1,729 thoughts on “General Questions”

  1. Probably dumb questions from the new guy:
    -Do you all self publish?
    -Is that the only way to get the publishers share of back end from my PRO if the non-exclusive library isn’t taking it all?
    -Do I need to create a publishing company and register it with my PRO?

    • I live in ireland so I can only talk about here. I would guess the same applies for the States and GB. When you write a song, assuming you dont already have an exclusive publishing contract, you own 100% of it. You can assign whatever % you want or are asked to on a non exclusive basis with multple libraries/publishers. This is a fairly unique situation, really only pertaining to licensing. The notion that there is an automatic “publishers share” equal to 50%
      is erroneous. It just so happens that this seems to be the figure that most libraries ask for.
      So in a nutshell if you sign a 75/25 deal ( like Pump) your PRO will collect 75 % for you. Check out the audiomicro thread for more on this.

    • If you sign a deal that gives you some or all of the publishing, then you definitely need to have a publishing ‘company’ so that the name is on the cue sheets and royalties get sent to you. Well, at least that’s how it works in the US. I know some PROs in countries like Australia and New Zealand (APRA) allow a composer to collect publishing without a separate publishing entity. Over there they assume you own the publishing… what a concept!

      It’s as simple as choosing a name, signing up as a publisher with the PRO that you’re affiliated with as a writer, and then setting up a DBA so that you can open a bank account under the name of your publishing company, and deposit checks made out to it. Although, now that the PROs have direct deposit, you can have the publishing money go to your personal account, essentially bypassing the need to set up a DBA.

      • Thanks Matt. I already had a live sound company. It recently became a publishing company too ;~). It’s registered with my PRO and waiting for some income ….. and waiting …… and waiting

  2. On the subject of retitling, is there a general consensus about creating a pseudonym for works that you sell through libraries that retitle?

    Thanks,

    Michael

  3. On the sites where you can see both views and downloads (Tunesociety, Productiontrax, Musicsupervisor.com, Catooh, Revostock, etc) anyone care to throw out what they think their average views to downloads ratio is. I haven’t been doing this for long, but I’m seeing 1 sale for every 15-45 views on Revostock and Productiontrax, whereas on Catooh, which I’ve only been on for 2-3 days, I’m seeing tons of views (75-200) already, but no sales so far. Any other stats/experiences from anyone else?

  4. Question from newbie regarding registering with PRO

    I’m signed up with ASCAP, no titles registered yet. I saw someone comment “you should register before you upload…”
    But if they are retitling, what do I call the track? I have the same tracks with the same titles in two libraries. Am I missing something?
    Thanks for any info

    • I hope someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you register it with the title you use, and the library that retitles will register it with the title they’ve given it.

    • Many retitling libraries use a prefix before your title. Pump Audio uses numbers. It’s up to the retitling library to register it with your PRO. Make sure your library registers it.

      Pump Audio is one company that neglects this, unless you hound them weekly.

      When I sign tracks with libraries, I give them 2-3 weeks to register them with my PRO. Then I start hounding them. I don’t want to hear any excuses for the delay. I tell them, give me the title you’re using and I’ll register them myself.

      If they still delay registering them, call your PRO and have them contact the library.

  5. I’ll check it out, Emmett – thanks for the kindness extended. The best thing about kindness is that it seldom results in insanity. And no, s.r., I’m not a library; I’m a lifer musician who makes a living from playing in front of people, and licensing is appealing for the extra income and as an outlet for excess skills that aren’t used in performing.

  7. Can someone advise on cue sheets? I’m wondering about a template that will serve all submissions, the most necessary info etc. There’s plenty of templates on the Web, but some advice from you old-timers at the lib thing would be welcome.

    • Hi John,

      Sorry you are not seeing them but no one else has reported that problem and I see them here, both logged in and as an anonymous visitor.

  9. I was wondering if someone had advice on the best way to label CDs that are sent in for submissions. I understand that sometimes the people listening like to play them in the car, and I know that paper labels can be problematic for that. The manual for my car also says that LightScribe discs can can cause trouble if left in the player in hot weather. Are inkjet printed discs the way to go?

    Also, is it a good idea to list all the tracks on the disc in addition to the contact info?

    • Hi Tim, I use a Primera Signature Z1 CD/DVD Label Printer. It uses thermal transfer technology. The printer is about $100 but you need to make sure you get thermal printable CDs.

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