Upfront $$$ = 0% sync fees

[Casey H]

I am self counseling

Better than self medicating

Hmmmm... But can I do both?

[VanderBoegh]

Hey Jeff, I'm not sure what your annual productivity / track count is, but that's the biggest variable in my mind.

If you typically make in excess of 200 tracks per year, then this 50-track deal is 25% of your annual workload. You'd be giving up any and all sync fees, so this one-time payout would need to equate to 25% of the annual income you want to make. But keep in mind, you'd still be making 150 other tracks that would be (hopefully) out generating royalties on reality TV shows. In this case, I may be inclined to take the deal.

However, if you only typically make 50 tracks a year, then this would be an entire year's work. And is $10K a good number for a whole year's output, knowing there would be nothing more incoming down the line? I guess it just depends on how much you want an extra $10K!

Nonetheless, it does seem that upfront money comes at the expense of something else these days. It's unfortunate, but it's reality. My approach is to play the short-game every now and then and take the quick paydays when they come, while still focusing the bulk of my efforts on the long-game.

~~Matt

[jefflaplante]

Hey Jeff, I'm not sure what your annual productivity / track count is, but that's the biggest variable in my mind.

If you typically make in excess of 200 tracks per year, then this 50-track deal is 25% of your annual workload. You'd be giving up any and all sync fees, so this one-time payout would need to equate to 25% of the annual income you want to make. But keep in mind, you'd still be making 150 other tracks that would be (hopefully) out generating royalties on reality TV shows. In this case, I may be inclined to take the deal.

However, if you only typically make 50 tracks a year, then this would be an entire year's work. And is $10K a good number for a whole year's output, knowing there would be nothing more incoming down the line? I guess it just depends on how much you want an extra $10K!

Hi Matt,
I typically do about 15 a month, so 180 cues/year. This upfront deal is $12,000 for the year for 60 cues. (5 per month) I'd still be able to submit 120 cues/year to other libraries and to TAXI listings. I decided to go for it. The $12K/ year will allow me to decrease my music lesson clientele, allowing for even more composing/production time. Maybe someday, my backend royalties will be coming in consistently...I'm just not there yet. Still fairly new to the game, and I'm playing the long game.

Jeff

[ksutton1207]

Hey Jeff,

Lots of great input in this thread. Personally with where I’m at in my music career, I’d be inclined to take the deal. It’s guaranteed upfront money at a decent rate ($200/track). You could see this come back to you on the backend too. For commercial placements, most PROs process these payments based on claims and information submitted to ad monitoring services like Numerator. I believe some libraries do (or should) coordinate this on your behalf, but ASCAP for one has a submission form for claiming said placements. TV promos, on the other hand, should be submitted directly by most major networks. I’ve yet to see this come through on the backend for a couple ad/promo placements of my own, but fingers crossed.

Hard to say what you’re losing out on by signing away sync.
But in my experience, backend royalties alone can be such a gamble. I’ve had tracks make considerably more than $200 each to date, but a large majority that have generated nothing at all. Not to mention those that get placed but never make it to a cue sheet for one reason or another. It may be considered short sided, but at least this way you know each cue you produce is going to earn you something. Maybe sign a batch to this agreement for a year and then reassess next year?

Either way, congrats on the offer!

Kyle