O Que Você Faz? " Eu Componho Músicas Para Filmes E TV"

What Do You Do? 'I Compose Music For Film And Television'

There are some truly fascinating jobs out there. What Do You Do? aims to highlight unique jobs and the interesting men and women behind them. The goal? To encourage the next generation to pursue work that inspires them through relatable role models.

Ben Fox is a musician who primarily works in film and television. 

Image credit: Joel Clifton.

Can you describe your job? What do you do for a living?

I’m a composer for film and television, which means I’m hired by filmmakers to create original music for their projects. My job is essentially to work collaboratively with directors to write and produce the music that will underscore their film, guide the emotion of the audience, and bring a new dimension to the story being told. 

What attracted you to this type of work?

I grew up studying music and singing in choirs before spending several years focused as a recording artist, songwriter, and touring musician. It led to a lot of time spent in studios, learning over the shoulders of some super talented recording engineers, and developing skills as a music producer. Transitioning to film was really natural for me. I feel like film is maybe the most complete art form, in that it’s the result of a whole number of distinct art forms coming together to tell one story–the writing, the actor’s performance, the cinematography, set design, the music. When all of those elements are locked in and pulling in the same direction, it can be something really immersive, complex, and powerful. And music is my way to contribute to that.

Film composing is project-based, so I dive deep into one project, inhabit it for a while, then it’s over and I’m on to the next. It’s a fresh start every time, a different team, a new aesthetic, something totally different. So from a creative perspective, I love that this type of work has me constantly flexing new muscles and forces me to push the boundaries of my abilities. 

What kinds of everyday practical skills matter for the work that you do?

When you’re hired as a composer, your job is not only to write the music, but also to manage all aspects of the production of the film’s score. It can be approached in a lot of different ways, depending on your particular skillset. But typically, it means writing and orchestrating the music, performing, preparing sheet music, hiring musicians, contracting recording sessions, and working with software like Pro Tools and Logic Pro to mix and produce the final score. And because there are so many facets that go into creating a film’s score, you build up a network of specialized professionals you can turn to for specific tasks along the way. 

Scoring films is a totally different ballgame than recording albums, since you’re a part of a larger creative purpose and the music you make has to support and enrich the story being told. So it demands a lot of creative flexibility, and a willingness to listen and collaborate.  You have to always see the big picture and work towards the collective goals of the film. 

Beyond musical ability, what other skills do you cultivate to flex your creative muscles?

It’s a freelance career, so you have to be motivated. No set hours means you have to be organized with good time management to stay on top of deadlines as well as your business management and accounting. You have to be constantly expanding your network of collaborators, and you have to be eager to embrace new technology and constantly be learning and developing your skills.

But I think the biggest non-musical aspect of the job is the interpersonal skills. Navigating personalities and being a good collaborator is a huge part of the job. As a composer you build an intimate relationship with each director. You get inside their heads and have a front-row seat to their confidence and insecurity. So you have to have the emotional awareness to read people and support them where they need it. Music is one of the last links in the production of a film, and sometimes a director is completely thrilled with the film they’ve made, but a lot of the time you’re there to solve problems or add a dimension to it that the director feels they didn’t quite capture on screen. Whatever the case, you have to have sharp people-skills to read situations and understand what each project requires. It’s a balance of bringing your skills and a fresh perspective to the project, while being extremely sensitive to the fact that you’re stepping into something the director may have been developing for years. 

What's your response to parents who say that music should be a hobby, not a vocation? What's one small thing they can do to support them?

I come from a family overflowing with people who’ve chosen to pursue creative careers, so truthfully that’s not a perspective that was ever inflicted on me. Which is something I’m extremely grateful for. The attitude that art can’t or shouldn’t be a career seems silly when you have parents and grandparents who’ve devoted their lives to the arts and have built successful, fulfilling, culturally-rich lives for it.  

That isn’t to say that a career in the arts is for everyone.  And it’s not my place to speak on how anyone should raise their children. But for creative-minded young people who lack that type of support, my advice would be to seek out professionals who have the types of careers you aspire to, find out how they got there, and get to work.

