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Libraries don’t see it that way. Many (not all) of the subscription plans are limited to such low-end use, while preserving higher-end license fees. Keep in mind the Google/youtube is giving away music to youtubers.
My advice to all, let the low end scavangers stay low and in the garbage can. Every time in my professional life I thought about ways to make money from those who don’t have money, you end up regretting it and well….not making any money!. Recording bands for $30 an hour, targeting companies that don’t have big marketing budgets. Forget about all the garbage and stick it in the low end of the trash can. Just go after corporations that actually have money to spend. That’s what LA writer (I think) means by don’t participate.
Laptops in Indonesia? Let them rock it out…Heck I have garage band on my i-phone, forget about lap tops man I got a phone with beats already made! I can just render and sell.
Aim low, stay low. If any writer can chime and and say I am making 3 to 5K a month in the subscription model, I will listen. I do believe that perhaps the site owners can make that kind of money (or even more), but again the million dollar question is how are they distributing the fees to contributing artists?
When I think about it, I do earn the most money where my music is priced the highest and has the most amount of “human feel” in the performances. Now isn’t that a convenient coincidence!
Regarding robotic voice overs. That is around, has been around and gets hung up on a lot. That too will end up in the trash can. No one will ever want to listen to an audio book if a robot voice is delivering it. It’s fine for on hold messages, but if the intent is to “engage” “teach” “train” or “entertain” an audience, you better spend some money on a human voice!
How many of us press 0 (to get a human) the moment we are forced to talk to the robot? For example, when you call a bank, or credit card company, or insurance company.
But I do agree that writing hits is the only answer. Hit tracks will always equal money in the bank.
My advice to all, let the low end scavangers stay low and in the garbage can. Every time in my professional life I thought about ways to make money from those who don’t have money, you end up regretting it and well….not making any money
Preach Brother Music1234, that’s REAL TALK!!
But I do agree that writing hits is the only answer. Hit tracks will always equal money in the bank.
Hit Tracks, or having a close friend/family member that is already plugged into the top tier is the ONLY way you’re getting into the real money libraries!!
If you are brand new to the production music game, YOU are probably THE MOST dis-advantaged group EVER. There is now so much bad/mediocre product, and so many lower tier libraries/RF sites/subscription services to “get lost in; while they claim grandiose success'”.
You will need to find multiple ways to separate yourself from the “mediocre pack!!”
Firstly, find “Your OWN Unique Style/Take on Music, and Refine & Polish it like a Rare Jewel!!”
When I first started in the music business (A LONG time ago.lol) It cost $80-100 Bucks an hour for studio time. a 3 song demo was about 6,000 to 7,000. NOW that is literally a WHOLE STUDIO at your house, and you can write 1000’s of tracks. With everything at your fingertips whenever you want to create. “There is now ZERO excuse for LOUSY/MESSY/UNDER-PRODUCED MUSIC!!!”
Sorry Art, maybe I’m just tired.lol I went to post again, it looked wrong, then edited it. Now I am lost again.. Hahaha
Maybe I should just give up..
Sorry Art, maybe I’m just tired.lol I went to post again, it looked wrong, then edited it. Now I am lost again.. Hahaha
You screwed up a blockquote. That’s why it went wrong. I fixed it for you.
Like Art and MichaelL have said many times here, its always about not putting all your eggs in one basket and more importantly looking at the global picture in this internet age. What models will be here in 10 years ? IDK but looking back at what worked and mulling over it won’t change it.
Lets accept the fact that the subscription model will have music to fill it for the very reasons MichaelL has said, now by all means withdraw your tracks, that is not going to kill it or affect it in any way unfortunately.
I remember Art saying this eons ago regarding all new business models “never say never”. TBH I will go and investigate what the different subs are about I currently don’t have any tracks in them currently.
Laptops in Indonesia? Let them rock it out…Heck I have garage band on my i-phone, forget about lap tops man I got a phone with beats already made! I can just render and sell.
That’s a comforting thought, but some of the music from other places, like Indonesia, and especially Eastern Europe, is very very good and highly competitive in terms of both composition and sonic quality.
We are in the same position as every other industry faced with global competition.
That’s a comforting thought, but some of the music from other places, like Indonesia, and especially Eastern Europe, is very very good and highly competitive in terms of both composition and sonic quality.
Very very true, in Eastern Europe $500 a month is a living wage, LA or NYC probably not !!!! These composers get a very good musical education (a welcome hangover from the Soviet era) and wether you or I like it can produce very acceptable music for their market. They are not going away any time soon.
Also as a side note when AJ started, composers were horrified at the low price of tracks, those who got in at the start are making thousands a month from it. I am not advocating or defending AJ trust me but that is the reality of the world now.
