It probably goes without saying that the better you brief me, the better, or at least quicker, I will probably serve you. But let's face it, composing music is not like servicing a car. It is at the best a subjective beast and, to use a cliché, there is more than one way to skin this unwilling pussy cat!

So here is a short guide of the sort of things I like to know before I get started.

Composing music for programmes is very different from writing a jingle, though the two forms do share one property; they are selling an idea.

In the case of a jingle we are often asked to come up with a commercial as the result of a marketing brief. When we are commissioned to compose music for, say, a documentary, we have to fit in with the vision of the director or producer.

All music written by Dancing Bear remains the copyright of Joss Sanglier. However, we try to make licensing issues as simple as possible.

For local radio we do not normally put a time limit on how long you can use the jingle we compose for your company. But we do limit which stations you can use it on and how you can use it outside radio. We feel this is fairer for most local companies that are unlikely to need to use the jingle outside their local area.

Working Together

For many clients who do not regularly deal in a creative process, the lack of obvious and familiar work practices in the so called creative services industry can seem at the least bewildering and at the worst downright annoying.

Having worked as both supplier and client, this is a situation I try to avoid. The fact that you are asking me for ideas is not different in reality than you asking me to build you a wall. Both of them will take time, will use materials and will end with a finished product and an invoice.