The Composer Academy
Stop making music in the dark. Courses, live coaching and real feedback, together.
- All levels
You can write music. That’s not the problem.
The problem is doing it alone, without a clear path, watching your work disappear into the void while the algorithms shift and the goalposts move. Maybe you’ve bought courses, watched the videos, posted on Instagram. Maybe, like me, you’ve even built things that worked and then watched them stop working.
What you actually need isn’t more information. It’s direction, feedback, and a room full of people who get it. That’s what the Composer Academy is.
I’ve been a working composer for over a decade. My music has been placed in campaigns for Netflix, Disney, Google, Toyota and Unilever through production music libraries. I’ve also built two music schools, been tanked by a Google algorithm update, lost my biggest clients and had to start again from scratch. I know what works when it comes to writing music that earns, and what’s just noise.
When you join you get every one of my courses straight away, with no drip-feeding. Then there are live calls with me, real notes on your tracks, a monthly challenge to keep you writing, and a community of composers doing the actual work.
I built the Academy because I wish it had existed when I was starting out. I’m not here to sell you a dream. I’m here to help you build the skills.
What you get
- Get specific notes on your tracks, not "this is great, keep going"
- Know which cue to write, where to send it and what libraries are looking for
- Keep writing with a monthly challenge and a community that keeps you honest
- Work through the whole course library at your own pace, in whatever order suits you
- Bring real projects and career questions to live calls with me
What composers say
Discovering Rich and his podcast is what first inspired me to start writing trailer music, and The Composer Academy has been the perfect next step in that journey. The weekly calls and feedback offer real guidance and a clear path that fits my goals. The community and regular check-ins keep me consistent and moving forward with confidence. I’d recommend the Academy to any composer looking for direction in the trailer or production music world.
Before I joined I was really struggling with momentum and accountability. Since joining the group, I have been able to finish tracks a lot quicker than I could previously. The monthly challenges have really helped me with this, and at times they have taken me out of my comfort zone and explore different styles. Rich is a master at his craft and getting feedback and advice from him is a privilege.
I had been learning a lot from Rich’s YouTube content and wanted to dive deeper into trailer music, so I decided to sign up for the Composers Academy. Even after just one month, I’ve already seen real progress. Rich’s feedback and courses have helped me refine my tracks and get them to a point where I feel comfortable pitching them. I’ve also started connecting with new publishers, which is something I was struggling with before. The clarity and confidence I’ve gained have been huge, and it’s been an incredibly valuable experience so far.
How it works
- Live sessions with me
Two a month. One is open Q&A and career strategy, the other is focused on your tracks. All recorded, so you can watch back if you can't make it.
- Track feedback
Submit your music and get specific notes on what's working, what isn't and what to do about it. Members tell me this is what they value most.
- Private community
A room of composers at all stages, sharing what they're making, asking questions and keeping each other honest.
- Monthly challenges
One focused task a month, so you're making music rather than just consuming information about it.
- Composer Toolkit
My custom Kontakt instruments and sample packs, included at no extra cost.
- The Composer Launchpad
A short foundational course for your first month that tells you exactly where to focus, based on where you are now.
- Course vault: Trailer music
- Trailer Music for Beginners
- Trailer Music Essentials
- The Trailer Music Course
- Hybrid Trailer Music Course
- Slowburn Trailer Music
- Action Sound Design
- Dark Thriller Trailer Music
- Action Comedy Drums
- Dark Fantasy Trailer Music
- Neoclassical Strings
- Course vault: Cinematic & orchestral
- Tech: Cinematic Minimalism
- Cinematic Piano
- Plucked: Pizzicato Strings
- Uplifting Orchestral
- Cinematic Folk
- Euphoria: Cinematic Pop Rock
- Uplifted: Feel Good Cinematic Pop
- Soundbox: Cinematic Sound Effect Design
- Whimsy: Quirky Orchestral
- Course vault: Production music & sync
- Horror Music Mastery
- Cinematic Hip Hop
- Bounce: Quirky Minimal Electronica
- Lofi Music
- Building Drones
- Cool Dark Pop
- Swagger
- Crime Drama
- Ambient Piano
The full course library
33 courses and about 140 hours of video, all included. Some aren’t sold anywhere else.
- Trailer Music Course
A comprehensive end-to-end course on writing, arranging, and mixing professional trailer music, covering DAW template setup, orchestral sound design, three-act structural composition, and mastering. You'll finish with a polished, release-ready trailer cue built from braams, epic hits, driving percussion, and full hybrid orchestra.
