Life & Work with Judah Earl of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Judah Earl.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My roommate casually asked me ‘Hey Judah, I’m making a video game. Do you want to make the soundtrack?’. I was 18 at the time, living in Kansas City, and only perhaps a month or two in to experimenting with Garageband. What unfolded in the next 6 months only solidified what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I wanted to be a film score composer.

I had an enormous appetite for any type of knowledge in the music composition world. I re-created more scores from Hans Zimmer, John Powell, and Kazuma Jinnouchi than I can count. While working full time as a session musician, I make sure to dedicate 3 hours a day to composition. Those grind years from 18-24 had some of the most exciting musical moments of discovering my own voice in composition. However, they were met with a fair amount of challenges, as project after project fell through.

By age 26, I decided to take the leap and go full time into film scoring. 6 months after I made that decision, I was asked to write music for a Korean TV show. I had no clue that this opportunity would not only lead me to eventually working on some of the most well known Korean Dramas in history, but would also blossom into great friendships with my incredible team in Korea. Having now worked with Studio Curiosity for several years, it is my greatest joy to travel to Korea once or twice a year, work in the studio, and celebrate the successes of the year before. Some of our shows include Marry My Husband, Itaewon Class, and When Life Gives You Tangerines.

A year and a half ago, I decided to take another risk – moving to Los Angeles. Since I was a teenager, a move like this was on my horizon; and it finally felt like I was ready. Deciding to finally pull the trigger, to leave the family and friends I grew up with, felt like the bad decision the guy made on La La Land; and for the first little while, it was like that. However, it wasn’t long until it dawned on me – almost everybody in LA made that decision. Everyone was in a similar position of chasing their dreams, leaving a life behind, and looking for people to start a new one. So, for me, it didn’t take long to surround myself with amazing people that never gave up on their dreams either – and LA is the perfect spot for that. Whether it’s been at a church gathering, Swim and Social on Friday mornings, or a jam night with friends, my last year was a blast of meeting and collaborating with like minded people.

And, in the midst of me finding where I resonate most, and collaborating with people that resonated with my sound, my music started going wild. I started getting music placements with Nike, Porsche, Koenigsegg, PGA, Visa, and so many more! And, as of today, (may 14th), I hit one million monthly listeners on Spotify. All organic, no labels or playlists pushing it.

I hope this story inspires the dreamers to keep pushing through, because amazing things can happen when you stay true to your sound, surround yourself with awesome people, and put 100% into your craft.

I’m very grateful to be writing music for a living – and I’m extremely excited to see what the film industry has in store for me here in the coming years!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely struggles along the way. I tried to write film music in a city with hardly any film industry, for one. For two, it took a very long time for me to find my ‘sound’ – where honest music meets a production standard that’s accepted by the industry. And most of that time, is never hearing back from e-mails, massively underpaid projects that have seemingly endless revisions, and some collaborations that went south. But I think to forge your own path in creativity is a messy process in general. Paint on the wall – paint on your jeans. Lots of ideas and desires but no way to bring it to the finish line. However, time has a way of ironing all of that out. Over time, you learn how to deal with those clients, you learn how to respond (or not respond) to those emails, and, probably most importantly, learn to communicate with your collaborators.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I write music for Film and TV. My biggest TV shows (Korean dramas) are Itaewon Class and When Life Gives You Tangerines. However, since being in LA, I’ve landed Gordon Ramsey’s newest show, Secret Service, as well as Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I’ve also had music placements with Victorias Secret, the NFL, Nike, Porsche, DJI, Crumbl Cookie, XBOX, PGA, Honda, Strava, and Versace.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I try to pray and journal in the evenings. Definitely value the time to slow down and to process. I go to the beach every friday and bring my chair and read too. Right now I’m reading a book called ‘the way of kings’ by brandon sanderson.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://judahearl.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/thejudahearl
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@judahearl
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0lpe8GmqY2RVE54SdQRPmj?si=XM94UutoRdmyVF8luQBlxg

Image Credits
Carlos Lima, Drew The Director