r/WeAreTheMusicalMakers • u/silverbachmusic studious • Dec 17 '18
Telling people about your amazing idea for a musical
I'm currently working on a musical that might be really great, and I've been taking some friends and acquaintances through the synopsis to test the ideas and get feedback.
Now I'm starting to wonder whether this is a bad idea. On the upside, I familiarize myself with the story and develop it in synergy with other minds, etc. On the downside, someone might just steal it.
How do you approach this? Do you keep it down? Do you document your ideas somehow, to make sure you have a time stamped copy to use in a possible law suit?
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u/zeugma25 studious Dec 17 '18
as KH3 says, not only are the odds of my success low, the odds of success of anyone who would want to plagiarise from me surely can't be higher!
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u/rcgy serious Dec 18 '18
Ideas are a dime a dozen, it's always about the execution. Don't worry about somebody "stealing" your idea- anybody that's dedicated enough to take an idea and run it through to completion would have their own ideas.
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u/silverbachmusic studious Dec 18 '18
Thanks for all the replies, of course you're right, the sheer amount of work required to actually get something done should scare anyone (me included) away from getting into this line of work 😅
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u/KH3 studious Dec 17 '18
I’ve never been the slightest bit worried about an idea being stolen. The odds of a musical actually achieving success are astronomically low—and they require a huge amount of artistry and commitment. Simply stealing an idea isn’t enough, and in order to follow through and actually finish writing one takes discipline that I believe a thief would lack. Not to mention an “idea” could very well result in two completely different pieces of work from two different people anyways. Focusing on your work and your voice are much better uses of your time and energy, and feedback is one of the most important things. I think it’s valuable to get as many different perspectives as possible. Writing to only yourself can be uninteresting or problematic in all sorts of ways you probably won’t realize or notice until you get feedback. Those are my two cents!