Library gets full ownership, no reversion cls, no upfront $

[musicalweather]

Hi all,

I've been offered a contract from which I'm pretty sure I'm going to run the other way, but I just want to make sure that this is indeed a situation about which I should be highly wary.

This contract comes from a newly formed library which is producing music for trailers. They've offered me a contract with a number of questionable clauses, but the main sticking point is that the library gets full ownership of the tracks - forever. We composers get no upfront money; we get paid only if the track is licensed for a trailer. There is no reversion clause if the track is not licensed. I tried to renegotiate that with the owner; at first he offered five years, and now he's renegged on that. Ownership by his company is permanent.

Am I right to think that this is a horrible deal?

[6bq9]

re: "deal," you keep saying that word, but I do not think it means what you think it means.
This is only a deal for one of the parties.

[jazzstan]

"... he offered five years, and now he's renegged ... "

That alone would make me want to walk away. I've encountered folks like this (albeit in other business matters), and the don't change their spots. But maybe this is the ONE and ONLY time he's ever backed out of an agreement. yeah, right.

[Len911]

re: "deal," you keep saying that word, but I do not think it means what you think it means.
This is only a deal for one of the parties.

+1.

And you also say "contract". Something I remember from an 8th grade business law class, was that you had to have consideration for a contract to be valid. Maybe that's why major label contracts pay advances.

[bassman]

It may sound crazy but in my experience those terms are quite common.
I've signed many deals like that and have done exceptionally well from them.
I've also signed worse deals where only the publisher has done well.

You live and learn.

[Cruciform]

It's not an uncommon deal. The risk is they do nothing with your music. A big sticking point though is that about 70-80% of trailer placements go to a small handful of labels. That leaves a myriad of other 'trailer' companies (and more coming on seemingly every day) scrabbling for the remainder of the spots. Since they are new and in an extremely competitive area, you need to weigh carefully whether it's worth your while to sign with them.

The first big deal I landed was the same but with a well-established company. However, two years later and I still haven't seen any placements from them and it's a PITA to get an email answered. Trust your gut.

[DesireInspires]

Don't be afraid. Go for it!

[Casey H]

Every deal offer has to be evaluated with respect to so many factors, it's hard to give a blanket answer and you should run like hell from blanket answers on forums like this one.

Some factors.... What is the potential opp? How many tracks are involved vs. how many you typically write per month or year? The more prolific you are, the easier to take a chance on a few tracks. What is YOUR comfort level? What do you know about the people involved, their backgrounds, contacts, etc.?

Best of luck.
Casey

[musicalweather]

Thank you all for your replies.

Hmmm... more to think about. I was really trying to find out if this is common practice, and evidently it is, so now I have to adjust my assessment of the situation.

I think the library owner would like us composers to produce tracks pretty often. I think my output will probably be not that high, as I'm involved in other projects and have a day job.

The owner is also a composer and has been writing trailer music for a while, successfully. So I think he has good connections. And that's one appeal of this opportunity, despite the rigid contract: this would be a chance to present music to the people who actually buy it, and I would probably benefit from the expertise of the library owner, I think... I'm sure I'd learn a lot about writing for trailers and could hone my skills as I go through the experience. That's worth something.

But I'm not thrilled about doing a lot of hard work for only the potential of earning money, and not even ownership of my product.

Sigh.

[Casey H]

One general piece of advice is, should you move forward with this, is not to pull too many eggs in one basket, especially exclusive, in perpetuity.

I don't know if this deal is right for you or not but again, it (partly) depends on whether your tracks are just a few of many you have or will have OR if they are your "babies".

Best, whatever you decide.
Casey