We recently connected with Nico Grossfeld and have shared our conversation below.

Nico, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear your thoughts about making remote work effective.

When I started in the industry I was working out of multiple recording studios in LA. It was invaluable experience to be present in hundreds of sessions and to be working with musicians, artists and producers. I eventually found my strengths and was able to do most work in my home studio. Session files could be sent to me, I’d comp and tune vocals, mix and master songs, handle client feedback all from home. Having a home studio provided the opportunity to have clients all over the country. It’s definitely more personable and sometimes more fun to work with a client in person. There is sometimes more back and forth to get the final product into the right place. But all in all, having a home studio was the best thing for me.

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.

I have been making and recording music since I was about 10 years old. My uncle gave me my first recording program (DAW) and it’s the reason I do what I do today. Years later while I was attending music school at Wayne State University I was presented with an opportunity to move to LA and work for an up and coming artist. It was a difficult decision to make to quit school and move to LA but I’m glad I did. I played bass and drums in tons of live shows and started interning at a recording studio. From there I moved my way through the industry, working out of more studios and for producer Warren Huart. I was working 80-90 hours most weeks and completely immersed myself to gain as much experience as possible. I made important connections and gained relationships with a lot of wonderful and talented people.

It was humbling and great experience to work on other people’s music, but I always loved making my own music. In addition to working for clients I started writing for music library companies, and still do so today. I get sent a brief detailing the genre of music that is needed, and write as many songs as possible before the deadline. The music library then has their clients pick which songs to use for TV shows and sports broadcasts. Since starting with this type of work I’ve had over 100 songs used on television in hundreds of shows and broadcasts.

While writing for music libraries, I’ve still kept going with client work. Mixing, mastering and producing for artists is satisfying work. Helping someone bring their creative vision to life and making their music sound as good as possible is rewarding. Working with other musicians is a great way to keep learning and growing as a professional.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of my work is to be able to spread emotion through music. Good music makes the listener feel emotions and think introspectively. When working for clients it’s wonderful to bring their creativity to life, and serving the music/song is always what I strive for. Getting the feel and emotion right is the most important part, whether the music is being used in a TV show or for listeners to jam out to while driving. Knowing that I’ve created music that enhanced the emotion of a scene or helped create a clients music that conveys the emotion they were intending while writing, makes me feel like I’m somehow connecting with people all over the world.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Writing for music libraries was originally my side hustle. I was mostly focused on client work. I started writing for music libraries because I wanted to still be able to have a creative outlet for myself. I still wanted to create my own music in some capacity. When writing for music libraries, there is no guarantee that my songs will be picked by clients to be used in TV shows and broadcasts. So when I started I was testing the waters, unsure if I even had the skills to make music good enough for TV. I wasn’t focused much on writing for the music libraries, turning in a few songs here and there. Eventually I started to get some placements! Seeing my music used on television was quite rewarding and validating. Realizing that I could potentially be collecting royalties on my music for years to come was also enticing. I started focusing more on writing for music libraries and at this point it captures more of my time than client work.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicogrossfeld?igsh=MXNqOW5va2hnNmNvYg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nico-grossfeld-39855b66?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

Image Credits

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