Eddie Grey: “Consistency is the name of the game.”
Eddie Grey has built a stellar reputation of delivering high quality compositions, music supervision and songwriting through years of hard work and consistency.
His dedication to the craft has lead him to career highlights, placements on CBS, ABC, Lifetime, the History Channel, Head Composer on A&E’s “Born This Way” come to mind. Focusing on the value he can add to the project has secured him as an invaluable partner for publishers such as Megatrax, 411 Music Group, Epitome etc. Eddie also founded High Frequency Tracks, a group of talented, high quality composers, successfully bringing together dedicated collaborators and great people with 6000+ placements to date.
Accredited as an Apple Certified T# Logic Pro Trainer, Eddie consults clients (individuals and companies) on maximizing their efficiency and productivity. Maximizing his own, he recently established HF Music Academy for “the Modern Creative,” and is an Innovator here with us! Lets hear from him about his journey, milestones, experiences, plans and learn how to be an Innovator in the industry:
>> Learn How to make music with Logic Pro from Grammy Winners on mixinnovator.com
There’s a lot to learn from an origin story. How did your music journey begin? Let’s walk through your career path.
Eddie Grey: I discovered music (or should I say it discovered me) when I was a kid. An eccentric uncle of mine used to collect synths and let me hang out in his attic where he kept all sorts of gadgets. He would let all the cousins play but I was always the last to leave.
Slowly but surely I started getting “signs” that Music was my life. A family friend dropped off a busted keyboard at my house one day and when I played it as a teen, I just felt home. The same thing happened a year later when I first heard a live electric guitar player, my heart almost exploded. I knew then that I found my calling.
Tell us about some key achievements that were pivotal in propelling your career forward?
Eddie Grey: I really started to make progress when I took myself seriously first. I began conducting myself as a professional, studying and meeting deadlines, doing all the small things. It wasn’t until I devoted my entire heart to this work that the results started to pour in.
“Consistency is the name of the game.” – Eddie Grey
Landing the first big contract feels great, but that feeling diminishes quickly so relying on the discipline and lifestyle of Music is really important…it will carry you through the ups and the downs.
Collaborating has also propelled me into another creative stratosphere.
>> Learn How to make music with Logic Pro from Grammy Winners on mixinnovator.com
Are there any techniques, plug-ins or tricks you’ve learned recently that you’re excited about?
Eddie Grey: Plug-ins? There are too many to name. Plug-ins like Gullfoss by Soundtheory make me excited. I love things being automated for us. You think of Black Salt Audio and how much good they are doing for the creative community. Their plug-ins are turnkey. I really like Eventide Split EQ because it stands alone. I am obsessed with MAAT plug-ins right now. They just released a new tech called FiDef that is insanely good and the first of its kind.I also love Polyverse plugs. I just beta-tested for them and they have some crazy stuff coming out.
I can talk about this all day. It’s an exciting time to be a Music Producer, Composer, Beatmaker, etc. We can create bigger, better, faster stuff in no time. We do not have to rely on inspiration as the tools are so vast and the learning curve has been minimized and centralized due to the internet. We can access the greatest minds and compress years/decades of knowledge into a short period.
>> Learn mixing, producing & plug-ins(Eventide Split EQ and more) on mixinnovator.com
Are there any tried and true skills that are continually beneficial to you?
Eddie Grey: The practice of “always working on” something is crucial. I break down the life of a Creative into a couple of different categories.
- 1. Composition: Generate Ideas
- 2. Production: Solidify the Ideas
- 3. Administrative: Edits, Metadata, Paperwork, Invoicing, etc.
- 4. Sales: networking, reaching out for new business, taking risks
All of these facets must work in tandem to have a successful career but NONE OF THEM MATTER if you do not have a connection to your music. Every time I sit in this chair, great things happen because I have a relationship to my music and my art. We rely on one another and there is a mutual understanding that I will always make the sacrifice, so “it” always shows up and by “it”, I mean the creative muse. I churn out music every week and I never stop pitching my songs.
In your experience, what is most important to keep in mind when going into a session for Sync or Composition vs. producing for artists?
Eddie Grey: Sync and Producing for Artists are related but not the same thing.
With sync, the only purpose is to serve the client and/or brief so, in some ways, it is easier to turn out a product because you are not attached to it, see it as just another job. It is a service.
Music for Artists, on the other hand, has to be tailor made. It requires another level of dedication and commitment. There is more skin in the game. With Sync, a song is just a commodity but with Art, a song means everything, it defines an artist.
You’re an accomplished Composer and Supervisor, Is there anything you do daily that has streamlined your productivity?
Eddie Grey: I have a list that I loosely follow as far as what to do and when but the important thing is that I always put in the time 6 Days a week 8 to 12 hours a day. I never skip. On days that I am tired, I will focus more on learning or organizing samples. I spend a good amount of time on learning the plug-ins and working on mixing techniques.
I look at myself like an athlete and when I have down time, I am working on another part of my game. I focus on one thing/objective and will not stop until I finish it.
>> Learn How to make music with Logic Pro from Grammy Winners on mixinnovator.com
The Music Industry seems to be in a constant state of motion and so it seems your success, how have you maintained longevity in your career?
Eddie Grey: My longevity has been supported by a couple of things namely my faith in God. It has kept me humbled and kept me focused on what is important and that is the craft. I invest a lot of time, energy, and resources into this and I always see a return on my investment. I plant seeds and they always grow because I never stop planting and nurturing my music.
On that, can you tell us about your upcoming plans for 2022?
Eddie Grey: 2022 has already started off to a great year. Wrapping an album for a publisher now. Finishing custom jobs for several clients. I actually just landed a big placement on Young and The Restless on CBS this week with an artist I produced called “Sincerely Iris”. Continuing to build and fortify my Youtube Channel has also been great.
Any advice for new composers and producers starting out in today’s music industry?
Eddie Grey: If you are starting out today, there is no other way to say it…you have to decide if you are really going to do this and if you are going to live the lifestyle of a Creative and put in the hours, then just go for it and do not look back. Do whatever you need to do to succeed. If that means getting another job to fund your next upgrade then so be it. If that means, learning a new genre then GO FOR IT. Commit yourself to the Craft and it will make a way for you while paying you back handsomely.