Grammy Mesa Redonda - Surpresas E As Lutas Entre Os Artistas

Grammy Roundtable: Insiders on Adele Vs. Beyonce, Sturgill Simpson's Surprise Nomination & James Corden as Host

There are three types of Grammy viewers, according to Ken Ehrlich, the telecast's producer since 1980. "There are people for whom this is the only music show they watch all year," he says on Dec. 8, two days after The Recording Academy announced its 59th annual ­nominations. "There are hardcore music fans, and then there's this third element who think they're going to see something they don't see on other [awards] shows -- and that's what we try and give them."

For the ceremony's Feb. 12 telecast on CBS, that likely means the ­combined spectacles of pop supernovas Beyoncé, who leads the year's nominations with nine, and Adele, who faces off against Bey in three of her five ­nominated ­categories, including album of the year -- vying against Justin Bieber, Drake and alt-country upstart Sturgill Simpson. With all that star-power ­potential on one show, Ehrlich admits, "I have to be very optimistic."

That race and other storylines provided fodder for Billboard's second Grammy Roundtable, held at the Recording Academy headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif. Joining Ehrlich, 74, and president/CEO Neil Portnow, 68, were Universal Music Publishing Group chairman/CEO Jody Gerson, 55, and Grammy-winning ­producer Om'Mas Keith, 40 -- who won the best urban ­contemporary prize in 2013 for Frank Ocean's Channel Orange -- along with two just-announced ­nominees: songwriter Greg Kurstin, 47, who's ­nominated in four categories, ­including song of the year (Adele's "Hello") and producer of the year; and singer/songwriter Elle King, 27, who's honoured in the best country duo/group ­performance category for her featured role on Dierks Bentley's "Different for Girls."

Austin Hargrave

Neil Portnow photographed Dec. 8 at The Recording Academy in Santa Monica.

During an hour-plus conversation, the six touched on everything from the music industry under a Trump administration (and the possible "positive") to the installment of 2017 host James Corden.

What was your first reaction to the slate of nominations?

GERSON: I applauded the diversity. ­[Voting members] did a great job. Yes, there will always be ­somebody who's missed, but I'm impressed.

KEITH: I was very pleasantly surprised. R&B and urban music was fully represented by artists you wouldn't normally think would be nominated -- people you may have ­forgotten about and people who are at the top of the game.

KURSTIN: I totally agree with Jody and Om'Mas. But I was happy when I saw my name. (Laughter, cheers.)

EHRLICH: Frankly, I was scared out of my skin until we saw what was in the envelope. That's the way it always is: We're dealt a hand and we have to play that hand. Some years are better than others. But I was ­really pleased because the palette we have to paint a three-and-a-half-hour TV show with is broad -- as Jody said, musically rich with a lot of choices.

KING: I woke up to getting the greatest ­surprise ever. Then I read about everyone else who was nominated. A lot of my friends are on there. It's fun to cheer everybody on and get to be a part of it.

Austin Hargrave

Ken Ehrlich photographed Dec. 8 at The Recording Academy in Santa Monica.

Greg, did you talk to Adele on the day of the nominations?

KURSTIN: I did. We actually saw each other and had a little champagne. You just never know how anything is going to go. I was so nervous the night before. But then I woke up to the good news.

PORTNOW: (To Kurstin.) It's good that you were nervous. It means that it matters.

KURSTIN: It definitely does. You can tell ­yourself it doesn't, but it does.

KING: (To Kurstin.) Yeah, but come on. How did you not know? You had to know.

KURSTIN: You just never know. Crazy things happen in elections. (Laughter.)

What common elements do you see in Grammy-nominated songs -- ­stylistically, emotionally or structurally?

GERSON: There are certain things as a music publisher that I think about, and for me it's about emotional resonance: that a song moves me and was produced in a way that takes me somewhere. A lot of the songs that have been nominated this year do that.

KEITH: There's definitely a shift toward a more insightful kind of songwriting. People are approaching songwriting now with an understanding that there's a lane to really express themselves. You have artists like Chance the Rapper writing very endearing songs that are very positive.

KURSTIN: There are a lot of changes I'm ­seeing in the way songs are written. Like Jody said, there's this emotional connection with those songs that get picked. There's always something about them that breaks through to a lot of people -- songs that say something, are about something.

Austin Hargrave

Jody Gerson photographed Dec. 8 at The Recording Academy in Santa Monica.

One big surprise is Sturgill Simpson's nod for album of the year. How did his album come to the attention of so many voters?

