52 Cues - A Production Music and Sync Podcast

This Sync Composer Used Suno... and LOVED It!

In this episode, production music composer and 52 Cues mentor Jeff LaPlante confesses to using Suno, shares why the experience genuinely blew him away, and we talk about

Why Do We Keep Coming Back to PMC?

Every year, composers, publishers, music supervisors, and other music industry professionals gather in Los Angeles for the Production Music Conference (PMC). But with so

How My Didgeridoo Landed on The Bachelor

In this episode, Dave breaks down "Outback Intrigue," an Australian-inspired tension cue featuring the didgeridoo that landed on ABC's The Bachelor, sharing how he b

Is There Still Money in Sync in 2026?

In this episode, Dave and Jeff explore whether there's still money to be made in sync in 2026, comparing royalties from network sports, cable TV, streaming, and adve

Can Production Music Prepare You for Film Scoring?

In this episode, production music composer and 52 Cues community mentor Mary Shaw shares what she learned during five months at Michael Whittaker's Scorecraft Academ

Reviewing Your Cues LIVE

In this special live episode of the 52 Cues Podcast, I’m reviewing cues submitted by members of the 52 Cues community and giving real-time feedback on what’s working, wha

What I Listen For When Reviewing Cues

In this episode, Dave reviews a production music cue from composer and bassist Elysa Tancheff, breaking down what he listens for in arrangement, energy, edit points, mix,

The Unwritten Rules of Sync

In this episode, Dave and 52 Cues community mentor Jeff LaPlante unpack the unwritten rules of production music, from pitching and follow-up etiquette to rejection, deadl

The Non-Negotiables of Production Music Genres

In this episode Dave and 52 Cues community mentor Jeff LaPlante break down the non-negotiable sounds, arranging choices, and production techniques behind dramedy, tension

How Much Music Theory Does a Producer Really Need? (with Dr. Tim Stulman)

In this episode, Dave talks with Dr. Tim Stulman, Program Director for Music Production at Full Sail University and creator of Keyboard Kafe, about how much music theory

How Would You Start a Composing Career in 2026 (with Anne-Kathrin Dern)?

In this episode, film and game composer Anne-Kathrin Dern joins Dave to talk about how she’d start a composing career in 2026, including the differences between film, gam

We Asked Anne-Kathrin Dern About Her Brutal Composer Advice

In this episode, film and game composer Anne-Kathrin Dern joins Dave to talk about her recent brutally honest composer advice, how her own career has evolved, and how she

I Wrote 8 Cues in a Week and Didn’t Burn Out

In this episode, Dave reflects on what he learned from spending an entire week focused almost exclusively on writing music, and how simplicity, flow state, and avoiding c

Have You Outgrown Your Composer Workflow?

In this episode, Dave talks with Pibox founder and CEO Ivan Talaichuk about the point where Dropbox, email, and spreadsheets stop being enough and what production music c

Is Production Music Worth It in 2026?

In part two of their response to Anne-Kathrin Dern's brutally honest career advice, Jeff and Dave look at the money, the workload, the lifestyle, and the growing gur

How Hard Is it to Make a Living in Production Music?

In this episode, Dave and Jeff use Anne-Kathrin Dern’s recent composer reality-check video as a jumping off point to discuss how hard it really is to make a living in pro

How Sketching Makes Writing Cues Easier

In this episode, community mentor Jeff Hargrove explains why a simple piano sketch can make writing cues easier before production takes over. Watch this episode on YouTu

Our Most-Used Plugins for Production Music

In this episode, Dave and community mentor Jeff LaPlante share their most-used instruments, tools, plugins, and effects to help production music composers build a dependa

How to Learn Orchestration Without Feeling Overwhelmed

In this episode, Philip Johnston returns to explain how Orchestration Recipes makes complex concepts more practical, what Volume 6 brings to everyday orchestral writing,

Your Cue Got Accepted! Don't Blow the Deliverables.

In this episode Dave and community mentor Jeff LaPlante break down production music deliverables, including mixes, stems, cutdowns, file naming, metadata, loudness, and t