If you are a composer and/or songwriter, please leave your comments and experiences with 5 Alarm Music. We want to hear the good as well as the bad! Please rate, from 1 to 10, by clicking on one of the stars. Below is some general information but we make no guarantee of accuracy. Check with 5 Alarm Music for all details. Please contact us for any corrections. |
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| URL: | http://5alarmmusic.com | |
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| Twitter: | https://twitter.com/5Alarmmusic | |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/5Alarmmusic | |
| Accepting Submissions: | Yes | |
| Submit Online: | Yes | |
| Submit By Mail: | No | |
| Submissions Reviewed: | Yes | |
| Types Accepted: |
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| Charge For Submissions: | No | |
| Up Front Money: | Variable | |
| Royalty Free: (non-broadcast use) |
No | |
| Exclusivity: (Exclusive, Non, Semi) (Semi = Free to place on own but not with another library) |
Exclusive | |
| Re-Title: | No | |
| Set Own Price: | No | |
| Contract Length: | Variable | |
| Payment Schedule: | See Notes | |
| License Fee Split: (writer/library) |
No | |
| PRO Split Based on 100%: (writer/library writer/library/publisher or writer) |
See Notes | |
| Requires Licensee To File Cue Sheet: | Yes | |
| Pays On Blanket License: | No | |
| YouTube Content ID: | Yes | |
| Active Site: | Yes | |
| Offers Subscriptions To Clients: | ||
| Notes: | We commission and brief 12 NEW albums per year - specific niches to fill. E-mail for answers to specific questions. |
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H,
Your claims are wrong as Art says. Aside from that, you mean to tell me that you wouldn’t submit to a company that pays 1k per track?? They don’t share sync, but if you break down your earnings, are you making over 1k per track on average? Sure you may make way more than that on some…but I’m sure there’s others that may not make you anything.
This was off subject a little, I know. More of a retaliation to “I don’t plan to ever submit to them”.
I have a friend that works for a huge huge company that pays 5 Alarm a yearly blanket license fee. When they use the music, they do not report it to any of the PRO organizations nor do they let 5 Alarm know which music tracks they’ve used. This is a common business practice unfortunately and my friend has no say in the matter. So, unless you’re an owner at 5 Alarm, you’re not seeing any money from those syncs. I don’t plan to ever submit to them. I submit to supervisors directly, and also have music with Crucial and another smaller library. Crucial has been nothing but honest and professional.
I’m not sure where you are getting your information but it’s the broadcasters that report to the PROs. Of course if it’s The Scripps Network that your friend works for, then they have not been paying. From what I understand negotiations have been settled with the PROs and they soon will be, retroactively. Last I heard 5 Alarm has a Tunesat account so they know when and where those plays are occurring.
Nice work, Christian! And great work, 5 Alarm! It’s always good to see somebody making a living from this stuff…
Can you share a URL to your music?
Thanx Elliot, Planning on keeping it going… now if the PROs in the US would stop making it so hard. LOL!!!
Yes, a big congrats Christian! I also would love to hear some of your work. Could you share a URL to your music?
John,
I do not have one any more because I have been able to move into long term relationships with a few companies that have allowed me to stop promoting myself as a composer. I still do music but now only for my label and a few select clients.
Here is a demo i put together in 2006… a few things are not mine…the opening track and the last 2 tracks in this demo belong to my writing partners.
http://blazedoutmusic.com/
Enjoy 🙂
In Maddie’s defence, I have submitted tracks to 5 Alam and Rescue Records, and while I haven’t yet placed any cues in their library, Maddie and her colleague, Cassie have been very professional and generous with their time. If you check out 5 Alarm’s track record (as I did before submitting), you’ll find them to be one of the most reputable (and busy) music libraries in the States.
Maddie is awesome!!! and they have gotten MY MUSIC in countless shows. Some include; The Office, The Simpson, 90210, Melrose Place, Girlfriends, Ugly Betty, Desperate House Wives, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, Monk, Num3ers and many others. They are incredible at achieving Prime TIme Network placements.
Wondering Christian … for all those shows, have you made over $500 total? Just trying to put in perspective the comment about “plenty of 1c deals”.
They don’t split sync if that’s what you’re talking about. They pay a nice upfront sum and you keep you’re writers share. Unless you’re talking about rescue records.
John… on just one of the “desperate house wives” placements I made almost $2,000 from BMI on one check and that same show has re aired and paid me various amounts over and over. so it is fair to say on these placements I have made well over $500. total.
I have been making a my living off my back-end royalties for over 7 years now.
Though I do have to say in the last year the PROs have dropped there payments majorly. I hope they get them back up soon.
Thanks for sharing Christian. I’ve tried to contact them using three of their email addresses. All have been “undeliverable”.
Hey John, I just checked there contact page and all the main emails look up too date. They are the same ones i use to talk to them.
I do know that you are more likely to get a listen to as a musician if it is coming from a referral from a writer they already know and trust.
They get so many emails from composers saying listen to my demo I think they tend to not have the time to cold check them all.
@ Sully. You are referring to “Rescue Records”, the indie band placement division of 5 Alarm Music. 5 Alarm Music is a music library (we commission composers for specific briefs and put the songs in our library). Rescue Records is a placement company and yes, we have a 5 year, exclusive term. In 2009, Rescue Records’ artists had 917 songs placed in TV Shows, Feature Films and Broadcast Ads. If you go to http://www.5alarmmusic.com and click “About” then “Check Out Our Client List”, the placements speak for themselves.
As far as the person I believe you are referring to, we did have an employee who is married to a famous musician and was giving out false information, unbeknownst to us. Once we found out, that person was let go. It’s been over 8 years since artists have signed up with Rescue Records and in that time, only 3 of the bands have not renewed their term with RR.
Hope this helps!
‘Not worth dealing with’ – I don’t mind people having an opinion as long as it’s based on some sort of experience.
They are a sub-publisher for a UK library I write for and they are brilliant. US earnings are great. They got a track placed in a long running ad for a major brand too.
Hey Man you work for Boosey? I’ve done 2 library cd’s the last couple years for them and they have a lot of my material from Abaco which they purchased 3-4 yrs ago from Alain Leroux. I did “Delta Blues” & “Americana”. their a very established library, are you in UK?
D
…wow
😀
Well that’s just Ducky. Funny Woody! So he’s a “Looper”. Probably is making money. Hope the loops are royalty free.
Here we go again with Yadgyu’s “getting better deals” and knowing how the music business works.
Most of these libraries have one contract. You either sign or take a hike. There’s so much music flooding into these libraries that they’re not going to negotiate with you, unless maybe you’re John Williams. But then you’d never find John Williams using a music library.
It would be interesting hearing one of these tracks of yours that generate income better than 80% of all other independent musicians.
Listen to all 72 of Yadgyu’s songs about ducks for yourself, John:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=64492
You can see that these highly developed, rap/hip-hop instrumentals and GarageBand techno masterpieces will be generating tens, if not hundreds of dollars a year. Of course, that’ll be before Marvel sues him for using their images from Iron Man to promote himself.
Get ‘Crank Dat Iron Man’ while it’s still a free download!
Thanks for thinking of me. You are one of my favorite fans!
Exclusive deals are good to me.
I think the problem is that many musicians do not know how to negotiate deals. Musicians get so wrapped up in the music that they forget about the business. I am no expert, but I get deals that are better than 80% of the deals other independent musicians get.
You have to realize what you bring to the table and get a feel for what these companies want. If you have exhilarating music and know how deals work, you can get good money for your music. You have to know how to sell yourself as well as the music.
Don’t be a docile cow or sacrificial lamb. Companies can smell weakness a mile away.