PORTNOW: People have to remember who our voters are. To be a voting member, you have to be part of the industry ­community. You have to have credentials. So that levels the playing field in terms of it not being just about sales, marketing, market share, ­number of streams or chart position. There are no other layers to get in the way of the greatest music that you've heard over the course of the year. That's how we get that kind of a nomination.

Another major nomination storyline is Adele versus Beyoncé. Are both artists booked to perform on the show?

EHRLICH: Very few people say no to the ­Grammys. Over all of the years I've been ­doing the show, there have been [only] three or four acts who've actually said no.

Do you want to share who those are?

EHRLICH: Absolutely not. (Laughter.) But I can tell you that Adele and Beyoncé are not two of them. We have every anticipation that both of them will be with us in February. We love a good horse race. It's a fine line: We love the competition aspect of it, but it's really more -- here's the cliché -- the family of music. I don't know how many of those three categories they're in together that we'll announce during the telecast, but we'll probably come pretty close. When you can start with that as a foundation for a show, you're in pretty good shape.

What does the dominance of Adele and Beyoncé say about the industry?

KING: I'm extremely happy about it. I thought for a long time that [the industry] was all equal and fun, then I realized it's actually not: Some people don't take me seriously, so I had to work harder. So to see a lot of amazing women -- and a lot of young women -- nominated this year is very empowering. And it's about time.

EHRLICH: I want to take issue with the ­question. I've been around long enough -- I helped kick-start that term "diva" in the early '90s, those VH1 shows. From that point on, we've had the Celines, Glorias, Faith Hills, Shanias, Mariahs, Whitneys. If we look back at our show year to year, there are probably a number of years where there were more female artists than males.

GERSON: I see it a little differently. The ­difference this year, compared to others, is that Beyoncé and Adele are both women controlling their careers. In years past, the women who have been nominated ­probably were A&R'd by men who told them what songs to sing, and men who wrote the songs for them and then asked them to go into the studio and kill it vocally. These two iconic superstars control their own destinies. They're not "divas." No offense; I think that was [the term] of the time. It's strange to me that VH1 still does it, because I don't know if that's how I would describe any woman. I wouldn't describe Beyoncé as a "diva." She is fierce, as is Adele.

KEITH: They're both bosses.

GERSON: Yes, bosses. That's how I see it.

KING: People want real. And there are a lot of women out there doing that.

Austin Hargrave

Om’Mas Keith photographed Dec. 8 at The Recording Academy in Santa Monica.

What prompted the change from LL Cool J to new host James Corden, and what can viewers expect from him?

PORTNOW: LL has been magnificent for five years. Before LL, we went for quite a run as the no-host Grammys. As simple as it seems, when you start to think about who can do this, who has the skills and ­background, it's a needle in a haystack. So we got very lucky when LL was ­available, because he's also a musician. James Corden, in his own way, represents something very similar. He's a musician; he's got a Broadway background and sings. It's not just finding a comedian or an actor. It's someone that relates to what we do.

This will be the first major awards show after Donald Trump's ­inauguration, and people have been very vocal about his election. Will any guidelines be given to artists, ­performers and presenters about ­going off script?

PORTNOW: We support artistic freedom and always have. Obviously, the network has to comply with the FCC's standards and practices. But beyond that, there will be no comments to artists in terms of what they can or can't say. They have to follow their muse and heart.

Neil, do you and Ken recall ever ­doing the show during such politically charged times?

EHRLICH: Well, remember, when I started, Franklin Roosevelt was president.

PORTNOW: (To Ehrlich.) You mean Teddy Roosevelt.

EHRLICH: We went through a period when artists were reticent to go public either ­politically or socially -- a time when artists have said, "No, our marketing says I can't do this or I can't do that." I'm a child of the '60s, so I love the fact that we are returning to a time when artists are standing up. We saw it in this past political campaign: Everybody we needed to step up for Hillary Clinton stepped up. There's a real rebirth in the artistic community to stand up for what you believe in.

PORTNOW: My point of view about the new administration, taking away all the other social issues, is that we as a music ­community have our own issues about advocacy, copyright, intellectual ­property, being paid fairly for the work that we do. I have optimism that there may be ­opportunities with this administration, who are business people and who may understand we are workers entitled to be compensated fairly. Some of the laws and legislation in place don't allow that. The fact that there isn't a performance right [for the use of sound recordings on ­terrestrial radio] means there's hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign income that doesn't come to the artists in this country. For example, because U.K. artists aren't compensated when their music is played on U.S. radio ­stations, U.S. artists aren't ­compensated when their records are played on U.K. stations based on the fact that there's no reciprocity. If that income came in, our ­artists would be paying income taxes on it. So if we can get a lot of policy on the radar, that may have some positive influence.

