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Greetings… fellow composers. I was wondering if any of you are caught up in the same dilemma….It seems so easy to keep submitting songs to multiple libraries and get carried away in the hope of extra income… on the other hand you ask yourself if you are devaluing your own music by doing so. There are many that will only submit a song to only one library and treat exclusive the same as non exclusive. There are some that have the same track in as many libraries as possible. I would love your comments… peace
There are many that will only submit a song to only one library and treat exclusive the same as non exclusive. There are some that have the same track in as many libraries as possible.
This has been discussed many times on here. I’d say some composers feel one way some the other. Probably 50/50.
I personally believe that it is “trial and error”. You won’t know what works best for you and your tracks until you try. “Sprinkle some seeds, and see what grows”. 🙂
Retitle and use pseudonyms…
@anon
Do you use a new title and a new pseudonym for each library you submit the song to, or  do  you think it`s enough to use a couple of alternate titles and pseudonyms ?
When I first started I submitted about 20+ songs to about 20 different libraries. I didn’t know anything about them so I wanted to see which ones worked and which ones didn’t. Out of those first 20 libraries, I’m now down to about only 9 that I send music to regularly.
Out of those nine libraries 3 of them have gone from non-exclusive to exclusive. I’ll still submit the same song to about 3 of these libraries, only cause I know they work with different market, but generally I try to submit one song to one library.
I’m sort of mixed on this. In a way, I think you can devalue your work by blasting it out across the universe. It makes no sense to have a song going out royalty free on several sites if it’s quality work that is current and very likely to earn healthy royalties from placement in higher level libraries. I feel you should save your best work for the better markets and limit the number of  select choice libraries, or go exclusive. On the other hand, old and played-out material, short loops and things of that nature can be sent to every library on earth with no worries.
Think of it this way. When you’re looking to buy a Rolls Royce, do you go to Cars R Us, eBay, Auto Mart…or a Rolls Royce dealer? Keep in mind that people who can afford a Rolls are never going to shop at the Hoop de Ville Motor Emporium, only people with no money go there. No money means small media projects, no cue sheets, no royalties.
I definitely agree with Tony.
@Kenny – I’ve only done it a small amount so far and can’t say what works best. However if you’re going to do it with only a few libraries I imagine it’s best to use a different name and title at all of them.My understanding is the PROs are still slow to adapt watermarking or fingerprinting, so *right now* the issue is not PROs using technology, it’s what the end users (networks, shows, sups, etc)Â are willing to accept. They are our customers. Ultimately, if they demand music that is only represented exclusively, that’s the way it will be.
I have the same tracks in many libraries- something I started years ago before it became an issue. I’ve slowed down this practice quite a bit as I read more and more that down the road I could shoot myself in the foot. If I get a track into a quality library (like an occasional acceptance to that very picky LA library), I won’t put it elsewhere.
I’d be inclined to say that for tracks in RF libraries whereby the sale depends on end users coming to the site and finding your track, it MIGHT be less risky to be in multiple ones (though you are still competing with yourself and watering down the market). However, with the libraries that market their catalog to music sups via hard disks, catalog website access, etc and may be doing blanket deals, the risk is higher.
We’ve read on these boards how some end users don’t want to pay for blanket deals with multiple providers only to find the same tracks duplicated– a waste of time and money. Budgets may be too tight to support that. And even in non-blanket situations, all it takes is getting burned once with legal problems over who owns a track to set new policy.
One thing I’ve observed is many experienced composers who are very prolific will treat every deal as exclusive (e.g. one track/one library). They don’t need to protect every track as one of their “babies”.
But less prolific folks like myself are much more reluctant to sign exclusives for obvious reasons. Each track holds more importance.
One could make the argument that if you are not prolific, you shouldn’t be in this game. Not a very nice thing to hear if you only write a handful of tracks per year (like me!), but every industry has qualities one must have to truly succeed.
I think the most important thing is to make educated choices and understand the POSSIBLE consequences that go along with them. One shouldn’t assume the trend toward all exclusive isn’t real, nor should they panic either.
