Tunesat Detection!.........I think....

[SteveBaruah]

Hi All!

I logged in to my Tunesat account today to find my first placement.....I think.
It says 0:17 of my drone track 'Dronescape' was used in an episode of 'Preacher' on AMC.
Tunesat provides you of a clip of the episode where the cue was used, it plays in the background behind talking and sound effects,
and it kind of sounds like my track, but I can't be 100% sure (drone tracks are quite similar).
This track was forwarded to a couple of music libraries, but they have not contacted me.

Does Tunesat ever misreport placements?
What do you think I should do here?

Thanks for any advice!

[hummingbird]

I am not an expert on Tunesat (having just joined myself) however I have heard there are false positives. Not sure what you would do next, tho.... :/

[daveydad]

Well, if you hear your music then it must have been used. But... I've had incorrect TV data show up for a few tracks, and some uses never show up at all. I've had two cues used on a popular CBS show, got paid for them, but they never showed up in Tunesat..... so .... not an exact science.

[Len911]

I had to google tunesat.

If you google "tunesat freeplay lawsuit"

Something I wasn't expecting.

[VanderBoegh]

Hey Steve, I had one false detection from Tunesat about a year ago. I was using an altered guitar loop that I bought from a loop company, and some other producer out there used the exact same loop, and must have done the same amount of time-stretching on it, which created a similar audio signature/fingerprint. Tunesat keyed onto that guitar loop (which was the loudest and most audible part underneath the show's dialogue) and ignored the backing music (which wasn't all that audible). As I listened to the snippet that Tunesat provides, I could easily tell it wasn't my track at all, but I could see how the false detection happened.

Not to rain one your happiness that you might have had a placement, but this could be what has happened here. Drones - I would think - would be even more susceptible to false positives due to their lack of melody or percussion for the software to detect. And if Tunesat detected it without you ever having actually signed it to a library, then most likely this is the case. Seems very odd that you'd get a placement from a forward without ever getting a deal... however, that HAS happened before too.

Keep us posted on what you find out and hear!

~~Matt

[SteveBaruah]

Thanks for the info, guys.
I think I'll put the cork back in the champagne bottle. Seeing as the cue has not been officially signed, and it is a drone cue with next to nothing but a drone sound going on in the scene, I think it is more likely that this is a different cue.

[andygabrys]

Hey Steve! right on!

This is what I think:

Tunesat and PROs:

If Tunesat showed a use say in the last week, then its probably going to be at least 6 months until the use is reported to your PRO and before you get paid.

I know that each PRO has different dates that they call the end of the "quarter" for both reporting uses, and then paying out.

So its possible that the end of the quarter for reporting uses of music could be the end of June.

Then domestic PRO's usually pay 2 quarters after uses are reported to them. That would be end of Decemeber or January depending on who you are signed with (BMI will pay middle of January) - to get paid for 2nd quarter 2016.

Then if you are signed to a foreign PRO (say PRS et al) there will be an additional delay of at least another quarter for the payments to get transferred to your foreign PRO and then for you to get paid. As I understand it, placements in the US are taken care of by ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC and foreign writers with foreign PRO's work with those domestic PRO's. Crazy huh?

Keep in mind that some libraries don't register works immediately either and sometimes you might get a "cue sheet" registration show up in your account where the production company (usually) has sent in the cue sheet. This can also happen if there is a spelling mistake on the cue sheet and your track is already registered in your PRO account. Either way, this is one way you get paid. You likely will only see this on a domestic PRO (like BMI if your music is used in the US).

Your library contact:

Its likely that if your library is making lots of placements every week (hundreds?), that they may not email you every time one of your tracks is used. That might equate to a full time job for somebody and takes their time away from pitching tracks which is their bread and butter (and yours really).

In my case I have situations where a track was used and I get an email but I don't expect to get a note every time.

So wait a while before you email the library and ask "Where's my money?".

I would wait the 6-12 months and see if it shows up on your PRO statement. If it doesn't, or if you find other Tunesat detections that also don't show up on your statement then you have a lot more to write about.

Hope that helps


P.S. - I wouldn't get too worried about FreePlay either - yes originally when they started as a production library their model was "sync free", for broadcast uses where royalties are paid, and hence the ear catching name. For uses like corporate videos etc where they are not broadcast on cable or network TV, there is a "needle drop" fee that is assessed based on the use.

All of this in included in the "fine print" on their website / media.

And this is the model by which a lot of music is placed on broadcast TV these days. BI (background instrumental) - the music is sometimes offered under a "gratis" license where there are no up fronts payable, but the composer and library get paid via royalties from their respective PRO's. So in these cases you need great tracks to get signed and used, but you need a significant number of placements to replace your "day job"

EDIT - just saw y'all posted while I was writing this magnum opus. What Matt V said x 10! Especially if the cue was unsigned.

[daveydad]

Just for those who might be interested in foreign placements... it took 14 months from the first detection of cues used in a Belgian soap opera to actually getting paid through my PRO. Patience alert!!

[SteveBaruah]

Thanks for the info!
Andy, you're a wealth of knowledge as usual!
I am based in Austria, but I managed to join BMI.
The cue in question is on my taxi page, its called 'Dronescape' - just in case you were interested.
The part that is sounds like is the drop out in the middle. So this really could be any cue.

[Len911]

P.S. - I wouldn't get too worried about FreePlay either - yes originally when they started as a production library their model was "sync free", for broadcast uses where royalties are paid, and hence the ear catching name. For uses like corporate videos etc where they are not broadcast on cable or network TV, there is a "needle drop" fee that is assessed based on the use.

All of this in included in the "fine print" on their website / media.

The ethical complaints and practices in the suit are serious and need addressing, because both companies have the same ceo, there is no ethical separation. I'm not sure if the case has been resolved. From the complaint in the suit, they didn't operate like a standard production library. They targeted consumers, offering 15,000 free tracks they could use on youtube, then changed the terms of use, or fine print on their website, and went after people unlike a production library.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/09/0 ... n-plot.htm