If you’ve been to an indie film fest, you’ve probably seen Kevin MacLeod in the credits. Or maybe you’ve heard his music in a cute cat video, or a Minecraft video, or in a department store, cab ride, or on hold. By writing an enormous amount of music and giving it away for free, Kevin has built his reputation as the single biggest royalty-free music composer. In this episode of Composer Quest, I ask Kevin about his creative process and business model:

• How do you balance musical inventiveness with keeping the music palatable and background-y?
• Would your philosophy of giving away music change if you weren’t on the top of Google searches for “royalty-free music”?
• When did ukulele and glockenspiel become the go-to instruments for every commercial?
• How are you able to make 30-minute long tracks in 10 minutes?

[audio:https://charliemccarron.com/mediaftp/composerquest/composer-quest-128-kevin-macleod.mp3]

Right click to download Ep. 128, or open in iTunes.

The question of the week is: Is music worthless if no one hears it? Chime in on the forum.

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Episode Soundtrack

Here are Kevin MacLeod’s stock library tracks featured in this episode:

• 0:00 – The Curtain Rises
• 0:22 – Monkeys Spinning Monkeys
• 4:10 – Quirky Dog (humorous)
• 8:50 – Rumination (Kevin’s “most unpopular” track)
• 10:42 – Music for Funeral Home – Part 1
• 12:04 – Meanwhile in Bavaria (polka)
• 15:13 – Allada (African drumming)
• 17:38 – Aurea Carmina (funk)
• 27:41 – Life of Riley (commercial ukulele and glockenspiel)
• 40:57 – Almost in F (unusual tuning)
• 53:04 – Hyperfun (ragtime)