I sat down with Gabe Shadid on the Epic Score podcast and we went deep. We talked about how I got started with guitar at 14, moved to LA at 23 to study music, ended up in a band with a BMG record deal, and eventually shifted into composing for trailers and video games. One of the highlights: how I ended up singing as the German evil guys in all three Wolfenstein games after Mick Gordon reached out looking for someone who could sing in a rough German voice. The whole MachineGames team ended up phonetically recreating my vocals for a pub scene. That story alone is worth the listen. We also got into the realities of breaking into the industry, why most demo reels fail (stop sending SoundCloud links), and how AI fits into the picture for composers right now. If you want to hear the full journey and some unfiltered thoughts on where this industry is headed, check it out. https://youtu.be/E3-jRcCaP0g?si=l1-s5_XkKoRdQNIM

I want to be straight with you because this community deserves that. You know I've been pouring pretty much my entire day into helping composers with the business side of things. Guides, calls, resources, answering questions at all hours. I loved doing it and I still do. I was passionate enough to believe this could become my full time thing. But at some point reality kicks in and the truth is that not enough people converted to keep this going the way I was running it. So I made a decision. Every course in the Audio Artist Academy classroom is now at the lowest price it will ever be. Please be aware that this does NOT include guest courses, ComposerOS and the new workshops! This is the biggest and final sale I'll ever do. These prices are permanent. No countdown timers, no fake urgency. Just the reality of where things stand. A few courses are still in early access and I will absolutely finish them. You have my word on that. Now the other important part: Audio Artist Rise is staying. The live calls are staying. This community of 2,000 people is staying. I'm looking forward to continuing to build something great here with all of you. What's changing is that I can't keep dedicating the bulk of my day to creating free content and hoping it turns into something sustainable. That chapter is closing. To everyone who invested in themselves, showed up to calls, put in the work and actually made moves: You made all of this worth it. Watching some of you land deals and sign with companies has been one of the best parts of my career. I'm not going anywhere. I'm just being honest about what has to change. If you have questions, drop them below. Check the new prices here. Hint: They are LOW! https://www.skool.com/audio-artist-academy/classroom I'm here. Cheerio, Alex

I just finished building a website for a composer who wants to focus on video games, and I want to share the thinking behind it. Here's the thing: Video game developers are nerds (in the best way). They spend their days building worlds, characters, and stories. If you want to work with them, you need to fit into that world. So instead of a generic "hire me" composer page, we built something that feels like it belongs in a game. What we did: The headline doesn't say "Professional Composer for Hire." It says: "Your players will pause the game just to listen to this." Instead of a boring bio section, we created a Character Profile — complete with "proficiencies" like Orchestral, Ambience, Combat, Sound Design, Adaptive. You know, like the stat sheets you'd see in an RPG. The call-to-action buttons? "Begin Your Quest" and "Summon Character." The music section is called The Chronicles with a custom player that keeps people ON the page (not sending them off to SoundCloud where they disappear forever). And at the bottom? "Accept the Quest" with a booking calendar. Why this works: When someone clicks a button and starts an action, they psychologically want to finish it. A pop-up form after "Summon Character" feels like the next logical step — not an interruption. Everything stays on ONE page. No maze of subpages. No "click here for film, click here for ads, click here for games, oh and also I do pottery." If you want to work in video games, dress like a video game composer. Go deep into ONE industry instead of spreading yourself thin across everything. If you want a landing page like this - targeted to your specific niche, no monthly fees, no hosting costs, no "powered by" logo anywhere - I will create and set it up for you. $147 one-time. That's it. You own it. Drop a comment, DM me if you're interested, or check out this link to see my services. https://risewithalex.com/ (scroll down to "Your Industry-Specific Landing Page")

Hey everyone, I’m excited to share my latest project, called Project Epic Mind, which is a creative workspace designed - at least for now - for epic trailer music. The platform allows you to capture ideas, generate titles, explore chord progressions, and track your production workflow, all while keeping the focus on inspiring creativity rather than replacing it with AI. I’d love your feedback on features and suggestions for the trailer checklist, as I aim to keep things simple and effective. What do you think? Do you have feedback? Suggestions? I am all ears! :)

Dear everyone, first, thank you so much to everyone for signing up! This community is growing so fast, I am amazed. So in case you like the free courses and this place in general, feel free to forward the Audio Artist Community to everyone you know who might be interested! 🤗 Now, feel free to put your music, projects, demo reels, or portfolios in THIS post. Feel free to self-promote and enjoy each other's music! However, please keep in mind to keep it spam-free, ok? If you want to post several demo reels or links, please use your own post out of respect for everyone else 👍 Thank you, and there will be more content very soon! Alex