The Overworking Attitude in the Industry

A few days ago, in a relatively large Facebook group about composing for media, a fellow composer posted the following provoking text:

The discussion became pretty heated pretty quickly and in spite of said composer clarifying that it was meant to be satirical and disabling further comments, it sparked new threads and discussions about this topic.

This whole topic pops up regularly with a highlight from different angles, one of the most famous quotes in this regard is this one:

Referencing to this specific quote a very respected and successful media composer posted this statement a while ago:

And then there is this quote from John Williams himself on this topic:

I'm posting these few quotes to give you a bit of a summary of which directions this discussion usually takes and which opinions and arguments usually get thrown into this debate.

And of course in my life as a composer for media I had more than a few occasions where it felt like it was expected to work more than is healthy.

I think in order to really get a clearer view on that topic we need to differentiate this a bit because some of the quotes above are (in my opinion) being misinterpreted or distorted.

Katy Leeson's post in my opinion makes a very clear statement against the GLAMOURIZATION of overwork. We all probably know composers who boast about their recent all nighters or that they wrote 10 minutes of music in a day for several weeks which is a very odd way of trying to get validation because they seem to be so in demand. This definitely is toxic. And not only for themselves but also for a younger generation of composers who are reading this and start believing this to be the norm. Many years ago (sorry, I feel like I'm starting to sound like a grandpa here once again) I was member of one of the very first media composer forums on the internet where a newcomer was asking "How do I become a Media Composer" and one of the more seasoned composers (with some mild success back then) replied with a long text about all the sacrifices and chores and problems etc. you have to deal with with the very weird subtext of "I went through all this and succeeded" which even at that time I found incredibly childish.

This whole thing of trying to get external validation by boasting of how in demand one is is the glamourization that is toxic. It creates a feedback loop where other people try to match or exceed that insanity. Unfortunately, in spite of often seeming to be friendly and supportive, the community of composers is very competetive. This is part of the personality scheme that might be needed to make it to the top so as soon as someone posts "I did 2 all nighters in a row", there will be people who say "But it did three!" and so on. I'm relatively sure that most of these statements are far from the actual truth and just cases of ego boosting but they nevertheless have an effect on people.

What Katy DIDN'T say was that it is okay to be lazy and expect things to fall into your lap but unfortunately the composer whose quote I posted below Katy's read that into her quote and made this the central critizism of his statement. And this is where it gets really important to not generalize.

First and foremost, it is essential to clearly define what "overworking" actually means because this is massively subjective. The spectrum might be anything from "I put in one more hour after my regular work hours because I'm just super in the flow and enjoy this way too much and want it to be perfect" and "I'm having psychic and physic symptoms of burn-out and stress, I can't sleep and my health is degrading".

While the first one is actually not the slightest problem, the last one is definitely not sustainable. Being eager to work, perfectionst, willing to push one's limit and jump into the cold water, mentaly involved with your work past your work hours etc. is a huge difference to destroying your health by constantly going over your physical limits.

And I think there is one more thing that is essential here which is the difference between positive and negative stress. There is a huge difference between putting in extra hours on a project that you enjoy and are motivated about and a project that you are frustrated and stressed out about. In the first case, this might not even feel like work at all and you will end your day with being content and eager to continue in the morning while the other one will wear you down.

Thirdly, overwork is not a switch that is either on or off in your life. We all have probably been in places where it was just necessary to work more to hit deadlines or get the desired results but this lasts a few days and then you can consciously decide to take a few days off to recharge.

Now if we dive into that quote from John Williams, I don't read from it that he overworks himself in an unhealthy way but he seems to be invested in what he is doing in a way that everybody is who loves their job. On the other hand, he seems to have lived a very lonely life most of the time which is a personal choice that he seemed to have made, but more on this later.

So what do we take from this? Between the "leave the desk at 5pm" and "everybody who doesn't overwork is a snowflake" extremes of this discussion, we all need to find our healthy middleground. Williams wouldn't have made it to 89 if he didn't find ways to compensate for his intense work. 

I'm convinced that the output of a 15 hour day is not much better or more than the output of a 10 hour day that you sit on the desk and write music. Personally, I do regularly experience however how my work goes beyond the actual time that I sit down and write music. I think most of us are quite accustomed to that "It's 1am but I think now I know how I should write that bar!" Personally, I have made the observation that for me a short nap during the day can be an absolute game changer regarding creativity. I regularly have moments when I sit down and don't find a way to continue a piece that I'm happy with. In such cases I lay down for a few minutes and very often in this limbo state between being awake and asleep I very often get to a solution that just saves me from hours of otherwise frustrating work.

It can not be denied however that being a composer is often a very lonely work and I think all of us know the feeling of neglecting people because it is just such an internalized solo work that we're doing. But that doesn't necessarily have to do with overworking but just the work model itself. For better or worse, I think the internet has changed this a bit, it is now possible to quickly check in with other people for a few minutes on a messenger and at least keep a connection with them, even if it is just remotely and for a few sentences.

And this internet also makes it possible to quickly spread out work load in case something becomes really too much for one alone to handle. Delegating work can be a life saver and I would happily give away some of the income to someone else who saves me from destroying my health.

So to summarize, in my opinion absolutely nothing justifies to destroy your health for work which however doesn't mean to not be fully invested and motivated to give it your absolute best and happily sacrifice certain things in order to get there. It is essential to differentiate and it is way too subjective and personal to generalize the border between being invested and overworking. 

It is by the way extremely helpful to have a few contacts in place who you could quickly ask to help you out so it is best to test out such work relations (with assistants, orchestrators etc.) in times when there's not the tightest deadline around the corner so you know who to count on when things become intense.