23 hours · intermediate
- Cinematic Piano
A comprehensive cinematic piano composition course teaching three distinct styles—dramatic neo-classical trailer music, uplifting/nostalgic advertising music, and tense underscore sound beds—entirely through MIDI and piano roll, so no piano-playing ability is required. You'll come away able to write pitch-ready cues for film trailers, TV, and branded content using arpeggio patterns, three-act structures, and light orchestration.
16 hours · beginner
- Hybrid Trailer Music
A comprehensive end-to-end course in writing, producing, and mixing hybrid trailer music — fusing orchestral writing with electronic sound design. You'll come away able to craft pitchable, three-act trailer cues complete with custom hits, synth washes, dirty strings, and a professional stem mix ready for publisher delivery.
13.9 hours · intermediate
- Trailer Music for Beginners
A beginner's guide to composing and producing music specifically for film trailers, covering three-act structure, tension/release mechanics, one-shot sampling, orchestration, and mixing fundamentals. By the end, you'll have written and structured your first complete trailer cue ready to pitch to publishers.
8.3 hours · beginner
- Horror Music Mastery
A comprehensive horror music composition and sound design course covering the theory, history, and practical techniques behind scary, atmospheric, and tension-driven music. You'll come away able to write horror cues for trailers, film, TV, and production music — from ambient dread and eerie soundscapes to full four-act horror trailer tracks.
5.4 hours · intermediate
- Dark Thriller Trailer Music
A hands-on course in building organic horror and trailer cues from raw recordings of real instruments, found objects, and unconventional sound sources. You'll come away able to craft atmospheric pads, tension-building percussion layers, and full horror-trailer cues using minimal gear and a process-driven, texture-first workflow.
5.2 hours · intermediate
- Action Sound Design
A professional-level course in electronic action sound design for trailers and TV spots, taught by a multi-award-winning trailer composer. You'll come away able to build hard-hitting, tension-driven cues with signature sounds, micro-builds, risers, stutters, basses, and bwaaams that give editors a usable toolkit across aggressive cinematic contexts.
4 hours · intermediate
- Dark Fantasy
A Danny Elfman-inspired orchestral scoring course that teaches how to craft dark fantasy cues—balancing magical wonder, dramatic tension, and subtle quirkiness through full-orchestra writing, modal harmony, and trailer-ready three-act structure. You'll come away able to write cinematic dark fantasy cues for trailers, fantasy films, and high-stakes TV drama.
3.6 hours · intermediate
- Huge Uplifting Orchestral
A practical masterclass in writing huge, uplifting orchestral trailer music—from piano sketch to full orchestration. You'll come away able to produce emotionally soaring, three-act orchestral cues suited to film trailers, sports events, and brand launches.
3.5 hours · intermediate
- Epic Slow Burn
A comprehensive production course for crafting epic slow-burn trailer cues — two-to-three-minute emotional builds driven by a single chord progression or bass line that grows through progressive orchestration. You'll come away able to write full-feature-length trailer music that blends heroic triumph with poignant loss.
3.4 hours · intermediate
- Neoclassical Strings
A hands-on guide to composing and producing emotional solo and small-ensemble string music for trailers, covering three-act structure, idiomatic string writing, live recording workflows, and mixing. You'll come away able to write elegant, dramatic neoclassical cues suitable for Oscar-caliber trailer work.
3.1 hours · intermediate
- Trailer Music Essentials
A foundational course in hybrid trailer music composition covering the essential building blocks—chord progressions, patterns, melodies, layering, tension-building, and key production tricks—that turn raw ideas into broadcast-ready, licensable cues. Graduates come away able to construct a full epic trailer track from a single chord sequence using orchestral writing, sound design, and industry-standard mixing techniques.
2.8 hours · beginner
- Action Comedy Drums
A percussion-focused course teaching how to write swagger-driven, impact-heavy drum tracks for action-comedy trailers — no melody or harmony required. You'll come away able to craft three-act cues built from layered clicks, toms, trailer hits, and analog drum machines that pace scenes, punctuate comedy moments, and build to thunderous drops.
2.7 hours · intermediate
- Building Drones
A deep-dive into building long-form sustained drones for cinematic teaser trailers, covering layering, automation, found sound, live recording, and effects processing. You'll come away able to craft evolving, emotionally nuanced drone cues—from beautiful and mysterious to dark and unsettling—without relying on melody or rhythm.
