Simon May.
Having sold Simon some equipment and gone over to his house a few times to help set it up, he gave me my first break by asking me to assist on Howard’s Way, a very high-profile BBC drama back in the late 80s.
Despite that early foray into TV music, it was another decade before I went back to it. In between I was programming pop records, producing, songwriting and signed an artist deal with EMI records which resulted in zero hits and being dropped after two years. It was fun, though, and I learned a lot.
What’s the best career advice you’ve received?
It was the criticisms that have helped the most. The advice has usually been obvious: work hard, find your voice, network and keep going. Someone once said to me that I was a “classic underachiever”. I remember being deeply offended (for years!), but actually he was completely correct. At the time I relied on some natural ability and a lot of luck. After that, I took a hard look at myself and realised that I needed to focus on one thing and work much harder at building my career. Writing loads of music isn’t enough if you’re not putting the time into getting it out to people. Of course, this is a lot easier today, but now you have to get heard over everyone else and it’s still really difficult to get to the people who are actually going to hire you.
My best advice for people starting out in my area of the industry is, always write music you love and make sure that anyone listening to your stuff on socials, or your website etc, can get a sense of who you are as an artist. That’s what they’re buying into, not your ability to write great string ostinatos.
What’s a recent project you’re particularly proud of?
Honestly, I’m most proud of the fact that I’m still being asked to write music for a living and can pay my bills from it. I love all the projects I work on in different ways, and I’m usually proudest of the ones with the most social impact, but that’s often out of my control and all I can do is apply the same integrity and energy to every job, however big or small. Doing that and getting to the end of a long project still smiling and on good terms with everyone is a major source of pride for me.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
There’s so many! I feel desperately sad that we’re losing music education in primary schools. Everyone knows how beneficial it is, regardless of whether or not you’re going to go into the business later in life. Within my own industry, I’d like to see production companies engage with composers earlier in the process and actually ask them what they think is needed and how much it will cost, rather than telling them what they want (often from temp score) and how much they’re going to pay for it.
What’s a recent piece of music that inspired you?
I’m going to have to give you a short, highly edited list:
Doechii – the whole Tiny Desk concert
Lola Young – Messy
Free Nationals, A$AP Rocky, Anderson .Paak – Gangsta
Nala Sinephro – Space 1.8
Jerskin Fendrix – Poor Things (OST)
Volker Bertelmann- All Quiet On The Western Front (OST)
How do you stay creative when facing writer’s block?
I don’t! One of the reasons I love working to picture is that I have clients who chase me when they want something, and that focuses my mind on getting something written. That’s the only time I put myself under pressure to be creative. I also find that the more I’m working, the less I struggle for ideas. It’s counterintuitive, but I’ve heard lots of other people say they feel the same way. Like the more you run, the faster you can run. I’m sure there’s a better analogy! But if no one’s chasing me and I’m not feeling creative, I’ll do something else, and I won’t beat myself up about it.
