Composer Focus: Elie Maman Keeps Moving Up

January 5th, 2010 by Trenton

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MIDTOWN, MANHATTAN: It’s a New Year — Instead of finding a yoga instructor for inspiration, check out Elie Maman. Equally adept at the business side of the biz, this fast-emerging producer/composer shows us just what kind of head you have to have on to fly fast forward off the city grid.

Straight out of Flatbush to worldwide exposure, Maman personifies NYC hustle. At just 21, Maman is quickly proving himself, thanks to his ability to create original artist tracks and scores that are naturally one step ahead of the curve.

Elie Maman: on location

If there’s one thing Maman likes more than nailing a sound, however, it just might be scoring a synch license. It started in earnest when his uniquely driving hip hop song for Universal Republic artist David Rush, “You Already Know”, got a key placement and huge exposure on a 2009 episode of the MTV show “Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory”. His appetite for music supervision success grew downright insatiable, and he’s been steadily building his network and library ever since.

Q: How would you describe the niche that Elie Maman Productions holds in the music business? How is your business model similar to others out there, and what’s making you different?
A: Elie Maman Productions is a one-stop-shop for music licensing — I handle everything from composing to the legal end of things. We’re similar in the sense that we all want the same outcome — which is getting music licensed in Film/TV and commercials, but the process of how we go about landing the deal is different. It’s a one-man show here at Elie Maman Productions.

Q: How do you see music and sound production evolving in NYC right now, and how are you set up to take maximum advantage of that?
A: The NYC music scene is always evolving. There’s a lot of opportunity here to make things happen. Some of the biggest music companies are based out of here — I take advantage by going out and NETWORKING at every event I hear about. With a site like SonicScoop it makes it much easier to be informed on the 411.

Q: Thanks for the plug! Your check is in the mail. Speaking of that — which revenue streams do you see opening up most strongly for NYC-based artists and music professionals? How are you involving yourself with those streams?
A: I see there are a lot of opportunities in the music licensing part of the music biz for artists and music professionals. Every source of media needs music, everything from film to TV to video games — even elevator music! Opportunities are endless. It’s all about finding YOUR niche.

Q: OK, let’s talk about YOUR niche, then! Tell us about a couple of different recent projects that you did that exemplify what you’re being asked to do now. What made them fun?
A: A recent project that I have completed was landing two tracks on MTV’s “Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory” DVD Season 1, which was released in September.

Another recent project was landing a placement on the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. The crazy thing about this placement was that the whole room was filled with the biggest names in the music/film industry and they all heard my track cranked up in the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, CA – this besides the millions of people at home watching it live. My track played right before Eminem took the stage — never thought I’d hear my song on one of the biggest award shows!

The cool thing about placements is hearing your track playing live on TV: You get this crazy rush that is very hard to explain. If you’ve landed a placement before then you know what I’m talking about. There’s been many different times when I would be sleeping, my TV would be on, and I’d wake up from hearing one of my songs on. Or I might turn on the TV and immediately hear my song playing.

Some of my other recent highlights include “The People’s Choice Awards” on CBS (which airs this Wednesday, at 9 PM EST). I also recently landed a track on “The How to Show” on MTV.com for their “How To Dance Like Michael Jackson” segment, plus ESPN’s SportsCenter and Sirius Radio.

One last thing is that there have been many opportunities that came from my previous placements on shows. From landing a placement on “Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory”, that led me to having the opportunity to have my track on the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, to getting a few other offers from MTV for some of their hit shows. My point is: one thing leads to another.

In the driver's seat

Q: That leads to this — how is your studio set up right now? Tell us about the technical highlights, and how it was built to accommodate the way you like to work.
A: My studio right now is really simple. Apple MacBook Pro set up like a desktop running Logic, JBL LSR 4326p monitors, Korg Wavestation as my controller, Rode NT1-A condenser mic, a few guitars and basses. That’s all! Pretty simple huh?

Q: Daddy like – it makes me feel a lot better about working 99% in the box. Give us one or two great production/mixing/mastering/recording tip that you’ve learned recently.
A: One: When mixing a track it’s always good to mix at a low volume, because once you get it to sound good at a low volume it will sound even better when it’s cranked up!

Two: When mastering a track, it’s always good to have a track similar in genre to A/B against to make sure you’re still getting the volume you need for that particular style of music.

Q: I especially like “Two” – it’s simple, but I hadn’t thought of that. OK, which piece of gear or plug-in is your “secret weapon”? Give it up!
A: I don’t own a piece of outboard gear. But I will say there is one VST that I find myself using quite often. Drum roll please! PoiZone by ImageLine.

Q: I ask people this a lot, and now I’m asking you: What’s rewarding and what’s challenging about being a music professional on your level today?
A: What’s rewarding is when you’ve created a tremendous amount of buzz from a track you had playing on a hit show. All of a sudden you’ve become this mini rock star! What gets tough is juggling everything from composing, mixing, and mastering to going out, networking, and taking care of the business end. There’s just not enough hours in a day.

Q: How does the fact that you’re choosing to do this in NYC impact how you go about growing your catalog and track record?
A: I would have to say it’s definitely a double-sided question. It’s easier to have a music career in a city like New York, as opposed to Indiana where it would be much harder to meet people in the biz. But on the other hand it’s much harder because there’s a lot more competition. – David Weiss