[Alan]

The “S” placement on my recent statement was for a cue 2:25 long!!

So your “S” probably covered a years worth of missed survey cues?
I feel mine have more than what I would have made with my missed Reelz, BTN etc cues

[Alan]

Thanks for the info Michael Nickolas. That explains what happened to me earlier this year. I had one 0:21 primetime play on Bravo with an “S” that got me $385. Two lines down on the statement, 3 primetime plays of the same show/track/episode with a “C” got me $11

I give up trying to figure this out. I guess it’s safe to spend that money 😉

[Alan]

C/S category = S

[Alan]

euca,
that really makes me believe mine is a mistake. I won’t be a bit surprised if my Adjustment section has a -$2K in the near future. I may not see any royalties for a while! Until then, I’ll bask in my glory, haha.

[Alan]

I just got two CRAZY single use payouts.
They were under the “Local TV Programs” section of my ASCAP statement and each 0:17 single use (# of plays=1) paid $1,027.00!
The “Performance Type” was listed as “J’ which is “Music written for and used in TV commercials or created for a purpose other than a TV commercial but used in a TV commercial with lyrics altered for the purpose of the TV commercial.”
The shows are very popular nationally syndicated entertainment/talk shows.

I can only guess that lyrics were added to the track? Or it’s a huge mistake?

[Alan]

Hey Chuck,
I think you saw my post

Never Stop Learning

If you really want to learn to play the sax then I think you absolutely should go for it! Drop $1K on a decent horn (will you start with alto or tenor?), find a teacher that understands your goals, and dedicate 1-2 hours per day to practicing for the next 3-5 years.

If your motivation is getting a real sax on your compositions, then hire a pro when you need one or put the go with samplemodeling
http://www.samplemodeling.com/en/products_saxes.php
I think it would be cheaper too.

I’m a retired military musician and a brass player. I really don’t believe you should expect to be able to play sax to the level you would need in just one year if you have no prior wind instrument experience. Developing a decent tone takes years.
I you doubt me, find a local college music department and listen to a few of those undergrads that have 5-10 years of playing experience.

I’m not trying to discourage you at all, but I think one year is an unrealistic goal.
Let us know what you decide!

[Alan]

boinkeee2000,
I’ll glad you liked that post. I’ll try to remember to do a 7 year update in January

[Alan]

I occasionally reuse parts of a track if I put in a lot of work creating it. Usually for me it is re-using a drum part of percussion track.
For example, I do a swing track for a music call. I program a good drum part and come up with a good set of changes. You better believe that it will become at LEAST two tracks. They will be in different keys, different tempos, have different instruments and maybe a slightly different form.

I will usually sent both in to the same music call and the publisher is fine with it or probably doesn’t even notice.

[Alan]

TimU,
My experience is about 10% error rate on cue sheets. Some cost me, some are in my favor. I have a small SNL placement with both writer/publisher share that has made me nearly $1K over the years. I’ve never seen it and Tunesat has never picked it up. I wonder if it is really in the show (I have not gone looking).
Conversely I have a 2:00 placement on a popular MTV show that airs a LOT and my track was not on the cue sheet. I went after that one and got it corrected. I was told I’ll get my “back” back end in my October payout.

[Alan]

are you using your PRO’s excel quarterly statement then summing/adding the payouts in all the rows belonging to one song, and then repeating the process for each song? Or are you automating this?

Yes, exactly that, but more detailed. I will sum my income per placement too. It is a bit tedious but I can quickly see how much I have made from each placement.

how long does it take for you to 1) reconcile your PRO statement and 2) enter the info for a new track.

1) A 30-40 page ASCAP domestic statement may take a full day or more, but the statistical information is worth it to me
2) 10 to 15 minutes for a new track. I spend 10-15 minutes daily to update the workbook for new RF sales and broadcast placements.

PM me if you want me to send you a sample workbook to play around with.

