Making significant $ with film/TV music

[DesireInspires]

I'm not interested in libraries. I'd rather people download my music for free and enjoy it. I make money in my pool business. good money. If the music is going to pay from submissions it looks like placements would be the target.

The most important thing I think is to have fun producing music. Build it first and they will come. Then I guess the money will come later?

Huh?

How will you make "significant $" if you want people to download your music and enjoy it for free?

[mojobone]

Yeah, I'm with 'Desire' on this one. This is supposed to be a thread about getting paid, am I wrong?

[mojobone]

I'm Jared Jones, soon to be new member of Taxi, and owner of my own music publishing and licensing label. Oh yeah, songwriter obviously. My producer/co-owner and I focus primarily on the R&B/Pop genre. In the last few years, it has been, and remains a goal to get major cuts with major artists. I've written for a Uk artist who's release should be out this year, and will continue writing for other UK artists. But as far as money goes...music licensing is where it's at. A lot of my peers in the R&B realm are only focused on major album cuts, and don't realize how lucrative music licensing can be.So my producer and I's main focus now, is music licensing. We are blessed to both own personal studios where we can write, record, mix, and master within a day. Currently, we license through a third party music licensor, *COMPANY NAME WITHHELD*, in New York. I've received two placements from them and have received ASCAP royalties. After running a few numbers based on the number of songs I had placed, compared with the number of songs I had available within that time, 2 out of every 7 songs I submit will be placed. Based on this math, and the money I make from that agreement (25% writers share, no upfront money unless it's a commercial or non-national broadcast), we will need to place 250 songs in order to make six-figures. Doable, absolutely, but over time. So we continue to expand our outlets, because remember, that is just for *COMPANY NAME WITHHELD*. We also license through *COMPANY NAME WITHHELD*, and direct licensing (which takes the most work). With the addition of Taxi, we could definitely see six figures every year, within the next three or four years. But it takes writing everyday, and turning everything into a song.I am not the type of person to write, and not try and get it placed. I won't even take the time to write it if I know it won't be good. So you have to find a formula that works for you. The first song I had placed on CBS's "The Young and The Restless". That song was recorded in my college dorm when I was 19. (I'm turning 23 this Feb 14). My main formula is have my producer compose a hot track, and write the lyrics and melody. Every now and again, like yesterday, I will come up with a lyric idea, melody, and leave it on his voice mail, and he will compose the track before I get out of work. So like I said, I'm blessed. I understand that most people don't have the quick turnaround ability as I do, but like Mark Kaufman says above this post...build a volume of songs. Don't sit and critique it..let others do that. Eventually, you will realize just how many songs you can create, pitch, and get placed.Remember how many times the Beatles were passed by record labels...same deal with songs. Every song has a home, even if you think it sucks. And yeah, it may take some more work to make it a great song. But don't try to write a great song...just let it happen. How? Just write what you love to write about. Don't make this seem like work. Just write, record, get it mixed, mastered (find someone to do a collection of songs for cheap, or learn how to do it yourself), and place. That's the formula. And do it until you can leave your day job.I said I'm 23 this coming Saturday...I will be making six-figures by 28. Not because I'm good, but because I won't stop until it happens. God Bless You. I hope to talk to many of you soon, and be a regular poster.- Jared Jones

https://www.google.com/search?q=Jared+J ... e&ie=UTF-8

Maybe you can't "let it happen"; possibly you or someone else need to make it happen.

[BritFox]

Casey thank you for posting this. I'm learning more about instrumentals/cues, not just lyrics & songs. This helps with the long-term goal of planning!

[teraannsitzmann]

Dec 5, 2008, 8:05am, anne wrote:TV/FILM music in easy bullet point form:it is a long term game, you need a 5 year planThe point that the successful film/TV music writers will tell you is it's a numbers game. If one compares the cost of something like taxi, to the income from just a few placements, they aren't seeing the real picture.Perfect bullet summary!

[teraannsitzmann]

Dec 5, 2008, 8:05am, anne wrote:TV/FILM music in easy bullet point form:it is a long term game, you need a 5 year planThe point that the successful film/TV music writers will tell you is it's a numbers game. If one compares the cost of something like taxi, to the income from just a few placements, they aren't seeing the real picture.Perfect bullet summary!

Casey,
I appreciate your mention of custom writing. I have a large number of songs that I want to submit before I custom write. Most of my songs have lyrics so I must focus on instrument writing. This was a great post.
Tera

[markhimley]

Woah I just found this thread, great read and lots of great info.

[balance]

Good stuff. Thanks. - Roger

[RickElliott]

I have experienced the international, 1-2 year lag-time. I had to contact my PRO and ask them where the money came from. I got about $130 for the initial payment. The library took one of my old tracks, registered the name but put their initials at the end since it was already published. The show had already had its final season by the time I found out what it was. The show has been over for 5 years now, but I still get about $1.30 every month because people are binge watching these shows. I use this as a measuring stick for popular show placement

[superblonde]

In the wildly popular "10,000 hours" book, which encourages many people to "try, try, try and then try again, until you make it", what's often glossed over is the tiny print regarding some types of success requiring Average Taste: only those with Average Taste will make art which appeals to the mass audience in order to reap the financial rewards of the time/$ investment. An example of what would not reap rewards, regardless of "10,000 hours" or not, is being incredibly passionate about art which current audiences don't care about, even though it's great and someone may have become expert-level at it, for example, prog metal music, or jazz trumpet, or many others, etc. Yes there are exaggerations in various parts of the 10,000 hours book and large parts of it have been debunked.

The principle of Average Taste shows all over, in Billboard charts, etc. The artists creating the highly $$ successful art may have the rarest natural-born talent in the world, absolutely low-class/average artistic taste. The failures & difficulty of someone with "fine art taste" attempting to adopt or appeal to an Average Taste also show all over, ask yourself why you have never purchased and would never consider purchasing a tabloid newspaper, or Seventeen magazine, etc, while standing in the grocery line and staring at the print covers, while others can't wait to get their latest copy and read it passionately. Yoda voice - "and that is why you fail"