Blanket Licenses

[royalty collector guy]

@DI, There is no doubt that full time composers have been slightly disrupted by the weekend hobbyists, newcomers, “bedroom music makers” because there is income not traveling into full-timers pockets.

But you are right, anyone has their right to try and earn some extra income doing something they enjoy. With that said, what kind of “supplemental money” can be earned? $500 a month? $1000 a month? more? less?

And, how much time a week can someone with a full time job really put into composing?

[Kiwi]

There is – the American Federation of Musicians. I was once a member but dropped out long ago after I became frustrated at how my local was focused on session players and not the touring sideman. They’d have to convince me to pay dues again and I’m not sure that can be done, but I’d love to hear them tell me what they do for composers.

I haven’t paid dues in a very long time so I’m not an expert on current practices but from a little research it doesn’t seem like the AFofM would have much, if anything, to offer a composer.

When I was a member the benefits were far outweighed by the restrictions the union placed on members (and this is coming from someone who is generally pro union). I think the union works well for orchestra players, session players in some larger music markets, and others who are part of a large, local, union-ized mass of working musicians. Outside of those circles though, my experience is that membership can be a restrictive detriment.

[MichaelL]

“bedroom music makers”

The concept of “bedroom music maker” is more than outdated.

The only reason to have “studio” space, rather than a bedroom, basement or garage, is if you need to hire a large group of musicians, because you can’t do it all yourself.

I’ve always kept my studio in a spare room. The most recent incarnation had walls lined with Auralex foam and Russ Berger Space couplers hanging from the ceiling…just like a “grown-up space”
….only I didn’t have to pay rent, and I could still reap the tax benefits.

I always brought in players as necessary, guitar, bass, sax, horns, even singers. What about the acoustics? Today Izotope’s RX3 software can remove the ambient sound of any room, just as if you were in an iso booth (instant high end room!).

My “spare room” has mid 5 figures of kit, which would have easily cost upper 6, or even 7 figures 30 years ago.

There’s need to spend 200K on a Neve or SSL console. I can get console modeling plugs from Slate Audio for $200. Same for tape machines. Why buy and maintain tape machines, when you can get tape emulation plugs from Slate or Waves for $200? All that outboard gear Lexicon, Aphex, Eventide? …all available as plugs. I have a full strings orchestra, capable of divid writing, and reverb impulse responses from some of the best rooms in the world. Many “bedroom” composers are using Protools, just like “real” studios. I’m not bragging, but this is the reality home studios today.

Before you dis “bedroom” music makers” you might want to do a pole of the full-time pros here to find out how many of us are working in spare rooms.

One of the most high profile, and high earning” cues, that everyone knows, “Mind Heist” (the trailer for Inception) was written and produced in an alcove in an apartment, with Logic and VSL.

You need to get hip to the fact that its a brave new world and very high end music can come out of small home-based spaces.

Never under estimate the competition.

[Steve]

I think the union works well for orchestra players, session players in some larger music markets, and others who are part of a large, local, union-ized mass of working musicians.

I agree. I was a member of Local 257 (Nashville) that was focused on orchestral and session players. I was a touring musician at the time, and in the few meetings I attended it seemed like I was the only touring player there. It was nice to have the union handle the paperwork and paychecks on the high profile gigs but beyond that I couldn’t justify spending some $200/year on dues plus the percentage they took from every check. The meetings were a good place to network but there are lots of great networking opportunities outside of union meetings.

[royalty collector guy]

I make music in my bedroom all the time, I am not dissing the practice.

[MichaelL]

I make music in my bedroom all the time, I am not dissing the practice.

So why imply that “bedroom music maker(s)” are some how less than professional?

[ArtistsR1st]

I converted one of my bedrooms into a studio, trip over my guitars once in a while though, simply because I have too many 🙂 . Like MichaelL says, as I’m a one man operation, I have a large full basement but it’s not needed. Plus, the refrigerator is just around the corner 🙂

[MichaelL]

Delete….

I really shouldn’t go around poking holes in pre-conceived notions. Bad habit.

[Steve]

what kind of “supplemental money” can be earned? $500 a month? $1000 a month? more? less? And, how much time a week can someone with a full time job really put into composing?

I work a non-music job full time. I’m lucky if I’m able to spend a 30-60 minutes per night working on music. I’d like to spend much more time working on music but time is the limiting factor for me due to my day job and family responsibilities. To your second question, in my mind the money one can earn is only limited by how hard you’re willing to work.

[MichaelL]

I work a non-music job full time. I’m lucky if I’m able to spend a 30-60 minutes per night working on music. I’d like to spend much more time working on music but time is the limiting factor for me due to my day job and family responsibilities.

Steve..big congrats to you for finding time to pursue your passion, in addition to the rest of your responsibilities. Seriously.

When I started to participate on this forum guys like you were not treated as the enemy, or looked down on as amateurs. More experienced and successful composers, like Mark Petrie, freely shared information and helpful advice. I have tried to do the same.

In the past year, or so, that has changed, and some have drawn a line in the sand that waffles between, “you amateurs are ruining the business, and/or you amateurs are wasting your time and we “real pros” have nothing to worry about.” With the exception of a few trolls, there was a general sense of “we.” Now, too often it’s “us” and “them”…”pros” and “amateurs.” I think that’s sad.

I wish you and everyone else who is following their passion part-time, in a garage, a bedroom, a basement… success.

