Writing for the Client

As a film & TV songwriter we constantly have to keep in mind exactly what our client wants and try not to veer away from it during the songwriting and production process. I use to have the problem where I would start working on a project for a client and I’ll get just the right rhythm section going, (i.e.; drums, bass, percussion). Then I’ll start playing a riff, melody or even a particular sound that I really liked a lot but it didn’t fit the idea the client was looking for. I use to waste about a good 30 minutes or more playing around with this until I finally came back to consciousness and realize I was getting off the mark of what I was really supposed to be doing.