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Hi Len
If this is the Len that I’m thinking of, I bumped into you a few times at Morning Star, a long time ago, when you were still on the east coast. Maybe around 95. Greetings!
Just to add to Len’s post…
#1 absolutely…that’s what I did. I owned my publishing, so I moved my works from my ASCAP publishing company to my BMI publishing company. I was in Len’s boat and would have waited 9 months, but sometimes having Esquire after your name helps.
#2 I left all of the works that were published by other publishers with ASCAP and curiously, BMI paid me for those works on my most recent statement. I guess I was such a PITA the ASCAP transferred everything to BMI.
I haven’t experienced BMI paying less than ASCAP. One entire cable series is missing from my last statement, which may be due to late reporting. Even so, my 3rd Q BMI statements were still twice my last ASCAP statements for the exact same shows and cues, despite missing an entire series (which may have been on summer hiatus).
Per Mark Petrie’s observation: Agreed: ASCAP does more surveys. The good thing is that I believe they’re covering smaller stations than BMI. I could be wrong,
My experience with ASCAP was that they missed, or wouldn’t validate, about 75% of the performances. So far, I’m glad that I made the switch.
Cheers,
MichaelL
I’ve always been a bit of a serial entrepreneur so I’m thinking beyond just musically.
That’s more or less he essence of my question, whether it’s different for a business vs. an individual. I was going to ask about how you’re dealing you vs. your library, but it looks like you’ve changed the name of your library to be more closely linked to yourself rather than further.
Keeping your “brand” consistent, I think, is very important. If not now, it will be in the future.
This is one reason why some people use pseudonyms. If they are known as a composer who does who does EPIC cues, they don’t want to dilute that “brand” by doing gentle new age cues, or urban beats under the same name.
I can see where a library would want to establish its brand and be known for a certain level of quality across all genres, but individual composers can get pigeon-holed, or type cast.
Art…do you see that changing, and how will it be affected by Google Authorship. How does someone walking down the crowded Coldplay, U2…pop path venture into Baroque string quartets without diluting their pop guitar brand, without using a separate identity?
Cheers,
MichaelL
Lots of composers do this. There’s no real issue, definitely no legal issue.
It’s just kind of lame if a composer uses this method to sell the same music on one site for $1.99 and on another site for $49.95.+1 I agree with Mark. If you’re doing it to sell the same music at vastly different prices, it’s not a great idea. But…if you’re talking about different kinds / levels of music, that’s another story.
If you compose a lot of one genre, say rock, and you want to do electronica or hip hop, maybe you’d want a pseudonym to establish another persona in keeping with the genre. For example, Skrillex sounds a lot more “electronic” than Sonny John Moore. On the other hand, if he ever wanted to do country music….
I’ve been thinking about pseudonyms and/or business identities, mainly as a way of delineating “product lines” ….not disguising the same music.
I was asked by an exclusive library to write under several pseudonyms, for various reasons, including avoiding over exposure and/or to avoid getting pigeon-holed.
I have to agree with Art. I’m not sure what the point of 48/24 would be. When dealing directly with editors for TV shows, I deliver 48/16.
I can understand recording and mixing at high sample and bit rates and then reducing.
Can’t believe people are actually using mp3’s in a professional context.
@Haven….I prefer to say “recovering attorney.” 😉
You guys will need to pick a jurisdiction to locate your business, and find a lawyer who is licensed there to help you. Presumably, you’ll choose one of your locations.
All the best,
Michael
@David….when you originally composed tracks for this library did you sign a contract?
As I have pointed out before, in order for a copyright to transfer from the composer to the library it MUST be in writing. If not, the only thing that the library has is an implied license. One of the libraries that I wrote for was kind of loose when it came to paperwork. They have a library full of implied licenses. And that library has been sold a few times!
If you never signed a contract, it sounds like the library, or its current owner, is crossing all the T’s and dotting all the I’s to make sure they have clear ownership of their catalog. If this is 10 year old work, and you don’t have to do a thing, and you have no use for the cues, maybe it’s pennies from Heaven.
I’d love the get a letter like that for all the cues I did back in the 90’s!
On the other hand…MAKE SURE THAT YOU’RE CLEAR ON THIS…did they pay you $200 per cut 10 years ago, and are they just asking you to sign a contract now with no additional payment? Get the answer before you sign.
You should have your attorney check it out.
Good luck.
MichaelL
My first reaction was absolutely not. But….nothing in the life is back & white. You need to look at the big picture. What is your relationship like with this library? Could doing this lead to other things?
If you have no relationship and establishing a relationship is not likely to amount to anything, then probably no.
But…I took a gig like that once, and it led to recommendations introductions and other opportunities that have helped to build my career. Moreover, it established friendships in the business that are invaluable. In the end I gained far more than I “lost” by doing those cues.
My advice, look at the situation very closely and be careful what you walk away from.
_Michael
@Haven and Chris….do I get a percentage for hooking you two up?
Sorry, that’s just the lawyer talking. 😆
@haven42 yes, I was thinking about Mark Lewis’s idea AND the model that Emmett Cook is working on https://musiclibraryreport.com/forums/topic/self-licensing-via-website-for-royalty-free/page/4/
Also….I’m having a bit of deja vu with your central submission idea to save writers’ time etc. This thread appeared today: https://musiclibraryreport.com/forums/topic/service-to-submit-a-track-to-multiple-libraries-at-the-same-time/#post-9033
Maybe you and Chris should put your heads together.
Mark is right don’t be discouraged, if it’s something that you really want to do. Roll up your sleeves and go for it.
All the best,
Michael
There are plenty of established libraries. It also looks as if self-licensing will soon be a viable option for writers with large catalogs. I would not submit to a new low-end library unless there was some compelling reason, like upfront money, or a large built in client base.
@Del…do I detect a hint of sarcasm?
People can make good money at ALL levels of this business, IF they know what they’re doing as a writer, where they’re music fits in, are prolific and how to market themselves.
Hi DA,
I’ve explained this a few times before. If BMI is anything like ASCAP, if you want to move your existing tracks, all of your publishers have to agree.
Read this thread:
Remember I was going from ASCAP to BMI, not the other way around. I don’t know BMI’s procedure in that regard. I am very happy that I made the move. YMMV.
That’s a decision that you have to make for yourself. If you’ve got until the end of the month I’d wait to see what BMI’s analysis of the statements is. For your partner’s sake, I hope ASCAP didn’t make a mistake.
BTW, if you have direct deposit, ASCAP’s agreement allows them to get their money back from your account.
If I were in your position, I’d do two things 1) wait for answers, 2) contact the library that placed the cues. They’d have disparate payments too. see what they think.
Good luck.
Michael
I probably should reiterate that in my case the difference in payments between ASCAP and BMI was due to ASCAP missing 75% of the performances, not so much that they paid less per performance (although ASCAP did pay about 30% less for one cable theme).
@DA and AXD. Like I said, my experience has been exactly the opposite. I was told ten years ago by one of the PMA founders that I would make more money with BMI than ASCAP. He was right.
I was once vastly overpaid by ASCAP. When they figured it out they deducted money from my royalties for several years until they got it all back.
$11,000 seems to be insanely high for VH1 placements, unless you’ve had about 110,000 performances.