Home › Forums › Newbie Questions › Q about Performance Royalties
Tagged: guitar, performance royalties
- This topic has 10 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 7 months ago by PeteJ.
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April 2, 2015 at 4:50 am #21303PeteJParticipant
Hi – Just want to start by saying how great is this website. A whole community of working composers!
I’m half way thro a collection of 18/19th century guitar solos and want to submit it for sync. Copyright is not an issue, no back-end for the long-dead composers.
I’m just wondering if there’s could be any payback for the performer thro MCPS. Unlikely but… is this possible?
Also, with ‘Inspector Morse’ and ‘Rosemary and Thyme’ in mind, I wondered whether any composers here would have some playing work for a classical guitarist. I feel that the sound of a classical guitar over strings etc. is always a winner and it adds quality and humanity to programmed tracks. Might I pick up some work if I advertised?
April 4, 2015 at 3:03 am #21318PeteJParticipantMy apologies. I just realised that this question constitutes an advertisement. Moderators are welcome to take it down. I’ll phrase it differently next time.
April 4, 2015 at 3:34 am #21319cherrybakewellParticipantThere is no money in classical guitar library music. Trust me on this.
April 4, 2015 at 8:01 am #21320Art MunsonKeymasterNo problem PeteJ.
April 4, 2015 at 8:20 am #21321Mark LewisParticipantThere is no money in classical guitar library music. Trust me on this.
I will second that.
April 4, 2015 at 10:32 am #21322OverDubParticipantI’ve made a several hundred bucks off of a pseudo classical gut string solo guitar piece I wrote. On MTV actually! Maybe not a huge market, but If you already have them recorded, why not give them a shot. I think you’ll only get half of the royalties since it’s a PD arrangement, at least that’s according to BMI. Good luck!
April 4, 2015 at 10:41 am #21323MichaelLParticipantThere is no money in classical guitar library music. Trust me on this.
I will second that.
@Mark….so where does someone, say a documentary producer, doing a historical / period documentary go for something like that?
That was often one of the reasons producers hired me…they couldn’t find appropriate period music in the libraries that they were dealing with.
Have we really dumbed down to the point where even period music has to have a beat?
April 4, 2015 at 12:00 pm #21324Desire_InspiresParticipantHave we really dumbed down to the point where even period music has to have a beat?
I don’t think so.
Any piece of music can sell. The strangest and most bizarre music can find a home somewhere. Also, the newest and most modern music can sit without getting licensed. People should make whatever they choose and get it placed with the right libraries.
Sure, there isn’t a large market for a lot of period pieces. But why not sign it to a library that is willing to take a chance? It may just take longer for the niche music to find a home. Just write it, submit it, and forget about it.
The important thing is to place whatever you make with the right company. Companies that accept your music don’t want it to not get licensed. They want to serve their customers and make money too!
Remember, anything can get licensed given the right circumstances. Just don’t bet the farm on it getting used a week after you sign it and making a $100,000 sync fee.
April 5, 2015 at 5:20 pm #21328AdviceParticipantJust don’t bet the farm on it getting used a week after you sign it and making a $100,000 sync fee.
+1
E I E I O!April 5, 2015 at 10:58 pm #21329Mark LewisParticipantHave we really dumbed down to the point where even period music has to have a beat?
Nothing at all to do with having a beat. Tons of music we sell doesn’t have a beat. I’m just speaking from actual data from our site.
Straight classical guitar performances don’t sell well unless you produce it up a bit, add strings, make it big and interesting.It is also a matter of quantity. There are a million versions out there of these public domain classical pieces because the person creating it does not actually have to write any music, so competition for the few clients who need something like that is high.
A solo classical guitar is usually not the instrumentation of choice to set the tone for a period piece. For example if a producer needs a recording of Greensleeves they would probably go for more of a medieval instrumentation rather than a classical guitar.
I suspect that most of the music the OP is considering recording was written at least a few hundred years before the classical guitar was invented.April 6, 2015 at 3:41 am #21330PeteJParticipantThanks folks – some great points. Don’t worry, I’m not imagining making my fortune. But also I’m not talking about a few classical pieces from the repertoire, or not just that. Mind you. I just heard one that I’ll be doing on Top Gear, so there is hope for everything. But the original stuff is more promising, and as you say, pieces for orchestra and gtr etc. Also, it isn’t that hard to make the gtr sound like a ukulele 🙂 I’m sure that finding the right library will be important, as DI advises, but that’ll come out in the wash. I’m not ready to make a move yet.
I could mention that I’ve been an engineer an musician for a long time and don’t plan to just amateurishly doodle some tunes into an sm57. The classical gtr pieces I’ve heard in the libraries I’ve tried have not impressed.
Overdub – Thanks but I didn’t understand your comment – half the royalties on a PD arrangement? Could you add another sentence on this?
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