We were lucky to catch up with Anthony Oro recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Anthony, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

As a 22-year-old Cuban/American music producer and instrumentalist, music has always been a large part of my life. I have been playing guitar since I was 9. My main focus throughout the first 9 years was jazz. Fast forward to middle and high school, I got into Bak Middle School of the Arts & Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts. There, I started playing guitar in the jazz band. Around 7th grade, I started to really enjoy playing jazz and I would constantly listen to, transcribe, and analyze the improvised solos of jazz greats like Miles Davis, Count Basie, and Barney Kessel in my free time. But in 2020, I started producing music and I have never looked back since then. I taught myself through watching videos and lots of trial and error. When I realized my passion for production went further than I thought, I decided to take a gap year at the University of Southern California. During this time, I got a music internship and worked at different music studios. Here I learned studio etiquette, how to collaborate with other musicians, and I created over 1000 tracks that year. After my time at the internship, I discovered my passion for creating music for the film industry. I started to read many books about the music business and sync licensing. Crafting music for film has become something that I could never see myself not doing.

Early on, I did not educate myself with the legal aspects of the music business. I was always focused on the first half, the music, and not so much the business. If I had been more interested in reading books to learn about this, I would have progressed more quickly and been prepared for certain opportunities. Today, I have accumulated enough information to be able to effectively understand and negotiate the terms of standard legal agreements in the sync licensing space.

The skills that were most essential in my journey have been consistency, networking, and educating myself on the business.

Not knowing anyone who was on the path of music production when I started out was not something that discouraged me in any way. In fact, it made me more eager to strengthen my creative abilities. It pushed me to become even better and learn as much as I can. When you start from scratch, a strong foundation is essential. So I decided to start building.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Based in Los Angeles, California and South Florida, I am a music producer and instrumentalist focused on creating music for TV & Film. I collaborate with other creatives and work closely with music libraries to create the best music to fulfill the needs of various visual media and clients. My work spans a variety of genres such as Rock, Indie Pop, Hip Hop, House, Reggaeton, Bachata, World Music and more. My strong background in jazz music and connections with other talented musicians allows me to bring a fresh sound to the film production giving an edge to my sound.

It has been a pleasure to work with figures such as Scott Storch, Ricky Hil, Fats the Man, Hoosh, and many others. “Oro” is my producer alias which is displayed on songs like “Brass In Pocket” a cover by Scott Storch and Atamzo, “Wild In The Streets” by Ricky Hil, “Wwyd” by Fats the Man, “better half” by Hoosh, and “Runnin’ Up Racks” by Trinidad La Bruja. My focus is always to fulfill the needs of the project and the client. I work on my creative and business skills daily to provide quality service based on loyalty, reliability, organization, and close attention to detail. I hold myself to a high standard so that my work says a lot more than my words.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goal is to own and run a successful music publishing company in the sync licensing space. It is that simple. But now I will tell you about what drives me to reach this goal. I strongly believe that each person has a hidden genius inside. By believing in and proving to myself that I can accomplish anything I desire, I hope to inspire others to accomplish their goals as creatives. I believe that by critically analyzing and documenting my life as I reach my goals, I can lay out the blueprint for others.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Reading great books about entrepreneurship, business, and thought have shaped my mindset, career, and philosophical view on life significantly. A few of the important books I have read are: “The Master Key System” by Charles F. Haanel, “How To Grow Success” by Elizabeth Towne, “Start Your Music Business” by Audrey K. Chisholm, “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen, “Sync Licensing For Record Labels”. But the one that has impacted my career as an entrepreneurial creative the most is “Tracks That Sync” by Graham Barton. This book has been influential to me in learning how to craft music for sync licensing purposes. It has also allowed me to know what production music libraries, music supervisors, and editors are looking for when choosing music for visual media.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @anthonyoromusic