Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I’ve always thought that the money requrired to constantly train these AI models, and support them will far outpace the royalties these companys will make or subscriptions they will have…. time will tell.
I just think that AI music companies will need to make a profit, and like anything AI… profit is hard to come by.
So I’m just enjoying composing and submitting….
I think I’ve said this in another post, but don’t accept these AI plaforms fianancial viablility as a foregone conclusion.
These models take ALOT of money to train and maintain. Even if the subscription fee that normally went to production libraries goes to the AI music companies, I’m not totally convinced that would be enough for them to make a profit.
Also, imagine a scenario where the next dubstep comes out and all of the advertising firms want “that” sound… The models won’t have enough examples in their training sets to make convincing tracks in that new style… by virtue of the fact that there will be few examples to steal… er… “injest”.
I have never had to supply album art for any of the libraries that I have signed to. I was once asked to describe what I would like on the album cover for an “artist album” I did for a publisher, but their artist did the work.
Hi Alex,
I agree with Art… I listened to the first track “All or Nothing” and here are my thoughts.
1) The ending part where the high synth comes back in, has the exact same energy as when it first appeared in an earlier section. One golden rule… if there is such a thing with all of this…. is Always Be Building!
There are exceptions, breakdowns, etc, but for this kind of “NFL Sports Music”, it’s a hyped party music feel.
2) I REALLY wanted to hear big staccato brass hits in this! Almost accentuating the rhythmic motif. That would be where I would go with that ending part… for sure!
3) I was listing on my laptop, but really didn’t hear a discernable bass… I’m not really a Trap producer, so if that isn’t appropriate for this genre… ignore my advice. I DID hear a sustained bass tone, but I’m thinking more of a bass married to the kick.
4) I felt as Art said, that the drums were too “up front”, but I really don’t think its an issue with the drums or their volume I think it’s more a general “softness” with the other instruments.
In trailer we are always making sounds that are normally soft, hit and bite harder. I almost think if you can get Jeager or Nucleaus (by Audio Imperia) or some other trailer-oriented orchestral library and use those more “trailer” sounds in place of (or in addition to) the ones you have, you will have more impact with this.
You beat me to it! I actually have a combination of models running locally that does the same thing! I was going to release it here.
I don’t know where you got the idea, but I got the idea from SyncMyMusic’s SyncMatch app. The issue with that is a maximum of 10 (I believe) tracks a month to do what you and I are doing.
Perhaps he’s using a model that pays per transcation?
Anyway, Nice Work!
I’ve also noticed that music software vendors are not releasing as frequently as they used to. I long for the days of booking studio time and recording an indie album and being able to sell 500 copies of the CD and making a profit!
I know things change, but it was a great time. Recording was a special thing, and the pro studios I managed to do some work in (only 2) were magical places.
Oh well, at least I have memories…..
Hi Rishhad,
So sorry this took so long to get back to you.
1) Yes. You are essentially doing what I was suggesting with he samplepack stuff with Bigfish. Perhaps (if they aren’t already) turn the sample packs into Kontakt instruments that are playable so they are less “samplepack” and more “instrument”.
2) You are correct. I should have been more clear. When I say “submit” I was referring to after the track was accepted and they are ingesting the track. At that point usually the final mix as well as stems are submitted.
The tracks are pitched in thier final mixed and mastered form. Then, when accepted the companies I work with tend to want unmastered final mix, a few alts (ie. Final Mix minus Choir), and the stems or raw tracks.I’m far from an expert, but I have had trailer tracks signed to some reputable libraries with placements.
In pursuit of this I have submitted to lots of trailer houses and only recall one having an “elements” or “effects” type of album and they were done by “staff” composers.
If I were in your position I would:
1) Think about turning your raw sounds into a Kontakt sample library under the adage of “selling mining pans and shovels during a gold rush”.
2) Just submit to the “contact me” sections of trailer libraries with a private streaming link to your sounds. State that you have these effects and textures available for license.
Honestly I would lean toward option 1 because when we submit any track to these houses, we are always submitting stems. These stems have pads/atmospheres and textures as well as a variety of percussion and FX tracks.
Just my thoughts
I think the issue I have run into is that it is entirely possible to spend too much time on a library that returns nothing!
I have put albums out through libraries where I probably should have backed off and not been so enthusiastic.
It’s hard to really know if you are with a library that accepts composers too “easily”…
An example from my “other life”. I applied to a masters degree in Computer Science. Got accepted and really thought nothing of it. The price was right and the classes convenient. I came to find out that it is a “top 5” school on many lists and is NOT easy to get into… I did it almost on a “this would be nice to do” and then I find out people spend years trying to get into the program.
The point being that perception of “easy or hard” to get into can be easily mis-interpreted.
The other thing I noticed with my last royalty is that I had placements on many episodes of a major series with very small royalties (some $1, $5) but because these are “streaming” series the payout is minimal.
I can’t help but think what those royalties would have looked had this been mid 90’s and that show was on network or cable TV.
Just some thoughts.
I think it means different things to different people as I have had stems mean slightly different things depending on the context.
I just delivered a soundtrack to a director and there was a “theremin stem” (don’t ask)….
This allowed the mixer to used it or not depending on decisions down the road.
In this case I gave him a “full mix” (Theremin included) and a “full mix minus Theremin” with everything except Theremin, and then a “Theremin stem”. When the sound person puts the “full mix minus Theremin” and “Theremin stem” faders to 0, it sounds EXACTLY like the “full mix”.I have worked with libraries that want “stems”. The stems were meant to recreate the track if all faders were set to 0 much like the above example.
A few other libraries have asked for “alts” and are usually versions that stand alone and have no intention of being used to reconstruct the original mix. IE. “Orchestra Only Mix”, “No Choir Mix”, “No Drums Mix”.
As for mastering. When I’m asked for alts I just apply the same mastering chain and adjust to taste. I’m not sure this is best practice, but some of those cues have been placed, and none got rejected for sounding measurably different.
I don’t know if this is a trend, but I’m seeing a real lag in Libraries registering my tracks with a PRO. I don’t think I’ve ever had a label register them in under 6 months, and I’m waiting over a year for some. I take this as a “vote of confidence” that they don’t expect to make money with most tracks…. at least that’s my (possibly naïve) interpretation.
It does feel to me that doing any kind of production music will become an increasingly smaller part of the income pie. I’m not totally convinced of this, but I’m starting to get this feeling.
Thanks! My wife wants me to do more RF because I’ve made more on Pond5! :)) Not sure how others feel about the Sync vs RF ratio, but it was cool seeing royalties come in from other countries even if it was just (literally) pennies.
I was up because last year was a milestone….. My first BMI royalty!!!! Funny how that small amount of money is more exciting than the large amount of money from my day job!
I made the same transition, and honestly my advise is to not fear the drop in income!
I have stopped adding to those libraries and been accepted into 4 exclusive libraries. Two Trailer (my main style) and two reality TV.
Because this is still my “side hustle”, I couldn’t do both RF and Sync/Exclusive.
I was making a little pocket change with Pond5, but the past year has seen a tail-off of RF as I submit to the Exclusives and no BMI royalties yet.
Keep in mind that (at least with BMI in the US) the royalties are always in arrear. So if you get signed and the music gets placed today, you won’t see BMI payment until 1/15/21 (as I write this)
That said, and I’m sure you feel the same way, the sync fees can potentially add up to a stream of passive income at some point… At least that’s my hope! 🙂
