[Tbone]

Sounds like a very good track. Nice one.

Man, advertising kills me a little more each day. Maybe I’m just old and cynical.

[Tbone]

If starting out, this is my advice:

Hold back what you consider your absolute best tracks, say 10 or so.

Place 10-20 good tracks with each of the 3 libraries.

Wait 1-2 years, while obviously producing more.

Then place all the new tracks and your best ones from before with the library that performs the best over those 2 years. (Of course, taking genre requirements from the library into account.)

[Tbone]

“It’s harder than it’s ever been to make a living as a creative person”

I flat out disagree with that statement. How about 500 years ago? Or just 150 years ago? Or even, just 50 years ago?

50 years ago I would not have been able to record and produce what I have done today. I simply would not have been able to afford a studio.

I would not have been able to distribute my music via websites to audiences in every country of the world, for free.

I do not think I would have been able to make a living as an artist at any time in the past, as easily as I can now.

[Tbone]

Nice one. I will never forget a particular email I got some time ago.

It went something like this:

—
Hello
I need music composed for my play by next weekend. I need the following styles: x, y, z in each of these parts of the play. And I need about 20 minutes of music. And I won’t pay you. And you might get someone to hear it. Please hurry up and send it to me.
—

I had never spoken to this person before and I was so fed up that I couldn’t help replying that like other human beings I also have to EAT and earn money, and they could basically get lost.

Another time I spent weeks writing for a student film “for exposure” and all I got was a credit. And guess what, they spelled my name wrong in the only credit.

I remember it was that experience about 9 years ago that made me decide to only write for money, and to only write for money up front if it was anything other than a reputable library.

[Tbone]

Not in the US. It doesn’t cover business in the sense that it doesn’t cover future income from business… there is no way I can find to cover that.

[Tbone]

I agree, you can easily go mad with this stuff. I pretty much have. My pulse went to about 250 the last time a friend pointed something out.

I like the asset protection because it also protects you from all kinds of other frivolous lawsuits that can happen in the course of a lifetime. For an anxious wreck like me it was the only course of action.

[Tbone]

Hi Vyv,

I don’t have any personal experience. But I have also heard some bad stories. They could be rumors I suppose.

I have had terrible moments of fear where something I’ve made turns out to sound a bit like something mainstream e.g. same key, same chord progression. Twice a friend has pointed something out. The worst thing is that although it’s all by accident, I now have a constant underlying anxiety that I’m making something similar to a well known song without even realizing it.

To be honest, I think if your career is in music creation it is wise to get asset protection. There is no substitute. I have considered hiring a lawyer to do this.

[Tbone]

Yea I guess I don’t see these deals as being wrong or right, whether morally or anything else. Deals vary.. I aim for the best I can get. The exclusive libraries I’m with have made me a decent living, so I’m happy and they’re happy too. That’s what a good deal’s about as far as I can tell. On the other hand, I won’t be a pushover either – as more composers aim for better deals the more we as composers all benefit together.

But I probably wouldn’t rule out anything until I’ve looked at it properly, and, sometimes, perhaps tried it out with a few tracks.

[Tbone]

Here’s my experience:

1. The most common deal I have:
Nothing up front
50/50 Synch
50/50 PRO
Exclusive
In Perpetuity
Worldwide
Some of these are “RF”, some aren’t. Both make me backend, whether RF or not and some make me decent front end too.

2. Rarer but I’ve had a few of these:
$250 up front per track – not recouped so even better
50/50 Synch
50/50 PRO
Exclusive
In Perpetuity
Worldwide

3. Gave up on these a while ago:
Nothing up front
50/50 on everything
Non-exclusive
Never made me more than about $100 a year in anything so I concentrated on exclusive again

[Tbone]

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[Tbone]

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[Tbone]

Thank you for all the responses.

ChuckMott: hard drives eventually fail and there could also be theft/fire at your property, so ultimately they don’t provide a fail safe on their own.

Art: I agree, it seems more likely to me that Amazon will still be here in 20 years than Backblaze. I guess that’s partly my anxiety though as well..

seanm: Thank you for that info!

Desire_Inspires: I’m not from the US, so paying monthly in USD on my credit card would be very expensive in currency exchange, and if my card is suddenly declined one month it would be a real pain. To be honest, I would have gone with Google Drive no question if it wasn’t for their payment setup.

[Tbone]

I forgot to add: there is the chance with any online backup that one day the company just won’t exist, or won’t offer it anymore… does that worry you?

[Tbone]

Hey Jay,

Thanks for the reply. I use an M-Audio Microtrack portable recorder with a Sony ECM MS957 stereo condenser mic attached. What set up do you have?

Do you mind me asking how many total FX you have for sale? And roughly what revenue they bring in per month on average? I’ve only got 10FX in total and just had one sale recently.

[Tbone]

Jay:

What kind of Sound FX are you selling? What sort of price points?

I have a bathroom sound that sold for errr a couple of bucks. My only ever FX sale!

[Author]

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