Exclusive or Non Exclusive

[ShawnBy]

Exclusive or Non Exclusive?

Hi Folks

I put this out in another post and it was suggested I put it in the Biz section
Forgive me if this is the wrong protocol..

I have been with Taxi a year and a half
I have had 6 forwards

Last month I got an email from a L.A based Publisher
Who wanted to sign a Exclusive Deal for one of my songs that
was forwarded a year ago..

The deal was for 3years plus 2 more years if the song got placed after the deadline
There was no advance

I turned down the deal...

Just wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts or advice on the subject

thanks
Keep Rockin
Shawn

[bassman]

It's a good sign that someone has shown interest so well done.

If you're the kind of songwriter who can knock them out 2-3 per week and the publisher is good
this kind of deal could be worth a punt. I would also say, if they were part of a major label or a big indie (we all know who they are) it may also be worth it.

If you on the other hand are the kind of writer who has to wait for the moon to be full and write in the region of one song per month I think I would go for the non-exclusive model.

Nothing wrong with exclusive but I personally prefer non-exclusive for songs that are a bit more personal to me unless there's an obvious opportunity.

[DesireInspires]

I turned down the deal...

Just wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts or advice on the subject

Why did you turn the deal down?

[hummingbird]

If the publisher had a good track record and the track was still free I would have signed the deal. A 3 yr reversion is pretty standard. They had faith in your track, that should make you feel good.

[guscave]

I agree with Hummingbird, this sounds like a standard exclusive deal. Especially with the reversion clause. Some companies don't even give you that. I can only assume you turned it down because you don't want to sign the song to an exclusive deal.

[SANDPEARL]

I would've turned it down as well..it's obviously a good track if they want exclusivity....for that they need to throw you a bone to tie the song up...3-5 years is a long time..that same song could be making you money in a nonexclusive library or two..my 2 cents...

[Razor7Music]

Great info guys. I'm totally new, so all this is very informative to me.

Here's a question: Can we presume if a publishing house contacts us as a result of being forwarded by Taxi, that publisher has been vetted as being legit? I'm just guessing that any deal I might hope to get through Taxi is going to be a legitimate deal--am I right there?

Follow-up question. If you are contacted for a deal, does anyone post the deal (general terms) on a Taxi forum to get the other, more experienced member's input on whether it's a good deal prior to signing?

[mazz]

Great info guys. I'm totally new, so all this is very informative to me.

Here's a question: Can we presume if a publishing house contacts us as a result of being forwarded by Taxi, that publisher has been vetted as being legit? I'm just guessing that any deal I might hope to get through Taxi is going to be a legitimate deal--am I right there?

Follow-up question. If you are contacted for a deal, does anyone post the deal (general terms) on a Taxi forum to get the other, more experienced member's input on whether it's a good deal prior to signing?

Here's Taxi's bar for running listings: http://www.taxi.com/only.html That should answer question #1.

Question #2: Make sure you only post the deal points and not actual language from the contract. These clients may have paid their lawyers good money to draft the contracts and might not take kindly to that work being shared on a public forum. Otherwise it's OK to discuss deal points in general as long as the name of the client isn't mentioned.

There's no "standard" deal but there are similarities from deal to deal.

As far as a publishers wanting exclusivity:

Some publishers have clients that only work with music that is exclusive. Rather than make a blanket statement IMO it's better to vet the publisher as to the potential for them to secure placements. If the publisher has a track record of high end broadcast placements, then it might make business sense to tie the song up for 3 years because it could potentially make some good money in sync fees and back end. The trick is to try to get the option to sell the song on your own on iTunes, etc. If you get a high end placement, you could potentially sell many more downloads because of the exposure. If the publisher really believes in the song, then they may be open to negotiating this type of "semi exclusive" deal, particularly if they are not paying anything up front. Basically this means you keep your copyright and assign exclusive publishing to them for the term of the contract to the markets they serve.

It's not as simple as Exclusive vs. Non-Exclusive. It's imperative to understand the basics of each side of the business. I highly recommend this book, its plain language explanations are very musician friendly:

http://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Guide-L ... 0823014878

Cheers,

Mazz

[Casey H]

I would've turned it down as well..it's obviously a good track if they want exclusivity....for that they need to throw you a bone to tie the song up...3-5 years is a long time..that same song could be making you money in a nonexclusive library or two..my 2 cents...

Maybe yes, maybe no.... So hard to tell. Things are changing fast out there. As discussed many times on these boards, many libraries who were 100% non-exclusive are switching over to exclusive (or as an option) because some or all of their clients are demanding it.

If the exclusive library has good contacts in places non-exclusives can't get into, the opp might be excellent. And as much as we'd all like upfront money for 3-5 year exclusives, it just ain't gonna happen 99.9% of the time.

Not saying this was or wasn't a good deal missed. We don't know enough and even if we knew everything, it depends on the individual composer's comfort level, the library, a little bit of the luck of the draw, etc.

It would be nice if the O.P. came back so we could discuss more.

Casey

[Casey H]

Great info guys. I'm totally new, so all this is very informative to me.

Here's a question: Can we presume if a publishing house contacts us as a result of being forwarded by Taxi, that publisher has been vetted as being legit? I'm just guessing that any deal I might hope to get through Taxi is going to be a legitimate deal--am I right there?

Follow-up question. If you are contacted for a deal, does anyone post the deal (general terms) on a Taxi forum to get the other, more experienced member's input on whether it's a good deal prior to signing?

Yes, Taxi vets listings very well. That being said, just because a company is legit does not mean their deal is a good deal for YOU or those particular tracks at that time. I've seen Taxi has stop accepting listings from a client if they found out it wasn't a good deal for their members... Not a common occurance though because of upfront vetting.

Members can post general contract terms for feedback. It's done often. Just don't paste a company's exact contract here or mention their name. Remember, their contract language is THEIR intellectual property just as your song is yours.

Casey