1,729 thoughts on “General Questions”

    • After reviewing the Pump Audio website, I have come to the conclusion that Pump Audio is a lackluster music library.

      I have tracks with them and made some money with them. But they seem far too large and unorganized. I tried a basic search of instrumental electronic music to see what came up. The songs were not bad at all. The problem is with the setup of the site. The site is flooded with music!

      I know for instance that a number of exclusive publishers/libraries have hundreds of songs signed to Pump Audio, which is a non-exclusive library. I also noticed that a huge exclusive publisher, Sony/ATV, has a large number of songs on Pump Audio. Pump/Getty has the site set up where Sony/ATV and other exclusive libraries have their music added as “premium” songs. Now ask yourself this: would a music supervisor go with Sony/ATV songs or my songs?

      If you have anything less than 500 songs on the site, you stand very little chance of getting even one song licensed.

      • @ Synth:
        I know how everyone feels about pump but for the few tracks I have there
        We consistently make Money from the first time we submitted but it takes a while to
        get into their system.I’ll echo the sentiments of most though and especially those
        exclusives that take your music and register it with pump.Their excuse is you don’t have to do any of the work involved with tagging and entering at the site.a One time event.When it comes to years of possible business you have yo go through that door.

        • Same here, consistently make money with a small amount of tracks. The statement I got a few days ago is for two grand and my last ASCAP statement had about $600 worth of backend from pump placements. Their split though is really unfair, if it weren’t for the fact that artists get 50% of publishing (most companies take 100%)I’d be out.

        • I do not think Pump Audio is an ineffective or dormant library. They are actually huge. Their site is better than many library sites that I have visited. But as a composer, I would rather have my songs signed by Sony/ATV itself as supposed to trying to compete with Sony/ATV on the Getty/Pump site. I have made money through them. But the site is really becoming a parking spot for tracks.

          You need to have one or more of these things going for you to make money from Pump Audio.

          1. You have to either have hundreds to thousands of tracks in the catalog.

          2. You need to have your tracks signed by one of the exclusives with music in the Pump catalog.

          3. You need to have new songs added on a weekly basis.

          If I were seeking something very particular, I could probably find it. But I could probably find the same music at a library with less clutter. I cannot really blame the library, as it is pretty succcessful. By I do not think many new composers could be successful unless they came with a ton of tracks or made something very, very particular.

  3. Quite a contrast between Jinglepunks and MusicDealers by most accounts here so the next question for me is more comparative. What non-exclusive library could be best compared to JinglePunks in terms as all around equivalent alternative when it comes to licensing efforts, ease of getting in, processing time etc?
    If I had a few more Jingle punks type libraries, that would help alot.

  4. Hey guys, I just have a question about placements. I’m new to this but I checked my ASCAP cue sheet work online and it says I have a placement on an episode. I checked the episode out to see if I hear the song that they used but I don’t hear it. Do they use all the music that is on a cue sheet? Thanks for your help.

    • Your cue sheet should tell the duration of your music used. Often the client will slice & dice. Funny, “The Voice” used one second of one of my tracks. I don’t think that will be too noticeable. 😀

      • Thanks John for shedding some light for me. It says 23 secs for duration, but I didn’t hear it. It’s not the fact that I can’t hear it. I just want to know if I’m in the cue sheet does that mean I officially had my 1st placement on tv? Because I don’t want to get too excited and tell all my family and I didn’t get a placement. LoL!

          • Thanks euca! I really apreciate it! I know cue sheets have just the info. But I googled the episode to check it out. LOL. I’m don’t mind if I didn’t hear it. John told me that they can edit your track however they please. I just wanted to make sure I had my 1st placement before I said anything to anybody. 🙂

            • No problem! Maybe you missed it in all your excitement! Sometimes they do put the music down pretty low if dialog is going on. Congrats again, may there be many more.

              • I know, seeing it in my ascap cue list was exciting! I sure hope there’s more to come. Just have to keep making music and not give up. Thanks again!

                • Jay- I have known this to happen: a piece of music showing up on a cue sheet even though it is no longer audible or present. No offense to interns, but interns, (or assistants only partially involved with editing) are often the ones filling out cue sheets. a cue might have been in the episode but was taken out last minute or it might have been mistaken for another. It is chaos in tv production land.

  5. “Most of those cues had Jingle Jared as a writer too.”

    Your cues had someone else added as a co-writer without your knowledge or permission???

    If so, that is BAD VERY BAD…. and not legal.

    Please clarify.

    • No MichaelL, I’m very sorry to all that I wasn’t clear. I meant that:
      -Jingle Punks supplies the majority of the music for the shows I have been place on. Very good for them.
      -Jingle Jared is a composer on many of those cues. Very good for him.
      -I got a few minutes worth of my music on a few TV shows. I may make a couple of hundred bucks in back end over time. Good for me for a beginner.
      I feel bad that I put his name out there in a way that may be perceived negatively. That was unintentional. He is a talented writer and seemingly a talented entrepreneur.

