EliasMooseblaster Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 (Wasn't sure if this was more suited to GD or Recordings; mods, please feel free to move if you see fit!) I'm sure a few of you have found a way to earn a few bob by sharing your music on one or more online music libraries: are there any that you'd recommend for licensing a rock song? It's something I've been keeping one eye out for recently, as a half-decent song placement seems like a good way to secure a little bit of regular revenue, which my band could really do with at the moment! See, I got quite excited yesterday when I got some tentative interest from a US-based library who, initially, seemed to be offering what I was looking for. Unfortunately, while reading their Ts and Cs this morning, a few alarm bells were triggered - I did some further research, and a forum on GigSlutz gave the impression that they used to be quite good but have since gone massively downhill. Being a little disappointed, I know I can usually rely on the good folk of BC to pick me up and point me in the right direction...over to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I'd also post this in the "Music Business" section of the Sound On Sound forums where there are a lot of people who make a decent amount of money out library music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I have music accepted by Soundcheque here in the UK and Musicrevolution in the US. Soundcheque were recommended by a tutor at uni. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 (edited) I do quite well out of it through an incredibly well run and established company in the States called 'Audiosparx'. They chase up cue sheets, register everything with ASCAP, so it's easy for PRS to collect. They send out regular statements and track license/sale details. Everything from Ringtones to film majors they are involved with. Every Quarter I get paid into my PayPal account, and on top of that of course, PRS/MCPS Quartely payments. They also put your stuff onto compilation albums for sale on iTunes/Amazon etc. Plus they have in house playlists for business's world wide, Restaurant/shop/office etc. Pennies a play, but it does mount up. Do you homework, a lot of them are cowboy companies selling music on the cheap and they DO NOT send out broadcast cue sheets for the clients to fill in, or indeed care what the clients use it for. Make sure you get a company that do good negotiated buy outs (usually x4 upwards of base price). Usually the companies that have been around for years and have moved forward tend to have a better high end client base. Library writing is a different beast than stock song writing. You have to keep in mind what you are writing for: Corporate, Kids, Animation, World, Cinematic, EDM styles etc. You usually need to supply various timing cues that can be used in media broadcast. Full tune/60 second version/30 second version, then any stingers, seamless loops, beds, Idents etc. The more you put up, the more you are likely to earn. I found it a pain putting the same tracks on various sites, and not sometimes knowing what a licensed track was being used for, so I found one that was exclusive. Being exclusive you will get better track/ writer promotion (Hot new/Permanent feature/Perpetual etc). You don't want to be stuck at a bottom of a pile with hundreds or thousands of other tracks. I just batch upload, fill in the track data, Keywords, Style etc and they do the rest from beginning to end. Edited March 12, 2015 by lowdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 [quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1426164565' post='2715088'] I do quite well out of it through an incredibly well run and established company in the States called 'Audiosparx'. They chase up cue sheets, register everything with ASCAP, so it's easy for PRS to collect. [/quote] Aha, now this is interesting, because this is the same company I've been in contact with! After reading some very negative forum comments I was a bit put off, but if you reckon they're still worth their salt then perhaps I should reconsider. One thing that does strike me as a potential snag is that they don't let you remove material from their library once it's been accepted - if I were uploading incidental music or jingles I can see this being fairly trivial, but I'm looking to licence regular rock/pop songs with them. Just wondering whether this could present a stumbling block a few years down the line...any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 (edited) [quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1426245771' post='2716063'] Aha, now this is interesting, because this is the same company I've been in contact with! After reading some very negative forum comments I was a bit put off, but if you reckon they're still worth their salt then perhaps I should reconsider. One thing that does strike me as a potential snag is that they don't let you remove material from their library once it's been accepted - if I were uploading incidental music or jingles I can see this being fairly trivial, but I'm looking to licence regular rock/pop songs with them. Just wondering whether this could present a stumbling block a few years down the line...any thoughts? [/quote] Is that for exclusive writers only? I can't really remember, My tracks (around 400) are up for keeps, or I believe after five years I can terminate the agreement. That is mainly because royalties can be an on going thing for years, so if you have music up with another company they can claim as well. It can get rather messy. The other reason is they spend a lot of time putting together in house play music for business's world wide plus comp albums. These are all registered for digital impressions and such like, not to mention obtaining tune codes etc with collecting agencies. It's a lot of work to then go and take them all down. Explained here in detail. http://www.audiosparx.com/sa/kb/article/show.cfm/kbarticle_iid.2318/aatemp.0 The best bet is to email them. They are a good bunch of people and will be upfront with everything, they also reply in good time. I suppose regarding Lib companies being good or bad, writers who do good out of a particular company will have good things to say, those who sell little or none through a company will give more of a negative response. I will PM you my agreement from my artist page, you can then decide if it is worth emailing them to clear up any concerns you may have. If long term is not what you are after, and you want more short term options, Maybe Audiosparx might not be what you are looking for, Edited March 13, 2015 by lowdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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