What is "normal" practice today?

[Vyv]

Hi everyone,

[Just discovered this site, it’s really interesting, great work.]

I’ve been writing library music for 20+ years, always on exclusive contracts for UK publishers. In the old days there was an up-front production fee, now there isn’t. Is it still normal for publishers to expect the writer to assign copyright for the entire universe and in perpetuity?

Having spent the evening looking at library music forums I read about people getting several hundred dollars per track for non-RF deals. I’m beginning to feel like one of those little old ladies who end up paying ridiculous amounts for their car insurance because they never bothered to query it.

What is ‘normal’ these days for an exclusive per-track deal?

[Art Munson]

Bump

[aresende]

I recently had two offers for writing exclusively, no upfront.
Although I’d love to write it, it’s difficult to work some months waiting PRO payments on future placements or future sync fees. Kind of risky. In any case, we’ll see.

[Desire_Inspires]

The normal for today is no demo fees, no upfront money, and no sync fees. The only compensation for most placements will only be backend royalties from a PRO.

If someone signs up with a royalty free company, they will probably only receive the initial payment and no backend royalties.

That is the new normal to me. Some may have different experiences.

[Rob (Cruciform)]

Hi Vyv,

On average, I’d say ‘normal’ for an exclusive track is no upfront, split syncs + backend. Many do expect copyright in perpetuity though some have a reversion or income threshold clause that gives you a potential out.

However, there are still libraries that buyout the copyright and pay anywhere from ridiculously low up to $1000 per track. There was a library here recently where it was noted they pay several hundred dollars (total) for a group of 20 cues. Several of the big American publishers still pay 1k per track.

Some UK libraries are still doing buyouts or recoupable advances. I’ve got to say I like the advance model. You get something upfront plus still share in syncs after recouping.

[Wildman]

The upfront model, recoupable or not, is unfortunately very very rare these days.
Most companies I work for have a 50/50 deal for all income streams and they take the copyrights forever. I just work with one UK company where you will get your copyrights back if the track doesn`t make enough money within 2 years.
Sometimes it takes 3-4 years or longer until TV or a production company is using a track of mine. I experienced that pretty often.
So you never know what`s going to happen with a song.

[Music Writer]

@vyv, I think it all depends on the quality of your music. Everyone here is speaking of what their personal experience has been. In today’s market you should still be pursuing Non-Exclusive deals where you maintain and control the copyrights of your works. If companies don’t want to pay for your copyrights, as you have been used to, why should you transfer the copyrights to them for free?

It has been my experience that even companies who began non-exclusive and now have set a policy of “Exclusive from now on” (with no advance fees) , they are still willing to accept well produced, placeable music into their catalog on a non-exclusive basis. All you have to do is ask.

Send links to newly composed material and ask, I’d like to contribute these pieces to the catalog non-exclusively, are you interested? I have succeeded with this approach. There has been some negotiation and explaining on my part, but in the end I have convinced libraries to let me continue to contribute non-exclusively. If the music is placeable, they will take it in on those terms. The benefit is that you can then sell the exact same cues on other sites, or license it yourself directly.

[Wildman]

@Music Writer
It would be really nice to keep the coyprights for my pro based songs “but” for the companies I work the non-exclusive model is not practiced.
The quality of the music of these libraries is consistently very good so why should this libraries use non-exclusive tracks if they can get exclusive tracks for free ?
It is truly a bit sad that there is no upfront money anymore and that you have to give your copyrights away forever “but” if you work for a couple of good companies you can make a decent living and that is why I have to accept the new business rules 🙂

[woodsdenis]

For what its worth a colleague of mine just signed 2 songs to a “big” library for £200 advance per track, 50/50 on sync/publishing and handing over copyright. Wether that is normal who knows, but a real world example for what its worth.

[Mark_Petrie]

Normal for whom? RF libraries? Small libraries run by a TV composer? Large libraries run by multinational record companies?

Each of those types of libraries run their business and make deals with composers according to their cashflow and leverage… can they interest an established composer into giving away future licensing revenue with a big upfront fee? Maybe, if they can afford $1000 per track and if they have a good chance of making the composer some backend money in performance royalties. Can they interest a composer in giving up the tracks for free, in return for half the licensing? Perhaps, if it’s a trailer music company that has a track record of getting big placements (and large license fees).

Or maybe it depends on how easy the music is to whip up – how much time the composer needs to invest in it, and how many others can do a similar job. Basic reality TV music that takes just 2 – 3 hours to spit out might be a tougher genre to negotiate on, as opposed to high end trailer music, where 1 track might take weeks to produce and finish. Same can be said for genres that involve a lot of live recording and specialist musical training to sound authentic. Not everyone can deliver those genres to a high level, therefore a composer will probably get a better deal.

I guess what I’m trying to get at is that there are many levels to this business, and if there is a ‘normal’, it’s a different one for each of those levels.

[MichaelL]

+100

Very well said Mark.

There’s been some discussion here that cues ought to be worth $1,000. Well, maybe if you are at the level of a Don Wilkersonn, or Daryl Griffiths. I consider composers like Mr. Wilkersonn, Mr. Griffiths and yourself to be “elite.” You all have knowledge, chops and creative sensibilities well worth $1,000 per cue. Very very few writers are at that level. Invariably, their work falls far short when measured against Mr. Wilkersonn, Mr. Griffiths, or yourself.

The problem that I see too often is writers not understanding what
a $1,000 cue really is and, as a result, far over-valuing their own work, simply because it’s “intellectual property.” Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. There are too many people writing adequate and good music for it to all be worth $1,000 per cue. That kind of number, as you suggest, is for stellar work from known entities in this business.

I guess what I’m trying to get at is that there are many levels to this business, and if there is a ‘normal’, it’s a different one for each of those levels.

I’ve been trying to get that message across for a long time. You said it once again, very eloquently.

[music_pro]

Mark and Michael, well said.

As long as what you can bring to the table is more rare, in high quality and hard to find, you can charge more. There is not so many guys composing amazing trailer cues as there are guys composing amazing hip hop tracks, it just the way it is. So right now, Hip Hop cues=free, trailer cues=20,000$ sync fees. And I am talking for experience, its like any other business. How many good brain surgeons there is? not so much, so they can charge more.

[Desire_Inspires]

I am not earning $1,000 a cue. But I am not writing music at the level to earn that much either. I accept today’s music licensing landscape for what it is. I just work hard to make catchy but simple songs and feed them to the appropriate companies. I am more thankful for the gifts that I have than sad about the gifts that I do not have.

[Tbone]

Here’s my experience:

1. The most common deal I have:
Nothing up front
50/50 Synch
50/50 PRO
Exclusive
In Perpetuity
Worldwide
Some of these are “RF”, some aren’t. Both make me backend, whether RF or not and some make me decent front end too.

2. Rarer but I’ve had a few of these:
$250 up front per track – not recouped so even better
50/50 Synch
50/50 PRO
Exclusive
In Perpetuity
Worldwide

3. Gave up on these a while ago:
Nothing up front
50/50 on everything
Non-exclusive
Never made me more than about $100 a year in anything so I concentrated on exclusive again

[Advice]

I’m not a big fan of #1, Tbone. It just seems wrong to me to give up tracks exclusively forever with no upfront money. That being said, it’s obvious that many composers make money off these deals and maybe accepting some risk is just part of the business.

[Author]

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