5 Year Report

[Michael Nickolas]

My January ASCAP just hit the bank today. It is by far my best January payout.

Good for you Alan! I thought the ASCAP statement was scheduled for Monday, you’re seeing yours already?

[Alan]

I thought the ASCAP statement was scheduled for Monday, you’re seeing yours already?

My direct deposits from ASCAP normally hit the bank as pending deposits 1-2 business days prior to the statement date.

BTW, I am expecting less income next year. I had a couple of big sync fees and the ASCAP survey treated me well one quarter. I doubt that will be the norm though.

[Alan]

Art,
FYI, The close tags button didn’t work with firefox on the above post. I tried to edit it and got the same result.

[Michael Nickolas]

I’m in the same boat as you. I had a big sync fee for the almond commercial, sold some tracks for up-front money and I got lucky with the survey. We’ll see how next year goes!

[ChuckMott]

Nice to be able to say after a somewhat disappointing year in 2017, my first quarter ascap check is about double what I earned all last year. No statement yet, but the funds made it to my account this a.m apparently. My track count is about 190 so far.

[Frequencee]

Great thread Alan! I remember being inspired when you first posted this 3 years ago. Despite how long it feels it takes for things to start churning each passing year seems to be going faster & faster. PRO payouts now feel like holidays lol. I just completed my 4th year at this. Hope it’s okay I share my results on this thread as well. Seems like a similar trajectory.

As of today I am at 210 tracks. About half are exclusive & non-exclusive. For the moment the non-exclusive tracks are out earning the exclusives but many of the exclusives were added this year so time will tell whether it pays off or not. I also have not been nearly as aggressive in the RF market as I have focused primarily on submitting to libraries for tv placements and that’s certainly reflected in my earnings but I will be giving more attention to RF this year in an effort to diversify.

2014: $240 (RF), $0 (PRO)
2015: $195 (RF), $10 (PRO)
2016: $500 (RF), $410 (PRO)
2017: $420 (RF), $500 (SYNC), $8,015 (PRO)

Looking forward to what year 5 has in store. I am cautiously optimistic on the percentage increase YOY since they say it is a roller coaster ride but so far I feel my investment is paying off.

Happy New Year!

[spiker]

This is a great thread! Thanks Alan! Here are my royalties:

2013: $76
2014: $300
2015: $318
2016: $520
2017: $1166

Currently I have 160 tracks in music libraries. I made the decision to go mostly Exclusive, with most earnings being on the back end, which in hindsight was a mistake. Seeing what you guys have done with RF and non-exclusive libraries is a testament to that. I think my earnings could possible be double (maybe more) of what I’ve been getting. I’m in the process of fixing that now by adding RF and non-exclusive libraries. MLR is a great service to composers. We need this unbiased info to make good decisions for our futures. Thanks everyone!

[Alan]

Thanks for sharing pike60 and Frequencee. I think it’s important for us to share this info. The newbies need to know that this is a long game and persistence is rewarded with exponential growth. Congrats to you both and keep going!

[Art Munson]

Art,
FYI, The close tags button didn’t work with firefox on the above post. I tried to edit it and got the same result.

Hi Alan, I’m on FireFox and works here. Did you try typing the close shortcode?

[daveydad]

Been at this 4 years now. Feeling better as I watch my PRO grow each year. I’m now getting a lot more placements so hoping 2018 is even better!

2014: $16
2015: $250
2016: $1100
2017: $2174

I also make money streaming on Spotify, Pandora, etc, and RF/sync sales. For 2017, I made a little over $5000 total from all music income.

[Author]

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