Cyrus Langhorne
[With Fox’s hit “Empire” series returning tomorrow night (March 30), show songwriter/music producer J.R. Rotem tells us what challenges he faces.]
I would say the main challenges and differences is that the music I do for “Empire” has to serve the scene. In other words, it has to play into the drama.
When you’re making edits, I’m talking to TV producers and writers to make sure the song is really capturing what they want you to see.
When I’m working, for instance, on a Gwen Stefani album or a Jason DeRulo project, that’s more about them wanting a certain song to tell ‘this’ story but in a way, there’s more freedom because it doesn’t have to be about a scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIl0GhudJaA
The difference in TV is, “How do you keep the standard high?” The song still has to feel creative. It can’t feel too thought out. The vibe has to be dope but at the same time you might have to change lyrics on the fly. There’s more regulation. You can’t say certain words, you can’t say certain brands or sponsors.
It’s a combination of keeping the creative hat on and that’s how it is when I’m working with different artists and when I’m trying to get things to fit into different directors and Lee Daniels’ [vision].
It’s very last-minute changes where they might say, “Oh, this character wouldn’t say that.” Or, “We need to edit the song because we’re only going to use this section to that section. There’s different limitations with TV.
When you’re doing a song in the music industry, you can do a song and you might wait six months or a year until it fully comes out. There’s a different process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0eSP_Kn3RI
With TV, they’re moving very different. They’re moving quickly. They’re shooting on a schedule. You really have to make that deadline. It’s very important. If I have to stay up in the studio all night with my writers, with my engineer making edits, that’s gotta happen because they need the song by tomorrow.
There’s no “Hey, we’ll get around to it.” It’s a different pace in working and I think you have to be comfortable with that. I think some people who don’t like to feel those types of pressures and limits, it may not be for them.
That pressure sort of sharpens me. For me, there were challenges to it but I enjoy how TV moves more quickly than the music industry.
Stay connected to J.R. Rotem on social media:
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/jrotem/
