My First Movie

[larrymagee]

Just heard that this song https://soundcloud.com/larrymagee/hark- ... ngels-sing featuring singer Liz Lachmar was selected to be in this Lionsgate movie http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3503454/ (Christmas All Over Again starring Joey Lawrence).

This wasn't through Taxi but I'm very new to composing for film/tv and I learned EVERYTHING about the business from Taxi and this forum. THANKS GUYS!!!!

The song will play during the closing credits!!!!! It will also be listed in the credits.

Does anyone know the royalty pay scale for movies? The Library is owned by the production company so there were no sync fees.

This is a new library for me and the VP asked if I had any Public Domain Christmas music. I got him to describe what was needed and did it over the 4th of July weekend.

A 63 year old music hobbyist and an unpublished young singer in a movie? TAXI ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[WeWillWriteUaSong]

Big congrats Larry! That's so awesome! Making big moves!

Marcus

[cassmcentee]

Awesome!
Congrats Larry!

[LyricsMatter]

Wonderful!

Congratulations, Larry! And, Liz too!

[andygabrys]

Congratulations Larry! That's pretty awesome.

Does anyone know the royalty pay scale for movies? The Library is owned by the production company so there were no sync fees.

That part is potentially less awesome.

Music in Movies that play domestically (US and Canada) in Theatres DO NOT earn royalties.

Music in Movies that play in foreign territories in Theatres DO earn royalties.

Once a movie plays on TV, then it DOES start to earn royalties for TV plays.

If this movie it direct to Netflix or some other VOD streaming, you will receive the same royalty rates as most of us do when programming hits those streaming sites. Its usually not awesome at all, as the rate PER STREAM is fractions of a cent. The idea being that if you get a lot of streams, the royalty payment will amount to something similar to what you would see on TV. A stream is roughly equivalent to one household or one IP address accessing the stream.

silly example: If a network TV commercial running under the Super Bowl has a viewership of 100 Million people and yields $X.XX in royalties then that's supposed to be roughly equivalent to 100 million streams of a show on VOD or Netflix.

So taking $X.XX / 100 million gets you approximately what the streaming rate is per view. Which even if you have 100,000 streams still doesn't add up to much.

so it all depends on where it is broadcast / played / performed and then the actual royalty rate depends on time of day, popularity of show etc. (for TV).

[larrymagee]

thanks, Andy. I was hoping somebody would know about those rates.

[WeWillWriteUaSong]

Music in Movies that play domestically (US and Canada) in Theatres DO NOT earn royalties.
.

Ouch. Harsh reality check there. So if there is no sync fee and no US royalties, what would be the incentive to have a song in a movie like this? Other than it being super awesome that you would be credited. Is there any financial compensation at all?

[larrymagee]

Andy can probably answer better but I'm thinking this movie will probably to HBO, or something, and eventually to places like TBS and the Networks. Since it's about XMas it could be a seasonal play for several years. Fingers Crossed. Hope it doesn't go straight to Netflix. that's doesn't sound too good.

[andygabrys]

Ouch. Harsh reality check there. So if there is no sync fee and no US royalties, what would be the incentive to have a song in a movie like this? Other than it being super awesome that you would be credited. Is there any financial compensation at all?

It depends IMO.

If Larry got some up front money for signing (called Work-for-hire or WFH sometimes), then there is that. And in some deals that is also "a sync buyout" where you accept up front money in return for only getting royalties in the future. That's incentive to sign that piece as having some WFH money can be part of a diverse earning portfolio.

If you signed the song to a library / in house production company where there are no syncs (either just NO syncs or through a sync buyout), then you aren't really worse off in many ways than any library that does gratis deals for TV and only gets royalties.

As long as the music is placed on a TV show (excepting those which have gone to a performance free model and there are a couple) then you are going to get Royalties. So the piece that Larry had placed is pretty universal and could be used on TV in a different production and then be royalty earning. That would be the incentive. Knowing that it might get used again.

Or the film could play on network / cable and later on streaming and earn royalties. I have no idea how much as it depends on how it was used in the production (vocal, or instrumental, background, featured?, length etc.) and where it ends up playing.

[andygabrys]

royalty rates for Public Domain - take with salt as with all things written here but the Brabec clan was associated with TAXI in the past.

http://artistshousemusic.tumblr.com/pos ... main-music

It lists some specific percentages that are paid by ASCAP and BMI for Public Domain "arrangements" where the arranger / performers are treated as "writers".