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Anybody able to download the kit? I kept getting an error message.
What to do about it?
Pull your music out of all businesses that are not making you any money or very little money. Ask them to delete your profile and music from the site. Then ask them to delete all of your music from their hard drives. If they resist, escalate the situation and take to public forums about the situation.
I have been doing this lately and it feels great. It really feels liberating. Companies that can not produce income for your music should not possess it and make money off of it from their blanket licensing and youtube business plans. If you have had broadcast quality music sitting at a company for 18 months or more and have not been paid, it’s really time to get out.
That is good stuff. I have dumped a few libraries in the past because of a lack of action. Do whatever feel right to you.
@DI, There is no doubt that full time composers have been slightly disrupted by the weekend hobbyists, newcomers, “bedroom music makers” because there is income not traveling into full-timers pockets.
But you are right, anyone has their right to try and earn some extra income doing something they enjoy. With that said, what kind of “supplemental money” can be earned? $500 a month? $1000 a month? more? less?
And, how much time a week can someone with a full time job really put into composing?
As a hobbyist, none of those things concern me.
I write when I feel like writing and make what I can from working with the libraries that accept my style of music.
Believe me, nothing I create poses a threat to the majority of full time musicians. That is why I never understand the attitude from some people that do music as a career. Why do professionals look down on amateurs and hobbyists?
I am never going to quit making music for libraries. The PROs will continue to generate money and I will be there to get my share. As a hobbyist, I can increase or decrease my output at will. Any money is a bonus for me.
I have way too much fun to quit.
Buy Kontakt. It is worth it.
But isn’t the overall picture a bit more than that folks? Isn’t the reason we do it because we want to be full time composers and realize the dream? So, if someone tells me they are happy to earn a few hundred $$$ a month or get the odd usage, I would perhaps say they are kidding themselves.
That isn’t the dream for me.
I want the people that aim to be full time composers to be highly successful. But those that do not have such lofty goals are great people too. Royalty free libraries help those that want to be ‘professional hobbyists’ to achieve their dreams.
I make money from royalty free music libraries, non-exclusive retitle libraries, and exclusive music libraries. I make money from my PRO every quarter. I am already living the dream!
Royalty free libraries are cool to me. As a matter of fact, I fully embrace the royalty free music model!
If composers want to make big money, they probably should not be solely focused on the royalty free music libraries. They should only work for exclusive libraries such as those affiliated with PMA. Those libraries are the best ones for career-minded individuals that are seeking to make a living from making music.
But the royalty free companies are for those that are not necessarily chasing $200,000 a year in royalties. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a composer being content with making $1,000 a month from music.
The guys that want to make $1,000 a month from music need a marketplace and also deserve a marketplace to sell their creations.
People with nice day jobs and a love for music do not need to compete and fight as hard as the guys that choose to have full time careers in music.
So there really are no problems with the royalty free model itself. The model should be free to exist because it is beneficial to those who gain from it. It is not harmful to those who do not gain from it. It just is not relevant to those that want to earn big money.
No need to fight about these things. No one should feel bad about working for less money or not being fully immersed in music creation. A man should not be judged by the size of his royalty checks!!
There is zero downside to working with royalty free libraries.
I know that composers are frustrated. But I do not like the internet being demonized and blamed for the downfall of music.
These discussions on intellectual property just do not do anything anymore. The conversations are meaningless these days. Composers are becoming victims. It has just become a big blame game.
It is 2014. What are the solutions?
That was a pretty good story. Even though he did not become a huge artist, he was able to get a large enough fanbase to sustain himself from his music.
Being a one-hit wonder was actually beneficial.
I have a serious question for you, The Dude.
Have you ever made $28,000 or more at one time from music?
If so, you have a position and knowledge that gives you the confidence to negotiate.
If not, you are just complaining to complain.
In any case, I wish the original poster the best. It is his deal, not mine.
Also, the “writer share” is not holy. OK you wrote the music, big deal, you know how many people write music now? Too much. It is all supply and demand. You need to adapt, and by being too attached to the writer share or any other aspect of this biz, you are definitely not adapting, and I thank you for that, more money for me.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
It depends on if you feel comfortable signing away the rights to your music. If you are hesitant about signing away the rights, you should reject the deal.
I personally would sign the deal because it sounds awesome! It does not seem to me that you would be taken advantage of. If the deal is legitimate, you would be doing great. I do not hear of many composers be offered opportunities like this.
If your songs never generate any backend royalties, you will still have made $28,000. That is a good chunk of change to use to invest into more equipment, pay down debt, take a vacation, etc.
Congratulations!
Great. Thank you for sharing. I am glad that you proposed some alternatives, The Dude. Your suggestions make a lot of sense.
There is more than enough information on the problems. Does anyone else have any solutions?
So what are the solutions?
Go for it!
The deal could be worth nothing. It could also be great. Signing a few songs for a 5 year deal is risky, but not a huge risk. The worst that can happen is that you make nothing.
I was in an exclusive, in-perpetuity deal. After a few years without any news about my songs being used, I asked the company if my songs were going to be licensed. The company informed me that my songs had not been used.
They were nice and agreed to terminate the contract. So I got my songs back and have since signed them to another deal. Sometimes libraries will work with you if you receive no income after a while. 5 years will come and go pretty quickly.