Full time composers – Share your stories

[Music1234]

@PAMMUSIC, the reality is that the only way to stop the insanity and exploitation is by unionizing to set certain standards related to composing music for media. These would be my top rules if we had the MPU or “Music Production Union”:
1. Writers maintain 100% of their “writers share” under any and all circumstances and it is illegal (extortion) to pressure them into giving up any percentage of the so called “wrters share”.
2. A Sync licenses for YOUTUBE and all other “social media” will be set at $50 minimum fee for a sync license
3. Subscription models are banned, illegal, a breach of international law, and music assetts can only be licensed one at a time, for one project at a time.
4. Only the original creators or writers can upload their music to youtube’s content ID system and collect “ad revenue”
5. All members of the MPU must be a member of a PRO
6. Exclusive Music production requests must be commissioned at a fee of $1000 per track or a minimum of $10,000 paid in advance by a publisher, to writer for a 10 track album.

I can add a lot more but if everyone worked under these 6 basic principles, we’d quickly reverse the most pathetic state of conditions we are currently in – $5 sync licenses getting sold, $15 a month for all you can download subscription models, 50% writers share getting extorted by sleezy music libraries, 100% publishing share being extorted by corrupt TV networks like VIACOM and Discovery.. Stupid weak handed publishers giving into these deals or they are just lying to writers about thier woes with these networks. Also it should be illegal for some TV networks to bypass the cue sheet protocol, and payment of blanket license fees to PRO’s. ESPN/ DISNEY is another corrupt network that is getting away with not paying PRO’s under the bogus excuse of “we do direct licensing”. Yeah right….they do “direct licensing” of PRO registered music but do not have to pay PRO’s for access to this music. How the F__K is that legal????

[Kayle c]

Great info and discussion here. Thanks for all the info.

[BEATSLINGER]

Hello to all.
I have been doing production music since 2004, seen some great libraries come and go, and now seeing what has become of this once thriving revenue stream; it has made me completely re-think how I do business. One BIG thing I have found out is that this really is about your relationships, and not about how many “cues” you have in libraries. After making my rounds to pretty-much all of the so-call top tier libraries. I took this “pandemic opportunity” to refocus, re-brand, and “lose my production music, and production music library identity”. I have literally spent the last year or so only focusing on specific types of projects, library music that has a non-recoupable budget attached, and dissecting my music and (hopefully) finding what it is really good for.

Seems like I landed on a few things. For many years my output was about 125 to 150 cues/tracks a year. I am now making several times the money while only having an output of about 30 to 50 pieces a year currently..

Grateful that even though I am self-taught. I am an actual musician, and have several “Change-ups”. In addition, I am extremely grateful that I learned to navigate these treacherous waters; and not getting caught in the current “production music bottle-neck that is taking place somewhere around the B.S Libraries/Scams, Lower-tier, and Mid-Tier”..

[Max Power]

This thread is titled ‘Full time composers – Share your stories’ and yet it seems to have been hijacked once again by people complaining about the current state of the industry and how it’s all going downhill and whose fault it is.. There are so many places on these forums where one can read these complaints – it’s a shame some seem to think it needs to happen here as well

[LAwriter]

This thread is titled ‘Full time composers – Share your stories’ and yet it seems to have been hijacked once again by people complaining about the current state of the industry and how it’s all going downhill and whose fault it is.. There are so many places on these forums where one can read these complaints – it’s a shame some seem to think it needs to happen here as well

I dunno. To me personally, if they care enough to think about it, put together a cogent thought, and type it all out, that’s a valuable part of a “full time composer’s” story. The last thing I want to read is a bunch of get rich quick stories from folks preaching a paradigm that’s close to two decades old – at a cost of several thousand dollars – that doesn’t work anymore.

IMO, smart folks will try to read between the lines and get some insight. The last thing I want to do is plow headlong into an industry that’s got no future. (Im not saying writing production music has no future, just making an example). If all the full time pro’s are complaining….that’s something I personally want to pay attention to. Cheers,

[BEATSLINGER]

This thread is titled ‘Full time composers – Share your stories’ and yet it seems to have been hijacked once again by people complaining about the current state of the industry and how it’s all going downhill and whose fault it is.. There are so many places on these forums where one can read these complaints – it’s a shame some seem to think it needs to happen here as well

If this was in reference to what I posted. Yes, I currently do music full time. As well, I mentioned I now make more money than ever while I have decreased my output by about 80%..

[MaxPower]

”If all the full time pro’s are complaining….that’s something I personally want to pay attention to”

We’re not all complaining.

[Music1234]

Here is a great “story”

100 YEARS OF WHACKING THE MUSIC MELON

[Art Munson]

Here is a great “story”

That is a great story!

[MichaelL]

“Making a living” is a very broad, undefined term. One person’s top is another’s bottom.
There are an infinite number of variables that go into the equation of whether or not one can make a living composing production music. Given the right circumstances and needs, I think it’s possible.

[Author]

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