We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Megan McDuffee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Megan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Yes, I have! It’s been one heck of a journey, and was definitely not always the case.

Musical training aside, the real work began once I graduated from college with a shiny film scoring degree. I looked everywhere I could in order to find music composition gigs, which were few and far between. Year after year I networked, honed my skills, went for a second degree, networked more, honed my craft further, etc. For a long while I had a non-music related side job to plump up my income while I was hustling for more musical work.

It really wasn’t until one of my colleagues recommended me for a specific job that my career took off exponentially. I had built a very decent portfolio, but still wasn’t earning what I wanted to earn in a year. The project that really spring-boarded me was the video game River City Girls (2019). Getting to compose and produce the massive 60-song soundtrack still to this day has potential clients coming to me, simply because they heard my work in that game.

Do I think I could have sped up the process knowing what I do now? Potentially. Mostly from a technical perspective (focusing on and learning how to mix at a commercial level sooner). And also if I had switched my focus from film music to video games earlier, I may have had more success earlier. But I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m where I’m supposed to be.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hey there! My name is Megan McDuffee, and I’m an award-winning composer, music producer, and recording artist. Most of my work is custom music for video games under my company, ‘McDuffee Music Production LLC,’ though I have worked on movie trailers, have music in many TV shows, and regularly release music as an independent artist as well. My style ranges from upbeat synthpop to huge, gnarly, scary and intense. I primarily produce electronic and symphonic music in different subgenres. My artist work is moody, velvety, dark, sinister, and sultry with influences like Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, and Deftones.

I produce, mix, and master my own work, and am very proud to be included in the tiny 3.4% pool of women who are professional music producers.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

While I don’t have a particular story, the journey itself of becoming a full-time composer and music producer illustrates my resilience. Only those who persist and never give up will reach the goals they set out for themselves. That might sound cliché, but it’s true – so many people try to become full-time musicians but burn out very quickly when they realize it’s a usually a 10+ year commitment to get anywhere substantial.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding thing is when people message me saying my music gave them something they were missing, helped them through a tough time, or brings them joy in their daily lives. That’s the best feeling in the world. Being my own boss ain’t shabby either!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://meganmcduffee.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megmcduffee/
• Twitter: https://x.com/MeganMcDuffee
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/meganmcduffee
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4n34M10wtYMrhh5tNsKwnn?si=rLVe6UNjT7amGTIsSjLJzg
• Bandcamp: https://meganmcduffee.bandcamp.com/