Today we’d like to introduce you to Corey Martin.
Corey, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was raised in Northern California just south of San Jose. I was incredibly fortunate to be raised in a family that loved music and supported any effort to create it. I spent my childhood sitting behind my dad playing drums with his cover band and my teenage years playing in bands with my older brother, Eric, and whatever friends we could convince to play with us. Eventually, this path leads me to Azusa Pacific University just outside of LA, where I studied music with the full support of my family. I was not the most talented or the most experienced by a long-shot, but I was always willing to work hard in music school.
During my freshman year, my roommate at the time was constantly trying to convince me to try my hand at film music, which was a passion of his. I eventually gave it a shot and have not looked back since. That path leads me to Brand X Music, where I now serve as Head of Production.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not. When I first dipped my toe into music school, I could barely read music. I was told by future professors to reconsider because I would be so behind my peers. For some reason, I just pushed through, and I’m glad I did.
During my professional career, I’ve come back from a scoring session more than once and uttered the phrase “I don’t think I want to do music anymore” to my wife, who always knows how to calm me down and speak some sense back into me.
The work can be incredibly demanding and projects can take more out of you than you had to give. To paraphrase one of my bosses, you can only survive in this industry if you would’ve been happy to do the gig for free – and I think that’s true for me today. There has to be that instinctual drive and passion, otherwise it wouldn’t be worth doing. It’s what allows you to push through the anxiety, burnout, and self-doubt that always seem to pop up during a project.
Nowadays – a huge part of my job is working on pop music as well as orchestral music. Learning to adapt and try out new things is crucial in our industry. One day you wake up with an idea and next thing you know, that single idea is part of your life for years to come. The challenge is to always be curious and willing to try things that you probably have no business trying.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Brand X Music is a boutique music catalog that composes and releases music for the purposes of licensing for film, tv, advertising, and any other media. We are probably most known for the trailer music portion of our catalog, where we’ve been fortunate enough to either license to or write custom music for campaigns such as Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, Onward, Coco, and countless others. We also have four other catalogs: Production Music, Sound Design, Architects Series, and our brand new Songs for Sync catalog, the last of which I head up. We are composer owned, which adds an incredible sense of possibility and creativity from the top down.
What makes me the most proud of this company is our commitment to our quality. Every piece of music we put out, whether it’s a big-budget Hollywood trailer score or a single bass drum roll, we put the same amount of care and effort into each and every release. We refuse to compromise on quality, and I think that shows in our 7,000+ tracks.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
This biggest credit has to go to our fearless owners, John Sponsler and Tom Gire. They had this crazy idea to begin with. They’ve gradually built this business for almost 20 years now, and those of us who are lucky enough to work for them are incredibly grateful. These two also personally taught me how to write and produce music at a Brand X quality.
For me personally, I’ve had some amazing teachers that helped launch my young career. My first teachers were my parents and older brother, who taught me that being a kind, humble, open-minded, and passionate person is the most important thing. Throughout high school and college, I had Dave Hook and Mike Watts, who taught me everything I know – and more importantly, everything I don’t know.
Probably the most important mentor is my wife, Natalie, who is also a professional musician (and much better than me). She first taught me to take risks in music and stop seeing everything in black and white. If there is a “rule”, ask why and see if there is beauty in breaking it. She’s also the one who has to deal with – you know – the occasional anxiety attack.
I should also thank my in-laws who let me use their pool house as a studio for a few years. That was very nice. My father-in-law also plays a mean trombone.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brandxmusic.net
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandxmusic/?hl=en
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
