Esin Aydingoz is the latest artist to create music for our Storyblocks Label, which is 100% exclusive to our stock audio library. A Grammy-nominated music composer from Turkey, we sat down with Esin ahead of her music launch for a Q&A on her music journey, her thoughts on the progress of increased representation of different genders in music, and how she thinks AI will affect the music industry.
Tell us a bit about yourself, including your music journey.
My music journey started when I was a little kid. My mom and grandfather got me two different musical instruments as toys: a xylophone and a keyboard and I’ve been hooked ever since – to the point that I didn’t have a proper childhood as a result of attending two schools at once: a regular elementary/middle/ high school during the week and then a pretty serious part-time state conservatory program on the weekends for classical piano performance and music theory!
In my teens, I was bitten by the ‘composing bug’ and fell in love with music all over again – which led to my US adventures: moving to Boston to study at at Berklee College of Music in Boston, immersing myself in diverse musical disciplines, including film scoring, music production, and musical theatre.
Following graduation, I relocated to Los Angeles, where I completed numerous internships, one of which was at the renowned composer Hans Zimmer’s studio, Remote Control Productions. Since then, my musical journey has been an incredibly colorful and fun one, encompassing work on television shows, arranging music for Tim Burton, and conducting for Disney, among other projects.
Additionally, I’m dedicated to increasing women’s visibility in the music industry. To further this goal, I serve on several boards promoting gender diversity in music: The Alliance for Women Film Composers and Society of Composers & Lyricists.
Since you just mentioned getting more women into the music scene, Storyblocks has focused on increasing the gender diversity of its artists. How can the music industry better increase its gender diversity?
It’s great to see companies like Storyblocks make a real effort to boost gender diversity in the industry. It’s a step in the right direction, but the music industry still has a lot of work to do. From my perspective, there’s momentum building toward gender equity in our field, with increased efforts to engage women composers and conductors. While this trend is encouraging, the approach to these initiatives sometimes raises concerns.
I’ve experienced situations where I’ve been contacted simply because a company wants to check a box by hiring a woman composer. That’s not what we’re after. Women should be hired for projects based on the quality and suitability of their work. The ultimate goal is recognition and opportunities based on talent and expertise, irrespective of gender identity.
Representation remains crucial. As a woman conductor, I’ve experienced the impact of being the first female many children and families have seen on the podium. These moments can spark inspiration in future generations.
Yet, we must be mindful of how we frame these discussions. Overemphasizing the “woman” label risks reinforcing perceived differences or separation. Ideally, we should strive for a landscape where gender isn’t a notable factor — much like we rarely hear about “male engineers” or “male conductors.”
My advice to young women entering the industry is to be bold and believe in your ideas and personality. Don’t let being a woman hold you back — this is our industry, too. Focus on your passion, and if opportunities aren’t given to you, create them yourself. It’s about shifting the narrative to emphasize that talent and skill are not gender-dependent.
AI is everywhere right now, especially in the entertainment and music industry. How do you anticipate AI impacting the music industry’s future, particularly for film, TV, video games, live productions, etc.?
AI has undoubtedly made its presence felt in the music industry, including film, TV, and other media production. As a composer in these areas, I have mixed feelings about AI’s potential impact.
On the one hand, AI has already subtly integrated many aspects of music production. For example, I use plug-ins with AI capabilities for mixing and mastering, which can help streamline certain technical aspects of the workflow. This type of AI assistance can be valuable, especially given the tight timelines in film and TV production.
However, I have reservations about using AI to generate musical compositions. Music is fundamentally an emotional and creative expression, and I question whether AI-generated pieces can truly capture the depth and nuance that human composers bring to their work. There are also significant concerns around copyright and intellectual property regarding AI creating music based on existing works.
That said, I can see potential applications where AI could assist composers in film and TV production. If a composer has written themes and cues for part of a project, AI could help extend those ideas to other scenes or make quick adjustments when visual edits are needed. These use cases could help alleviate some of the time pressure composers often face.
Ultimately, human creativity will remain central to music composition. AI may augment certain aspects of the process but is unlikely to replace the core creative work. The key will be finding ways to thoughtfully integrate AI tools that enhance, rather than diminish, the music’s artistic vision and emotional resonance. As this technology continues to evolve, we must engage in ongoing dialogue about its ethical use and implications for creative professionals.
You can listen to Esin’s exclusive Storyblocks Label tracks here.
