[TerlinguaMusic]

How would monetizing on YouTube affect your relationship with RF libraries?

[TerlinguaMusic]

Hi Matt,

That’s an interesting response- other posts on this site from library owners seem to suggest “louder is better,” and that not maximizing loudness will hurt sales.

What sort of end users is your library focusing on?

Thanks!

[TerlinguaMusic]

great stuff.

thanks

[TerlinguaMusic]

Thanks! that helps a lot.

[TerlinguaMusic]

Question 2: This one is BMI related: I’ve sold several “bass and drums” mixes. Should I separately file those mixes with BMI, or does filing the full track cover me?

Thanks!

[TerlinguaMusic]

good info.

thanks

[TerlinguaMusic]

It is frustrating, isn’t it? I think your tracks are well recorded and produced.

I’m a newbie, too, but I had a similar experience. Pond5 has been great to me- accepted everything I send them. I sent AudioSparx 3 tracks in 3 very different styles and they declined them.

After getting turned down by AudioSparx I decided to do some research- followed them on Facebook, watched what they promoted there, listened to their various radio channels, spent a lot of time listening to the music that they were selling.

My conclusion, and I’m hoping some of the more experienced composers will chime in, is that AudioSparx is looking for very high quality tracks that focus on a specific style. Before I reapply with them, I’m going to create a CDs worth of tracks that hang together and would work on one of their radio stations.

Think that might work?

[TerlinguaMusic]

I hear you- you’re working with Windows machines.

I was a Sonar user back when it was Cakewalk, and came free with sound cards…

I switched to Macs several years ago, and tried Logic- and fell in love. It’s more of a religion than a DAW. If your budget will stretch that far, I highly recommend it.

[TerlinguaMusic]

thanks!

[TerlinguaMusic]

is there anything you can share here?

[TerlinguaMusic]

I sincerely hope we’re on topic here… it’s certainly valuable info for me.

Thanks for the perspective. Composers who have been doing this a while would probably be surprised what a “black box” this business is to a newcomer. So many learning curves- researching the libraries, learning what constitutes a fair deal, figuring out what sort of compositions, out an an infinite universe of possibilities, might actually sell on a music library.

I may have a shot. I live in an off-the-grid cabin near the Mexican border. I suspect my monthly nut is less than your electric bill. If I was trying to get a gig writing for movies, or a staff position on a TV show, it would be hopeless.

I’m not.

After 40+ years as a touring/recording artist (mostly blues and blues rock), studio owner, and producer I don’t have any ambitions higher than sitting in my comfy studio, looking out the window at the Chisos mountains, and creating music library music- and making a modest living from that. The kids are grown, the wife’s retired, health insurance taken care of.

My biggest challenge is knowing what to write. To me, this is a job. I’ve got other avenues for distributing my “creative” music, but since I’m disinclined to tour, that’s not gonna cut it.

For now, I’m researching what’s selling in the libraries I’ve been accepted to and treating those as “temp tracks.” In about 90 days, I’ve finished and uploaded 141 tracks (including edits). Productivity will improve as I master Kontakt and get clarity on what sort of music sells. I can hit that first thousand in a year.

Once again- thanks to Art, and the participants here. You’re helping a lot.

[TerlinguaMusic]

I’m going to chime in here because this is a topic I’m very interested in and would love to find some clarity on.

I’ve noticed that on some of the RF sites, there are songs that consist of a person playing an acoustic guitar. Quarter-note or half-note chords. There are also a lot (a lot a lot) of quantized piano pieces that consist of 1,6,4,5 arpeggios, with or without the obligatory quarter-note kick drum.

These come up in searches on, for example, Pond5 – which means they’ve had some traffic and sales, because those searches are weighted. Winners continue to win, new tracks have a serious up-hill battle to rank in the search engine.

This is not true at sites that charge 3-figures per license, but is true across the board at the RF sites that are charging $15-$40 per.

I spent a couple of hours on vimeo today, auditioning popular commercials – and, mixed in with the gorgeous orchestral stuff were lots of simple guitar strumming and piano noodling backgrounds- and these were licensed by major corporations.

If what’s selling (on the RF sites) is 15, 30, and 60 second simple background tracks- I believe I can do ten of those a day on a good day. Could it be that I’m making this harder than it needs to be by producing complex orchestrated tracks?

I’m still new at this and would sincerely appreciate it if the more experienced composers here would help me think this through.

thanks!

[TerlinguaMusic]

congrats on the placement!

[TerlinguaMusic]

Thanks, Art.

I ran it by Mike at P5, and he basically said “let it ride,” and focus on new tracks with the new samples.

I think if the songs were mostly created “in the box,” it would be an easier call. Since the main focus on most of them is either acoustic string instruments or piano (and I kinda like the Steinway in Logic), I’m going to go forward.

[TerlinguaMusic]

balance is an issue – I’m sprinting here. Running a marathon like it was a hundred yard dash.

Thanks for the perspective.

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