11 Songs Published to Library

[eblossman]

Hello All,
I have finally gotten some songs published to a music library that does primarily TV and Film. I was contacted to submit all material and they came back with a contract and schedule with 11 of my songs. I have been at this a long time but this is as far as I have made it and am a little unsure about what I need to do next. My first question is do I make all of the published songs "private" and offline? Also, now since I have an open portal to submit songs directly to the publisher which I have done an additional track and given the green light, do I hold the next group and hopefully get an additional publisher or just flood this one with all I have. They already have now 12 of my songs.

Any input is appreciated.
Eric

[andygabrys]

Congrats on the contract Eric.

It varies a little across different publishers how they are going to handle signing material and keeping updated on future submissions. Some want paper (at least to start). Some are happy with echosign or similar online forms, and some are happy with signed and scanned PDFs.

First off I would sign and return the existing contract for 11 songs. They can't and won't do anything with your material before they get the contract. When you send it back (whether e-contract or snail mail) you can ask whether they will update you periodically with a new Schedule A containing all your works.

Some publishers never send a new schedule to me, but I know they are using my material as it shows up in my BMI account either as cue sheets or as new registered works.

If they are the kind that never send updates, just keep good records for yourself. There is a great piece of software called "Composer Catalog" by our forum friend Keith Lu Brant which can help, and failing that a few excel spreadsheets always works. You want to make sure you record which works are held non-exclusively and which are signed exclusively. You might even title folders in your song database with the publisher and exclusive or non-exclusive on the folder.

If you keep good records you have an idea of how many songs you have actually signed, and which songs you could sign with another non-exclusive retitle library, and which songs are signed exclusive and are off limits. It can also help you figure out which libraries are working well with your material when you get your PRO statement. Like if you have "my song" signed to 3 different non-exclusive libraries and they all have different names. You can deduce from your statement and your records that publisher B actually uses your music a lot, and Publishers A and C are likely busier with other kinds of music.

Its going to be at least a year to start to figure this out though - music licensing favors the LOOOOOOOONNNNGGG game.

As far as making your songs "private" that also depends on the publisher - but in most cases having your body of work on your website isn't a big deal.

When it comes to holding new songs for an additional publisher - that is totally up to you and is a business strategy that only you can determine.

In my case I get the most action with publishers that hold a substantial amount of my material - let's say 50+ tracks. If I only have a few tracks its possible they still can get used, especially if they are just the right track for the job.

If you haven't watched this series of 7 videos it might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FguwMMsDZA

[annayarbrough]

Congratulations Eric, that's awesome!

[markhimley]

Congrats, that is awesome!! Hopefully it's just the start of a very fruitful relationship for you!

[eblossman]

Andy,
Thanks for the detailed info. Much appreciated that really helped!

Mark, Anna,
Thanks Much appreciated!

[Telefunkin]

Great stuff Eric. Congrats on the library signings and I hope they bring you some income. I've had the same 'nice problem' as you, where I chose to hold back on submitting too many tracks to a library I'm already working with, only to find that they're now supplying some great TV shows. I'm now sending them much more . You never know what placements a library might bring you, or when the NEXT library will show up! However, if you can create lots of music then my suggestion would be to try and get a good body of work signed through the channels that are already open to you, whilst holding some in reserve and whilst working on more new tracks so that you're ready for whatever opportunity comes next. You can tweak the proportions to your own circumstances. Just my thoughts though. Good luck whatever way you go.