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excellent idea!

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I’m less than 2 years in this biz so,i’m not sure i can answer this yet.
With that said,i found a NE music publisher last December (through a paying service) and since then he’s placing my tracks (around 100 tracks without edits) in a daily show.They use 1-4 of my cues in (almost) every episode.
The payments are around $25-30 per cue but they add up to $1,300 per month,according to my last statement.
He’s also registering the cues of 2Q of 2014 to my BMI account and from what i’ve seen so far,i’m guessing the payments in January will be the same,more or less.This is like 60% of my income from music right now.
Most of the other NE or exclusive libraries i’ve signed contracts with,started placing my music around May-June so,i don’t know what to expect from these yet.

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thanks MichaelL,i really enjoyed the Eduardo Tarilonte products.
For now i’ll go with either RA or Silk but i’m pretty sure i’ll do a little investment in Eduardo’s packs in the near future.

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thanks guys,seems like East West is very popular and of high quality.

@LMFAO: i noticed the “Silk” and “RA” versions too.Since i’m not necessarily looking for the rarest instruments in the world but for good quality and detail (as close to a real instrument’s sound as i can get from a VST),i’m guessing it’s better to get the “Silk” pack,if i’m going with East West (+ its price is at $300,which is on budget).

I’ll check the rest,thanks again!

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that’s a good question Michael,i agree that your signature should be enough since everybody will get his percentage but since some companies demand all of the writer’s signatures there must be a reason for doing so.In the event you have only a few hours to secure the deal though and the co-writers are on skydiving lessons in Tibet,this practice could cost you (and your co-writers) a good deal of money.

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@Advice: that’s very informative,thanks a lot!The template seems pretty simple and to the point,i like it.In general,i wouldn’t sign a doc with a co-writer i trust but on the other hand,a contract keeps things simple and tidy.

Also,you’re so right about the last thing you said,i haven’t thought of this situation.Sometimes a company/agency wants to clear a license within 24 hours,i can’t imagine the agony of having to reach the other co-writers and getting no sign of them!Thanks for mentioning this 😉

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thanks for the link Michael,interesting stuff in there.
I guess a written agreement helps you keep everything neat and clean.

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quite similar experience here; i tried the free,50-tracks,service and uploaded 5 tracks that have placed in the same show and same period (1st Q of 2014).
Only 1 was detected.
Thankfuly i was paid for all 5 of them according to my BMI statement!

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About 13-x times better than the previous one :)))

didn’t expect anything like this,it’s just the 2nd statement for me.

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@Advice: i’ll follow your advice,split the eggs in different baskets.
As you said,we’re competing against ourselves and a google search
could confuse the potential buyer (same track,different price).You’ve made
some really valid points here.

@Jay: there’s no reason to quit RF sites altogether,you could just do what
MichaelL and others said,write different tracks for different markets.

@ChuckMott: thanks for your words man,you’re very kind.Your stuff,from
blues to surf and arena-rock to electronic is great,i wish i could rock the guitar that well!Btw,check your Soundcloud inbox,i’ll pm you sortly.

I don’t consider RF sites bad or anything,i’ll just think twice which tracks to upload there from now on.Art mentioned he’s approaching $1K/month from RF sales,that’s a great source of income that certainly shouldn’t be overlooked.

Also,i think writing for different markets (RF/High end/TV etc) could
benefit my songwriting/production,make it more focused.It sounds ideal
for me,since i’m not that disciplined and can be lazy from time to time.
Knowing in which market your track will end up saves you some time i guess!

Using pseudonyms and different titles isn’t that appealing to me.I don’t
know,it sounds confusing using various names.I already have a different
moniker for the remixes i do for other artists,a 3rd one would be too much for me!It seems to work for other guys though.

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@MichaelL & DI: sorry for not clarifying it earlier,like MichaelL said it’s a licensing agent,not an actual agent for representation.I wrote “my agent” at some place so,that’s why DI assumed i was talking about a real agent,it’s my fault anyway guys.

Also,DI,this agency has landed me 2 more deals earlier this year,not as big
money as this one (the fee was a bit over $1k for the 1st and $600 for the 2nd).I can’t say the agency can get me a deal every month,no one can guarantee that,but if it did then most probably i would quit RF sites (the time spend to upload to RF sites and configure descriptions,tags etc could be well spend in composition/production).

The agency’s kind suggestion was to quit the low budget RF sites and they
also introduced me to another (very busy) licensing agent,a valuable
new contact if you ask me.

@ChuckMott: i’m thinking the same,keep my tracks separated to make sure
this won’t happen again.They don’t want exclusivity and they don’t mind
me pitching my music to publishers for tv placements of course,we discussed
all that and they were actually happy that i’m getting placements.

I’m not sure about pseudonyms and re-titlings in RF sites.
What if they search using keywords,short descriptions etc and they find
the same track with different title and price in 2 different RF sites?
I know this is one in a million (or billion maybe!) but imagine how
confusing would it be for the music supervisor.I would probably skip
both tracks if i was in his place.

@Mark Petrie: the thing about the cap is very interesting.And very interesting stories,i guess a five figure fee can well make up for the
potenital loses from RF sales so,you did the right thing giving them
a kind of exclusivity.

You can imagine the emotional rollercoaster when getting the exciting news
one day and the right next one you’re informed the client was annoyed and
wanted a discount etc.Well,i certainly don’t want this thing to happen again.I’m not that sensitive or anything but i was def shocked since i haven’t predict this thing can happen.

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Good point about the “No Melody/No Lead” version,i’ve heard it’s also called “Narrative” version and more & more people/libraries ask for them.And this is a very easy edit to do,in comparison with 60/30 edits!

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sold a stinger today,my latest 4 sales are all edits.Considering i’ve only started uploading edits in late July it’s very promising.

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thanks for posting this,it’s a relly good example of a package presentation.

And a very nice holiday track as well!

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@Mark actually this is quite useful info,you’re not rambling at all.

I thought the same about the 60 edits,having them at the same price as the full track doesn’t seem to affect my sales negatively.

The package price,i’m not sure;i usually have it at 50-60% of the total price
(for example,if the track + the edits sum up to $300,i put the pack offer
at $150-180 tops).Do you think it’s a good/bad offer?
Sorry if i’m getting off topic here!

[Author]

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