VoyageLA

Hi Alec, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?

I began my career playing drums in studio sessions with the likes of Jackson Browne, Cher and Robby Krieger of The Doors. In 1996, while attending California Institute of the Arts, I launched the band Deadsy with longtime friend Elijah Blue. The band’s first album debuted at #99 on the Billboard Top 200 charts, selling 20,000 copies in the first week, and then we embarked upon a decade of world tours opening for bands such as Linkin Park and Stone Temple Pilots, playing to packed audiences at historic venues like Madison Square Garden.

During my time with Deadsy, I also began composing music independently as well as licensing to television shows such as Chicago Hope and NYPD Blue. My first significant success as a composer came from the 2007 hit Sundance film The Good Night. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Penelope Cruz, the film and its score both received widespread praise from the likes of Steven Spielberg and Variety Magazine. In 2011, I returned to Sundance with two feature films making their debut; The Art of Getting By, starring Freddie Highmore and Emma Roberts, and Higher Ground, the critically acclaimed directorial debut from Academy Award Nominee Vera Farmiga. I soon became a Sundance regular, returning again in 2012 with my invitation for scoring Jonathan Kasdan’s The First Time. Since 2007, I’ve been extremely lucky to have my work be a regular fixture at some of the worlds most integral film festivals, from SXSW to Cannes to the Tribeca Film Festival where my film Like Water won the “Best New Director” award in 2011. In addition, my films Ashby starring Mickey Rourke and Emma Roberts as well as PIMP executive produced by Lee Daniels starring Keke Palmer made their Tribeca Film Festival debuts in 2015 and 2018 respectively.

Among other projects, in recent years I’ve had the pleasure of scoring the Netflix’s zombie thriller Black Summer, the hit Freeform drama The Fosters, the DreamWorks/Hulu animated series The Mighty Ones, as well as with my collaboration with Linkin Park scoring the film MALL. Other notable film projects include, All Nighter, starring Emile Hirsch and Academy Award Winner J.K. Simmons and A Happening of Monumental Proportions, actress Judy Greer’s directorial debut starring Katie Holmes, Allison Janney and Rob Riggle.

To support my creative endeavors, I founded Gramoscope Music in 2006, a full service music production company with an extensive and diverse music catalog for licensing in film and television. Some notable projects we have created music for include the new theme for Real Time With Bill Maher, American Horror Story, Botched, So You Think You Can Dance, Running Wild With Bear Grylls, Wicked Tuna, Scientology and the Aftermath, Glee, The Real Housewives of OC, Beverly Hills and New Jersey, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, NBA 2K and The Americans to name a few.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

The entertainment business, especially as a composer and business owner, is constantly evolving and presents its fair share of challenges. One of the biggest obstacles I’ve faced is navigating an industry that’s in a constant state of flux. Trends, technology, and expectations shift rapidly, and staying relevant requires adaptability and a willingness to innovate.

As a composer, one of the key challenges has been balancing the creative demands of projects while maintaining a steady flow of outreach and connection to people. To stay ahead, I’ve learned the importance of consistency—saying yes and outputting as much quality work as possible into the world. This approach has allowed me to diversify and work on multiple projects at once, which not only fuels creativity but also provides stability in a competitive industry.

As a business owner, particularly with the launch of Viralnoise, our new royalty-free music subscription service, I’ve encountered unique challenges and a steep learning curve in creating a platform that is a one-stop for content creators of all kinds. Viralnoise was born out of the realization that the landscape of media consumption has changed dramatically. Today, content creators, YouTubers, podcasters, and small businesses need access to high-quality, affordable music more than ever. Developing Viralnoise meant not only understanding the needs of this audience but also changing how we approach distribution and licensing to the UGC community to make the service accessible and valuable to creators.

This addition has required a mindset of innovation and an openness to experimentation. It’s been challenging and taken the past couple years to get off the ground but it’s incredibly rewarding to see how Viralnoise is starting to help creators enhance their work with music that’s both professional and affordable. Our mission is simple: level the creative playing field by making Hollywood-grade audio accessible to creators.

Overall, I’ve found that success in this industry hinges on adaptability, a strong work ethic, and an ability to foresee where opportunities might arise. Challenges like these are what push me to grow both creatively and strategically, and they keep me excited about the future of both composing and entrepreneurship.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Viralnoise?

Viralnoise is a game-changing royalty-free music subscription service designed specifically for digital creators of all kinds. Whether you’re a YouTuber, TikTok influencer, podcaster, filmmaker, or game developer, Viralnoise provides seamless access to an extensive audio library of over 35,000+ music tracks and 30,000+ high-quality sound effects.

After years of requests, we finally built a platform that lets all creators access the same music and sound effects used in their favorite shows, ads and films. You can currently hear our music in hit TV shows like The First 48, Hell’s Kitchen, and Vanderpump Rules, as well as global ad campaigns for brands like Nike and Audi. Our music even elevates the gaming experience in the popular NBA 2K video game series, among many others.

Viralnoise bridges the gap between professional-grade production and accessible pricing, empowering creators to level up their content with world-class audio. Whether you’re producing a social media campaign, streaming gameplay, or editing your next big video project, Viralnoise has you covered. With our affordable subscriptions, creators can finally tap into the same audio resources as Hollywood, without worrying about licensing restrictions or sky-high costs.