      JP is the only library that has proven to me I have the skill set to compose music for TV. I am very appreciative of that. For me the next step is find out if I can make a living composing music. I suspect it will take a long time to find out, but I am in this for the long haul.

      p.s. Thank you, MichaelL for the wealth of information you have provided on MLR

    • Definitely Jingle Punks!
      So far Music Dealers has done nothing for me at all. Nice people but nice only goes so far when you’re trying to get placements. Just got my 3rd placement with JP after a little over a year. I’ve been with Music Dealers a little longer and nothing.
      At least you can see how many downloads you’re getting with Jingle Punks. Music Dealers just seems like another parking garage for tracks but somebody who has had luck with them would paint a different story I’m sure.

      • I don’t really see why being able to track downloads or listens is a good thing. If a song is downloaded 200 times and placed 0, then doesn’t that just get your hopes up for nothing? Music Dealers has a bit of tracking system in that when your music makes it to a client, they notify you by email (at least in most cases). I try not to check things like that too often, it feels like I’m wasting my time on something over which I have no control.

        • Tracking listens and downloads helps to give composers hope! 🙂 Sometimes those listens or downloads are the only thing that keep most guys going. Most would quit without that piece of information.

          With a listen, I know that someone at least took the time to pay attention to my music. With a download, I know that someone considered my song good enough for a possible placement.

          I am a bit more advanced than some folks here, but I remember how excited I used to get from those sorts of things. For some, getting one song placed is a dream come true.

          Not all want to or can make a steady living getting music licensed. Some just want the satisfaction of knowing that their music was featured on a show. A royalty check or license fee is a bonus to them. 🙂

          • You said it much better than me but exactly how I was thinking it. We’re not all robots just waiting to scan the statements.
            For many of us, there aren’t any statements to scan so we count downloads. lol

    • Steven,

      I feel like this is an apples to oranges comparison.

      JP: They seem to get LOTS of placements. From my very limited window into what they do, the majority of the placements are gratis, back end only. I’ve only had 7 cue sheets from them so far, typically 30-40 second of music each. None of them had licensing fees. JP was listed a sole or partial publisher on about 60-80 percent of the cue sheets (more if JP is SPIRITUAL RAISE MUSIC under BMI, which I suspect). Most of those cues had Jingle Jared as a writer too. So JP is doing very well I think, and we are all getting nice little slices of that pie.
      Yes, I love that in less than 2 years I’ve gone from a beginner to multiple TV placements. As a newbie it is very exciting and only JP has done that for me. But I don’t expect significant income until I have 300+ cues (in 5 years or so)

      MD: To the best of my knowledge, our music is only heard by a client if MD gives it to them. Customers do not have direct access to our music. In 2 years I have submitted to over 50 opportunities. I’ve only gotten 2 emails telling me a cue was added to a playlist. One of those was from an unannounced music call, so they actually pitched without me submitting.
      However, their placements are pretty big. Some are under $500 or gratis, but many are $5K+

      My point, JP will probably win this survey until one of us gets a single $2.5K+ license fee from MD. But if we do? How many cue sheets will it take to make $2-5K from JP?

      My vote today – JP
      But I hope I need to change my vote to MD someday soon 🙂

      • Customers actually do have access to the MD library. It is only the listings on the deal board that are chosen by the MD staff.

        • euca
          “Customers actually do have access to the MD library”
          That’s great to hear. I’ve only seen this on their site:

          “we listen closely to your brief, connect you with the best music”

          That quote, combined with reading MLR posts, my playlist notifications and no song rejections made me assume wrongly.
          Thanks.

        • Pat
          “What do you consider significant income?”

          I’m not sure Pat. I’d like to have people “occupying” my front yard, HA!
          Like you, I have dedicated much of the past 2 years to chasing this dream. I am very fortunate to have a small pension (retired military), a small live sound business, and a spouse with a good job. I can get by doing a couple of shows a weekend and dedicate 20+ hours per week writing.

          That’s a lot of time for a hobby, but I HAVE to write, for money or not.
          I hope to make $2K+ in 2012, $5K+ in 2013, $10-$20K per year in 5-8 years.

          That seems like a pretty modest goal to me. If I’m not on that track in 18 months or so, I’ll probably cut back on the time I put in and treat it as a hobby.

          Time will tell ….

          I really need to get back to the DAW now 😉

          • “I’d like to have people “occupying” my front yard”
            That’s funny.
            Coincidently, the way you described it is pretty much how I’d like to see it play out but I made a grand total of $125 in 2011. Exciting for me but it’s hard to imagine $2k this year though I’m trying to.
            Keeps me going. Check out my two cues on the jukebox. Finally put something on there.