@Music1234. I have removed your last comment. You have stated your position here many, many times on this subject and I think it’s fair to say we agree with much of what you say. You don’t need to keep hitting us over the head with it, you are preaching to the choir!
The best model I know about is 1 license sold = 1 royalty paid to composer. That has worked quite fairly for everyone.
I know of at least one subcription service that is using technology to provide a similar result. But, as I said, I don’t know what they are paying per use. It could be similar to streaming.
As with the “1 license sold = 1 royalty paid” model, I would expect subscription services to vary widely in their performance and payout. So, there will be a vetting period for all of us to figure out who’s doing it right.
Those eastern Europeans are excellent composers, no doubt about it, but their cost of living is going up too. This is actually “old news”. Those Russian folks have been cheating and self buying their tracks to gain competitive “promotional space” advantages for years now. The top seller was caught, barred from the site for a couple of months then came back with a storm. He or she does have quality tracks, but that inflated self buying boost does work. Once you get in favorably from an algorithmic scenario, your music is presented more often. If it’s presented on page one of search more often, you sell more. Clearly, you have to have the quality to back it up though. The Russians do! The Russians are hanging around here, reading this too. I can guarantee you that. They are very smart people, very talented, very disciplined, ferocious work ethic too.
Maybe this deserves its own thread, but it seems appropriate here.
Conflicted by the paradox that the internet, which could potentially help artists and creators in so many ways, might actually be destroying their ability to sustain themselves, these musicians and the viewer are ultimately faced with the unanswered question the music industry has grappled with for over a decade- How do we support creators in the internet age?
be careful how you word things music1234. associating a whole country to a negative stigma aint gonna buy you votes. there can always be rotten apples in every basket. overgeneralization creates enemies not friends
Im an expat living in 3rd world southeast asia, I can assure you that only a handful of guys know about this or does this for a living in the WHOLE country. the big players are mostly preoccupied with local work, and the majority of talented prospects are more concerned about daily survival. . . more so than getting good, getting education, buying (or affording) the best laptop and gear, or even knowing what production music is….and the rest are artists with a few songs they might be willing to dump on any subscription deal (if they ever get that deep into this). rest assure that on this side of the globe, those “first world problems” are not being threatened by a horde of third world bedroom beatmakers…you’re so ahead of the pack and too far up the food chain to even bother with the bottomfeeders so chill, be grateful, and have a chai latte 🙂
…associating a whole country to a negative stigma aint gonna buy you votes.
I don’t think anyone singled out Indonesia by intent. Perhaps it was just a country that popped into the OP’s head. The fact, however, remains that higly-competitive content does enter the system from places where the cost of living is lower, much of it coming from Eastern Europe and Russia.
That said, being economically competitive is not necessarily a US versus the world situation. It is possible to live in the US and have an “economically competitive lifestyle”. The cost of living varies greatly across the US and varies depending on your circumstances and economic choices.
@Boinkee – I use hyperbole quite a bit when I write. I also am very well traveled and understand that the vast majority of the world is just trying to put food on the table. That is in fact my point. composers focusing on western music for western content need to focus on just that: The United States and Europe.
When I study several years of history of who is buying and where they are from – 75% of the time it’s USA, Canada, the other 20% is EUROPE. I can study this stat on one site. The topic is “subscription survival” – the suggestion by LA Writer is “Don’t participate” – at the moment I strongly agree because these folks working in media here in the good ole USA, the last thing they need is another unnecessary cost saving tool with “cheaper” music. All you have to do is look at the price of equities and one can quickly conclude that big corporations are swimming in mega profits. I advise all to make that the focus of their career. Everyone’s efforts: writers, songwriters, even bands, of course publishers should be serving the markets of big media.
But this is what is so mind boggling, frustrating, and confusing: you have a group of talented folks in “Music City” clearly they have some knowledge about this business (I’d hope at any rate). SESAC has headquarters there. There are dozens of studios and publishing companies there. ASCAP and BMI have a footprint there. Probably HFA and Sound Exchange. Then they serve up a $135 a year subscription scheme to provide cost savings to people who are A. not at all in need of it and B. probably not even asking for it. And the real “wow” moment I had during that phone call was when they said “YEs sir, you can use music on worldwide TV campaigns and not be concerned about anything because our music is royalty free.” (See other thread)
As the film trailer states in Micahael L’s post above – “We can not have a society where content (intellectual property) is supported by “VOLUNTARY PAYMENT” . This is where I jump on the don’t participate bandwagon. I am personally not too worried about serving student film makers with extra cheap music. Aim higher y’all! Look at those big companies on NASDAQ, NYSE, THE DAX, etc….Follow the money! Not the broke film student.
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