PRO Advice

[parwalker]

Hi everyone, I'd be grateful for some opinion on this. I have just had my first forward and as a result have been offered a deal for the forwarded cue. I'm new to this aspect of the game and the company offering me the deal are asking for PRO info and CAE - IPI numbers. I've just registered with PRS (I'm UK based) but have to send paperwork back to them and wait for my account to be activated before I can get CAE - IPI number. Obviously I don't want to miss the opportunity but I feel it would be unwise to send the masters and sign the contract without doing so. It's a fairly standard 50/50 split as far as I can see, I keep the writers they have the publishing. Having tried to find answers on the forums here there seems to be conflicting opinions around the necessity to register the cue with a my own PRO as the company will register it with theirs and I will get what's due to come to me anyway. Then other people disagree with that. It's been a very fast education for me over the past few days and I'm very confused and uncertain as to what would be the wisest course of action for me here. Any clarification or help on this would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance. Pete.

[guscave]

Hey, Congrats on the forward and the deal. I'm not too familiar with PRS as I'm in the US and signed with BMI, so I don't know how long it will take you to get the information back from PRS. However I would contact the library and let them know you're waiting on the CAE number and you will send it to them as soon as you get it. No reason to wait until you get the forms to send them the masters, contracts, etc.

Remember that the PRO is only going to come into play once your song gets broadcast. That can take months if not years.

[Casey H]

+1 What Gus said
Let the library know your CAE# is pending and move forward with everything (unless THEY say you have to wait). Always take a deal while it's hot. If you wait, things could change. I've seen it happen.

Congrats and good luck!
Casey

[parwalker]

guscave & Casey H

Thank you both for taking the time to respond, it's appreciated. I have taken your advice and responded to the company, they seem happy to wait but it's given me peace of mind in knowing that I'm not going to miss the opportunity. I may send them the masters in the meantime, I'll ponder that.

Anyway, thanks again guys. Your sound advice has been really valuable. I am really grateful that you took the time.

All the best.

Pete.

[bakerstreet]

Pete, I would send the masters, don't do anything to make you "difficult to work with" they want your success as much as you do but they can't use your music until they have it.

Congrats on the forward, now you are working with them, make the process easy for them. The earlier advise of "tell them whats going on" - paraphrased - is spot on. Communication is key and the professional thing to do.

Worst case is you never get paid right? Now us much as that would be a major bummer, it is highly unlikely that they will run off with your master never to be seen again. They have been thoroughly checked out by Taxi before they were aloud to run the listing and they have a reputation to uphold.

The deal here is to keep writing, stay on a roll. Be productive and keep going. As Michael says, Write, submit, forget, repeat.

These are just my opinions Pete.

Also I am in the UK Brentwood, Essex. So stay in touch.

[parwalker]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your advice, and apologies for the delayed response. I've only just noticed your comment to be honest. Still finding my feet with all this!

I did send them everything, I'm not sure if it got used or not. I guess I'll find out one day. As you say write, submit, forget, repeat.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to write. It's appreciated. We're all in this together...or something like that.

Pete.

[Kolstad]

Yeah, just tell it like it is. That shouldnt be an issue.
If they like your work from the get go, it just signals that you have a lot of potential.

[cosmicdolphin]

Wow first foward = deal ? That's some going. Really you should have had your PRS membership sorted before submitting , I think it was pretty much the next step I took after joining Taxi so 4 months later when a deal came along everything was ready to go.

I have never registered any cues with PRS myself, the Libraries have always handled it for me but obviously they can't do that until they have your CAE-IPI number. If they are not in the UK then it's unlikely you will see them show up in your PRS Account unless there is some placement action, but you may find them listed on BMI or ASACP depending on the Library .

Hopefully it will only slow the thing down a couple of weeks and you can have everything else ready. Some Libraries want more than just one track to get started with them to make it worth their while doing the paperwork , have they mentioned making any more in the same style ? You could be getting busy on that while you wait.

Mark

[parwalker]

Thanks for taking the time to write Mark, it's appreciated. You meet some nice folk on here don't you!

You make some interesting points. I haven't registered the track with PRS actually but have been meaning to. It's good to know that maybe I don't need to though. They've had all of the relevant details now so it's all taken care of. I haven't heard anything from them since so maybe they didn't use it in the end. Might be worth a check on BMI or ASCAP though, I never thought of that. And yes, they did say that if I had any more in the same ballpark to let them have a listen. You're right, I should write a few more and get them over.

All good points Mark, thanks for your time.

Pete