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@smiley J. You are starting to sound a bit like our old friend Yadgyu. Coincidentally your IP address and his two IPs are from the same general area in Michigan. Could it be?
Doesn’t matter AFAIK. I have a number of cues that have not been registered as sometimes, it appears, that shows assign their own name to a cue.
In response to ASCAP’s decision- I love the process of creating music, both songs and instrumentals. And I have built a decent middle-income career and business around this industry and skillset. And I did so based on a certain understanding of ASCAP’s distribution structure. And now, ASCAP has pulled the rug out from my career, reducing my payments (a huge piece of my overall salary and business model), by 70%. This is completely outrageous in a time when the value placed on music is diminishing by the day.
I hope things work out for you. That is a huge drop in income. Perhaps you can find ways to diversify your income through live performances. I see that ASCAP is going to start allowing composers to collect money for live performances.
Ya know. When Paul first got elected as president of ASCAP I nudged him a bit on this (I’ve known him for years, toured and played on many of his albums). He said he knew of the problems and wanted to make things better. Doesn’t seem to have been much of a change from the stories I hear. Glad I stuck with BMI!
It is a good thing that a petition is being started and that songwriters are talking to ASCAP. But will these efforts really do anything? I think that composers could better spend their energies doing other things.
Thanks Gale. Always an education to read your in-depth posts!
Yes, it’s worth it. I’ve had music, sold on RF sites, used for broadcast TV here in the U.S.
If you don’t like the terms of a contract you’re presented, don’t sign it.
Sweet.
I mean take revo – I put about 400 tracks up – it sold for a bit ( a little ) then now next to nothing – entire months will pass with nothing sold – the site is a quality looking site – my tracks are good ( ish ) so its hard to know whether to add anymore to it – but the shots in the dark are just really hard punts and I wanted to know if others felt the same in the non ex lib game – the thought of addding another 500 to revo and seeing next to nothing is a real drain. The site is good looking it should be generating sales. So when looking to add to unknowns with no info on internet I wanted to see how others deal with this and whether the unknown shots work out for them
You have too many tracks. Weed out some of them and raise your prices if possible. I know that I used to add as many tracks as possible at low prices. I would make a few sales and then it would all stop. You have to get focused. Quantity is necessary, but you do not need 1,000 tracks on one site. A good range to aim for is 50-100. You can build from there.
Also, do not sell low! Low prices = inferiority. It is true. Some people think they may be getting a bargain, but most will just see cheap tracks and will bypass them. I see royalty-free sites all the time where people add too many songs and charge too low. Do not sell yourself short. People will pay for quality music.
One other thing to do is to stop working with sites that have a poor interface. Cheap looking sites are even worse than cheap tracks. Target the few sites with the best user interface. The best way to do this is to actually search for tracks and then buy a few. If the process is easy and uncluttered, this means that it is easy for other end users to buy materials. If you try to buy material from a site with poor search engines and user interface, that site is a waste of time. Take your material away from those sites and go elsewhere.
Having 1,000 tracks is nice. But you have to get focused after you build up that catalog. You can make great money with around 500 songs spread on a few sites that generate the correct traffic and have the best interfaces and search engines. Be a customer first. That will tell you everything you need to know.
@adam. I’m with MichaelL. No offense intended but if you have 1000 tracks and not generating enough income then there are other things to look at.
yeah i know that but its trusting the small ones – i got some exc with universal and course you speak to them and its all cool – but trusting people who you know are a two person operation or whatever and they got some website and no one here is using them or posting any info on really feels like such a shot in the dark – i’ve googled some of them and theres just no info that way either – i just feel like a bit of a chump to send all my stuff to them knowing nothing – it feels very insecure – of course companies with a proven track record – musicloops revo audio sparx etc is diff but these non exs with no info are really doing my head in.
I feel you. It is probably better to wait to send music to those companies. Sometimes it helps if you give a company a year or two. They may be busy just building the company and landing a few loyal clients. Then they end up scaling up from there.
I have joined libraries straight from day one. Most have not paid off, but I only send out a small batch of new songs on a non-exclusive basis. If the company is new and wants exclusivity, there should definitely be a revision clause or an income limit. It takes patience. That is why it helps to keep making new stuff. Worrying about songs getting placed is such a drag. Moving forward is the best remedy to overcome those worries.
It is best to talk to a person on the phone. Sometimes newer libraries are more willing to talk to composers. A brief email with a link to a track and one’s phone number can be helpful.
If a composer has a few questions, he can state them in the email and ask for a brief window to talk to the owner. Bigger libraries are not impossible to talk to, but are less likely to have a phone conversation with a composer.