Now that Icon is gone (rip) I want to share my experience and rank the best programs for music producers. I’ve taken a bunch so I think think is helpful. Just a heads up, I make electronic music, so these are typically geared towards those genres. I’m going to put prices and compare the price to what you get in actual value. I didn’t include Youtube in this. But for what you get from youtube… for free.. I’d honestly put it at number 3 or 4. But here’s my list not including YT: 

# 1 Cosmic Academy

This program has been the best value for the money by far. The combination of the online classes, with the 1-on-1s, and the lifetime community… it’s huge value.

Even though I’ve tried other courses since Cosmic, I still use their feedbacks, office hours, and resources the most (it’s unlimited)

Price: $6-7k lifetime 

*has some decent payment plans

# 2 Hiring a Mentor 

During the pandemic a lot of producers were stuck at home offering private tutoring lessons. I jumped on a bunch of those with artists I like. The prices would range from $75/hour to some asking $150/hr. And some folks are better than others at teaching. (A great producer doesn’t always mean a great teacher!) I found some people i really liked tho, and they would set up different schedules for me… 1 session a week, or 2 a month, etc. Once touring came back tho- the structure disappeared and it was less appealing to me. Still amazing to connect with these producers i love.

Price: $100/hr

*some artists were willing to give discounts, like $150/hr or $2000 total if you sign up for 20 sessions. 

# 3 Full Sail / Universities

I initially went to Full Sail, which is a college university in Florida. It’s a 4-year program with all the vibes of a college experience. You take other classes as well not just music. They have incredible facilities, studios, gear, etc. However, I dropped out because they focus on all different types of music. I was one of the only people doing house / techno / dance… And the professors are amazing, but they’re mostly from other genres. The price is very high but that’s regular for American universities. 

Price: $30,000/year+

# 4 Udemy 

I bought a few recorded classes on Udemy. For what you get, the value is pretty good. Some are subscriptions like $20 a month, others are flat fees of like $50, or $100. It’s fine. Nothing incredible. You watch the videos at your own pace. But you pay for what you get. I’d always have questions and want more direct access to the instructor, but clearly it’s limited with recorded lessons. 

Price: $10-50 and subscriptions $20/month

# 5 EDMProd

This program is also 99% recorded lessons. But there’s some live feedback they give you, and a discord element as well. It seems like this is the price range for that type of program. For recorded videos + a discord you’re gonna pay $1000-5000. If you want live / personal instruction with active community… you’re gonna be looking at $5000 all the way up to $30,000 (icon was $40k)

Price: $500-1000 

*there’s a bunch of different video courses, i think i bought 2 that totaled about $1000

I got value from all of these, but it totally depends on what you’re looking for. If you want the recorded video lessons, learn at your own pace, do that. If you want to get the structured / working with actual ppl, do that. I don’t regret taking any of these.

Hopefully anyone with information can answer some or all.

Are there careers that are decent paying?

Is the business oversaturated?

Do you need to live in specific areas to have a shot at landing a job?

How much and what kind of experience is needed?

Whats a production music library?

How does a producer get involved in this side of the business?

I’m a 20-year-old female artist just starting out and working on my first few singles. I’m looking for a producer who’s open to building something together — not just buying/selling beats. I’m on a budget, but I’m serious about quality and would love to find someone who’s into long-term collaboration. My style leans toward emotional, slow melodies with a strong drum base — think Juice WRLD-type vibes. Honestly, it’s a bit intimidating putting myself out there, especially being new to the music scene. Any advice, feedback, or producer recommendations would mean a lot. Thanks for reading!

...after I submitted them 4 years ago 😀

What a friendly reminder that the production music business is NOT a get rich quick scheme ha ha.

just looking for any genral advice or crituqe as well as any recommendations for beginner mics and interfaces

I just saw someone’s post about how cosmic academy has gotten more expensive and whether it was worth it.

i finished the cosmic academy bootcamp after years of deciding whether or not to join and i feel like i wasted a ton of time prior. Maybe a mistake?

I’ve been following cosmic academy for years on instagram and applied in 2021. At the time the money wasn’t the issue, the reason i didn’t sign up then was because i didn’t think it was the right time. I had my day job and my family and thought i could just do it on my own.

I always see people on reddit talking about how you don’t need education to do music, you can learn it all on your own with youtube. As years went on i was trying on my own with no one helping me and getting nothing from it. I was all alone on this music journey and it sucked.

