Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mark Alan Knapp Jr.. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Mark thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
Up to this point in my career (summer 2023), the most meaningful project I’ve worked on to date would have to be TV One’s series Fatal Attraction. In July of 2022, I composed an original cue for the true crime series for one of the music libraries I write for. In music for film and television, this is what we call a “sync” placement- literally, a “synchronization of music and video” placement. The show has been running currently for 13 seasons, and they were in the process of updating their collection of music cues in order to keep the show sounding “fresh”. The cue was accepted, meaning that the sound department liked what I had composed and it would now live alongside all their other musical cues, or the tracks that play during interviews and reenactments on the program.
Now, in film and television, it is a pretty lengthy process from the first airing to that information being categorized and uploaded for composer to see. So, it wasn’t until late April of 2023 that I had found out that two episodes of the series had used my composition back in September and October! I was officially a television composer!
As of June 2023, the same cue has been used on three episodes that I know of thus far.
This experience has been very meaningful to me, as it has been the next big milestone of my career as a contract composer and songwriter. The more work you have under your belt in this industry, the better the future gigs you’ll get. Working with household brands, having credits with AAA game studios, or having your music heard on national television are all definitely HUGE bargaining chips for the independent composer, and I’m so thankful to have made this milestone as young as I have. Projects like these inspire me to continue pushing myself, chasing that next huge high.
Because trust me- hearing your own original music on television is DEFINITELY a huge high!
Mark, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Mark Alan Knapp Jr., MA, and I’m currently a collegiate educator and contract composer/songwriter based in Northwest Ohio. For over a decade, I have been working in the music industry wearing a plethora of hats- performer, recording artist, educator, composer, mix engineer, arranger. My works have been heard on television, radio, streaming platforms, podcasts, and video games. I spend the majority of my time creating original musical content for a wide array of uses and scenarios. Whether I’m working on a video game soundtrack, my own original rock music, a cover song for fun, a commission for a friend, or any of the dozens of other surprise reasons that popup in my career, my calling is in creating music. There is no other feeling than making something from nothing- but then getting to see and hear how it impacts people. Being told that a song I wrote is in someone’s top 10 songs ever, or watching a friend cry as they listen to an unrelated work while reading the lyrics. It’s a truly humbling life.
To that end, when I’m not creating, I’m teaching. I strongly believe in giving back to this world. I know I would not be where I am, doing what I am, if it wasn’t for past instructors and teachers in my life, so it’s only right, I feel, to pay that knowledge forward. I can only hope that I am able to continue inspiring the next generation of creatives, and changing the lives of those who are truly passionate about following their dreams.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Well, we truly DO live in a society. We live in a society where, at any given moment, how many people are listening to music? How many people are streaming an animated series on Netflix? How many people are watching a sitcom on television? How many people are in a movie theater, or at a concert, or watching YouTube?
Our modern world is one that would not exist without consumption of all of these different mediums, yet anyone who pursues the arts are usually shot in the foot before they even begin- by parents, by friends, sometimes by themselves- but in almost all cases, by our society.
People crave the next episode of their favorite show, or spend over $1000 on concert tickets- without really taking a step back and remembering all the people who go into a production that make it possible. All the “behind the scenes” people that are making cover art or helping with the song writing or composing the theme song or working the cameras. It takes skills that not every single person has to correctly frame a shot, or how to PROPERLY(!) talk into a microphone- yet those who have these skills are usually looked down upon (until a certain point- at which time “everyone” has “always” believed in you).
Our modern day world needs to understand that without creatives, life would suck. Plain and simple. Artists work ourselves to the bone to enrich lives through our works and to connect as all in the human experience- at the very least, don’t stop us before we’ve only just begun. We already have enough self-doubts- we don’t need any external ones. 
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
As a gamer (I know- I’m so different and quirky!), I like to look at life as an open world RPG (role playing game). There is NO main quest, NO main objective, NO real reason to do ANYTHING really (other than, perhaps, to survive, at the very least). That is such a freeing philosophy in my eyes. There is no need to do ANYTHING- so why not do what makes you happy?
With this mindset, I have made it my personal goal to see just how far I am able to make it in the music industry. With each small step I take, I’m one small step further from who I was when I started. I have skills I could only have ever dreamed of as a kid. I’ve done so many cool things, worked on so many amazing projects, met so many creative and inspiring people… It’s amazing. Every new experience is just… amazing.
It’s this “amazing” feeling that keeps me pushing forward- testing the waters, putting myself and my work out there. Saying “Yes!” to every opportunity. Applying for roles I have no right being in (yet). Because, at the end of the day, what’s the worst that can happen? Being told “No.”? Okay. That’s fine!
There are a million more opportunities out there awaiting me- and the surprises that these opportunities hold, the places I may see, the people I may connect with, the audiences that I’ll expose my works to… those opportunities are absolutely my driving force.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.markalanknappjr.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-alan-knapp-jr-b69a8a142/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCrOoaEFqJd-Qmlrkb1IynA?view_as=subscriber
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Cvq20dOmVIc1d1erls52X
Image Credits
Image Credits: Teenage Suburbia Studios