Every year around this time, my inbox turns into one endless scroll of ALL CAPS and emojis 🏷️🤯🛒😱

And as composers, we’re an easy target. We don’t just buy sample libraries…we buy possibility.

• “This will finally make my strings sound real.”

• “This will fix my mixes.”

• “This will make me sound like Hans Zimmer.”

• “This will make me feel like a real composer.”

I know that because I and plenty of other composers I’ve mentored have fallen for it too!

A few years ago, there was a Black Friday deal where if you spent over $300, you’d get an exclusive bonus library for free.

At the time, you couldn’t buy it separately. (Shocker, you can now 😒). You had to cross that spending threshold. And that was enough to push me.

I remember sitting there, justifying every extra thing in my cart:

• “I’ll probably use this eventually…”

• “It’s an investment in my career.”

• “What if that bonus library is amazing and I miss it?”

So I went for it. Fast forward to now and I don’t use that bonus library at all. Most of the stuff I bought to “qualify” just sits there too. Looking back, the painful part isn’t even the money. I mean sure, I wish I just saved that money or put it towards something I genuinely knew I needed.

But it’s more that I was trying to buy my way out of uncertainty. I didn’t trust my sound yet, so new tools felt like progress.

They weren’t…

What actually changed my writing

When I zoom out, the real jumps in my writing didn’t come from new libraries.

They came from learning to listen differently.

• Rewatching a film scene and paying attention only to the music

• Noticing when the score enters and leaves

• Hearing how orchestration completely changes the emotional impact

• Studying how a theme returns, developed in a new context

That shift (away from “what else do I need to buy?” and toward “what is this music actually doing?”) has done more for my writing than any Black Friday sample library deal ever has.

If you want a deeper breakdown of this, I actually made a video a earlier this year on my thought process around expensive libraries and big sales:

A few questions to ask before you buy anything this week.

Instead of a list of “top deals,” I’d rather give you a few questions that I now ask myself:

1. What problem am I actually trying to solve?

   Is it really “I need this exact new string sound” or is it “I don’t feel confident in my writing yet”?

2. Do I already own something that gets me 80% of the way there?

   If the answer is yes, maybe the next step is learning that tool better instead of adding another.

3. Is this going to change how I write in the next 30 days?

   If the honest answer is “probably not,” it honestly might just be FOMO specifically created by clever marketing.

If you walk through those questions and still want the library? Awesome! Buy it and enjoy it!

But if your gut says, “I’m hoping this will fix something deeper,” it might be worth pausing.

And I don’t say this lightly. I’ve spent a few years building relationships with top sample developers and I do genuinely enjoy that feeling of exploring something new. But more often than not, I have my core libraries that I always turn back to.

So here’s what I’ve come to believe pretty strongly…

You probably don’t need another library.

You probably need more implementation.

• More time actually writing with the sounds you already own

• More intentional listening to the scores that inspire you creatively

• More understanding of how harmony, texture, and spotting tell a story

Libraries can expand your palette, but skills are what compound!

If you learn to hear what great music is doing…how it’s supporting character, pacing, tension, release…that’s something you can bring into any session, with any tool. That’s the part that actually moves your music forward.

So this year, instead of adding to the pile of “stuff you might use someday,” I wanted my own Black Friday offer to be something that supports your education, growth, and practice as a composer or film-music fan.

That’s why the only thing I’m discounting is the thing that helps me stay in that mode consistently…OdysseyNotes!

The OdysseyNotes Pro plan is where I share the focused listening and reflection I’ve developed from my favorite films and shows, and how it’s changed my own writing—digging into how and why a cue works so you can deepen your understanding and bring those ideas into your own music.

With the annual plan, you get:

1. OdysseyNotes Pro: Once a month, we go deeper on one score. I pick a film, show, or game and zoom in on specific moments…what’s happening on screen, what the music’s doing underneath, and why it works.

2. Score Club: Like a book club, but for soundtracks. Each month, I choose a score and share a few prompts. You listen on your own time and jump into the discussion. It’s a great way to compare notes, notice new details, and hear how other people are experiencing the same music.

3. CoffeeNotes: Short, “off-the-cuff” videos…casual thoughts over a cup of coffee about a music that inspired me, something from my own writing, or whatever’s been sparking ideas lately.

4. Bonus videos & resources: From time to time, I’ll add extra interviews, bonus videos, or curated resources that feel like a natural extension of what we’re exploring together. Paid members get access to the full library as it grows.

If you’re already on the free plan, you’ll see the Black Friday annual option when you upgrade to the paid plan!

But if you’re brand new here, you can start by subscribing for free first, then upgrade after!

And if now isn’t the time to upgrade, that’s completely fine.

Free OdysseyNotes will stay free.

But if my videos and posts have helped you hear music in a new way, and you’ve been wanting a simple way to both support what I’m doing and invest in your own growth…not by buying more tools, but by deepening how you listen, practice, and tell stories with music, then this is the best price the annual plan will be!

Either way, I hope you give yourself permission to sit with at least one score you already love this week and notice something new.

That alone is worth more than any library!