Mark Crozer on Writing Bray Wyatt’s Theme Song ‘Live in Fear’

Fred: Mark Crozer is the man behind Bray Wyatt’s theme song, “Live in Fear.” Excellent song, great artist. Mark, thanks so much for joining us. You’ve been in the States for a couple of years, and within those couple of years, your song got picked up as the theme for one of WWE’s rising stars. How does that feel, and how did it come about?

Mark Crozer: It’s great. It came about quite randomly, to me at least. I wrote the song about six years ago, in 2007, I think. Back in 2009, I discovered the concept of music libraries, where people like me can get songs into libraries that then try to get them placed on TV. I thought I’d give it a shot and signed up with about 25 songs, and that was one of them. Then I kind of forgot about it. At the beginning of summer 2012, I got a Facebook message out of the blue from somebody asking if I had a song called “Broken Out in Love.” I said yeah, and he told me it was being used by Bray Wyatt.

I looked into it thinking it probably wasn’t my song. It seemed like such an unusual thing. I don’t know much about wrestling, and I couldn’t imagine how that song would work for a wrestler, because to me wrestling music is big, heavy, fast rock. Then I checked it out, it turned out it was my song, and I instantly saw it was a really good fit for this particular character. It was a real surprise. I hadn’t pitched it for that use. It was just the right song at the right time, and the people looking came across it and thought it was right.

Fred: What was your reaction when you saw the Bray Wyatt character for the first time? He’s a lot different from the other stars right now. There are a lot of comedy characters, and with guys like John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton, you kind of know their motives. They want to be the best and win the championship. Bray Wyatt is totally three-dimensional.

Mark Crozer: What I like about him is that he’s unpredictable. You don’t really know at all what’s going on in his head, and I think that’s what appeals to people: this edge of anything could happen. Is this guy a hero, a bad guy or somewhere in between? It’s a very interesting character, and I’m sure over time it’s only going to get more interesting and twisted.

Fred: Is it surreal to hear a song you’d forgotten about on Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown, heard by millions of people every week?

Mark Crozer: It’s completely surreal. I watch it, I hear my song playing and I know it’s my song, but I still think, “This is just really weird.” On the night, I’ll check Twitter to see what people are saying, and last week there was talk about everybody clapping along with the song. That’s just too strange. I feel somewhat disconnected from it, because I’m here doing my music in my own little world, and the song has taken on a life of its own. Even though it’s my song, it doesn’t feel like it’s really me. If the day comes where I get invited to one of the shows and hear it in the arena, or even get to play it, which would be really cool, it might sink in a bit more. It’s fantastic, but it’s hard to believe.

Fred: We’ll certainly try to get a petition together so you can play at WrestleMania next year.

Mark Crozer: That’d be great. I’d love to do that.

Fred: Have you met the man behind Bray Wyatt, Windham Rotunda?

Mark Crozer: No, I haven’t met him. We had a very brief exchange online last year when he first started using the song, and that was it. Hopefully it’ll happen.

Fred: We were talking off the air about album sales. You’ve got your Jay-Zs and Kanye Wests who will always sell hundreds of thousands of albums, but at this stage it’s hard to move full albums in stores. There seem to be a lot more outlets for independent artists to get their music out there, whether it’s singles or albums online, or the way you got your song out through WWE Music Group as an entrance theme. Do you think it’s easier for musicians to make money right now?

Mark Crozer: It’s different for sure. I don’t know if it’s easier, but there are more opportunities for independent artists than there used to be, and there’s also a lot more competition. Back in the ’50s and ’60s, when pop music was brand new, bands like the Beatles, who I still consider the greatest band of all time, were making it up as they went along, and there weren’t hundreds and hundreds of bands competing with them. Fifty years later, you’re not only trying to get heard among your peers, you’re competing with all the music that’s ever been made, and everyone compares you with bands from the past. Unless you’re Jay-Z or a big artist the label is putting a lot of money and time into promoting, it’s really hard to get heard, especially with classic-sounding music like guitar pop.

I think TV and film music is easier for people like me to access now because of the internet. Twenty years ago, I wouldn’t have thought about trying to get my music into a TV show. That seemed like the realm of signed artists, and I don’t think music supervisors would have gone looking for unsigned bands. Music libraries seem like a newish thing, maybe from the last 10 or 15 years. People obviously don’t buy albums the same way because of things like Spotify, so on the one hand it’s easier to get heard, and on the other it’s harder to make money. This has been great for me, though. I’ve been selling more albums and songs in the last year, and particularly the last few months since this took off, than I ever have. Having this one song has really opened a lot of doors.

Fred: Do you feel like the music market is oversaturated? In pro wrestling, it’s hard to find guys who, quote-unquote, know how to work. You have guys who really want to put the time in, and guys who just want to say they’re a wrestler, get their face on camera and make some quick money. Is that a problem in music, too?

Mark Crozer: There are definitely way more bands and way more people trying to have a career, because you can sit at home, record music and release it. But ultimately, people aren’t stupid. They’ll only buy or listen to something they like, so you have to have some level of ability to write a song or craft something listenable. Maybe talent has changed. Fifty years ago, songs were the heart of someone’s career. Now it’s more about an image and a whole package. Someone like Miley Cyrus makes a lot of waves for things that have nothing to do with the music. A lot of people say she has no talent, but that’s not true. There’s obviously something she does that people appreciate. And people have probably always done it for the wrong reasons, but who’s to say what the right and wrong reasons are? I’m sure a lot of people started bands just to impress girls and ended up being really good bands. It is hard to get heard when there’s a lot of music around. It’s really hard to get your song played on commercial radio when you’re just promoting yourself against record labels that are putting money in and have pluggers.

Fred: But you do have the support of WWE fans. You mentioned business has been pretty good since the song was picked up. What’s that support been like?

Mark Crozer: It’s been fantastic. It went from having a couple of people every now and then send me messages like, “I heard your song and like it,” to constant messages. WWE fans are really vocal about liking the song. It’s not just “Yeah, it’s all right.” It’s “It’s the best thing I’ve ever heard,” which makes me feel great, of course. Whenever Bray Wyatt’s on TV, Monday night or Friday night, people are tweeting and posting on Facebook, and it’s just beginning to get to the point where people are checking out my other stuff as well. Yesterday, I saw an article on Bray Wyatt in Forbes, which is surprising because it’s a business magazine, but the writer is a big WWE fan, and he was very nice about my song and is a fan of the albums I’ve put out recently, too. It’s great that people are starting to get into my other songs.

Fred: When I heard the Chicago crowd do the slow clap to your song last week, I thought that should be required from now on. If people don’t clap, there should be a giant sign behind Bray that says “Clap.”

Mark Crozer: It’s definitely very exciting. I really hope I’ll get the opportunity to play that song live in front of that kind of audience, because that would be a trip.

Fred: Hopefully we’ll get to see that. Before we go, any upcoming concerts or events?

Mark Crozer: I don’t know if I’m doing anything live in the very near future, but I’m trying to organize an online live show sometime in the next six weeks. I’ll mention it on my Facebook page, Twitter and website, but there’s no date yet, unfortunately.

Fred: We’re looking forward to all the things you’re doing. It might be the best WWE theme in a very long time, and we sincerely mean that.

Mark Crozer: Thank you. That’s very, very kind of you.