We recently connected with Benedikt Brydern and have shared our conversation below.

Benedikt, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

For many artists, managing the business side of their work seems an afterthought or a less important aspect of their career. And to make a living 100% with your art, you certainly need to have a plan. You want to fully immerse yourself in your art, in my case music, and create, enjoy and engage rather than managing or thinking about your retirement accounts or savings. Working years from “gig to gig” I realized soon that I also need to plan ahead. Not only having an emergency fund, but also having resources for future project expenses, promotions etc.
Especially nowadays with more and more digital platforms selling music, I soon made sure I protected myself with copyright registrations and to join a PRS (Performing Rights Society) like ASCAP or BMI to monetize my catalog. It’s certainly less glamourous entering meta data in a spreadsheet than composing a symphony, but I was glad during the “drier” months when those surprise checks came in the mail. I think it’s important to educate yourself, band members, writing partners about those steps to miss out on future pay models or opportunities. I have been lucky that I am able to support myself without a side job. Also being an instrumentalist besides a composer/producer helps a lot. As long as you don’t have too many windmills running (as my grandfather would say) dividing your energy into too many segments diversity can be your friend.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born in Germany and picked up the violin at the age of six. Both of my parents were actors. I actually started with violin because most children picked piano as their main instrument. My mother thought violin was cooler. Music and Arts were present in all school curriculum. Most high schools had even an orchestra which was showcased every year in a concert. And I went to a regular high school focusing on languages and science.

My hometown Munich is a very cultural city. We have two opera houses and four large orchestras. Also, plenty of touring celebrities. Going to a concert was a regular thing. When I studied at the Conservatory, we pretty much went once a week to see the great masters. Back in 1987 an ambitious concert pianist started a summer music festival modeled on Tanglewood in Schleswig-Holstein (Northern Germany). Due to his connections, he was able to get the great Leonard Bernstein (and some other famous conductors like Sir G.Solti or Valery Gergiev) to work with a 100-piece Youth Symphony. I was very fortunate having been selected out of 2000 applicants in the summer of 1988 to play in the string section.

Needless to say, I learned more in 4 weeks about the orchestra world than during my six years of studies. And made many friends from around the world. We performed at Royal Albert Hall during the Proms Concerts and Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, where Bernstein hasn’t been back for a long time due to the Cold War. In 1993, I received a scholarship from Rotary International to study at the acclaimed Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles. I was always interested in music for film and enrolled in the program they offered. I have been writing original music since being a teenager and I was looking forward to getting an insight into Hollywood with fabulous instructors like Elmer Bernstein (Magnificent Seven), Bruce Broughton (Tombstone) or David Raksin (Laura) just to mention few. After graduation, I scored my first film for Showtime. Since then, I have worked on several feature films and other media formats besides still being an active violinist recording and performing. 15 years ago, I joined platinum recording artist Yanni’s band and we have been on the road many months out of the year. Very exotic locations and countries opened my horizon about cultures and people. We played a concert in front of the Pyramids in Egypt! Unforgettable.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

Fascinating and bizarre at the same time. Certainly, a great business idea for many. Because ownership only exists in the digital world, if all computers go dark, there’s nothing left. At least a painting you paid for still hangs on the wall.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Promotion, radio play, licensing and getting your music out there. Those classes they didn’t teach me in school, and it took many years to figure out how this all works.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.consordino.com
• Instagram: @wolfamadee
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benedikt-brydern-8446036

Image Credits
Jesse Green, Neelu Eldurkar, Denice Duff