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MichaelLParticipant
One thing is for certain, the next 20 years is going to look nothing like the last 20.
Or the 20 before that! 😀
MichaelLParticipant@LAwriter, Arts has shared a few articles on Facebook, maybe he can post the links here.
Here’s a company that’s getting some attention:
MichaelLParticipantAnd yes, having a film scoring background FORCES you to be able to write like a chameleon.
Absolutely! Whenever people would ask me “What kind of music do you write?” I’d answer “Whatever the project needs.”
I think that those of us of a certain age, working in music for many decades, benefit from having been exposed to a lot of different music.
We also know that there is NO “get rich quick” path here. Anyone spreading that myth is misleading you. It takes years of hard work, constant learning, reinventing and adapting.
I’m working on one CD that will be placed in a top tier library later this summer, then I will be back to keeping my copyrights.
None of us can predict with certainty where this business is headed. Blockchain and other technologies have the potential to be very disruptive of the status quo. Top-tier libraries may become less relevant or irrelevant. What is certain is that if you’ve given up your copyrights you have given up your options. As long as you own your music you have the capacity to adapt it to new markets and to adjust your strategies accordingly.
MichaelLParticipantIn a nutshell, the US allows for a termination of the grant, either two copyright terms (56 years) or 35 years from the data of the grant. The differences are based on when the original grant was made and whether section 203 or 304 applies.
Yes, I was aware of that. Like Michael Nickolas, I initially thought that you meant termination in a shorter time frame.
This may not be of much use to production music composers looking to recover recent compositions, but for someone managing a legacy catalog it’s certainly a valuable tool, especially for recording artists and songwriters.
MichaelLParticipantSome exclusive music library contracts DO involve assignment of copyright.
Ah, the fuzzy area surrounding the term “exclusive.” Prior to the advent of the new models, “exclusive” and “work for hire” were synonymous.
Yes, I’m aware of at least one such non WFH library that requires copyright transfer after they’ve placed your music.
MichaelLParticipantThere is no termination right with wfh. For exclusive, there is a United States termination right.
I’m curious as well. Contracts are governed by state law and, as such, Contract Termination at will may vary from state to state.
May 29, 2018 at 9:55 am in reply to: Learning curve for learning to compose minimal orchestral cues…. #30197MichaelLParticipantYou can’t go wrong with Omnisphere, IMHO, for adding touches subtle or bold.
+1.
Zebra is also good.
May 29, 2018 at 6:24 am in reply to: Learning curve for learning to compose minimal orchestral cues…. #30193MichaelLParticipantA filtered drum and cymbals. The lighter instruments sound like they are from Cinematique.
May 28, 2018 at 3:44 pm in reply to: Learning curve for learning to compose minimal orchestral cues…. #30191MichaelLParticipantIn all seriousness, Chuck, and this is not snarky or derisive, I’ve spent a lifetime learning to write orchestral music and have a long way to go. I try to improve every day.
Suggested reading:
The Principles of Orchestration by Rimsky-Korsakov
The Study of Orchestration by Samuel Adler
The Professional Orchestration Series by Peter Alexander
Composing Music for Film by Jack SmalleyYes, the East West subscription libraries should work.
MichaelLParticipantI’m making (netting) around 100,- USD / month on productiontrax with a small portfolio of only 16 tracks. I sell my tracks for around USD 40,- there. Works for me.
Congrats. Evidence that different writers will get different results.
MichaelLParticipantJust a few.
MichaelLParticipantI still feel as though the writing is on the wall after 2 to 3 years. If you are not getting paid, you should pull out. Definitely with overseas markets.
Absolutely, agree.
MichaelLParticipantThere are some broad assumptions being made and advice being offered to pull tracks from sites the “don’t perform.”
Here’s where offering advice becomes very tricky and why overly general advice does not work, because as the saying goes “Your Mileage May Vary!”
I know which sites Mark is referring to. The one on which he has had a single sale and only five listens in six months is my best site, possibly Art’s best site, and probably one of Music1234’s top sites as well. So, we would definitely list it among our Top 10!
MichaelLParticipantIt also helps, in the RF market, to have a broad palette. There’s a really diverse client base and for many of those clients typical TV cues won’t work. I’m not saying that those kinds of cues don’t work, but you increase your chances with a greater variety of tracks.
MichaelLParticipantI still say that if you have great talent and are willing to write 100 tracks a year for 10 straight years, you can eventually make a living at this because somewhere along the line, you will get someone’s attention.
I’m glad to see the you still see the upside to this business. There are two key things that Music 1234 said: “If you have great talent“and are “willing to write 100 tracks per year.” The reality is that not everyone has great talent, although most think they do, and very few are capable of producing 100 commercially viable tracks per year, even if they are willing. So, it is very, very hard.
There seems to be an underlying myth in this business that just because anyone and everyone can get in that anyone and everyone can succeed as long as they have the right information, like what the top-10 libraries are, or what the best genres to write in are, etc etc. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a business in which everyone succeeds.
Like any other highly competitive endeavor only a tiny fraction of participants will do very well. A smaller percentage will do fairly well. A larger percentage will have just enough success to make them keep trying. The vast majority, unfortunately, will fail.
In addition to “great talent” and the capacity to consistently generate a reasonable amount of commercially viable music, how else do you improve the odds?
Success in one model does not guarantee success in another. In upper-tier libraries most, if not all, of the marketing “legwork” is handled for you. They, to one degree or another, are reaching out with your music.
In RF/shopping cart-style libraries YOU are the one marketing your music. Buyers must reach in to find you. If you don’t understand that, you’re dead in the water. The library provides a platform, but YOU are the one selling your tracks. How YOU market your tracks via great titles, relevant keywords, meaningful descriptions, and using ALL of the tools that are available to you in any given library can make or break you.
I’m not suggesting that all libraries are equal. They are not. But do not underestimate the importance all of the other factors, especially the ones under your control, that go into creating success.
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