Worth Making 04: Kelly Pratt

EPISODE 04: Kelly Pratt

In this episode of Worth Making, we’ll be joined by multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, songwriter, and musical shapeshifter Kelly Pratt, whose career has moved fluidly across bands, orchestras, film, television, touring, teaching, and his own creative work.

Kelly has collaborated with hundreds of artists, including Arcade Fire, Coldplay, LCD Soundsystem, The Decemberists, Passion Pit, The Antlers, Guster, M. Ward, Lonnie Holley, Beirut, David Byrne, St. Vincent, Father John Misty, and many more. His arrangements have been performed by major orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the LA Phil, the New York Pops, and the San Francisco Symphony, and his composing and arranging work can be heard across film and television, from Midsommar and Jim Jarmusch’s Gimme Danger to Bob’s Burgers, The Great North, and Central Park.

In this conversation, we’ll dig into how Kelly has built a sustaining creative career in an industry where that can often seem impossible. We’ll talk about collaboration, adaptability, musicianship, teaching, touring, composing for screen, arranging for iconic artists, and what it takes to keep making meaningful work across many different forms. From indie bands to symphonies, from songwriting to fatherhood, Kelly will share what it looks like to make a life in music that is both expansive and enduring.

Worth Making is a monthly live conversation series (recorded as a podcast) about the architecture of a creative life... the invisible scaffolding that helps you stay true to your work and support yourself in a shifting economy.

Hosted by Karuna Scheinfeld, Allison Ross, and Struktur Society founder Michelle Rose, each gathering is candid, specific, and human: a blueprint-meets-backstage-diary conversation about what’s usually offstage... money, time, boundaries, support, identity, and the tradeoffs that shape the version of “success” people see from the outside.

This is about building a life with creative meaning: how you keep faith with your vision, care for your people (and yourself), and design structures that make the work possible over years, not just seasons.

WHO IT'S FOR

Mid-career and senior creatives: designers, strategists, writers, creative directors, studio owners, small agency founders, brand/creative leads, and multi-hyphenates, especially those in transition, refining what “success” means now. Also welcome: earlier-career creatives who want a realistic view of the road ahead, and adjacent folks who support creative work.

THE SHOW FLOW

Part 1 (60 min | recorded): a live podcast-style conversation happening in real time on Zoom. You’ll join as an audience member (not on camera), with the option to contribute reflections in the chat.

Part 2 (30 min | unrecorded): the recording stops, cameras can come on if you choose, and we shift into a more private salon: live Q&A + networking. A safe container for deeper questions, real constraints, and honest “how do we do this?” dialogue.

We get into:

• Business models, income streams, pricing, deal structures
• Routines, boundaries, schedules, energy design
• Collaborators + support (assistants, partners, childcare, tools)
• Identity + story: how you narrate your work to yourself and others
• Adapting to change: platform shifts, client changes, market weirdness

Join us live... you’ll leave with a clearer picture of how real creative leaders are making this work, and more options for designing your own.

ABOUT STRUKTUR SOCIETY

Struktur Society is a multimedia publishing and community platform tracking and translating how creativity, business, and technology shape culture in the age of AI, across design, art, and music. Through writing, podcasting, and live events, we share insights, prompts, and practices for modern creative leadership.

Follow Struktur Society on Substack, YouTube, Instagram, and now on Bluesky.