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hello. this is my first post though i’ve been reading this great site for a few years now. 🙂
i’m finally at the point of punting my tracks around (UK exclusives) and am wondering on credits etiquette.
my writing partner is very experienced in library composing and has an impressive list of credits.
is it the done thing to list which libraries and successful tracks/albums he has written for (i’m thinking maybe not, because they’re all competing with each other) or better to merely list the end uses like films/TV shows.
any advice very welcome 😉
thanks EastwindIf I am emailing a library or submitting for consideration, I never
mention any other libraries. I do mention a handful of my bestplacements, sometimes just the network and sometimes the shows too. Not saying that’s the best way but that’s how I’ve been doing it.
eastwind,it’s not a lack of loyalty having tracks in different exclusive libraries.Besides,having all your eggs in one basket isn’t recommended.
I have tracks in 2 different exclusive libraries since March 2013.
I have 10 in one of them and got 8 of them placed in tv shows (some of them placed several times).
In the other library i have 16 tracks and so far i got 1 placement.
So,as you can see,you don’t know which library will work for you.
Be careful when you send tracks to libraries,read the contract before
you sign anything.they’re well aware that i’m working with other libraries too!
One of them asked me if i work with other publishers and i said yes (they didn’t ask for names and i didn’t tell them).
The other one didn’t ask but told me: “submit as much music as you want”.
Exclusive libraries don’t want you to submit your full catalog (unless you want to),what they do want is to make sure you won’t submit the same tracks to other libraries.The other one didn’t ask but told me: “submit as much music as you want”.
Exclusive libraries don’t want you to submit your full catalog (unless you want to),what they do want is to make sure you won’t submit the same tracks to other libraries.I assume that you are talking about “libraries” like JP, CR and SK, which I call licensing agents, not actual libraries.
Traditional WFH libraries do not care if you work for other libraries. It adds to your credibility / resume. I’ve written for 7 exclusive WFH libraries. Half of those jobs were the result of referrals and/or recommendations from one library to another.
However, I would not tell a WFH exclusive, that you have tracks in a retitling library, like JP, CR, or SK. They do not like that. The reverse probably isn’t true.
However, I would not tell a WFH exclusive, that you have tracks in a retitling library, like JP, CR, or SK. They do not like that.
Good to know…I wasn’t aware of that.
@eastwind…unless you’ve placed something very high profile, like a major trailer, libraries are more interested in what you can do than which reality cable show used 15 seconds of your music.
I’ve never sent out a resume or listed library placements when contacting WFH libraries. All of that came through personal contact, referrals and conversations. Everyone asked to hear my reel, not look at my resume.
On my website, I list credits for some projects that I’ve scored, TV theme music that I’ve composed, and any awards etc. But none of that has resulted in anything.
The one exception for me is RF library bio’s then potential users/buyers might be looking at what you’ve done. Whereas, an editor scanning hundreds of cues on a hard drive has no way of knowing who you are, or what you’ve done.
In the end, your music is your calling card.
Just my opinion.
@MichaelL: The one that asked me was a WFH one.In their 1st email they clearly said they don’t wont composers with just 1-2 tracks.So,you’re absolutely right,that’s probably why they asked if i work with other exclusive publishers,they wanted active composers.They def didn’t care to know which ones or how many.
Also,although I’m new to this,i wouldn’t tell them i had tracks in retitling libraries.In general,unless somebody asked me,i wouldn’t tell a publisher/library that i work with other libraries. It’s not a secret but since they didn’t ask why should i tell them,right?
@Kubed: WFH libraries generally want professional composers, who are capable of producing a large volume of quality work, writing independently, or to briefs, and producing all of the necessary edits, not hobbyists who sweat bullets to generate one cue per month.
All they need to know is that you are a professional, your work is good and that you are not a PITA to deal with.
A note about quality: I’m not one of those “only real instruments make quality music” guys. Thinking that way is naive and way out of date. But, and this is important, if you are going to use sampled instruments you’d better know how.
You cannot just load samples, no matter what sample library it is, and think “that’s enough.” If you’re not using a lot of articulations, and/or using them properly, or if you’re too lazy to use the mod wheel and cc controllers to breathe life into your cue, it will sound artificial and amateurish, no matter what you wrote.
Several people recently posted links to their music. I gave them a listen. What I heard was OK (not great) composition, and good quality (not the best) samples being used very poorly…not enough variety, or inappropriate, articulations and no dynamics. The result was very mechanical and fake sounding. Even if the composition was stellar, the way the samples were used ruined it. That’s the kind of thing that top WFH libraries WILL notice. If your your horns sound like a tin can, or you have string parts that no orchestrator would ever write, it’s a give away.
SO…when you say to WFH library “A” that you’ve written for WFH library “B” they know that you’ve been vetted, with respect to quality. In that case it may be to your advantage to say I’ve worked for (as in been paid by) library “A.”
My 2 cents.
@MichaelL: “only real instruments make quality music”,you made such
a good point here.I also don’t agree with this saying,i’m playing the bass-guitar and keyboards and also like to mess with loops & samples.
But i don’t rememeber a time that i used a loop “as is”,i always tweak them at least a bit (if not alterate it at all) in order to make it sound natural in the mix.
I know what you mean about loopy,unimaginative,dry music creations.I’ve only worked with 3 exclusive libraries so far so,i’ll keep in mind for the future what you said in the end.I mean,if i ever work for a trailer or something big anyway,then yes,i would mention it in the next exclusive library i’ll work with.Otherwise,i wouldn’t mention various placements in tv shows.
Hi Michael, I agree. I can’t do MIDI to save my life and find most of it fake and mechanical. I see software instruments available with page after page of knobs and sliders to tweak and my eyes glaze over. I know some can do it, but for me it’s way easier to put a mic in front front of a real instrument, tweak recordings of real instruments (loops and longer phrases) or have a musician record the part with their setup and send files over the internet. And piano not being my main instrument, if I have to have MIDI piano instead of real, I don’t try to play it. I have a professional keyboard player supply the part. They will get all the little grace notes, inversions and feel that I wouldn’t!
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