2.3 hours · intermediate
- Tech: Cinematic Minimalism
A craft-focused course translating the minimalist compositional techniques of Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Terry Riley into short-form cinematic music. You'll come away able to write layered, pattern-driven underscore—from documentary beds to tech-ad arpeggios—that feels grand, organic, and intellectually textured.
2 hours · intermediate
- Soundbox - Toolkit Design
A hands-on toolkit-design course teaching how to record everyday objects and field recordings, then process them into professional cinematic sound elements—drones, pings, hits, whooshes, risers, suckbacks, and power-downs. You'll come away with a ready-to-deliver library of polished post-production assets for trailer and cinematic use.
3.8 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Pizz Strings
A comprehensive guide to writing pizzicato string cues for film, TV, trailers, and advertising using sample libraries—covering five idea-generation tools, four development techniques, re-orchestration, and real-world cue breakdowns. You'll come away able to write complete, editor-ready pizzicato string tracks across moods from quirky and playful to dark and tense.
3.7 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Uplifted - Feel-good Cinematic Pop
Teaches composers how to write and produce feel-good cinematic pop — blending uplifting pop songwriting with trailer-scale drums, house-influenced production, and orchestral layers. You'll come away able to write stadium-sized, emotionally unifying cues for family films and advertising.
3.3 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Cinematic Pop Rock
A hands-on guide to writing cinematic pop rock—hybrid tracks that blend guitars, synths, drums, and orchestra into emotionally charged, build-to-climax compositions. You'll come away able to score triumphant, larger-than-life cues suited for trailers, TV, advertising, and games.
3.2 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Cinematic Folk (Hopeful Acoustic)
A practical guide to composing hopeful, intimate cinematic folk music using acoustic guitars, body percussion, and layered organic textures—without needing to play a real guitar. You'll come away able to write warm, community-driven underscore that fits advertising, documentary, and feel-good sync placements.
3 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Dramatic Piano
A focused compositional course on writing dramatic, cinematic piano music for trailers, film, and advertising. Students come away able to build emotionally powerful piano cues using three-act structure, arpeggio-driven patterns, and progressive layering—without needing to be a trained pianist.
3 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Epic Beats - Strings and Beats
A hands-on guide to composing cinematic strings-and-beats cues — fusing rhythmic string ostinatos with hip-hop, trailer, or hybrid beats. You'll come away able to write swagger-filled, emotionally intense cues ready for trailers, ads, TV, and games.
2.6 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Cinematic Hip Hop
A production course teaching the craft of cinematic hip hop — blending beat-heavy grooves, swagger, and sampling with orchestral layering, trailer hits, and reverb-drenched grandeur. You'll come away able to write tracks that feel huge and cool, fit for action/comedy trailers, slow-motion sequences, and hybrid cinematic placements.
2.4 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Swagger
A hands-on course in writing confident, riff-driven "swagger" music for trailers and TV featurettes, built on minor pentatonic guitar riffs and minimalist stomp/clap percussion. You'll come away able to craft bold, character-filled cues that instantly communicate cool, edgy attitude.
2.3 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Ambient Piano
A craft-focused course on composing ambient piano music that pairs restrained piano melody with custom-built atmospheric pads and drones to convey emotionally complex, bittersweet feeling. Students come away able to write understated, evolving cues suitable for TV drama, documentary, trailers, and social media storytelling.
2 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Kontakt Instrument Creation
A practical, end-to-end workflow course for building custom playable Kontakt instruments from scratch — recording real instruments, cleaning and editing samples, and mapping them in Kontakt. You'll come away able to create bespoke, characterful sample libraries suited to trailer music, TV spots, and any production where unique sonic texture matters.
1.7 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- LoFi Beats
A hands-on guide to producing authentic lo-fi hip-hop beats by recording your own samples, applying vinyl-emulation effects, and building grooves with extended jazz harmonies. You'll come away able to deliver chill, human-feeling tracks ready for sync licensing to YouTube content, ads, and TV.
1.7 hours · beginner · Academy only
- Crime Drama
A practical course in writing crime drama tension beds — sustained, building cues that keep listeners on edge. You'll come away able to craft pulse-driven, pattern-based, and ambient modal underscores for TV crime drama, thriller trailers, and suspense scenes.
