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Hey guys,
From reading the last few comments following mine, under the name Tony, I hope my comment was not misunderstood, although it was not specifically addressed. I’m also an RF composer and will be one for as long as it takes to reach another personal goal in library music. I joined this site to become more involved in the music libary arena and I’m looking forward to sharing, and hopefully not defending, my view points. I apologize if anyone felt a need to offset my subjective comment with a different personal opinion or for being overly sensitive if I’m interpreting the last few comments incorrectly.
I agree that the Plato’s cave analogy referenced in another post is a good one, but there is a question regarding which points of view reflect cave dwelling and how many caves exist. There is likely to be more than one cave and it’s possible to step out of one, only to end up in a different one. Perhaps I found a new cave. Perhaps I’ve left caves for good. Time will tell as the RF model continues to adapt while new composers continue to flood the RF market.
TA
Time will tell as the RF model continues to adapt while new composers continue to flood the RF market.
People worry too much about the number of composers “flooding” the market. There are just as many opportunities.
The percentage of composers that “get it” and are producing music that actually works is another question….somewhat less than a flood.
The writers with the most difficulty will be the ones in crowded genres, like hip hop, that only represent a small percentage of sales, e.g., on AudioSparx hip hop accounts for less than 2% of sales.
If you do not have a large diverse catalog, and work primarily in one genre for which there is little demand, you will have difficulty.
If you do not take the time to study the industry, and only live in the hope that your style of music is licensable, you will have a lot of difficulty.
_Michael
PS..this isn’t directed at you personally Tony.
Thanks Michael. That supports what I’m saying when I mentioned that niche genres and other specialty areas in demand will continue to do well no matter what. And to clarify the flooding issue, I’m mainly talking about competition within the online RF libraries that do not direct market your material, have relatively low screening standards and mostly rely on web promo. I’m concerned more with the online search engine competiton than with talent competition in thise cases. No matter how talented you are, you still have to be seen. A ton of composers means a lot of weeding out just to get to your music. As the flood continues, things can only get worse unless more libraries raise the bar on screening for talent.
I have to somewhat disagree about diverse catalogs although that is current conventional wisdom. I’m 100% in agreement that it works now and I too have written in several genres. However, being merely a competent composer in many genres may not work in the near future as more and more highly talented composers and artists who specialize enter the writer’s pool from other areas of the music industry. That’s what I was referencing when I discussed the independent recording artist situation and its advance towards royalty and royalty free music licensing of popular genres. That has become big in the last few years and many very talented unsigned artists are getting into it. Small indie labels are also getting more involved in having material licensed. The downfall of the record industry and the rise of the internet opened this avenue for them. It will always be profitable to be among the more talented and marketable within a genre. If you don’t reach a satisfactory level of accomplishment focusing on what you do best, then I guess diversity it is and hope for the best. But if I’m a top library, and there is an abundance of solid talent in a genre within a huge pool of hungry artists, I’m going with those guys, not the jack of all trades…. unless he’s better known as a king of all trades. I suspect that is where the future is leading. This isn’t necessarily a flooding issue as much as a newer and fresher resource avenue for libraries that brings more competition into the mix and could be an initial sign that “one man band days” are gradually fading out. I would love to be wrong. Time will tell. Look at the game music business. There was a time when that was a niche and quite a few people with some degree of musical talent, nothing special, and technical skills in working with game audio assets were most of the composers. Now, you have big name film composers doing game music. Times are changing.
Anyway, that’s just my 2cents.
“Time will tell as the RF model continues to adapt while new composers continue to flood the RF market.”
We also have to remember that the need for music in various projects has never been higher. The RF libraries might be flooded, but theres no way to argue that there is also a big market for this music and there`s tons of creative film makes buying music every day. My guess is that this demand for well produced RF music will only keep on growing for as long as I can see into the future 🙂
My guess is that this demand for well produced RF music will only keep on growing for as long as I can see into the future
I totally agree with this, more and more video are being uploaded everywhere. The numbers are crazy when it comes to the hours of video being uploaded every minute. Many of these video producers will need good RF background music.
More and more people are also getting access to the Internet, this again means this is a gowning market. Apps, small games and podcasts with the need for music is also on the rise.
Sure you can’t just upload some random music in a few places and expect to sell a lot, but you cant do that in any business. You have to fight to become successful
Wow, great thread and exactly what I was looking for. Thanks to the more experienced guys for posting specifics and clarifying a path, and to Del for starting it.
Hi folks,
all weird discussion here. People tend to patronize to easy what`s good or not good to do for others. Let everyone make their own experiences. The lib bizz is constantly changing.
I follow with interest all the very nice and informative comments here and in the same time I get borred of so many comments.
There are top selling guys in the RF bizz and top selling people in the excl./non-excl. Pro bizz. What`s the problem about it ?
Quality, that means good songs, will always make their way….
Michael L. is so right; control of your own catalog is a nice value.
I make good money with excl. libraries and my music is running in TV and I also make nice 4figures money with my RF catalog. What`s the problem with it ? Is that bad ? Am I evil for doing both ways ? No.
I am a musician and I love to write and produce music. Good and honest work will be honored after a while at least in my experience….
Try out everything folks…….
Wildman
This is good advice.
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