Austin Hargrave

Elle King photographed Dec. 8 at The Recording Academy in Santa Monica.

GERSON: (To Portnow.) I agree with you.

PORTNOW: We already have sent a letter to the president-elect. It has been received and we'll be pursuing meetings. He's ­seemingly not so enamored by the tech ­sector that he's co-opted by it. Obviously, it's an important part of our economy and our future.

KEITH: I'm excited to see which artists will be performing at the White House in the ­coming years. James Brown was at the White House throughout his whole career with every president.

GERSON: (To Keith.) You won't hold it against them?

KEITH: I won't hold it against them. (Laughs.) The demonstration of art is what's ­paramount here.

EHRLICH: We were very fortunate the last eight years, producing a PBS show a year at the White House. I don't want to make a comment about president-elect Trump, but there was no better audience in the front row of the East Room than President Obama and the first lady. They knew the lyrics to every song we did. They loved it whether it was Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Justin Timberlake or Jill Scott. They love music, the arts in the broadest sense. Can we expect that we'll get that kind of response now, because the plan is to do more of these performance shows from the White House? It's a question mark as to one, who will do it, and two, who they will want.

Austin Hargrave

Greg Kurstin photographed Dec. 8 at The Recording Academy in Santa Monica.

Back to the nominations. Om'Mas, what's your take on Frank Ocean ­refusing to submit Blonde?

KEITH: Frank is demonstrating his truth, and denying people the ability to vote on his product is part of his art form. What's most important is he contributed something to the overall scope of music. There will be more from him, I'm sure. And maybe his opinion of the Grammys will change. At first I was a little confused as to why he would not include his product. He didn't tell me why, just only said, "This is what I'm doing."

Neil, how rare is it that artists refuse to submit their work?

PORTNOW: It's pretty rare. The ­Recording Academy has the utmost respect for Frank's artistry and his work. He not only was nominated early in his career, but we felt he was influential enough to have him perform on the show. He had a very specific view of what he wanted to do. And we gave him the flexibility, freedom and platform that ­undoubtedly were useful to building his career. We'd love for him to be closer to us.

What is your response to ­criticism of the Grammys' lack of ­transparency for its nomination ­process?

PORTNOW: It's interesting because we live in a time of fake news -- things that are made up and manufactured. So sometimes you don't want to believe everything you hear. The committee structure that's in place -- the nominations review process -- is hundreds of people. It's musicians, producers, engineers, ­artists, songwriters, industry people, ­musicologists, ­journalists. We certainly ask everybody to keep the ­confidentiality. The reason for that is not that there's anything secretive about it. It's a process by which if you have a ­roomful of people having to essentially create ­objectivity around ­something that's ­inherently ­subjective -- art and music -- you want people to be able to say what they're thinking without ­feeling that there's going to be some sort of ­retribution. We also don't want to ­create a situation for someone volunteering their time to be subjected to lobbying and ­influence peddling.

Beyond the Grammys, what are you looking forward to musically in 2017?

KEITH: The Internet has opened a vast lane for new artists to make music in different ways than what we've done in the past.

KURSTIN People are being more ­experimental. I hear chords being played that really haven't been on the radio. I love that. I go to my kids' school and see kids playing in bands. It is a sign of what's to come.

GERSON More authentic music. My hope is that it's genre-less. I don't think that's how kids listen to music: They're not thinking, "What is it? What color is the person who's singing it?" And with the political climate, I'm hoping for important songs that will last the test of time.

Varies Sarabande Lançará a Trilha De ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’

Varies Sarabande to Release ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ Soundtrack

Varese Sarabande will release a soundtrack album for the action thriller sequel John Wick: Chapter 2. Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy, 300, Dawn of the Dead, Watchman) and Joel J. Richard (Quantico) who previously scored the 2014 original film have composed the film’s original music. 