1.6 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Neoclassical
A focused guide to writing modern neoclassical music rooted in minimalism, atmosphere, and pattern-driven composition. You'll come away able to score emotionally resonant, dramatically building cues suited to prestige drama and cinematic advertising.
1.5 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Nostalgic Piano
A focused course on writing emotionally resonant, minimalist piano-led music for advertising and cinematic media, blending simple chord progressions, nursery-rhyme melodies, and stepwise orchestration to evoke nostalgia, warmth, and hope.
1.5 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Bounce - Fun, Minimal Electronica
A practical guide to writing fun, minimal electronica for advertising and brand media — teaches you to build bouncy, cheesy, four-to-the-floor tracks with playful synths, tuned percussion, and snappy logo stings.
1.3 hours · beginner · Academy only
- Cool Dark Pop
A production course on crafting dark, edgy pop music that blends mainstream accessibility with experimental sound design, trailer-music techniques, and minimalist electronic aesthetics. You'd come away able to write cool, brooding pop tracks suited for advertising, TV, and sync placements.
1.1 hours · intermediate · Academy only
- Quirky Orchestral
A practical guide to composing quirky, Desplat/Wes-Anderson-inspired orchestral cues for advertising, built on driving ostinatos, re-orchestrated simple melodies, and idiosyncratic ethnic instruments. You'll come away able to write cheeky, continuously-driven 90–110-second cues that feel charming and cinematic without grand drama.
1 hours · intermediate · Academy only
This is for you if…
- You're making music seriously but not yet making a living from it
- You're writing for libraries, trailers, sync or production music, or want to be
- You're tired of working in isolation with no idea whether you're getting better
- You've got plenty of information already. What you need is direction
It’s not for you if…
- You're looking for a shortcut, or expecting this to make you rich quickly. It won't
- You're not willing to actually make music and put it in front of people
- The idea of a community sounds like something you'd never use
Who’s teaching
I’ve written music for ads since 2007 and movie trailers since 2011, and went full time in 2014. My music has been used on over 100 campaigns, including Captain America: Civil War, Glass Onion, WandaVision and The Conjuring 2, and I’ve won eight awards along the way. Since 2017 I’ve taught thousands of composers how to do the same. More about me.
Questions before you buy? Email [email protected].
Questions
What's included each month?
Two live sessions with me, one on Q&A and career strategy and one on track feedback and hotseat coaching, plus a new monthly challenge. All sessions are recorded, so if life gets in the way (it will) you won't miss anything.
What makes this different from just buying a course?
A course gives you information. The Academy gives you direction, feedback, and a room full of people further along than you. Most composers don't fail for lack of knowledge. They fail because they're doing it alone, without feedback or accountability.
How much time do I need each month?
Realistically, a few hours. The live sessions are about 60 minutes each. Beyond that it's up to you. Some members go deep into the course vault, others just come to the calls. There's no minimum.
I'm a beginner. Is this right for me?
Yes, if you're serious about making music professionally. The Composer Launchpad is designed for composers at the start of their journey, and learning inside a community of experienced composers is one of the fastest ways to close the gap.
I'm already fairly experienced. Will I still get value?
Probably more than a beginner. Experienced composers get the most from the live sessions, bringing real projects and career questions and getting specific feedback.
Are the calls recorded if I can't make it?
Every one, and they stay in the vault. If you can't attend, drop your question or track in the community beforehand and I'll cover it on the call.
How is this different from free YouTube tutorials?
YouTube gives you techniques. The Academy gives you a path. Knowing how to write a trailer cue is different from knowing which cue to write, where to send it, what libraries want and why your last three submissions were rejected.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. No contracts, no awkward cancellation flow, no guilt-trip emails. Cancel before your next billing date and you won't be charged again. If you're unsure, the monthly plan is the lowest-risk way to try it.
What if I join and it's not right for me?
Then cancel. Show up, watch a course, come to a live call. If after 30 days you don't feel it's worth it, email me and I'll refund your first month in full.
The Composer Academy
A community, course library and coaching space for composers working towards a career in trailers, libraries and sync. Every course, live sessions with me, and real track feedback.
Not ready yet? Start with the free path
The free learning paths cover the same ground in article form. Work through one first and come back when you want the full walkthrough.
Trailer music, from first cue to first placement
Make a living from your music
Keep going (the creative mindset)
Release your own music