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BMI doesn’t pay a THM rate on segment themes, per their page here:
Ah. True, and all of my main themes were used as segement themes 10 times during each episode. Of course, ASCAP missed so many of those performances that the fact that they would have paid more for them was meaningless. That’s why I switched to BMI.
is it just BTN placements that suffer from this ASCAP surveying issue?
No. As mentioned above, I had theme music and background music in five TV Shows running in syndication since 2001. ASCAP occasionally missed entire episodes. It didn’t matter to that the producer provided them with cue sheets AND air dates. If it didn’t show up in their survey, I didn’t get paid.
ASCAP pays a THM rate for themes (only on TV), which is a really nice bump if you get it, which BMI doesn’t do.
Not sure what you mean Mark. I had theme music and background music on five shows in syndication and BMI paid more for theme (T) performances than for background (BI) performances.
If you do hire a sax player, make sure that you transpose the sax parts to the instrument’s key before the session. That will save time and money, although top players can often play and transpose at the same time.
I admire your ambition, Chuck.
IMO:
1) You will spend a lot (thousands) of money buying a decent sax, and then you will have one sax, Soprano, Alto, Tenor, or Bari. Sometimes songs call for one or the other or a combination of the above.2) It will take a very long time to develop the embouchure necessary to sound good without a lot of pitch correction, like Melodyne.
3) This is a great VI, which can achieve very realistic results, especially if you use a wind controller. http://www.samplemodeling.com/en/products_saxes.php
4) However, I agree with Michael Nickolas. Hire a sax player. They will a) play with technique that will take you years to develop, b) most likely have all of the saxes available, and c) very likely also double on piccolo, flute, and clarinet, giving you even more flexibilty to write different kinds of tracks and to use them in different ways while they are on the session.
At this point it’s only a proposed bill. Misleading headline, link bait!
Defintely “click bait.”
Given the high percentage of composers (in the library business) who don’t even bother to register their copyrights, and/or who do it improperly, the proposed law will not, on a practical level, alter their current position.
People who do not register for the proposed database will not be able to defend their copyrights in court, which is the same status as if they had not registered their copyright.
No, they are a vocal version and instrumental version of the same song.
Exactly, what LAwriter said. Moreover, if either exclusive library takes ownership of the copyright you would be infringing on their copyright. The addition or deletion of vocals does not create a new work. It creates a derivative work based on the underlying original.
Also, do you see this as an American phenomenon or is it worldwide ? thanks.
In the U.S. royalty rates are set by the Copyright Royalty Board. The rates paid may differ in other countires.
Additionally, who must pay royalties and who can collect royalties is governed by International Treaty, for example, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT).
In some cases, not all countries ratified all provisions of the Treaty. For example, the U.S. made an exception to Sec 15 of the WPPT and draws a distinction between interactive and non-interactive streams. As a result, in the U.S., SoundExchange collects royalties for non-interactive digital streams, while ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC collect for interactive transmissions.
I would not do it if I had to start in 2015 or later. I’d keep music for fun, and find a different way to make a living.
A decision that I made 17 years ago, after 2 decades in the business.
Because…
I personally find that anti to what I got into this biz for.
For most people, there are easier ways to make money and better ways to make music.
I see now that overanalyzing to make sense of it all is not the answer. stressing out on what to do, figuring out the right path and avoiding pitfalls the vets have made before even stepping into the jungle does not help or guarantee anything.
Truer words were never written. It’s not one-size-fits-all and you will never replicate another person’s performance or results and the circumstances that got them there.
Hard work is essential. Timing and luck can’t be overlooked. Be ready to size the opportunity when it comes.
As always Mark, on point.
…but in the hands of a library focusing on the higher end of the business, those five amazing tracks could realistically make you at least $50K each in royalties and licensing over 10 years.
There’s probably a vast spectrum of what composers here might consider “amazing tracks” and perhaps it varies by genre.
I’d love to know your take on that.
I could have done better with it on any one of the RF sites. And it’s amazing music. Some of my best. Placing music with a top tier company does not guarantee it’s usage
That was inevitable when upfront money started to shrink. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I could easily equal the upfront money with RF sales and then the rest is profit.
Thanks LAWriter. These are the unfortunate realitites of 2017.
I saw changes 20 years ago, enough to motivate a career change.Here’s an article from 2016 that discusses “pay to play,” among other things.
As for the aforementioned old adage of throwing out 1000 songs and seeing what sticks??? I’m not sure where anyone ever got the idea that it’s 1000 crap songs. It’s always been about quality. Its just that now, some libraries will take anything. If you’re not getting great placements, it’s because your writing is not up to snuff, your production skills lack experience or your networking skills need honing.
Print this out in bold and tape it to your refrigerator!
Back when ALL libraries were exclusive – it took close to 1000 excellent to great songs in exclusive libraries with sizable up from payouts to earn a living – cause they didn’t accept crap. Now, I would guess that it’s somewhere between 1500-2000. Yeah, gulp. That’s close to a couple decades of work. And the work has to be top notch. Not middle of the road or crap. No one fingered loops. Real music. If you can’t hang, don’t bother. Find another business. If you can’t be extremely prolific in a wide variety of styles, don’t bother. Find another business. if you can’t produce at the level of a major label, don’t bother. Find another business.
Nevermind. Just print LAWriter’s entire post in bold, tape it to your refrigerator and read it several times a day!!!
I will add one more thing. I have spoken with Michael over the years and he’s always been pleasant.
Just to be clear…I am NOT that Michael and I have no affiliation with the [removed] company.
Besides, I’m rarely pleasant. 😀
_MichaelL