First Forward! NOW WHAT?

[fletcherwilson]

Hey Everyone,
I joined TAXI last month and I am stoked to be finally writing music for a reason consistently!
https://soundcloud.com/fletcherwilson/o-christmas-tree
I arranged an instrumental public domain Christmas tune that was forwarded, but this is my first one, so I have a lot of questions.

1. Do I need to copyright the arrangement?
2. Do I need to register the arrangement with ASCAP?
3. Should I expect to hear from the library/get paid anything?
4. Is there anything else I should do to be in the prime position to receive royalties after a sync?
5. What exactly does a 50/50 exclusive deal mean for me?

Thanks!

[cosmicdolphin]

1. Do I need to copyright the arrangement?

No

2. Do I need to register the arrangement with ASCAP?

No. the Library does this if they sign it - otherwise they can't get paid their half

3. Should I expect to hear from the library/get paid anything?

No, it took 20-30 forwards to hear from the Libraries I got my music into so it would be rare to hit the bullseye first time out. Expect nothing. Write - Submit - Forget - Repeat. And if you do land one of those rare first forward deals then count your blessings, but don't expect to get paid anything unitl about 9 months after it gets placed ( if it ever does..bear in mind a lot of successful folks say only 20% or so of their catalogue gets used )

4. Is there anything else I should do to be in the prime position to receive royalties after a sync?

Not if you already joined a PRO. If not you need to join a PRO right now.

5. What exactly does a 50/50 exclusive deal mean for me?

You get half the income and the library gets the other half. This can be made up of Sync Fees and Royalties.

Mark

[hummingbird]

1. Do I need to copyright the arrangement?
No.

2. Do I need to register the arrangement with ASCAP?
Typically the music library or publisher does the registrations.

3. Should I expect to hear from the library/get paid anything?
A forward is not a deal. You might hear from them in a month, in 3 years, or never. If they like your track, they will contact you and send you a contract and information on how to submit the track in the format that they want. Sign and send as quickly as possible. They put the track in their library and pitch it to suitable opps. If and when it gets chosen for a show, the show is subsequently broadcast. A cue sheet is then filed, that wends its way to the PROS. Your share of the performance royalties will be then paid to you, generally 6 months - 9 months or so after the show's broadcast. If a sync fee is payable, then your share will be paid to you according to the payment schedule specified in the contract.

4. Is there anything else I should do to be in the prime position to receive royalties after a sync?
Sounds like you already are a member of ASCAP. When a contract is offered part of the information you will be providing is your ASCAP IPI. There are two ways to get paid... a share of sync licencing, and a share of performance royalties. In this case the royalty share will not be writers as it's not an original piece.

5. What exactly does a 50/50 exclusive deal mean for me?
- once you sign your agreement, you may not pitch this specific instrumental cover to any other entity
- you will receive half of the sync fee paid to the library if applicable
- you will receive performance royalties from your PRO if applicable

The fact that you got a forward is great news, it means you got over the 'bar' and that your work was broadcast quality. Congrats! Keep composing and submitting!

[TaxiLurker]

Contrats Fletcher! and thanks to Hummingbird and Cosmicdolphin for the answers

[fletcherwilson]

Thanks for the information and encouragement! In terms of the "broadcast quality", mixing and mastering is something I'm trying to really get better at, but I am still a little insecure about it. What if anything would you all suggest when it comes to the mix of this particular arrangement: https://soundcloud.com/fletcherwilson/o-christmas-tree ?