Potentially "no synch fee" for a national TV spot

[The Dude]

Hey Michael, the “boutiques” are music houses that mostly do ads. I get upfront money from them, although they have differing models (percentages vs. flat fees).

As for exclusives, the ones I work with do the copyright buy-out for a fee, with which I’m perfectly fine, but I used to work with one that gives percentages of upfront money, and even share blanket licenses.

Do you do any vocal tracks Michael? I’ve noticed those get sync fees more often, and can have better back end payment (at least with BMI- I’ve heard otherwise with ASCAP). This is my passion, as I like songwriting more. I have a feeling that you’re a more trained musician than I am, and can write in far more genres.

[More advice]

Hey all you dudes…Music Houses are not libraries. They provide original music production services mostly to advertising agencies, but also venture into TV land if they find that business. Their main goal is to get a work for hire contract to write a spot like this for 30K
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUTL8DWtfeM&feature=youtu.be
There were mega bucks behind this track as probably 9 singers performed and it appears to be an original song, even though it does remind me of a Neil Diamond tune.

The point is this: I don’t care where or how my fecking track was sourced, when you attach Olympics, Sean White, Target, NBC in one important announcement, I should be getting paid…period.

At least toss me $500 for God’s sake, don’t tell NBC “Here go use whatever you want in our library for your TV spots for gratis”

Tell them “use it on your shows and file cue sheets for Gratis” but not Target, Olympics commercials!!!!

Quit trying to find ways to justify that this was OK and we don’t need to worry about it. It’s not cool, it’s not right, it’s abusive, disregarding, disrespectful to the writer, disrespectful to the library, disrespectful to the entire music industry. Someone screwed up on this deal, and they probably don’t care because…well…it was not their composition. I’m just a stupid pawn getting used in their chess game so they can make further in-roads at NBC. If you are going to give tracks away to Target, give your own track to them! Not mine! Then again, doesn’t anyone have any compassion anywhere???? Did anyone think “You know…we really need to pay this writer for using this track on the spot.” Or are we down to “Feck it, this baby is free.”

And yes…all you youngbies/ newbies…have a plan B in life. This “music library” business sucks! No…you can not make a living wage at it unless you go live in the country where 30 to 40K will go a long way. All you can do is support your music making hobby or supplement your income.

Frankly, I don’t think any of these places are truly honest with their accounting (of 50/50 sync fees) aka “music licenses” and if audits were to go down, a lot of dough would be found stashed under the covers of the owners’ bed’s…

[MichaelL]

It’s definitely a varied business Dude. Lots of models.

I haven’t written any vocal cues for libraries. But, yes, I used to sing in bands. When I was younger I sang high pop stuff. Now I croak out a gravely mix of Dr. John, Ray Charles, Lou Rawls with a hint of Bill Champlin (HA!!!). I’ve been thinking about doing some mumbling sort of scat cues with upright bass. (one more on the drawing board)

Don’t know how trained you are. I’m not sure how much that matters in most of the library world, except that it might might put a few more tools in your toolkit and speed things up. Yes, I studied jazz/classical piano, as well as composition and arranging.

For now, it’s back to blending Orange Tree Strawberry Electric with Shreddage for an orchestral sports cue. Keeps it interesting!

I switched from ACASP to BMI…enough said.

Follow your passion Dude. If you’re not having fun, what’s the point?

[MichaelL]

Yeah, More Advice, there was once a “golden era” when music houses dominated. A buddy of mine, who was at Y&R for years, used to send me reels from all the NY City houses. In a recent conversation he said, “it’s all over, the music houses are gone.”

Fortunately, I’ve always wanted to live in the country. It’s not a compromize for me. Twenty years ago, it wasn’t possible, but now, with the internet, I can live and work here. And yes, my cost of living has dropped dramatically.

Technology has changed the landscape for everyone, and some people can do very well. Look for the interview with Dan P, who is making 100K from RF libraries. I’ve spoken to one RF library owner who has writers making 2K per month (just one library).

I see the glass as half full. Time will tell.

Best of luck.

_Michael

[More advice]

Agreed… It is interesting how music houses are “gone” yet there always seems to be a few lucky gems that hang in there (and get all the business too)

So there you have it youngbies and newbies:

Your best shot is 2K a month! (After you write 1000 tracks for the next 10 years!)

Have fun with that.

[MichaelL]

With respect to the song in the Kraft spot…it’s not an original song.
It is “What I did for Love” from the musical A Chorus Line. by Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban. So, you know that there were big licensing dollars there.

The musical came out in the mid 70’s. How old is this ad???

[MichaelL]

Your best shot is 2K a month! (After you write 1000 tracks for the next 10 years!)

Have fun with that.

2K a month from just one library. As far as ten years goes, a fairly competent writer with a lot of gear can probably crank out 2 RF cues in a day.

More Advice, it’s definitely a completely different world than what you’ve been used to. And yes, it is a great opportunity for writers with less expensive life styles.

If you’re looking for 20K licenses, get your orchestral chops together, buy some high end gear and go after the trailer market.
Follow Mark Petrie’s formula. Use the library income that you have now as a foundation, and move on to higher end libraries and higher end projects, like trailers.

I have no idea what your skill set is. But, if you have the chops to go beyond simple cues, go for it!

[The Dude]

Hey more advices, do music houses license music? Is it a way to get paid from music licensing? I see a few music houses in the library sections of this site. Some of those music houses also have a library of music that they can pull from to put into ads (or installations, or other projects). A little diversification. Yes, yes it’s called Music Library Report, but I don’t see any super defined rules of what we can and can’t discuss. I’m just giving out my experience, and if that’s not good enough, so be it.

[More advice]

just breaking the ad

[The Dude]

MichaelL, I love jazz, always had an appreciation for those that could play it, the guys that “get it”. I didn’t discover it until college, as most of my high school days were spent listening to Soundgarden, Led Zep, and The Misfits. Anyway, off-topic again…

Hopefully you’ll get some decent upfront on the next one, More Advice. Sorry to hear about this instance. I don’t claim to have nearly as much experience as you or MichaelL. Good luck everybody.

[Tbone]

The best way we can all avoid this happening is to name and shame the libraries that give gratis, and/or blanket licenses – especially those that don’t share any of a blanket license with composers. In my time reading this site I have noticed various libraries cropping up as doing this, and as a result I will not submit my music to them ever. If more of us can do this we have the chance to make things better for ourselves.

I understand More Advice is very angry right now, but $2k/month is obviously not the best you can hope for. As already stated in that same post, look at Dan P’s 100k a year just from RF.

[Author]

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