The soundtrack will be released in February and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. The label has also releasedthe soundtrack album for the first installment in the series. Check back on this page for the full album details. John Wick: Chapter 2 directed by Chad Stahelski and starring Keanu Reeves, Common, Riccardo Scamarcio, Laurence Fishburne, Ruby Rose, Bridget Moynahan, Lance Roddick, Franco Nero, John Leguizamo and Ian McShane follows the legendary hitman as he is forced back out of retirement by a former associate plotting to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild. The thriller will be released nationwide on February 10 by Lionsgate. Visit the official movie website for updates.

Explicação : Music Publishing E Royalties

Music publishing royalties explained: what is a mechanical royalty?

If you’re a songwriter, there are a number of different kinds of publishing royalties you can earn from the usage of your original music.

One of the big sources of publishing revenue is performance royalties, generated when your music is played on the radio, television, or in a live venue.

An even bigger source of income for songwriters (at least for the music industry at large) is the mechanical royalty, generated by the reproduction of your music in mechanical or virtual form, whenever CDs are manufactured, downloads are purchased, or your songs are streamed on-demand.

Mechanical royalties and independent songwriters

Wikipedia says:

The term “mechanical” and “mechanical license” has its origins in the “piano rolls” on which music was recorded in the early part of the 20th Century. Although its concept is now primarily oriented to royalty income from sale of compact discs (CDs), its scope is wider and covers any copyrighted audio composition that is rendered mechanically; that is, without human performers.

In a nutshell: every time a song you’ve written is manufactured to be sold in a CD, downloaded on a digital music retail site, or streamed through services like Spotify and Apple Music, you are owed a mechanical royalty. Traditionally, mechanical royalties have also been more difficult for independent songwriters to collect on their own, without the help of a publishing adminstrator. That’s where CD Baby Pro comes in (more on that later). 

Now for the longer explanation of mechanical royalties…

As a songwriter/publisher, you are owed a royalty every time your composition is reproduced (on vinyl, tape, CD, MP3, etc). In the United States, this royalty is generally equal to 9.1 cents per reproduced “copy” of that song, depending on the length of the song, regardless of whether those albums or singles are sold.

The mechanical royalty rate for interactive, on-demand streams through services like Spotify and Apple Music is far lower than 9.1¢. But mechanical royalties for global streaming can really add up — especially because they’re generated with every LISTEN, unlike the one-time mechanical royalty generated by a download purchase or CD manufacture.

In many cases, for every $100 your sound recording has generated on Spotify, there could be another $15 owed to you in (uncollected) mechanical royalties.

That’s YOUR money just sitting there, and Performing Rights Organizations such as ASCAP and BMI do NOT collect mechanical royalties, which is one of the big reasons a publishing rights administrator like CD Baby Pro can be so helpful for independent artists.

[Check out “3 ways to earn money from your music on Spotify.”]

But let’s get back to mechanical royalties for CD sales and downloads for a second…

If someone covers one of your songs and they manufacture 1000 CDs — they owe you $91, regardless of whether those CDs ever get purchased by customers. If they sell 100 MP3s of your song, they owe you $9.10.

You are also owed a mechanical royalty for the sales of your music on YOUR OWN albums. But here’s where things get a little virtual; if you’re acting as your own label and putting out music that you’ve written, you’ll effectively be paying that royalty to yourself from album proceeds.

At least that’s how it works in the US, where download retailers like iTunes and Amazon pass on that mechanical royalty to you as part of the net payment for the sale of the MP3. But in many countries outside the US, mechanical royalties are set aside BY the retailer, to be paid to collection societies who then distribute those royalties to publishers and writers. A similar system is set up for the payment of mechanical royalties generated by global streaming.

BUT again, performing rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI do NOT collect mechanical royalties. Their job is to collect performance royalties, NOT mechanicals. So…

How do you collect “foreign mechanicals” generated outside the US?

In order to collect international mechanical royalties (as well as mechanicals for both global and domestic streams) on your own, you’d need to register your music with many royalty collection societies around the world.

As our friend Justin Kalifowitz of SongTrust is fond of saying, you CAN do it yourself if you really want to — but you’ll probably have to stop making music for a while. Affiliating yourself and registering your songs directly with all the international collection societies would not only take hundreds of hours of paperwork and filling out online forms, but you’d need to be proficient in dozens of languages — or hire a translator. And who wants to do that when you’ve got gigs to play?

