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The $250 threshold is for the non US citizens.
My favorite placement so far was for Atomic Skiing 2015 campaign,last October.
It was a flat fee license type,close to $3K.The original version of the track has a bit different ending,they asked for a more dynamic,crescendo style ending to compliment the images and they even offered me another $400 on top of their 1st offer for that special edit.
It has also been placed several times in various shows (i think i got around $250-300 from backened royalties) and played by dj’s in NBA games last winter (don’t know yet what the royalties will be for that or if it was also televised).
7 months for me.It was through Modernbeats,i got signed to an exclusive,WFH library in January 2013 and had my very first placement aired in August of the same year (America’s Next Top Model).I had around 5-6 tracks (hip-hop,EDM) used in this show,each of them 2 or 3 times.I was paid $50 upfront for each track and they yielded another $400 from royalties.I still get some money from re-runs and international royalties but that’s like $20-30 per statement.
Thanks for posting the links Mark.
I was just looking to get some info of how the mechanical royalties are distributed to artists,some very helpful links here.
From what i understand,HarryFox collects the mechanical royalties only in the US.Is there an agency that collects mechanical royalties from worldwide distribution of your album/music?
If a song of yours end up in another artist’s record,who will collect and distribute to you the mechanical royalties?Is it the label that released the record or you have to be a member of an agency like HarryFox?Got it 1-2 times this month,appeared on my junk list.
Like Pat said,it’s easily identified as fishing scam,mainly because of the weird email address they use.Btw,i got another fishing scam email today,this time from “Bank of America”.
Again,they claimed my account is “limited” because of unidentified access attempt.Funny thing,i don’t have an account in this bank!ah,yes,CDBaby!Well,CDBaby is associated with Youtube Content ID,which is a red flag for many libraries/publishers (some others are ok with it,it’s true).If you want to learn more about Youtube Content ID,type it in MLR’s search engine (upper right side of this page) and you’ll get some very informative past topics about it.
But hey,they liked your music and want you to write some new material for them,congrats man!
It’s only fair that they ask for music that isn’t released on CDBabay.Youtube content ID could be harmful for both you and their reputation (is it an exclusive UK library?).
If the contract terms are fine by you and you think this library can get you some good sales,then go for it!@johnnyboy30: i’m also new,you’re doing very well spending your time on the legal and contractual terms,that’s always very useful!
About the interview,it was mainly them talking.The guy of the library said they liked my music and then he said he will explain me how they work and then i could ask him whatever i needed to know.He was very detailed and easy to follow and apart from his own library he talked about how this biz works etc.He asked only a few questions,like how extensive is my catalog (he had listened to my music on Soundcloud where i keep only a sample of my work),what’s my PRO,if i had co-writers in any of my tracks and in general the usual stuff a library asks the artists before signing the contract,nothing extraordinary or weird.
I just made sure to not interrupt him before he’s done.
I only asked about the terms and conditions,in which markets do they work most (tv & adverts they said with an interest at the video games market as well) and if they are associated with Youtube Content ID.I’m not sure if i asked anything elese,my experience with libraries is only a bit over 2 years so i’m not sure what else should i ask or be aware of.
Just be calm and listen to them closely,ask whatever you want without being pushy or extremely detailed.Since they liked your music enough to ask for a Skype chat,you’re in the right direction 😉
Oh,i had a Skype chat with an exclusive New York library this summer,it was supposed to be a Skype video call but he decided it would be better to have a text chat so i can have his words written.
Once again,he expanded on how his company works and asked me pretty much the same things the other library asked.It was a 30 minute chat,i guess it would be quicker on the phone.
They were both friendly and easy to follow,i’m pretty sure you’ll get the same thing from the UK library.One thing: it’s better to write down your questions to a piece of paper and have it next to you when they call.I didn’t do that and in several occasions when i had the phone chat i was thinking “don’t forget to ask him this,don’t forget to ask him that”.This way you’ll be fully focused on what they have to say instead of trying to not forget all the things you want to ask!
Ok,good luck and let us know how it went!do the interview Johnny,you can go back to bed when the interview is done!
2 months ago i had an interview from an LA library and,since i live in Greece it was 1.30am for me when they called.It lasted 45 minutes,i felt exhausted after that (i’m not a phone’s guy!) but it all went well and i slept like a baby that night,lol.I’m still enjoying listening to music just for pleasure and i like a lot going to concerts,went to a Mark Lanegan concert 2 days ago and had a great time.
Maybe i don’t listen to as much music as when i was 18 (i’m 35 now) but i’m still enjoying listening to fresh artists,new albums etc.
I still refresh my “car’s music collection” once in a month and,like Rob said,i only turn the “production critic ear” as needed.
I hope i’ll keep listening to music as a music fan but also keep training the “composer’s/producer’s ear”.I think Crucial is associated with Youtube Content ID (if someone can confirm this it would be great),that’s something you should think about before submitting to them.
Slightly better than the previous one (around 10%).
My experience is short though,4th statement so far.I would say 2 years without a placement would be the max for me to stop feeding a library (NE or exclusive).
I also prefer to write to briefs,whether it’s NE (like CNVRS) or exclusive
(like SK,EPTM etc).In 3 occasions (one NE,2 exclusives),after i had submitted to several briefs for them,i started getting more personal emails from the library admins.They were asking for more music from me,in specific styles (or even specific tracks!) i had submitted to them in the recent past.
I’ve already seen some results from 1 of the exclusives.It’s pretty early to say something about the other 2 (i’m only 7-9 months with them) but these personal requests mean i’m on the right direction to get there.RF model is different but i recall you’re not interested in this part of music biz anyway.
Hi!
about the length of edit versions:a 30 sec edit should be EXACTLY 30 seconds.
End your version around the 29th second with a final chord/crash hat etc and let it ring out for 1 second more or less.
Make sure your 15/30/60 edits have a intro/main theme/outro structure.
Sometimes it is challenging to get a 15 second version sounding as a full composition but practice will get you there.Apart from these edits,you shoud also cut some “No Lead Melody”,”Drums and Bass Only”,”No Drums” etc edits.These are easy to get and they’re used a lot in tv shows (an ear-piercing synth melody or a guitar solo most probably won’t sit very well under dialogue so,producers prefer to use a more background version of your track).
Looping versions are also useful (although personally i have only sold 3 of them so far).
Stingers are also used a lot in tv and internet series/ads etc.In the RF sites,these edits are very important as well.
In one of them,P5,my latest 5 sales were all edits.So,yes,if you want to maximize your placements/sales make sure you have a variety of edits for each track of yours.
It might sound like a lot of work but after a while it’ll get easier and easier to get these versions right 😉Personally i like the fact that i’m not aware of the majority of my placements until i get the statement.It’s fun to see where your music ended up.
And yes,when people ask me about this business model,i feel like i’m explaining advanced math to my dog!
i’m on BMI and from my placements so far,there’s only one show that posts on my BMI account the cue sheets before the quarter ends.Still,they only post the # of the episode and which track(s) was used.No info about the duration and how much $ the placement generated,that kind of info comes only with the quarterly statement.
Also,BMI states that if you’ve earned less than $250 in a quarter,the money will be transferred to your next statement (or whenever you exceed the $250 mark – this means you don’t get a statement until you reach $250).At least that’s for those who live overseas,maybe it’s not the same for a U.S. citizen (i’m not sure but i remember something about a very low limit for the U.S. citizens,something like $20?again i could be wrong,maybe someone else could share some info about it)If your track was placed this January/February,then it should appear on your September statement.
And,yes,you’re lucky your library told you this!Usually you only know about your placements when you get the quarterly statements 😉