😀
I’d be inclined to say that for tracks in RF libraries whereby the sale depends on end users coming to the site and finding your track, it MIGHT be less risky to be in multiple ones (though you are still competing with yourself and watering down the market).
Not a problem IF you retain the publishing and DO NOT retile. Then, it actually doesn’t matter which RF library the music came from.
One could make the argument that if you are not prolific, you shouldn’t be in this game. Not a very nice thing to hear if you only write a handful of tracks per year (like me!), but every industry has qualities one must have to truly succeed.
Sorry, but that is an absolutely viable argument, and a very realistic one. We’ve done the math. It takes hundreds, if not thousands, of tracks to earn a living at this. Y0u are 100% correct. Every industry has “qualities one must have to truly succeed, ” or perhaps requirements. In law and medicine you must have degrees and pass bar exams and boards. Plumbers and electricians must be licensed. While there are no such formal requirements for success in this business, there are unwritten rules and harsh realities.
Last summer, I painted a room in our house. It took me two months! It was beautiful…perfect. And as the father of a close friend once said, “nice work, but you’ll never make a living at it.” The point being no matter how good the paint job was, I am far too slow a painter to earn a living at it. My time would have been far better spent writing. (which is completely different argument posed by an economist friend of mine: i.e., by not writing, I lost more money than I saved. The same is true in the library game.  No matter how wonderful your music is, if you only produce a few tracks per year, you’ll have a very tough time.
There’s another, very practical, reason for this as well. A lot of music has a “best when used by” date on it. Things go in cycles. Technology, sounds and tastes change quickly. If you’re only producing a handful of tracks every year AND you’re writing trend driven music, the tracks that you write this year might only replace what you wrote last year, rather than add to it. I wouldn’t want to fill my catalog with 1,000 dubstep cues.
It’s not that non-prolific writers shouldn’t be in this game. But, they need to have realistic expectations (unless they are working at a very high level).  By analogy, it’s a little like a weekend  warrior trying to compete in the NFL. Every once in a while, it happens. For the majority, though, it will be an avocation.
_Michael
Do you use a new title and a new pseudonym for each library you submit the song to
I use one title for mid level RF libraries, another for higher priced RF libraries and another for the TV placement type (and my own) libraries. I have a database that keeps track of it all. Keep em guessing!
No pseudonym though.
Thanx Art. This is pretty much the same way I do it. Making different titles to the various level of pricing of the libraries. I also use a couple of pseudonyms to avoid price shopping. But I`m not sure if this is necessary or if it`s the best way to do it, so it`s always helpful to hear how other composers deal with this.
One could make the argument that if you are not prolific, you shouldn’t be in this game. Not a very nice thing to hear if you only write a handful of tracks per year (like me!), but every industry has qualities one must have to truly succeed.
Sorry, but that is an absolutely viable argument, and a very realistic one. We’ve done the math. It takes hundreds, if not thousands, of tracks to earn a living at this. Y0u are 100% correct. Every industry has “qualities one must have to truly succeed, ” or perhaps requirements. In law and medicine you must have degrees and pass bar exams and boards. Plumbers and electricians must be licensed. While there are no such formal requirements for success in this business, there are unwritten rules and harsh realities.
Michael
Just wanted so first say how much I enjoy your posts. You are always a voice of reason and experience and do a great job of informing and educating fellow composers. 🙂 Much appreciated!
I agree with your response completely. As you know, I was pointing out that being afraid to sign exclusives often goes hand in hand with not writing enough tracks such that you can sign a bunch, let ’em go, and just write some more.
As far as being in the game, not everyone has the goal of making a full time living at this. Some would like to earn some supplementary bucks, get pleasure and enjoyment out of seeing their music used in film/TV, etc. But yes, less tracks in the market, less chance regardless of what the goal is. And some of us who are not true f/t pros may be “weeded out” (for lack of a better term) as the industry shakes out, returns to primarily exclusive (except maybe so called “lower end” RF opps), etc. (I know some folks make lots of money in RF but they have a lot of tracks to begin with)…
BTW, one way to increase your output and quality is to network more with other songwriters and composers and collaborate. That’s what I do more of now and the resulting tracks generally get put it only one library, especially when the library is a really good one.
Thanks again, Michael!
😀 A