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Getting the error here as well – expired certificate.
Excellent post, Mark! Very much agree.
If you decide to branch out to RF from where you are, you might want to consider creating an alias to do so. I wish I had done this. Although bigger players might not specifically shop at RF, they might google you, and if they see you have tracks up with $54.99 next to them, that might not be the best look. Another thing about RF (Is there any worse term in the world than “royalty free”??) is that they tend to charge based on the length of the track. Any experienced composer knows that the one length of a track which will likely command the highest fee is the :30, the average length of a tv commercial. Yet the :30 is usually priced way down from the full length when on RF.
CM, one of the better NE libraries, wants to see that you’ve registered a title with your PRO before they will accept it. But that’s just them.
Hi Mlmusic:
I asked my rep at competitrack about this a few months ago. They said that for the more fringy channels, and yes that includes logo, bet, and mtv2, they are not monitored 24/7. Instead they are monitored for a brief period of a few hours each day, and those hours change for each day. And yes, the competitrack count is the all important count for PRO payout. You just have to be lucky with commercials on those lesser channels – lucky that your performances line up with their abbreviated monitor schedule. For the bigger channels, it is 24/7. Also, for the complete list of competitrack channels you can hit “TV Station list” on the left on the main search page. Although it is a large list, it is not every channel. The total list of channels differs slightly between ispot, tunesat, and competitrack. I have a commercial which runs about 20 times a day on those similar fringy channels, and the PRO action on it is very lukewarm. Very frustrating. Hope that helps!
Also don’t forget about templates. With any session/song you’ve created from scratch, you can then delete all the audio, midi, and automation, and save as a template. Great for orchestral, but also great for any style.
MLB and Fox Sports, which pay well, have been problematic.
Good to know, thx. Hey does anyone have experience with NBA channel PRO, and if so, how is it? Like for a wrap-up / highlights show?
Some composers are moving exclusively towards the royalty-free and performance-free route. With these models becoming more and more popular, it may make sense for some composers to not deal with the PROs anymore.
Some composers would rather make money by getting paid upfront money and not worrying about the backend royalties.
so, if you are a composer out there and you think these statements apply to you, could you please leave a reply here? I would be very curious to see how many of you are out there.
That might be a tad drastic!
agreed!
DI – if you got on a commercial that ran 1000 times including network, you would have a vastly different opinion.
On the subject of PRO’s, and complaining about them, I think it is important to specify whether you are talking about music in commercials or music within TV shows. They are completely different from each other – even within one specific PRO.
By the way, just checked my last ASCAP statement which has one of my “bigger” commercials on it, and added up the number of plays (using excel to sum the “w” column, after sorting by work title, so it adds all the extra plays) and got about exactly the same number Competitrack had. I will spot-check some others, but that is reassuring to see.
Thanks, Euca.
Hey Dude, You can apply if you are a publisher. At least a few years ago you could. This gives you access to some information, but there is still more detailed additional information they charge you for.
Thanks Euca. 46 is much better than 22. You wouldn’t happen to know where to view that list, would you?
Thanks for clarifying, Art. I thought for a second there that BMI was paying out on Tunesat data.
Yes, agreed, Tunesat can be worthwhile if only for the early heads up it gives you on a usage, so you can better make sure everything links up properly.
And yes, the Competitrack occurrence count is KING with commercials.
One crazy thing I just found out a couple weeks ago: Competitrack does not monitor all of its channels 24/7.(!!) With the LOGO channel, for example, it is only monitored for about four hours a day, and which four hours varies for all seven days. I discovered this because my Tunesat was picking up LOGO channel plays that Competitrack was not, and I saw that Competitrack was in fact picking up other LOGO plays, and so it was explained to me why.
And I believe the total number of channels Competitrack monitors is only 22.(!!) stated here: http://www.auroracap.com/private-equity/10-24-2013.php
Not sure which 22 those are, but they’re probably the “Top” 22 channels. I know that IFC, for example, is not on the list. You can see how it is very possible to get all kinds of Tunesat plays that simply won’t go towards the all-important Competitrack count.
After hearing your story, Art, I may now take a closer look at my Competitrack occurrence counts and compare them to my PRO statements to look for discrepancies. I had always assumed once you got that Competitrack code in to your PRO, you could rest assured that a count was a count.
Art,
Are you saying BMI paid you more based on the Tunesat data you provided, or because you caught a “miscount” of the number they should have had from Competitrack?