Question about film/tv licensing deal

[adrianne76]

Hey friends,A company that does music in film/tv is interested in signing my songs. I was very excited to hear from them, but I got the contract and was slightly disappointed with the deal:(Company name has been replaced with XXX)TERM: 5 Years Rights: All Rights Territory: Worldwide Income/Collections: Not Including Performance Royalties XXX will pay to your publishing company fifty percent (50%) of all Gross Revenue derived from any and all uses of your share of the Compositions and your share of the Masters after deducting a fifteen percent (15%) administration fee to XXX. This is an EXCLUSIVE deal, with a 5 year term. Doing the math, that means that I only get 35% of the upfront fees, correct? I feel as though they are taking an extra 15% that other companies don't usually take. (Isn't the standard 50/50?)I wouldn't be as concerned if it weren't an exclusive deal, but it is, so I won't be able to license these songs via anyone/anywhere else. Regardless of the contract, I am very happy and flattered that they called. But I'd love to get some feedback from you folks who have been active in this area. Thanks!

[Casey H]

Feb 16, 2009, 7:36pm, adrianne76 wrote:Hey friends,A company that does music in film/tv is interested in signing my songs. I was very excited to hear from them, but I got the contract and was slightly disappointed with the deal:(Company name has been replaced with XXX)TERM: 5 Years Rights: All Rights Territory: Worldwide Income/Collections: Not Including Performance Royalties XXX will pay to your publishing company fifty percent (50%) of all Gross Revenue derived from any and all uses of your share of the Compositions and your share of the Masters after deducting a fifteen percent (15%) administration fee to XXX. This is an EXCLUSIVE deal, with a 5 year term. Doing the math, that means that I only get 35% of the upfront fees, correct? I feel as though they are taking an extra 15% that other companies don't usually take. (Isn't the standard 50/50?)I wouldn't be as concerned if it weren't an exclusive deal, but it is, so I won't be able to license these songs via anyone/anywhere else. Regardless of the contract, I am very happy and flattered that they called. But I'd love to get some feedback from you folks who have been active in this area. Thanks!If it's a good company with a track record of placements, it's still not a bad deal. Yes, it would be better to get 50%, not 35%, of master/sync but (if I understood correctly) you get 100% of the writer's share of performance royalties and most often the "back end" is where the money is. License fees are shrinking every day.In a lot of cases, it's the better libraries that ask for exclusive. So check out the company, their track record, etc. All other things being OK, it could be an opportunity not worth missing out on.And.... CONGRATS!!!! Best,Casey

[slideboardouts]

Feb 16, 2009, 7:36pm, adrianne76 wrote:Hey friends,A company that does music in film/tv is interested in signing my songs. I was very excited to hear from them, but I got the contract and was slightly disappointed with the deal:(Company name has been replaced with XXX)TERM: 5 Years Rights: All Rights Territory: Worldwide Income/Collections: Not Including Performance Royalties XXX will pay to your publishing company fifty percent (50%) of all Gross Revenue derived from any and all uses of your share of the Compositions and your share of the Masters after deducting a fifteen percent (15%) administration fee to XXX. This is an EXCLUSIVE deal, with a 5 year term. Doing the math, that means that I only get 35% of the upfront fees, correct? I feel as though they are taking an extra 15% that other companies don't usually take. (Isn't the standard 50/50?)I wouldn't be as concerned if it weren't an exclusive deal, but it is, so I won't be able to license these songs via anyone/anywhere else. Regardless of the contract, I am very happy and flattered that they called. But I'd love to get some feedback from you folks who have been active in this area. Thanks!Well, first off you should really learn about exclusives and non exclusives. I can tell you that a number of composers I know who are more talented and make more money than me won't sign a piece of music with more than one library/publisher whether their deal is exclusive or non-exclusive. That should tell you something There really is no standard for sync fees. I have one deal where I get 50% (actually its a cowrite situation so I end up with 25%), one where I get 40%, one is 20%, and another I get no sync money at all. The significant money with music is usually on performance royalties though.As far as length of contract, again that varies too. One deal I have is 5 years, one I can take any cue out whenever I want, one is 3 years, and one is for eternity (thats fo-eva )From what you posted it doesn't seem like a bad deal to me. A lot of it depends on the particular publisher/library. Check out their track record. It wouldn't hurt to run the contract by an attorney either to get you familiar with the lingo and library contracts in general.-Steve

[matto]

