"The studios that shaped PlayStation's sound didn't happen by accident. They happened because someone in the room understood both the music and the system it had to live inside."
An independent consultancy for studios and creators navigating the intersection of adaptive music, AI-augmented production, and the evolving craft of interactive audio. Built on nearly two decades of knowing what actually works — and what sounds right on paper but falls apart in the engine.
Most musicians approach AI music tools like a search engine — type in what you want, accept what comes back. The Source-First Method starts somewhere different: with your own sound.
Developed from 13+ months of documented experimentation, this method teaches you to lead with your creative voice rather than follow the model's defaults. You learn to prompt as a music director — with intention, vocabulary, and an understanding of what you're actually asking for.
The result is an AI-augmented workflow that sounds like you — not like the median output of the training data.
Book a SessionThe gap between a score that works in playback and one that works in gameplay is where most interactive music fails. BPM consults on adaptive music architecture from the ground up.
Studios are adopting AI music tools without a framework for using them well. BPM provides strategic guidance for teams navigating this transition — from tool selection to policy questions.
The role that doesn't appear on most org charts but determines whether a score actually lands. The translation layer between what a composer creates and how it lives in an engine.
Ted teaches at Northwestern Michigan College and Southern Utah University. BPM can extend this to studio workshops and team education.
The tools change. The question doesn't: does this music make the player feel something they wouldn't have felt without it?
BPM consults from a position of deep craft knowledge — not tool evangelism. The recommendation is always the one that serves the project. If a live musician in a recording session is the right answer, that's the answer.
But the AI transition is real and accelerating. Studios that develop intelligent frameworks for integrating these tools now will have a meaningful advantage.
Most engagements begin with a single call. No RFP, no deck required — just a clear problem and the desire to solve it well.
ted@tedkocher.com →