Becoming your own music library?

[fusilierb]

Absolutely not Casey,You weren't discouraging at all. In fact, cause you've already gone through this, you were very encouraging. Here's where I guess I'm muddy. I'm assuming that when these TV stations find a tune from a library that they want to use for whatever, there is a simple process they go through to get it, say pay a specific fee and fill out some sort of paperwork. And by doing that, they are assured that everything is clear and legit and they can do whatever they need to without getting sued on the backend cuase the person who really wrote the music wasn't involved in the deal.I'm guessing there is a standard set of rules around what that means. If I wrote it, is that simply enough to show with confidence that I own it and they can use it for x reasons? I'm sure there is some sort of legal form that they are expecting to fill out, right? And then there is this synch fee. Which seems to be a big revenue generator for the libraries themselves. What is that exactly? A legal agreement? Is it even necessary or required?And the cue sheets. That seems to be very standard. I don't even know who that gets turned into, the PRO orgs? Is that required and what's the protocal.If I'm pitching directly, now much of this do I need to be aware of? I don't want to sound more wet behind the ears than necessary. But if its just a one on one deal that we just strike up on a handshake, that's a lot different than how they are buying their music now and I don't think that will fly. So I guess I want it to be familiar and easy and I need to know what that is before I go to much further. And I've learned from connections here on these boards that there are people who seem to have small catalogs that they are pitching and they seem like they are people with connections on their own who seem to get asked what they've got available so their pairing up with other writers they like and kind of becoming mini libraries, on more of a direct marketing scale.All these ideas are a big help. So thanks in advance for anyone else wanting to jump in here. B

[mojobone]

I don't have much experience, here, but I think what they'll want is a signed, possibly notarized affadavit stating that you own or have leased all rights in the song and the sound recording; you'll also need signatures from any outside help that performed on the recordings. see below:http://taxi.proboards.com/index.cgi?boa ... read=11446

[mazz]

You just have to own the music or have the power of attorney to pitch it on behalf of any co-writers, etc. All your ducks have to be in a row legally. I would check out the websites of various production libraries and see how they handle the wording and policies of their business. Also check out the tiers of pricing depending on the ultimate usage in regards to license/synch fees.Sometimes synch fees are minimal and sometimes that's OK if the backend looks to be very lucrative. If it's a lifetime buyout for a corporate training video that will be shown hundreds of times for 10 years because the information doesn't change, that's a different fee structure than for a local TV commercial and different for a regional, national, broadcast, etc. You should have all that in place, even if you're only pitching to locals at first. Having all that, IMO, will make you a better business person anyway (are you listening to your own advice, Mazz?) and will prepare you for when you do negotiate that national spot.If you were going to open a pizza joint down the street from the other local pizza joint, what kinds of market research would you do? What would your business plan and mission statement look like? Would you read every "starting your own pizza joint" book you could get your hands on to learn everything about the business you are going in to? Doing what you want to do with music is no different. Going in with your eyes open is always the best policy, IMO.Mazz

[fusilierb]

Yeah you right Mazz,Is there some sort of music licensing for Dummy's that I should be aware of? Probably some good posts here if I actually used the search feature. Maybe I'll try that now.B

[fusilierb]

Yikes! Search feature sucks...Let's keep doing it this way,B

[Casey H]

A few suggestions...Image means a lot. I would apply to a PRO such as ASCAP or BMI for a publishing company name. Contact those companies for the process. Sometimes you have to cite an example as to where your music was actually used to submit the application, but even a small credit or usage should work (it did for me years back with ASCAP).Create letterhead with your publishing company name. Sign your correspondence, email or paper, with the company name followed by (ASCAP) or (BMI), etc. With Word, it takes a few minutes to put something in the header of your letters that acts as letterhead. You don't need a fancy, custom logo - just something reasonable up top.Make a website with your publishing company name that has categorized music samples, with quick-access streaming samples as well as some means for download. Emphasize on your website that the music is all pre-cleared and available for immediate, one-stop licensing. Music hosting sites such as hostbaby and that one that starts with b, make it pretty easy. (The "b" one has very slow page load response and I'm ready to ditch them, BTW).True story... After I started my publishing company, I ran an ad in a popular tip-sheet for music from songwriters and artists. Terrific material was submitted to me- I was very impressed. Because I listed for material, all of a sudden the name of my company was showing up in all sorts of publisher directories. Pitches started coming to me from fairly successful artists, managers, music attorneys, etc. Just having the name "Company X (ASCAP)" out there added a lot of legitimacy to what I was doing (not that it wasn't legit, but I was small potatoes). I did make an artist placement (small, never sold much), got a track on HBO and another on Canadian TV. That did earn me some money (my guess about $2K) but more importantly, the credits get listed on the cover letter or email with every pitch I make today. I now often respond to industry leads that are "publisher only" or "professionals with previous credentials only".So, build the image. Best Casey

[fusilierb]

More great ideas Casey! Luckily I setup a publishing company back in college, when I was actually getting things performed, and it still stands with ASCAP. So I can move forward on those fronts. I guess its time to put my intraconnect homer simpson inspired web talents back to work and get some sort of decent looking site designed. You wouldn't happen to have a copy of what your licensing agreement might have looked like, would you? B