Exclusive vs non-exclusive

[horacejesse]

Many library listings seem to include all the information I am looking for on the company's policy, but just as many more lack one or several pieces of information I consider crucial.I am asking the following questions to anyone who might have a clue, but especially to Taxi itself.Would it be feasible to:1. Always include whether a company offers an exclusive or non-exclusive deal?2. Always include whether a company keeps your copyrights or not?3. Always include whether a company has a reversion clause and how long it is?These ommisiions are so frequent that if I have to call Taxi everytime this comes up I will be bugging them to death.So far I have always made the assumption that if that information is not listed, it is because the comapny does not offer a reversion clause, keeps your copyrights, offer an exclusive deal, etc., etc.Any assistance clarifying these questions would be greatly appreciated.

[feloniuspunk]

This topic in similar form has been brought up here before. As you point out, that is precisely the kind of information some of us are looking for. It's a hodge-podge. Some listings give more info than others. I suspect that some of the folks on the "other" end of the industry (the folks providing the solicitations) think that some of us folks over here on this side of the industry (the ones responding to their solicitations) are dumb and either don't know (ignorance) or don't care (apathy) about that kind of stuff.Maybe some of the newbies are still not fully tuned in to what all that means, but for some of us who have been in the game a while, we do know and care about that kind of stuff. It sure is a blessing when it is included in the listing.Posting it here lets the Taxi executives know what they have to do to continually improve their service to us (they do read these posts). It's not just a one-way street anymore, with us doing all the giving and them doing all the taking. We have just as much right to be selective about who and what we submit to as they have a right to be picky about what they want and what they're offering.Make us an offer we can't refuse . . .Some of us have actually gotten pretty good at deciphering all of that legal jargon in the contracts. I agree that the more info the listings have, the better the "fit" for everyone.

[matto]

Quote:Would it be feasible to:1. Always include whether a company offers an exclusive or non-exclusive deal?2. Always include whether a company keeps your copyrights or not?3. Always include whether a company has a reversion clause and how long it is?I don't think it's feasible...because many companies do not have one set way of doing things and will decide on a case by case basis. Generally speaking everything is always negotiable, it just depends on how badly they want your song vs how badly you want the deal.Taxi always asks companies about it though AFAIK and whenever a company has a set way of doing business that they want to divulge, Taxi will provide that information in the listing.FWIW, in my humble opinion one of the BIGGEST mistakes newbies make is to assume that a non-exclusive deal is always better than an exclusive deal. In reality things are far more complex than that. There are many factors that play into what might be the most advantageous deal for a given song by a given songwriter at a given point in that person's life.And by only submitting to "non-exclusive listings", someone might well close themselves off to some major opportunities.matto

[horacejesse]

Matto,Thanks for that answer.I have read in the Taxi success stories that sometimes people sign contracts for multiple (a dozen or so) songs. Do you ever do this?

[matto]

Quote:I have read in the Taxi success stories that sometimes people sign contracts for multiple (a dozen or so) songs. Do you ever do this? Yes I do sometimes. Nowadays I often get hired to do an entire CD's worth of material. However, personally, I wouldn't sign a dozen songs to a company unless a- I was very prolific (which thankfully I am),andb- I had (successfully) done business with the company before or at least was very convinced of their track recordand/orc- they offered me a sizable advanceTypically I draw the line at 2-3 songs if I haven't worked with a company before and they offer no upfront money. I still have to be conviced that they'll do a good job for me of course.(This is the simplified and abbreviated version...there are other factors that go into the decision making process, and the process "evolves" somewhat as you become more successful and amass more credits...well at least it did in my case...)