            • Jingle Punks has paid me a few up-fronts.
              Considering this was my first year doing this.

              Music Dealers I don’t feel connected to them.
              It feels like I have to be in Chicago or L.A. to get their attention. Feels distant.

              Jingle Punks forums at least keeps you somewhat close

              There are also other so called ‘libraries’ that can’t place even back-end royalty deals, Been with others for a year and nothing happens. Dead

              So Jingle Punks at least get props for that.

    • Thank you Barbie 🙂 Good ole’ Suze, she’s a Taxi compatriot.

      Yes, Bub inspires music in me, now if I had the time to get it all out!

  8. Hope everyone is well and had a great holiday season. Been pretty much out of action for a few months as our first baby arrived 8wks early. She’s doing great and we’ve now had her home since Saturday.

    Hope all you guys and gals are still rocking it. 🙂

      • Ha! Thanks Art, and I sure will pass on some more hugs. She doesn’t care where they come from, she just likes getting them 🙂

    • Congrats Rob!
      May I suggest a Korg with mid sized keys to get her started. And read her lists of keywords as a bedtime story. I used to love those. 🙂

      Your first baby girl… Oh how life will change for you (for the better). Awesome!

      • Cheers JD! She was played plenty of Thomas Bergersen and Jo Blankenburg whilst inside – hoping that will give her a good start! 🙂

        • Big congrats Rob! Nothing like your first child. I have two girls, the
          youngest is 2. Never a dull moment to say the least!

          • Thanks euca – yes, dull moments or even ‘nothing to do’ moments seem to have completely disappeared but it’s all good!

    • Congrats again Rob!!!!!

      I’m so glad to hear that she’s doing well.

      I’ve wanted to share your news for a while, but thought it best for Dad

      to make that decision.

      I wish you and your wife all the best with your new arrival!

      Cheers Mate,

      Michael

      • Cheers Michael, it wouldn’t have worried me if you’d shared the news but I do appreciate you leaving me the option. 🙂

        Mostly going well, little bit of reflux to deal with but otherwise lots of goodness in such a small parcel.

          • Ha! I know the custom but it’s pretty sparsely practiced over here. At least I’ve never actually known anyone who’s done it. But in a virtual world the thought counts! 🙂

    • Great news Rob. Best to all of you. I would
      get her started in GarageBand immediately to
      give a grounding in DAW basics. She should then be
      a certified Logic/Protools operator by 3. LOL.

    • Congrats Papa Rob (Cruciform)!

      My unsolicited advice, enjoy every minute, the good and the bad. Choose carefully when putting an instrument in her hands. My 1st born little girl is now a 2nd year college music major. Time flies and violins are expensive!

  9. Hi guys, can’t remember if this was asked already on the thread (1227 comments!) but just curious how much you guys write in a 40 hour week? I’m composing full time now, and write almost two full tracks a week (3 minutes each). They’re pretty much written and done, but need to spend half a day the week after to touch them up.

    Just curious how much everyone else does in a week? I’ve found templates REALLY help! Never realised how much time you spend loading up instruments and figuring out what else to put into your track – makes a big difference!

    • In no particular order:

      1) What’s a 40 hour week?

      2) It depends on how much time I waste debating the merits of content ID
      programs on MLR 😆

      3) About the same.

      There are variables depending on the complexity of the music. But…when you’re writing to film or for TV, be prepared to do several minutes per day. Library music is a different animal, because you have all of the edits, etc. And then, there’s the time that you need to spend uploading and tagging etc.

      Cheers,

      Michael

      • I’m writing averaging 2 a week now but I base it on a five day week that could be all hours of that 5 days. I do it till it gets done to make my self imposed quota.

    • I’m writing full time for a living now too (not making a living at it, just writing full time for it).
      I’ve recently gotten to where my goal is two a week including alts and I save the weekends for metadata, uploads and submissions etc. I have a template setup in Cubase that I spent alot of time on and am now seeing that for me, it saves a huge amount of time. All my vst instruments are loaded and routed as well as mastering plugins on the buss. It works great for me. Of course, nothing is carved in stone since the cues themselves can dictate where to go with all that but it’s a template default setup that always gets me up and running instantly for every new piece.
      Just fyi if your interested, Art put one of my pieces on the MLR music player. Maybe check it out if you get a chance.
      I do other type music but it was the only one I had around 2 min.

  10. LOL ! That comment from Alan from Norwich is actually very funny , I’m still laughing ! Just some good natured humorous sarcasm , that’s all 🙂 It is a tough biz 🙂 Alan must be up to 4000 cues by now 🙂

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