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About This Podcast
Hosted by working composer and long-time professor Dave Kropf, the 52 Cues Podcast takes you inside the real world of production music, library music, and sync licensing – breaking down cues, unpacking industry insights, and sharing candid conversations with fellow composers and publishers.
Weekly episodes deliver practical strategies, creative inspiration, and insider information to help you land more placements and build a sustainable career in sync.
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Recent Episodes
S2026E260 What Non-Drummers Get Wrong About Programming Drums
In this episode, Dave is joined by community ambassador and drum educator Michael Reschke to break down the biggest mistakes non-drummers make when programming drums.Watch this episode on YouTube:…
S2026E259 How Do Composers Find New Libraries?
In this episode, Dave and Jeff break down practical strategies for finding new production music libraries, building relationships, and pitching in a way that gets you taken seriously in the sync…
S2026E258 TV Composer Reviews Your Production Music Cues Live!
In this episode I review cues from the 52 Cues Community!Watch this episode on YouTube! https://youtu.be/1hgYh8PZaRgSupport for the 52 Cues Podcast comes from ReelCrafter, the professional way to…
S2026E257 Let's Talk Trailer Music (with Randon Purcell)
In this episode, trailer composer Randon Purcell breaks down what it actually takes to write modern trailer music, from massive structure and signature sounds to trends, placements, and surviving in…
S2026E256 Do I Just Suck at Workflow?
In this episode, me and 52 Cues mentor Mary Shaw unpack why “bad workflow” is often a misdiagnosis and how simple project management tools can make writing and delivering cues feel far more…
S2026E255 What New Composers Get Wrong About Sync
In this episode, Jeff Hargrove and I talk about the early mistakes new composers often make when stepping into production music – from chasing plugins and genres to overlooking the fundamentals that…
Building Better Work-Life Balance
This week, Greg Fellman and I talk work-life balance and how routines, boundaries, travel, burnout, and community can actually recharge you instead of distracting you.Watch this episode on YouTube!…
S2026E253 The Production Music Industry Quietly Changed
In this episode, Jeff LaPlante and I talk about how production and library music has changed in the last decade, why authenticity matters more, and how streaming has shifted the royalty game.Watch…
S2026E252 Your Influences Are Louder Than You Think
In this episode, Jeff LaPlante joins me as the first co-host of 2026, and we’re talking about influences – the obvious ones, the weird ones, and the ones you don’t realize you’re borrowing…
S2025E52 I Wrote Fewer Cues in 2025. Should I Be Worried?
In this episode, Mrs. 52 Cues and I wrap up the year by looking honestly at what worked, what didn’t, and how 2025 shaped both my writing life and the evolution of 52 Cues. We also lay out what’s…
S2025E50 I Use The Same Mixing Method on Every Cue
In this episode, I walk through my entire mixing and mastering process from beginning to end using a real indie pop cue as the example. We zoom out and talk about building a repeatable,…
S2025E49 Office Hours with Prof. Dave
In this episode, Dave opens up live office hours for an Ask Me Anything session. Topics range from PRO royalties and cue output expectations to writing tension versus upbeat cues, epic versus…
S2025E48 Inside the A&R Mind (with Farnell Newton)
In this episode, I’m joined by trumpeter, educator, and Marmoset A&R lead Farnell Newton for a conversation that tackles some of the biggest pain points composers face in the sync world. We talk…
S2025E46 How to Write True Crime Tension Cues
In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at the true crime corner of the light-tension spectrum where I’ll walk you through the sounds, the pulses, and the gritty textures that push this style…
S2025E45 I Said This Isn’t Art… Was I Wrong?
In this episode, I revisit the bold 2021 statement that what we do in production music isn’t art and ask if that still holds up in the age of AI. I talk about how technology has shifted the…
S2025E44 Meet the Exec Who Decides Which Cues Get Used
In this episode I am joined by Emmy and Mark Award–winning composer and Head of Production at Warner Chappell Production Music, Scott Reinwand, and we chat about how composers can stand out in a…
S2025E43 The PROs Say Yes to AI Music. Should You?
In this episode, I unpack what ASCAP, BMI, and SOCAN’s new policy on partially AI-generated works means for production music composers. We’ll talk about where the line is between using AI as a…
S2025E42 A VIP Tour of 52 Cues
Ever wonder what really goes on inside 52 Cues? In this episode, I’m unpacking how the community works, what each space is for, and how it all ties together to help you grow as a production music…
S2025E41 Why Conferences Matter (PMC 2025 Recap)
This week, Shannon joins me to unpack her very first Production Music Conference – what it’s really like to meet the 52 Cues community in person, how one simple meetup turned into a full-blown…
S2025E40 Level Up Your Pitches with Reelcrafter 2.5
In this episode, Sam Hulick and Sara Pocius from ReelCrafter return to talk about the brand-new ReelCrafter 2.5 update, what’s new under the hood, and how it helps composers pitch smarter and present…
Frequently Asked Questions
52 Cues - A Production Music and Sync Podcast has published 286 episodes since January 2021, covering topics in Arts, Education.
52 Cues - A Production Music and Sync Podcast is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 47m.
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