Licencing Question

[mani]

If I have already licenced a piece of music for use in, say, a TV show or film can I still submit that tune to library/publisher listings with TAXI??What are the ins and outs of a situation like this?Thanks in advance!

[davewalton]

Hi,I think the keyword here is going to be either "exclusive" or "non-exclusive", something that's universal and not specific to Taxi. If you licensed non-exclusively, you have the right to do what you want with it elsewhere. If you licensed exclusively it's generally off limits for other uses, depending on the details of the contract.HTH,Dave

[matto]

Quote:If you licensed exclusively it's generally off limits for other uses, depending on the details of the contract.True, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can't still submit it for a listing...I've pitched material that was comissioned by one library (and thus owned by them from the getgo) to listings for another, if it was the most appropriate piece of music I had.If it gets forwarded and they call you back, offer to write them a new piece just like it. Anything to get your foot in the door...this has worked for me on several occasions.matto

[nomiyah]

I was thinking of submitting a collaboration with another artist. We don't have an agreement, it was a random studio jam session. If the song gets an offer we can work out an agreement then. If he doesn't agree, I could pitch a similar song without him. I know this isn't by the book, you're supposed to have signed contracts BEFORE going into a studio, but the "foot in the door" approach sounds smart.

[davewalton]

Quote:True, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can't still submit it for a listing...I've pitched material that was comissioned by one library (and thus owned by them from the getgo) to listings for another, if it was the most appropriate piece of music I had.If it gets forwarded and they call you back, offer to write them a new piece just like it. Anything to get your foot in the door...this has worked for me on several occasions.Ahhhh.... This I like!

[matto]

The only time I won't do this is when the listing specifies "only submit songs that are available" or something like that.Remember...this applies to music libraries only. If a Nashville publisher put one of your songs "on hold", I wouldn't recommend pitching it elsewhere...With music libraries, when they are asking for specific types of songs, they typically would be just as happy (or perhaps even happier) to find a great new writer that can write those exact kinds of songs (and maybe other stuff as well).