Adrianne,first off the way I read it they deduct 15% admin expenses off the top which means you actually get 42.5%, not 35% (100% -15% = 85%; 85% : 2 = 42.5 %).Steve and Casey are correct that there really is no standard for the way sync fees are split, it can range from 0 to 50%, rarely higher.Whether or not an exclusive deal is a problem for you I don't know, that depends on what else you'd like to do with the song(s). Many production music companies will allow you to work the song yourself in venues outside of film/tv (such as sell your own CD's etc), if this contract doesn't specifiy anything to that effect it might not be a bad idea to ask.Whether or not this is a good deal really depends on the effectiveness of the company, so ask them about their clients, and ask for a recent credit list and compare that with the size of their catalog.At any rate make sure it is specified that you retain 100% of your writer's share of performance royalties.HTH,matto

[stevebarden]

Feb 16, 2009, 7:36pm, adrianne76 wrote:TERM: 5 Years Rights: All Rights Territory: Worldwide Income/Collections: Not Including Performance Royalties XXX will pay to your publishing company fifty percent (50%) of all Gross Revenue derived from any and all uses of your share of the Compositions and your share of the Masters after deducting a fifteen percent (15%) administration fee to XXX. There are multiple ways to interpret this deal. First, definitely seek the advice of a music attorney and secondly, ask the company to clarify the numbers by providing an example of how the money is broken down.Based on what you've given us above, they are giving you 100% of your writer's share(?). As you know, royalties are split 50/50 between the writer and the publisher. To me it looks like they are saying that they will split the publishing with you 50/50. So if you are the publisher then you are getting 75% of the total pot. That's unusual. They mention use of the "masters" which should mean the actual license fee. It's vague, but it could mean splitting the license fee with you 50/50. Their wording is very vague. Also, 35% for administration fees. 35% of what??? Of the publishing? Of the license fee?Don't be afraid to ask questions. Especially since this is an exclusive deal. Seek legal counseling. It's worth it.Steve

[Casey H]

Thanks matto, for the math correction... The percentage splits in music get all of us confused some time and contract wording varies, making it even a little more head-spinning. When they say "not including performance royalties" it's not completely clear to me if they are referring to both the Writer's and Publisher's share. I say that because usually, "pay your publishing company", refers to the Publisher's share of performance royalties. Master and Sync fees typically don't go through a publishing company in a deal like this. Also, "50%" of all Gross Revenue" when referring to share of Compositions often means 100% of the Writer's share of performance royalties.So, the sentence is very confusing, but most likely its a pretty standard split other than the 15% off the top (which I've seen other libraries do). It's fine to ask for clarification. You should have this reviewed with a competent music attorney, one who is not out to be a "deal killer" but one who will explain everything clearly to you, suggest corrections you could ask for, and give general advice. Also, sometimes you can ask if they can reduce the admin fee such as to 10%. They can say no and as long as you've conducted yourself like a pro, no harm should be done. (Wait until you talk to the attorney though, since you may go back with them a few questions)...I'm not 100% sure with this wording, but very often deals like this break down as follows:Library gets $500 license fee... They take $75 off the top (15%). You then split the remaining $425 as $212.50 each. Then for every dollar of performance royalties, you each get 50 cents.Please let us know how things develop. Best of luck!!! This one one of those "good problems to have"!!Best, Casey

[adrianne76]

Thanks so much to you all for your informed responses - it is very helpful. This forum rocks.To clarify, in another paragraph of the contract, it states that I will get 100% of the writer's share of the royalties and 50% of the publisher's share of the royalties. I figured that this part was pretty standard/good, so I only posted the part that I had an issue with.And Matto - I am the Adrianne that said "hi" to you at the NAMM show. I hope you enjoyed the show...Cheers!

[slideboardouts]

Feb 17, 2009, 8:37am, adrianne76 wrote:To clarify, in another paragraph of the contract, it states that I will get 100% of the writer's share of the royalties and 50% of the publisher's share of the royalties. I figured that this part was pretty standard/good, so I only posted the part that I had an issue with.Getting 50% of the publishers share is better than standard, its awesome!

[matto]

Feb 17, 2009, 8:37am, adrianne76 wrote:Thanks so much to you all for your informed responses - it is very helpful. This forum rocks.To clarify, in another paragraph of the contract, it states that I will get 100% of the writer's share of the royalties and 50% of the publisher's share of the royalties. I figured that this part was pretty standard/good, so I only posted the part that I had an issue with.In that case the deal is above average writer friendly...Quote:And Matto - I am the Adrianne that said "hi" to you at the NAMM show. I hope you enjoyed the show...I figured it had to be you. I enjoyed the Show, and talking to you. I sent you a PM...

[zircon]

50% of publishers share is indeed better than normal, but depending on the company, you might not see any ASCAP royalties. I've had music in libraries since 2006, and despite some very nice sales of my music and some verified placements, I have yet to see a penny in royalties from ASCAP. Go figure.