[3] He attended the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay (UWGB),[citation needed] where he initially studied electrical engineering; however, amid a distaste for chemistry requirements, he switched to music education after his first month.

[3] He had colleagues in the multimedia world struggling to find music, so he began composing and sharing his works online, particularly on YouTube.

[1] Kenny further describes him as "a pioneer both of digital production and distribution",[1] while the critic Justin Curto notes that he is "a bit of a legend in the space [of royalty music]".

[9] The wide availability of his music has led to it being used in thousands of films and millions of videos on YouTube and other social media sites.

[13][14] When Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig presented an award at the 2024 Golden Globes, their use of MacLeod's 2010 song "Fluffing a Duck" was widely noted and gave him considerable attention.

[16][17] On his website's FAQ, he expressed disdain for the current state of copyright; he hopes to create "an alternate body of works that is able to compete with them".

Rather than waiting for old copyrights to expire, he hopes to provide a quality library of modern recorded works by artists who explicitly release their music into the public domain.