Adele “Skyfall” O Vocal Isolado - Video

Adele “Skyfall” Isolated Vocal

Adele is a phenomenon unlike any other in music business in at least the last 10 years. With sales of more than 100 million in a time when a million is a big deal, she’s definitely touched a lot of people with her music, and her approach to it. You can attribute at least some of this to the fact that she has some real chops, and this isolated vocal of “Skyfall” perfectly illustrates that. The track uses the “official acapella” from the studio recording, matched to her live performance on the Oscars. Here’s what to listen for.

1. First of all, Adele’s voice is bathed in a dark, slightly delayed reverb. The decay feels longer than it really is because of the amount of verb. Actually, it also has a bit of a midrange honk if you listen on headphones.

2. At the end of the chorus there’s a nice ping pong delay on the last word.

3. There’s actually several lead vocal tracks that overlap. That said, this vocal performance is pretty much perfect, which is somewhat different from other Adele hits that were more “organic” in that a few things were left in that might normally be fixed.

4. The background vocals are spread in slightly left and right to make room for the lead vocal.

5. Compression is used very nicely on the vocal track. You can occasionally hear it on the louder parts, but not so much that you’d ever hear it in the final mix.

Billboard-THR Compra Spin, Vibe e Stereogum Para Se Tornar A Maior Marca De Música Do Mundo

Billboard-THR Acquires Spin, Vibe and Stereogum to Become World's Largest Music Brand

The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SpinMedia’s storied music assets Spin, Vibe, and Stereogum, establishing the world’s largest music brand by digital traffic, social reach, and audience share.

“In recent years, we set out to own the topic of music online, and the acquisition of these incredible music assets helps us do just that,” said Media Group co-president John Amato. “By making these storied brands part of our family, The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group will be able to fully capture the value of millennials and music, and continue to strengthen its leadership position in this critical arena.”

“Bringing in these historic brands under Billboard gives us the chance to serve passionate music audiences from rock to urban to pop in one massive portfolio,” said Media Group co-president Janice Min. "The power and scale of these combined, complementary digital assets gives us the ability to deliver even more ways to reach our audience through TV, video, live events, and social and online media."

SpinMedia CEO Stephen Blackwell will be named Chief Strategy Officer of the newly acquired company and will oversee revenue, digital growth, and product, reporting to Amato.

The deal expands The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group’s online audience to 45 million readers a month, strengthening its reach among social-media savvy millennials who value listening to music digitally and live experiences in equal measure. The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard both launched aggressive moves into video earlier this year, with the brands currently delivering over 100 million video views monthly. The Media Group has also partnered with Facebook to create custom content for the recently launched Facebook Live.

In all, the acquisition will boost the Media Group’s revenues to more than $100 million a year, two-thirds of which will come from digital and video.

SPIN magazine became fully digital in late 2012 after BuzzMedia acquired the 27-year-old publication and rebranded it as SpinMedia. It bought the hip-hop and R&B magazine VIBE and its digital properties the following year, growing its footprint in music and entertainment.

Alicia Keys Sobre Composição: "Ele vem de algo que você não pode conter" - Video

Alicia Keys on songwriting: 'It comes from something you can't contain'

Fifteen Grammys and six studio albums into her career, Alicia Keys still hasn't cracked the formula for a hit song.

"I just don't know how to do that -- I just don't! And I've tried!" the singer said ahead of a performance at New York's Apollo Theater. 

"I've been like, 'Okay, I'm going to take those same chords that I did before, but I am going to play them differently, which is going to make me write something different,' and it just doesn't arrive because you are trying." 

Instead, every new track is a fresh start. Where she typically writes alone at her piano, for her latest album, "Here," Keys decided to collaborate with a team, gathering "a hub of interesting, creative people." 

Read: A night alone in St Paul's Cathedral

"Put all of us in a room together and give us nothing but space, an opportunity, and all of a sudden boom! When you write a great song, you don't know how you got there." 

Finding release 

Alicia Keys performs in Times Square in New York City on October 9, 2016 

Regardless of who else is involved, Keys stresses that genuine feeling is at the core of any good song. Musically, she strives for a striking tension between the bassline, the melody, and the way the song is sung that ends in a feeling of relief. Lyrically, it's about channeling emotions. 

Read: Risqué portraits and Hollywood secrets from photographer Marc Hom

"Songwriting comes from an emotion. It comes from a feeling. It comes from something you can't contain, something that makes you cry, something that makes you laugh, something that you can't describe because it is like a stone in your chest," she says. "It's some kind of emotion, and it provokes you to find the words."