[MichaelL]

@More Advice, the airline industry analogy doesn’t work, because it has no competition. You can’t take a train from New York to London, and most people don’t have the time to take a train or bus from NY to LA. So people have no choice, but to pay the price if they want to fly.

Unlike the airlines, there is an abundance of competition and choices when it comes to music. I don’t worry about micro sites. There are far worse options…composers/companies that sell CDs containing 200 cues for $200, maybe less. There are annual subscription services that sell unlimited cues for $200. I know of businesses and ad agencies that buy these products!

Plus, the industry is having a hard enough time getting composers to stop stealing from each other, let alone getting them to not compete on price.

[MichaelL]

Hmmm….now this is where the rubber meets the road. It will be interesting to see if you get a response.

But I sell regularly where you can get my cues for 17 USD. We all know this library. I am in a dilemma and I hate it myself !

Here’s the the rub Wildman. I’ve scoped out some of the $17 libraries v. the “middle” libraries. I noticed that some artists regularly sell individual cues more than 200 times. So, their net is about $1,700. That’s $700 above what our music should “ideally” be worth, according to the argument.

On the other hand, if the same cue only sells a few times in the “middle” range you’ll only make a few hundred dollars.

So, if you made $1,700 from a single cue, why would you hate yourself?

BTW… the cues that I saw, which sold 200 times or more, were not involved productions, just solo, or a few, instruments. Couldn’t have taken more than a day, maybe half a day to do. That’s about $200 to $400 per hour. Not too shabby, and far from a “race to the bottom.”

It’s all about revenue streams and doing things that you can build on.
And, if the argument is about “what is our time worth?”…I’ll take $200 to $400 per hour any day. And, even if you spent 4 days on a cue, that would still be $50 to $100 per hour. Nice work if you can get it. 😀

It’s almost tempting to spend 100 days doing 100 simple cues, just to see what would happen.

[MichaelL]

@JD…not yet. Has yours been higher before? We’ve had NCTA payments over 1K before, with fewer performances.

I’ll let you know.

[MichaelL]

2) Number of sales is basically flat even with more music out there.

For the writers who are finding flat sales even with more music out there, I have a question, or two.

1) are you putting out more tracks in your own style and thus saturating the market for “you” ????? and
2) are you going down well worn paths like U2 / Coldplay knockoffs and happy ukulele music?

There’s only so much sameness that a market can absorb.

[MichaelL]

Michael L, I can only assume you have good, professional music as your writings on MLR indicate that you have experience and proven success, and you have been doing this for 30 years.

That would be a stretch, but I try my best. 😉

[MichaelL]

For the record, I’m talking about SFX here. I don’t know if the library in question has lowered their minimum prices for music. I think the issue is that there’s a lot of guys recording really short FX, like toilet flushes, and flooding the market, so to speak. 😀

I’ve been a film sound recordist, and I’ve also done a lot sound design for a large media company. Like everything else…quality is an issue, and everyone thinks they just hit the record button and create a sound effect. sigh!

_Michael

[MichaelL]

Regarding the undercutters, write to the library and inform them of the lack of consistency and poor ethics on their part.

@More Advice. I did write to the library, but I was a bit more, shall I say diplomatic in my approach. I heard back from customer support.
It turns out that the library in question has lowered its minimum pricing!!! So, the undercutters are the new normal!!!???

[MichaelL]

My initial point was however that every composer should think of themselves as a brand. Do they want to be a BMW or a Kia? There is nothing wrong with being a Kia, they are sold a lot and many people are happy with them.

Interesting analogy Daniel. I use it often. However, I take it one step further and look at the big picture. Toyota makes Lexus and they make the Corolla. The same company makes products for both ends of the market. My opinion is that unless you are trying to be an “artist” / pop star with a fan base, it makes sense to act as if you are a business and diversify your product line to all levels of the market.

Not all music is created equal. I’ve accumulated a large catalog (2,000+ cues) of music from documentaries, education videos, and corporate productions etc, mostly not the kind of music that would be placed in broadcast advertising, and command high license fees.
The RF model makes perfect sense for that kind of music, it’s not royalty driven. Moreover, that music paid for itself long ago, so I can afford to sell it for $100, which will provide an additional revenue stream to my overall business, that allows me to develop other projects and products.

Cheers,
Michael

[MichaelL]

I noticed something positive. I got amazing royalty rate for HGTV!! did BMI finnaly cut a deal with them? I’ve got 200$ for 52 seconds, BI, one airing…strange

So THAT’S where my NCTA payment went! 😛

[MichaelL]

No worries DI. I also got a matching $.07 for one of my publishing companies. 😀

Yes, I’ve contacted a person that I work with in Nashville. I don’t think contacting the National Cable Television Association is appropriate. If there’s a mistake, it’s most likely in BMI’s calculation.

_Michael

[MichaelL]

One curious thing…the annual NCTA payment, which is in the September statement was $.07 instead of $1,000 + !!!!! WT*????

Anyone know how that works?

[MichaelL]

BMI Online Services was down. You can get on now, but your statements may not show.

The person that I deal with just sent me copies of my statements via email.

Good luck.

Michael

[MichaelL]

More Advice, I agree with you on pricing. I think corporations are OK at $100.

But, many RF customers, however, are individuals, not business or corporate types, with money to spend. Some of them may not have even spent $250 on the camera that they used to shoot the wedding video, the dog paddling around the swimming pool, Uncle Fred’s birthday or whatever else they plan to throw onto youtube. Those consumers want to spend as little as possible.

Why not establish a low-end brand? You think companies like Campbell’s and P&G don’t make and sell generics? Sure they do. It’s another revenue stream that doesn’t affect their main products, but it does add to their bottom-line.

I think you need a tiered marketing strategy.

[MichaelL]

I agree 100% with Michael L.

OMG…I’m circling the date on my calendar!!!! 😛

Let’s have a beer!

[MichaelL]

@ Daniel. Thank you for your input here. I’ve been writing library music for 35 years. I’ve written for 8 exclusive libraries in the US, the UK and Australia. Plus, in the 1980’s I put 200+ cues into a royalty free library.

I have always been paid upfront for exclusive music. Does your library pay upfront, or is it one of the new “exclusive” libraries that does not?

Also, in all that time, I’ve never had an exclusive library express any problem with me having music in royalty free libraries. They don’t view themselves as competing.

With respect to making money longer in an exclusive library. In my experience that is based more on the kind of music that you write, rather than the business model of the library.

Cues that are “trendy” have a shelf-life, no matter what kind of library they are in. Technology changes, and eventually some cues just sound old. That’s why I ask composers who only write in one style based on a current trend, what will you be doing 5 or 10 years from now?

Just my thoughts.

_Michael

[Author]

Posts