Do Libraries Usually Give Notifacation When Track is Used?

[Ben Stubbs]

Do music libraries usually notify composer/author of when their music gets used, or do they usually find out upon getting their PRO statement?

[davewalton]

Do music libraries usually notify composer/author of when their music gets used, or do they usually find out upon getting their PRO statement?

As usual the answer is "it depends on the library". I get some notification sometimes but usually not. I think that a busy library has their hands full finding and placing music and that's good. I'd rather they'd be doing that!

[mazz]

We like to think we're special, and, of course, we are! But most libraries, if they're good, will have lots of special people on their roster. There's no way they can manage letting everyone know what tracks are placed, because if it's a good library, they may have dozens or hundreds of placements a month.

I've found an extremely rough indicator is when a library registers a track with my PRO. It's only a rough indicator because some libraries will register before it's used and some will register it when they get a cue sheet from the production company. So you really can't count on it. In fact, I've had pieces placed before they were registered and then they show up with a generic title. I have one on a show called Modern Marvels, and it shows up in ASCAP as it's title being "Modern Marvels Cues". I haven't been able to figure out from the statement what episode it is so I can DVR it and watch it to hear what piece it is!! What a wacky business!

My wish for all of us is that our quarterly statements are so thick that we're too busy spending the royalty money to track down all the placements and there's too many of them let our friends and family know about all of them!!

[Ben Stubbs]

Thanks Dave & John. Sounds good to me, it runs parallel with the term: write submit forget. Thanks again for the words of wisdom!

[matto]

I tend to get notified when it's something really big, like a major theatrical movie or a major broadcast network primetime show, but not always.

Some companies notify more than others, and it also depends somewhat on how close of a relationship you have with them...

Generally speaking, the royalty statement is "like a box of chocolates", to paraphrase Forrest...

[onglee]

what i've been told, i can ask for a cue sheet or find out who the cue sheet is being sent to at my PRO to find out when my track is being used.