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at the very least making it not worth the effort to continue
This is very perceptive Michael. It may not be AI alone right now, but all factors combined that can make it not worth the effort to continue. AI plus shrinking percentages, lack of upfront money, lack of or no sharing of sync fees, subscription services, TV and radio streaming paying pennies, libraries that once earned either out of business or no loner earning. I’m sure I’ve missed some. I hope there are some able to navigate through this and succeed. As you know, I’m personally on a break from submitting exactly because the decline in income just isn’t making it worth the effort.
There is also the point of even finding a decent library offering non-exclusive representation these days. One that actually earns and doesn’t take 75%, or offer a subscription plan. So many of the non-exclusives went exclusive some time ago. And income from the ones that haven’t has dried up, at least for me.
I use to get about $200-$300 per month from them. This was with only about 275 songs. That was 3 years ago, Today I’m lucky if I even see a $10 from them.
Same here. And on top of it Getty terminated agreements with composers and closed down the music portal. They were good for a couple thousand a year.
However, I found a model that works for me and has enabled me to make composing my profession for the last decade plus.
Thanks for the thoughtful post JoelS. I did the same over my career, creating music for educational products. For me, more lucrative than the library business which I worked on when not doing WFH projects.
How have others shifted focus, found new outlets, etc to cope with these micro shifts?
I shifted focus away from just about everything I did in the past. I took a break from the studio and didn’t submit anything anywhere. For me it was just too discouraging working so hard for literal pennies. Streaming pennies, Pond5 pennies, reality show pennies. I hit a plateau years ago and it seems and all music creation income is on the decline. When I got back to the studio I started working on songs that I’m happy to create, regardless of the income they might generate. I’m working with high profile musicians and a vocalist to produce full length songs that we will be proud of. No more “Happy Ukulele Cue 27”. Right now I’m in a position to do so, augmenting my income with a music releated side hustle.
Maybe, for simple cues. But I think there is some talent and knowledge to arranging loops. That is to get a good feel (audio groove quantizing), proper phrasing (cutting and combining loops), proper pitches, a decent mix and just over all musicality. It still might be too much.
Very good and good luck with it!
Absolutely understand not wanting to explain too much and keeping it simple with the library. I guess I was lucky in my last project like this. The library specifically stated to writers best to avoid loops, but if used do not isolate. So if they asked about my “creative” stems I could explain. They never did though.
am i at risk, either due to the potential for one of these stems to be used by itself, OR from the fact that in doing so, i have permitted someone else to use sounds for which I am the licensed user, not them?
Only the company providing the license can answer, right? So it should be asked regardless of being on their radar. If they say it’s fine, then you have an email record of permission. All is well and you’re covered. If they say no, you’ve saved yourself and the library from future headaches (and the library should be grateful). I’ve contacted companies many times for clarification, though usually before using the product in a project.
Yes, you have to avoid a situation where a sample stands alone. Most loop/sample libraries these days state in the license agreement that their sounds must be used in conjunction with other elements. Drums and percussion usually being the exception and can stand alone. I think you’ll have to explain to the library that certain elements cannot be used in isolation. Then, get creative with the stems. If the bass is built from loops, don’t provide a solo bass stem but do provided a bass and drum stem. If you have say a saxophone melody arranged from loops, combine it with something, maybe a keyboard and sax stem, bass and sax stem, whatever makes the most sense.
Essentially, no matter what I do, or how many new shows I add – I’ve hit the proverbial glass ceiling.
Exactly again. It’s been a tease for me over the years. Getting enough to see the possibilities and keep me going, but never actually realizing the possibilities. And through no fault of my own, because “that’s just how it is”.
Unfortunately, my actual bottom line payouts have roughly stayed the “same” for a decade – even though adding hundreds of placements.
LAwriter is exactly right. An eleven page ASCAP statement from 12 years ago paid me just about the same amount as an eighty one page statement from January 2021. This is not encouraging to anyone, to say the least. Add to that RF sites cutting payout percentages, reporting drastically lower sales numbers, or just disappearing entirely. Newcomers and old-timers alike are facing challenges.
My background has elements similar to all of the informative posts above. Although I’ve never really made any money to speak of, I’ve gotten by with sacrifices. As I’ve mentioned here in the past, I was fortunate to freelance as a songwriter in the educational market for most of my career. Some years I was so busy custom writing music for educational projects that I didn’t complete any library tracks at all.
I will admit that I’ve recently taken a break from music creation. Given all the negative changes in our business over recent time, I felt like I was working for pennies, and that is not where I want to be. I’m not sure there is anything left in todays music business, but I hope to regroup and find something that works.
I once had an exclusive deal changed to non-exclusive. All I did was ask, mentioning no placements over a period of time. The library owner understood how I didn’t want my music just sitting and not earning and agreed.
Ha, my thought is we’re in the only business where something can seem wrong about getting a decent paycheck . 🙂
Mine are on the desk now, but years ago I had stands. I remember they were designed to be filled with sand or water to offer stability! I remember that but not the important details like brand and where they were from.