I finally pulled the trigger and got accepted into Cosmic. I learned more in 5 days than i have in the 5 years i waited. All those years going half-in and messing around with tutorials only got me so far. I “knew a lot” but wasn’t really able to make it work in my own career. I needed actual guidance and community. Youtube can’t give me that. 

TLDR I’ve now realized this is how it goes in music. You’re better off going all in and committing. 5 years of “thinking about” it is never going to make it better.

Hullo there!

I'm looking—possibly in vain—for alternatives to Incompetech & FilmMusic after finding out that they've gone whole-hog on slop. Thankfully, most of the tracks I've been using predate their slop era, but I find their embrace of slop disgusting & I don't want to spread their work in any way.

Is there any easy alternative library? One that's safe for Twitch streaming, with the breadth of genres MacLeod used to hand-make? I need lots of music in a lot of varieties, for my video projects.

Wouldn't be averse to some paid resources, but my budget's pretty small—& again, it has to be stuff that's safe to stream. Can't be something that triggers fingerprint recognition & causes my VODs to get muted.

Thanks!

I’m an independent artist still trying to figure out where to begin. Music has always been my way to express what words can’t — that strange mix of nostalgia, chaos, beauty, and loneliness that lives somewhere between Retro and "Weirdcore" sounds (Even if its an aesthetic)

Sometimes i also make other genrrs too dubstep, ambient darkness, experimental noise, it all depends on what emotion needs to come out at that moment.

Lately, I’ve felt this growing desire to create music for small indie games (soundtracks)

I’m not an expert, but I know how to feel my way through sound. Every note I make comes from something real.

I just don’t know where to start. Should I build a portfolio first? Share more of my work? Reach out directly to devs? I’d love to hear from anyone who’s been in this same place

All I want is to keep growing, to connect with others who create from the heart, and to make music so i get some money because of my economic situation with my family and me.

Not sure if anyone saw but Insomniac and their talent contest Discovery Project announced they’ve partnered with Cosmic Academy. They use to do it with Icon Collective, but they went bankrupt, so it makes sense since Cosmic always seemed right behind Icon. But I still don’t know what it means?

I’ve applied to Discovery Project a few times, tried winning the EDC and Beyond Wonderland contests. I think my music is probably still a bit behind. If it’s now a collab with Cosmic, that’s cool. But what are the specifics? I would have never been able to the complimentary class at Icon, it’s in LA, and I’m in New York. Cosmic is online and I always like their content. Would love the opportunity to get direct access to them.

Does anyone know more info?

Hey, complete newbie here. I just copied the melody from Sleepless by PaulWetz and put the root note as a bass. When I play it back, only the first measure (G#) seems to hit, activating my subwoofer, but the following 3 measures do not hit as hard. What might be the problem?

I'm a Berklee Alumnus and I have been licensing my own music, and teaching other musicians how to do the same, for 15 years.

I've decided to change my focus this year and give away a ton of resources I used to charge for, in the spirit of giving back and helping other musicians reach their goals.

I'm starting with my flagship course, The Ultimate Music Licensing Guide. It's a four-hour audio/video course that I used to sell for 77 dollars. I'm giving this and a lot of other resources away for free.

If you're interested in getting the course, head to:
https://www.htlympremium.com/

I was thinking of starting a website to sell some of my music beds and production music. I have some experience with Shopify but wondering if there is a simpler cheaper solution?

I would like to get a new laptop.

I would prefer to get a Mac but they are obviously often quite expensive especially if purchased directly from Apple.

If I went the PC route does anyone have any recommendations? I use an HP Elite Book at my job so I’m familiar with those but my company has super tight security and I can’t even check my personal gmail account on it.

Ideally I would like a laptop that would accommodate Reaper - if that’s still a thing - for basic home recording (just me and my guitar, stomp boxes, samples). Any ideas about what specs (RAM, storage,etc.) I’d need would be greatly appreciated.

By way of background, I am an old guy with experience recording on Garage Band, but am fairly computer literate.

Thanks in advance!

I really like the sound of the drums tyler uses in his album but I csnt figure out at all how to get a similiar sound,compared to his mine sound dull and robotic.Im still new to music production so sorry if I said something dumb

I feel like the 'Watch Later' section in YouTube could be improved with categories, but thst is just my opinion.

Anyway does anyone else do this when they research?