What happens when a music library goes out of business??

[TheElement]

Hey Peter, if a company goes out of business I'm thinking any contracts they may have signed under their company name would now be void. Since now the company does not exist anymore.

Yes, I would think so too, unless the company (or its contracts) is bought out by/sold to another company.

It would be EXTREMELY difficult to find out if either one of those scenarios actually happened.
If the company signed the songs EXCLUSIVELY and a writer mistakenly thought: the company went out of business and the contracts weren't bought by another company...
Then the writer signed the songs to another company on this mistaken assumption.... there would be a world of trouble.

Russell

another good point. I guess you got to be careful who you sign exclusives with. then have a million more songs..

[PeterD]

I like the thought of the company being "bought out." I also like the idea that the new company would send a notice to all of it's composers letting them know that happened and how to do business going forward.

[Cruciform]

I like the thought of the company being "bought out." I also like the idea that the new company would send a notice to all of it's composers letting them know that happened and how to do business going forward.

Some years back I wrote an album for a company. They were all keen up front and then after delivery I could never get hold of them. They never registered the cues with their PRO, I never saw any income though they told me I'd get a share of blankets after my accrued share went above $x.

Then late last year they did a form email advising they were being bought out by one of the big publishers. After transition, my cues were registered by the new owner and I was sent a check for about US$450 as my share of the buyout.

So in that case, the library being acquired turned a lemon situation into a little lemonade.