[Alan]

Paolo,
I thought the same thing when I got to about 30-40 tracks so I made a spreadsheet for my library. I was a big investment of time to begin with, but now it’s easy. When I finish a track I just plug it in to the spreadsheet.
Every track has a sheet with:
Title, date started, date completed, bpm, key, versions/alts, date submitted to each library, # of licenses per version/library, PRO payouts, RF sales count and payout, hyperlink to file location, hyperlink to metadata Word document, hyperlinks to Tunesat recordings of placements, TV/film placements list …..

Also
-master track list with links to each track
-master library list
-broadcast placement list with placement date, publisher and Tunesat link
-PRO cue sheet list

I update RF sales and licenses as they come in and reconcile each PRO statement as I would a checkbook.

The statistical information is very useful. I can see at a glance how much each track has earned and from what market. It has taught me what genres of MY stuff gets placed on TV and what sells on the RF market. It also separates my memory/opinion (that favorite track that makes nothing) from fact.

[Alan]

-$0 advance/ consideration fee/ work for hire fee
-they control the cue perpetually
-you get only back end or perhaps 50% of a sync licesnse (I hope!)

The cattle call library I submit to has a 3 year reversion clause. My cues will go to RF world on their third birthday. I admit I did a few for one library that insisted on perpetuity. I have stopped.

[Alan]

If a music supervisor happens to listen to a song twice from 2 different sources, I just do not see how this can be a major inconvenience.

If a production company paid $XX to Library “A” for blanket license, plus $XX to Library “B” for blanket license, then heard the same music from both libraries, I think that would be a major inconvenience.

I would be happy to submit to only one broadcast library plus RF world.

[Alan]

Can I write cues for the show but still sell them under different titles on RF markets?

Of course that would make it a non-exclusive deal. I have asked this before and the response was an immediate no. I also started a thread on it a while back and many of you thought it was a foolish newbie idea.

A Conversation Worth Starting?

I still think if one library has the intestinal fortitude to start a new licensing agreement it would be a win-win. Let us sell on RF sites under a pseudonym and sure, give us a “black” list of competing broadcast libraries we cannot write for.

Who was the first non-exclusive library? Anyone know?

[Alan]

Great topic Music1234!
I have had this debate with myself many times and I agree with you 100%. There is only one library that I am currently writing occasionally for these briefs. But I am guilty of trying it out with 5 different libraries with very poor results.

I have set a “rule” for myself that I will only write for requests in my wheelhouse that I can do in about 5 hours or less. Of course, I have broken my rule many times as a cue takes on a life of its own. I cringe when I think of a couple of good ones that I lost to an exclusive library for 3+ years.

Why do I do it?
– I have one 6 year old non-ex cue that has made me $1,600+ in back end from a single library and it is still going strong. That is from only 20 placements. Side note, 2 years after submitting it had only made me $300. I hope that a few of my new exclusives will have that type of success. One has 11 placements in 15 months, so far the income is only $64 but I know much more is coming thanks to Tunesat. Most of us have learned that Post Production to Airing to Royalty Payments takes a very long time. Plus 9-18 months is how long it takes for the 1st payout, which is hopefully the tip of the iceberg.

– I have found that my reality TV type cues do not sell well at all in the RF market. I often write 2 tracks for each brief, one goes to the library that sent the brief and the other goes out non-ex. Of course it still takes 2 years to know which one does better. Man I miss the old Non-Exclusive days 🙁

Regarding “Give them 2 choices,” I have tried that. I had a track accepted by the non-ex library beginning with “C” and offered it to a library that recently went exclusive. They were not interested in anything non-ex, regardless of quality.

However, a few months ago a different library told me a producer “loved” one of my tracks and wanted another like it (non-ex for Scripps, ha). I said “no thank you.” They immediately offered me $100 to do it (exclusive, perpetuity). I was shocked, but decided to do it even though it was a pitiful offer. It was a half day job and I hope they will try to get it licensed a lot to recoup their huge investment, ha.

A while back that same library sent out a custom music request for a few Netflix series, (exclusive perpetuity I think). Because I’m on the mailing list I saw that they got all they needed. Wait until those poor folks learn what Netflix pays in back end. That library regularly advertises on FMN looking for new composers. If an established library is advertising for new composers, there must be a reason why the old ones left. They know there is an endless supply of composers just starting out and desperate to get placements (like I was).

[Author]

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