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Thanks Gael. I wasn’t part of any documents signed with respect to the master, so it’s unclear to me who the owner is. Other than the split sheet, I doubt that any documents were signed at all with respect to the master. To my knowledge, nothing was agreed upon with respect to the recording.

I suppose it also depends on which recording we’re talking about – there were several versions of this track, but they were mostly test mixes and variations to the arrangement.

In the absence of a written agreement (other than the split sheet) I suppose that I can/should exercise my right to sell and distribute the work in the same manner that the artist has and distribute any revenue with the writers.

In yet another fun twist, I’m nearly 100% certain that the artist will not share a dime with me on this track. He doesn’t know who I am, let alone how to contact me, and even if he did I’m nearly certain he’d make no effort to send me what I’m owed. Sadly, this is the way it is with a lot of urban music (hip-hop/RnB) artists. As soon as you try to get them to enter into written agreements, a lot of them either ignore you altogether or immediately replace you with another writer/producer. I think this is mostly because a.) they don’t understand contract verbiage even slightly, or they think you’re trying to rip them off b.) they can’t afford a lawyer c.) they don’t care about writers/producers.

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Here are a few commercials from RF sales with the exception of the first one and last two. http://artmunsonmusic.com/video/

Great music Art! Just curious how the copyright worked for “Wheels on the Bus…” Did the publisher have to secure the rights for the remake or did you have to handle that?

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@daveydad said

Yeah, it’s frustrating when you don’t know how your music is being used. I had two ambient tracks used in an underwater series up in Canada but was never told how to contact anyone to be able to see them.

That seems frustrating, especially if the composer is just starting out. As a composer got more placements I would think he/she would be less concerned about seeing how they were used, but that’s just a guess.

I have < 20 tracks on AS (new member as of a couple of months ago) and maybe 10 or so tracks on AJ (been on AJ for about a year.) Of those two, I have sold one AJ track one time. I signed an NDA to do some game audio work but the contract was awarded to someone else. I came from the artist music world so it’s what I’m most familiar with in terms of composing, so I still have some work to do in securing PM placements. I cowrote a track slated for release this summer that features a major label artist, and I have gotten some cuts with independent artists but that’s about as far as it goes for me at this point. So long as I keep creating, adapting and most importantly learning, I think the future looks good.

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Is anyone aware of a PMA-like conference in the midwest, specifically the Chicago area?

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This is a great reminder of how hard work and a bit of good luck pays dividends. Thanks for sharing.

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@MichaelL and @Desire_Inspires thank you for how much you contribute to the forums on MLR, I’ve been trying to inform/educate myself on how to finally break into this industry after 3 years of getting acquainted with it and your perspective and experience is priceless.

I agree!

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@jennajohns I’d be happy to pass along my lawyer’s info. I was looking to hire one so I interviewed several of them about 6 months ago, one of which splits his time between NYC and Atlanta. Feel free to send me a PM and we can chat.

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@Edouardo I think it’s a great idea to listen to genres I do not usually compose. I’ll have to try that, especially after working long hours on a genre that’s making me feel really fatigued. I don’t think death metal will be the thing I flock to but Bach Inventions will probably do the trick. I too struggle with tinnitus but in silence I’m (thankfully) able to mentally squelch it just enough.

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