Music Library POV
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I would like to add a new feature to MusicLibraryReport.com called “Music Library POV”. It would offer the opportunity for music libraries to discuss their “Point Of View” on their company’s philosophy and business model and to comment on other aspects of the music library business. I think this would be an excellent way for both the music creators and the library owners to better understand each others needs and requirements.
Some points might be (in no particular order):
1.) Your company’s philosophy.
2.) Type of business model (royalty free, traditional) and why you chose it.
3.) How long you have been in business.
4.) Credits
5.) Your history in the music business.
6.) How do you feel about re-titling.
7.) What is the average income a user makes with your company.
8.) Do you specialize in one particular genre of music.
9.) Does the proliferation of so much music and so many music libraries online detract from anyone making a decent income.
10.) Best “format” to follow when creating a cue.
If you have any ideas on what you would like addressed please leave your comments.
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Categories: Blog | 
Tags: music business, music libraries, music library, royalty | 
13 Comments »
Art,
Please make it a standard practice that they include their submission guidelines, especially whether or not they are accepting new material. You also might want to have a checkbox that tells us whether they want instrumental underscore or songwriter/artist material, especially since the latter has been dominating a lot of music for television lately.
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Art, October 23rd, 2009 at 9:42 pm Reply:
Thanks for the feedback. We do have a checkbox to indicate if a company takes vocals and/or instrumentals.
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As valuable as it might seem, I imagine having an average income section would be too difficult to calculate. Too many variables!
It comes down to:
traffic, SEO, and marketing
number of tracks the composer has (customers might buy multiple tracks by the same composer if they like their style)
quality of the tracks
genre of the tracks… standard fare like rock/pop or niche styles like Klezmer
What might be cool is to have Alexa.com info for the sites… is there a way to have a widget from Alexa.com to add to each profile, so the info is up to date? What I especially love about Alexa is that you can compare competing sites, and see the traffic growth/decline over different periods of time.
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Mark, October 23rd, 2009 at 11:07 pm Reply:
Great idea Art. I would be happy to participate.
Maybe a high/low type income statement like ‘our composers make between $xx.xx and $xxxx.xx on average every month’.
Alexa info is a great suggestion.
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Some great ideas. I like the Alexa idea and I’ll look into that.
I still like the idea of some kind of average income, maybe based on average number tracks per genre. I realize there are a lot of variables but I think it would be helpful. There is a lot of work that goes into uploading music, tagging, categorizing, describing, etc. It would be nice to know how much “gold” is at the end of that particular rainbow:)
Of course it all depends on how much each library would want to participate and what they might consider proprietary.
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You’re right, the average income would be great to know!
How about also making it very clear what type of business they’re in, perhaps categorizing them (now that you have so many!). It seems to me that most libraries fall into these categories:
1) royalty free
2) license fee oriented
3) PRO royalty oriented
4) a combination thereof
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Too many variables and none of anyone’s business unless the writer’s wish to reveal their income. The libraries don’t have time for this. Why would they offer this information up when it’s not related to their bottom line directly. They have music pouring in and don’t really have a reason to prove this to potential writers, unless of course it’s someone like Snoop Dogg. I’m sure someone explained the potential income of a writer before he decided to work with Extreme, or APM.
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Art, October 24th, 2009 at 4:55 am Reply:
Were only talking averages not individual writer’s income. Of course it would be up to the libraries but it doesn’t hurt to ask.
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Art, October 24th, 2009 at 5:45 am Reply:
I need to clarify. I’m not talking about PRO income but the average income a writer might make from sites that are selling online. Sites such as Yooka Music, Audiosparx, Audiomicro, etc. Hope that’s clearer.
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Doc, October 24th, 2009 at 6:58 am Reply:
Then the question should be moot since there are many gratis sync/master deals that are PRO dependent. Either way, it’s not a question that I would expect a library to answer.
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Mark, October 24th, 2009 at 10:09 am Reply:
I would answer it.
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Art, October 24th, 2009 at 4:08 pm Reply:
Not moot at all as many libraries do sell music online and split the proceeds with the writer. The libraries have the option to answer the question or not. Case in point: Mark has volunteered to answer for his company.
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