Should I stay or should I go?

[Danny]

Hello again friends,

How long is a reasonable amount of time to stay with a library that has gotten you zero or very few placements before ending your contract with them?

I’m sure there are several factors to consider, such as the type of tracks they license, the amount of tracks you have with them, their target demographic, etc. So please feel free to talk about how these factors affect this decision. Thanks!

[Paolo]

Hi dpoit,

That’s a tough call – sometimes payment comes way down the road. And if your arrangement with them is strictly PRO, that’s more time before your music hits a revenue stream.

I’m sure there are several factors to consider

I would add two things to your list of considerations: 1) how well are other libraries (you write for) paying? 2) Is this poorly performing library draining your time and resources from writing tracks for other libraries.

Hope that helps,
Paul

[composer]

Every situation is different. Nonetheless, I’ll boldly throw out a number to start the conversation. I’d say around 4 years, give or take a lot.

I’ve had the experience of getting no placements for 2-3 years and then getting a lot of placements, so it’s hard to say.

I’ve also had the experience of getting no placements for 2-3 years, then no placements for the next 2-3 years as well…

It also depends on whether you have a better place to put those tracks. How licensable are the tracks? Is your time best spent producing new and better tracks?

[Tbone]

If it’s an RF library promoting your tracks then 1 year is enough. If it’s PRO then I’d wait 3 years but I wouldn’t give them more than an album’s worth of material until proven.

Can you get the tracks back out of the deal?

[Danny]

Thank you all for the input so far. Ultimately, my time is better spent producing new tracks. There’s no question about that.

I guess the question is: Should I leave the tracks there or pull them out so they are not in too many places? (Considering I do get them pulled, which I will need to confirm. Also, talking specifically about non-exclusives in this instance.)

Could it become a problem having some of my tracks in too many libraries?

[ChuckMott]

I would be interested in knowing how many tracks folks would give a non-exclusive before taking a break to see how they do….exclusive also if the number is different…an album as Tbone suggested? 30+? 100 or more? If people say, for example, my first x number tracks go to this many libraries then I start writing to others…..I do have the Emmett book, think it’s great but wanted some opinions from folks here.

[composer]

I think there’s no good answer.

You have to provide enough tracks that you have a shot at getting placements. If you provide 10 tracks and don’t get placements, you haven’t learned much. If you provide 100 tracks and don’t get placements, you burned 100 tracks.

This is a large part of the risk of signing your tracks without an upfront fee.

[BIGG ROME]

You should never quit a library. If it non-exclusive. You never know what can comedown the line and you would miss out , speaking out of emotions.

I see this with plenty of people. Music Licensing goes in seasons, some genres become hotter than others, then in another season another genre does.

People get too emotional, and should let songs stay,.
You are in a win situation with non exclusive library, The only thing you get is a gain, if you haven’t received anything, you haven’t lost time or money at all.

[Author]

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