_Michael

[gdomeier]

I also work a full time job and spend various amounts of time per month making music. It’s cheap and easy to make quality recordings at home. That has allowed for an influx of people like me to saturate the market with music of various quality.

In a way, that influx has made the lower end (like cable tv background cues) into a commodity. “A” level cues aren’t needed for 20 seconds on Duck Dynasty why uncle Si tells us what “rule #1 is Jack”. 🙂

My first full year of distributions was last year and I made about $1,000. All my $ came from back end PRO payments. I haven’t gotten any front end monies. I use that $ to buy amps, guitars and music software.

I can see why some professions may see that a ruining the business. Take my experience and multiply that by the 10’s of thousands of other new composers and that adds up to a lot of money. It certainly has taken away a portion of the revenue stream that in decades past would have been all theirs.

In the past year, or so, that has changed, and some have drawn a line in the sand that waffles between, “you amateurs are ruining the business, and/or you amateurs are wasting your time and we “real pros” have nothing to worry about.” With the exception of a few trolls, there was a general sense of “we.” Now, too often it’s “us” and “them”…”pros” and “amateurs.” I think that’s sad.

[Kiwi]

I can see why some professions may see that a ruining the business. Take my experience and multiply that by the 10?s of thousands of other new composers and that adds up to a lot of money. It certainly has taken away a portion of the revenue stream that in decades past would have been all theirs.

I don’t see an influx of part-time people as “ruining the business” (and like I said before, I’m a pro but only part-time as a composer). The business isn’t “ruined”. Business is excellent if you are a publisher or library that’s exploiting free labor for gain which is what’s happening when blanket license fees aren’t shared with content providers. These are often blanket licenses that generate thousands and thousands of dollars which are sold by companies that build their brand on content that is given to them for free. It’s hard to find another industry that thrives on this sort of model. Even when cheap foreign labor is exploited for inexpensive consumer goods there’s still a cost. Could you imagine if your day job shifted to a similar model?

To me it has nothing (or at least very little) to do with full-time vs. part-time or pro vs. amateur. It’s about valuing work and its product. It’s fully possible for anyone anywhere in the pro-amateur continuum to value what they do. I can’t help but cringe when I see people actively undervaluing themselves and, by proxy, others who do the same sort of work.

And I’m guilty! I’ve made compromises and participated too. I’m changing the way I do things now that I have several years of experience that show me the downside to it. For example, I’m no longer offering “custom cues” to anyone without being paid. I’m also weeding out the libraries that don’t share the wealth with blanket licenses and I’m trying to deepen my relationships with the ones that do and cultivate new relationships with those that I see as good players in the industry. I may run myself out of business but so be it. The way things are headed it won’t make much of a difference financially one way or another…

Beyond all that, I think that history will show that the re-titling boom did way more to undermine the market than crowd sourcing but that’s a whole other subject. It’s all interconnected and part of an industry that been ever shifting for years anyway. I don’t see any point in blaming anyone or anything in particular. I just hope that people realize the realities that have been established so that we can do what we can to help ourselves and one another in our current situation.

[Nick]

Great discussion going on here guys. I do think it is time that we all address the serious problem with blanket licensing and even start a thread on it. I have a lot to offer to such a thread because I have done my homework. In a nutshell, Kiwi is 100% correct. All these NE retitlers have basically built up a free catalog and are now selling the music they collected for free to scripps, a non pro TV network offering no back end royalties for placements (for example), and not paying any writers a dime from these blanket deals. They basically are saying “you need music, we have music, we’re going to sell you the music that other people created and keep the money for ourselves.”

What else are they doing?

They are giving it away for free to folks making youtube videos and monetizing the youtube videos with ADREV.

They are selling sync licenses and lying about what they get paid and paying writers less than their true 50% share, or they are saying that a placement did not pay a sync fee and you will get back end royalties instead.

They are basically claiming ownership of writers works, selling it, and making profits for themselves.

What to do about it?

Pull your music out of all businesses that are not making you any money or very little money. Ask them to delete your profile and music from the site. Then ask them to delete all of your music from their hard drives. If they resist, escalate the situation and take to public forums about the situation.

I have been doing this lately and it feels great. It really feels liberating. Companies that can not produce income for your music should not possess it and make money off of it from their blanket licensing and youtube business plans. If you have had broadcast quality music sitting at a company for 18 months or more and have not been paid, it’s really time to get out.

[MichaelL]

Pull your music out of all businesses that are not making you any money or very little money. Ask them to delete your profile and music from the site. Then ask them to delete all of your music from their hard drives. If they resist, escalate the situation and take to public forums about the situation.

Hi Nick. Welcome aboard. Haven’t seen you post here before?

Fortunately, I never went down the retitle road. But, there are many people here who get most of their money from retitle libraries.
So, are you suggesting that they walk away from that?

And, now that you are “liberated,” what are you going to do with all those cues that you’ve removed? I assume they’re already in RF libraries, because they were non-exclusive. I’m not sure that any exclusive library will pay you for them now. So, what’s going to happen to all of the music that’s suddenly off the market?

Like I said, not my discussion. Never submitted to any of those libraries. But your solution is intriguing.

I know the winners will be anyone looking to thin the market.

[Art Munson]

@Nick, It’s been brought to my attention that your tone sounds very similar to “More Advice. On checking both IP addresses I find they are one and the same. So, if you want to remain a “friend” of MLR please don’t play games!

[Author]

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