I GOT MY FIRST FORWARD!! Funk listing :)

[ErinC]

NOW WHAT?? I know I need to trim to 30 and 60 second cuts as per requested in the brief but is now the time to put it in BMI or should I wait until I hear from the client?

Either way, here is my song. I jumped around like a crazy person all over my house when I got the email last night and was SHOCKED it came in just one day after due date.

https://soundcloud.com/erincandthergd/f ... al_sharing

[gitanosoy]

NOW WHAT?? I know I need to trim to 30 and 60 second cuts as per requested in the brief but is now the time to put it in BMI or should I wait until I hear from the client?

Either way, here is my song. I jumped around like a crazy person all over my house when I got the email last night and was SHOCKED it came in just one day after due date.

https://soundcloud.com/erincandthergd/f ... al_sharing

I would wait until a library has signed your track, a forward just means that it has been approved by the screener and has past the gate.

Unless you just want to practice doing so.

Good luck

[melodea]

Hey, congrats for the forward! I listen to the forward blog, there’s some stiff competition out there for that style!!! But you made it! Now fingers crossed that the library contacts you. In the meantime don’t do anything with the track besides submitting it to a similar listing and keep on writing new stuff. Good luck

[cosmicdolphin]

Very nice track ! Has a real authentic vibe to it.

NOW WHAT??

Forget about and write for the next listing

I know I need to trim to 30 and 60 second cuts as per requested in the brief

There is only a small chance of hearing back from any one forward , so best not to make any cutdowns or alt mixes at this stage.

is now the time to put it in BMI

Noooo !! ...If a library wants to sign it they will handle the registration , don't register it yourself with any PRO it can make life tough for the library.

Either way, here is my song. I jumped around like a crazy person all over my house when I got the email last night and was SHOCKED it came in just one day after due date.

It's rare to hear back so quickly but well done. Just a thought ...did you play everything on it yourself or are there any other musicians involved ? And if so have you made arrangements for how they get compensated.

Mark

[peacheschrenko]

Hi Erin,
Congrats on the forward. Its a good feeling to know that you submitted a broadcast quality track to an appropriate listing and it was assessed by industry professionals to be good enough to forward to professional library that ran the listing.

I wish you good luck for things to go further, but there's also the possibility that you might not hear anything else. There are many reasons why libraries might never get back to you (eg the opportunity has evaporated, the show has been cancelled, the library has already found enough of what they wanted, or they simply don't warm to your track).

Therefore, as suggested already, there is nothing else to be done with the track for now, but because you've not yet been offered a contract on it you remain free to continue submitting it for similarly appropriate listings. What you might want to do is work on improving the track if there were any suggestions in your feedback that you can act on, but keep the submitted version just in case that's exactly what the library wanted.

Staying optimistic and assuming the library are going to contact you its worth making sure that you have the rest of your ducks in a row, such as....
- knowing your IPI/CAE number (and the same for any co-writers),
- understanding what to expect from typical library contracts and the splits involved,
- knowing how to sign documents electronically (assuming you wish to sign whatever contract you are offered),
- having the ability to make alternative mixes and cut-down versions of your track to whatever standard the library want*.

*These are often wav or aiff, 48kHz 24bit, or 44.1kHz 24bit, or even 44.1kHz 16bit. You might be asked to provide alt versions like an underscore version, bass and drums mix, no drums mix, etc, and perhaps stems (eg drums stem, percussion stem, strings stem, guitars stem, etc), plus cut-down versions (eg 30s, 15s, 10s, and a couple of 'stings'). As you won't know 'exactly' what the library wants at this stage, there's no point wasting a ton of time making every possible combination of these files now. Just be ready to spring into action if they do get back to you and give them exactly what they ask for promptly. Its also likely that you'll be asked to complete some metadata for the track, but that can vary significantly in depth and entry method. They'll tell you.

Also, if there's any terminology that you don't understand it would be good to find out now. Its fine to seek clarification from a library on anything that they don't make clear, but don't rely on them to educate you on things they will assume you should know. One thing I've found can be a point of confusion though is the term 'stem'. My interpretation of a stem is grouped tracks of similar instruments such as strings, rhythm guitars, synth pads, etc., but some libraries actually want separate track for single instruments (although drums is still a grouped stem). Therefore, if they ask for stems make sure you know exactly what they're asking for.

There's also a chance that the library might ask if you've got any more tracks that would fit on the same playlist, and if you have it could be worth you while getting those ready too, just in case. If they don't ask you, then you could ask them if they're interested .

The thing I would NOT do is to register anything in your BMI account, as has been said MANY TIMES in these forums. What would you register when you don't have all the details yet, like who is the publisher? If the track goes to a music library, they will be the publisher, so they will also do the registration in their own PRO (and perhaps yours too). Therefore, you could needlessly complicate things for them by doing your own registration. There are exceptions, but at this stage I would forget about registering anything yourself.

Thanks for all the info and tips here. I learned a lot from it and will keep this in mind when I get a forward

[peacheschrenko]

NOW WHAT?? I know I need to trim to 30 and 60 second cuts as per requested in the brief but is now the time to put it in BMI or should I wait until I hear from the client?

Either way, here is my song. I jumped around like a crazy person all over my house when I got the email last night and was SHOCKED it came in just one day after due date.

https://soundcloud.com/erincandthergd/f ... al_sharing

Congratulations Erin and Nice work on your song!

[OwenGrech]

As the others said it is best to wait since usually the publisher registers the track with your PRO.

Nice cool track - love that guitar solo!

Congrats and best of luck.

Owen

[ErinC]

You guys are all awesome! Thank you for all your great information.

All players were work for hire so I'm glad I don't have to worry about split sheets and all that. They're friends and professionals so I didn't get them to sign a work for hire agreement but is that something that may be asked for?

I understand this is just making it past the gate and I'm free to keep submitting to anything else but for practice sake and to have ready to go in my catalog I'm cutting down to :30 and :60 seconds. How close to that is acceptable? I understand reverb tails need to be out by 29.5 or 59.5 but if the natural flow puts me at 26 or 27 is that acceptable?

Also, what do you use to transfer your files? Is it acceptable to zip and send a dropbox link? I'm reading that disco seems to be popular but I"m trying to wait on spending more money (that doesn't involve making more music) until I actually make SOMETHING back.

Thank you again for all advice on this topic. I got past the gate and if this is as far as it gets that fine. I still see progress and I've been learning so much through this process. I've submitted 7 so far and having 1 get past the middle man is exciting! Thanks for the well wishes

[cosmicdolphin]

All players were work for hire so I'm glad I don't have to worry about split sheets and all that. They're friends and professionals so I didn't get them to sign a work for hire agreement but is that something that may be asked for?

Yes definitely , you will need them and likely get asked for them. Don't neglect this.

Also, what do you use to transfer your files? Is it acceptable to zip and send a dropbox link? I'm reading that disco seems to be popular but I"m trying to wait on spending more money (that doesn't involve making more music) until I actually make SOMETHING back.

Most of the libraries I work with have their own web based portal to upload everything , but the ones that don't have accepted WeTransfer, Dropbox etc.

How close to that is acceptable? I understand reverb tails need to be out by 29.5 or 59.5 but if the natural flow puts me at 26 or 27 is that acceptable?

The 30s cutdowns are often meant for TV Ads that have that specific length so 26 would probably be too short ... watch some Ads with a stopwatch. You may have to play around with the start and the tall to get it closer , tricks include adding a reverse guitar chord or cymbal at the start or lengthening / shortening the tail of things at the end

[ErinC]

Ok awesome. I understand. I'll get on getting those work for hire sheets signed. Thank you so much for getting back to me.