Cue sheet incorrect time lengths

[RM90]

I got a few cue sheets recently for a show on the Food Network. Despite my tunesat detections of 20-30 seconds, my tracks are listed on the cue sheet for 0:01 and 0:03 seconds. In fact basically every track on the cue sheet is under 0:08. Do you think this is a genuine error? Or maybe some foul play going on? It seems strange that they would take the time to fill out the cue sheet but be so grossly inaccurate. Food Network is not a high earner anyway. It also appears that the same library scores the entire episodes.

[LAwriter]

Have you viewed the placements or listened to them. That should be the first thing you should do. To make an error that egregious would be (IMO) impossible. Mistakes happen all the time in filling out cue sheets, but that’s a HUGE difference.

[jdt9517]

Hanlon’s Razor: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”

LAwriter’s advice is good. Something’s amiss, but probably not foul play.

[RM90]

Yes of course I have listened to the placements via Tunesat as I said. And they are at least 20 seconds each, a far cry from 1 second. I guess I will reach out to the library, since they scored the full episodes and are my only contact. I’ll try to report back.

[Advice]

The library is your first point of contact for getting it fixed. Cue sheet errors happen. While most PROs like ASCAP don’t accept Tunesat detections as evidence of placement, it helps you go back to the library and ask about something that doesn’t appear to be correct. Since they get paid the same as you, they *should* look into it.

One time I picked up a major network placement on Tunesat but a year later, still no cue sheet. Having seen that detection got me to ask the library who contacted the show to get it fixed. It was a cue sheet error whereby they swapped out tunes at the last minute (I think I was a last minute switch) but didn’t document it correctly. Tunesat is not perfect (at all!) but sometimes it can find you money.

[Alan]

I once have a 1:30 placement on an MTV show where the original cue sheet said 0:09. I reached out to the library and they had it fixed, sort of. The amended cue sheet said 1:09. I left it alone after that. It made hundreds, maybe a 4 figure difference in back end over several years. BTW, that was all Tunesat.

[Author]

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