Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 7,664
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 7,664
Hey,

I know several members on this forum are involved with or pursuing various sync licensing companies for songs as either A.) "opportunities" (one shot cash on the barrel head deals for single use television spots, for example) or B.) as "blanket licenses" where you may get paid if someone streams your stuff in restaurants or decides to use it in a t.v. show four years from now and use it and over and over. A.) is easy. B.) gets tricky because you can get thrown into streaming services OR performance royalty situations. You have to read the payment term descriptions of these multiple use opportunities very carefully.

I sought answers from one source and the answers I got were somewhat complex as to which bucket my songs might eventually eventually fall into (performance royalty or streaming usage) since they said "well that is all decided on a case by case basis--it depends. You have to study the deal terms."

Since "it depends" is not an answer I feel entirely comfortable with I called a rep at ASCAP (where I have both a publishing ID and a songwriter ID) and she said:

"Hey, it's this simple. Never sign any agreement with anybody if the agreement does not say that the client will give you copies of monthly or at least quarterly cue sheets sent to ASCAP should they decide to use your songs on t.v. or ads. If you do not see that in the agreement, don't do it. If it is not in there, demand it. Period and end of sentence."

I know people like Herb have a profound knowledge of this domain and might be able to shed a little light on safeguards to put into place or things to watch out for before you rush too fast into posting songs on all these sync licensing boards.

Herb? Joanne?

Any other experts with advice or cautionary tales?


Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 9,301
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 9,301
Yeah...read the agreement before you sign it. Don't obsess over it. Be sure you understand what it says and what you're agreeing to do in writing. Then sign it, agree to it and get your music into the good libraries. You really need to understand the ownership rights to the song. Do you retain them or are you giving them away? Giving them away is not necessarily a bad thing. But you got to know.

Non-exclusive use allows you to keep ownership and writers share. Exclusive deals require giving up ownership (copyright transfer to publisher) while retaining the writer's share and writing credits. This isn't discussing mechanical rights which are something else and not something we deal with often in the film & TV music world.

Other than that....

Write, record, submit, forget it.... repeat.

This is my rule for the non-exclusive libraries. I don't worry about the details. The more you have signed into libraries regardless of the details of the misc income streams, the more you make. I understand the basic agreement and the 50/50 (or other) split I have agreed with. The rest, I don't worry about. The other option is be greedy for every one ten thousandth of a penny from foreign streaming. If you don't sign, don't expect any money. I've known people who refused to sign music to publishers over what would have amounted to pennies, maybe a few dollars at most because they don't want to be "cheated" out of a dime. How dumb is that?

The mindset is that everyone thinks they have the next biggest worldwide smash hit song that's going to make them a multi-millionaire and they don't want to leave a single dollar (or penny) on the table. The reality is.... you got a better chance at picking the 6 lotto numbers and the power ball next Wed night than penning the next mega hit song. With the lotto, they say if you ain't in it you can't win it.... well the same thing applies to the music licensing business. If you worry about pennies and don't sign for that reason, you will never have you music played and used commercially.

Unless you get a cut on a major artist's CD.... you're not going to be making a lot of money anyway. That would be an exclusive deal and would warrant having legal advice on the contract before signing to be sure the "t"s are crossed and the "i"s are dotted. That is a totally different situation. Apples to oranges.

Last edited by Guitarhacker; 10/31/17 03:43 AM.

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,899
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,899
100% agree with what herb says. Write, submit and forget. Recycle. Be “miracle ready” but don’t give up your day job!!!

Right now I have 25 songs licensed all through blanket deals. 70 were shortlisted and probably three times as much as that submitted.

I know a couple have gone onto compilation type albums. One song has 450,000 listens/views but where from I do not know. I tried to ask them but they could not tell me. My account still reads 0.00 USD.

I am trying for the “A” type deals because I can get stuff done very quickly and specific to the opportunity (like the Theremin one, I have submitted 4 different tracks, 2 of which have been shortlisted). BUT there is huge competition for these and the quality of the tracks being submitted is unbelievable.


LyricLab A.I assisted chords and lyric app. Export lyrics and import directly into Band-in-a-Box 2024.
https://lyriclab.net
Play-along with songs you know and love, download SGU files
https://playiit.com/
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 7,664
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 7,664

Thanks Herb and Joanne,

Great info!!

Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 7,408
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 7,408
What Herb and Joanne said. It's paid me a few dollars over the years.


BIAB 2022 Ultra Plus-all StylePaks*Win10*8GB DDR4*I5-6th Gen*AT 2035 Mic*Peavey Nashville 112 Amp*Ibanez ART120 Electric/Washburn D200S Acoustic*Stromberg Monterey Jazz Guitar

Loops: https://aldavidmusic.wixsite.com/bestmusicloops

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!

If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.

A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."

"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."

"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."

Happy Easter! Holiday Hours...

2024 is well underway - it's already Easter Weekend!

Our Customer Service hours this weekend are:

Friday, March 29: 8-4
Saturday, March 30: 8-4
Sunday, March 31: closed

Regular hours resume Monday, April 1st - no joke!

Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!

The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!

There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.

If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.

We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!

Congratulations to the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!

We've just announced the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!

There are 45 winners, each receiving a Band-in-a-Box 2024 UltraPAK! Read the official announcement to see if you've won.

Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed!

Video: Volume Automation in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®

We've created a video to help you learn more about the Volume Automation options in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows.

Band-in-a-Box® 2024: Volume Automation

www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024full/chapter11.htm#volume-automation

Video: Audio Input Monitoring with Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®

We've created this short video to explain Audio Input Monitoring within Band-in-a-Box® 2024, and included some tips & troubleshooting details too!

Band-in-a-Box® 2024: Audio Input Monitoring

3:17: Tips
5:10: Troubleshooting

www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024full/chapter11.htm#audio-input-monitoring

Video: Enhanced Melodists in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®!

We've enhanced the Melodists feature included in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows!

Access the Melodist feature by pressing F7 in the program to open the new MultiPicker Library and locate the [Melodist] tab.

You can now generate a melody on any track in the program - very handy! Plus, you select how much of the melody you want generated - specify a range, or apply it to the whole track.

See the Melodist in action with our video, Band-in-a-Box® 2024: The Melodist Window.

Learn even more about the enhancements to the Melodist feature in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024upgrade/chapter3.htm#enhanced-melodist

Forum Statistics
Forums66
Topics81,399
Posts732,551
Members38,442
Most Online2,537
Jan 19th, 2020
Newest Members
danielsk, Mark Morgan, zagrajbarke, Ernest J, Izzy
38,442 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 199
Al-David 132
DC Ron 115
rsdean 85
dcuny 83
Today's Birthdays
(charlie), WobblyGstring
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5