Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Goss.
Hi Will, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My mom taught chorus and my dad ran a popular music venue in the 80s/90s in downtown Charleston called Myskyn’s, so honestly my journey with music has been ongoing for as long as I can remember. I played piano, sang in choirs, wrote songs, and played in bands through middle school and high school, and after college, but eventually, after gigging 4-5 nights a week I got really burnt out and realized that what I enjoyed about music was the creative pursuit of writing music, and not so much performing.
In 2016 I decided to shift gears and aim for a career in music composition. I went back and finished my music degree in music composition and piano performance, which really elevated my writing to a completely new level. While in school I wrote classical chamber music, a symphonic poem, and a song cycle; it was a fantastic experience that introduced me to possibilities in music that I couldn’t have imagined. But as a computer geek who also loves video games, I knew that I wanted to focus more on writing music for games, so while in school I simultaneously worked on various game scores while in school. Thankfully that’s led to some incredible opportunities in the game industry. To date, I’ve scored three video games, most recently an amazing project called Song of Iron that was released on Xbox last August, and I’m currently working on my fourth score. I also just released my second pop album. It’s been a lot of work but also a lot of fun finding where I fit in in the music business!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was definitely not a smooth road Haha. When I first went to college in 2008, I essentially had to choose between computer science and music as it was too difficult to try and do both, and I ended up listening to other people who encouraged me to pursue computer science. Ultimately, that led me to a place where I wasn’t doing much with music at all and I was very unhappy as a result. I don’t regret it though, as it taught me an important lesson about just how important music is to me; it’s a critical part of who I am and a key source of my well-being. Looking back, it’s a little mind-boggling that I almost ended up not doing music at all.
Once I decided to become a composer, though, the journey of figuring out how to make that work as a career is a struggle in and of itself! The music industry has been completely democratized, which is great in many ways, but the downside is that there are a plethora of composers such that the business is completely oversaturated with them. That can make it difficult to find work and to get ears for your music, but I’ve always believed that with hard work and persistence you can break through the noise and establish yourself as a composer. Even though I’m still early in my career, that approach is starting to bear fruit.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think what sets me apart from others is that I strive to be competent in writing music in as many styles as possible, and learning about as many different types of music as I can. That’s reflected in my output, which ranges from a dark, Viking soundtrack to an electronic and orchestral sci-fi soundtrack. I’m always pushing myself to learn more and improve, and find my own unique artistic voice.
I’m most proud of the fact that I actually decided to pursue this career against the advice of many and that it’s starting to pay dividends. Music is an incredibly unforgiving industry. So many people don’t take it seriously and tell you to just “get a real job,” but composing is legitimate work. I’m proud of forging my own path in this industry.
What’s next?
My plan is to keep working and finding exciting projects to score. I want to be a great composer, and I think it will take a lifetime of consistent effort to achieve that, but that is my plan.
Pricing:
- $200/minute of mastered music
Contact Info:
- Email: will@willgoss.com
- Website: willgoss.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willgossmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/willgossmusic
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/willgossmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/WillGoss
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/willgossmusic
