TAXI.com

Hey!

Maybe someone can shed some light on this for me. I was reading on the taxi.com FAQs and came across this little bit of text in regards to music licensing and dealing with a music supervisor that’s interested in your music.

They want your song! Now what? A good idea when first licensing your music is to have a manager or attorney or someone who really understands licensing to help you evaluate the deal for use of your music. Things to be considered are intent of use, scope, and fee. Once there is a verbal agreement, make sure to get it in writing as well.

It is important not to devalue the song by licensing it for whatever a user offers. But also be aware that music supervisors may let you know their budget constraints give them no room for negotiation; that's when you determine if the exposure is going to make the deal worthwhile. Think of unknown group, A3, placing their song "Got Yourself a Gun" in the then un-known HBO pilot, "The Sopranos."

Walk away from any deal that asks for 1. your publishing 2. exclusive rights to your songs 3. your music in any way they want and for any length they want.

From everything I’ve read so far, it seems like this advice this would not apply to strictly instrumental placements. Is that correct? Almost every listing for instrumental stuff that I’ve come across asks for some or all of the publishing rights, and many are exclusive deals. (My guess is that this sort of deal on happens for music libraries and not deals directly made with supervisors?)

If I am understanding this all correctly so far, and I plan on doin both intstrumental and songs with lyrics, I guess the approach is very different in regards to how you negotiate things? How many of you guys actually consulted with an attorney the first time someone inquired about your song?

Sorry if this was covered somewhere else! And thanks for your patience as I continue to try and wrap my brain around all this stuff!

Andrew

it's pretty common for exclusive and non-exclusive deals to want some or all publishing and will only do deals in perpetuity. If the track is just sitting there or you do not have an existing relationship with librairies, supes, etc, why not sign a deal on a few tracks to see what type and see what happens. All of your deals don't have to have the same terms either. You will get better at negotiating deals as you get more offers, and get a lawyer to review it if you can afford it. If you made a track/song that got signed by an industry professional, chance are you can create more just like it. I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Mickey D.

This is referring specifically to getting a direct deal with music supe, coreect? In that case you would not give them any publishing, you would keep 100% writer's share and 100% publisher's share and retain all rights to the song. It's when you sign with a publisher that you give up your publisher's share. When going direct to the supe you are essentially representing your own publishing. That's how I understand it.

eeoo wrote: ↑

Tue May 21, 2019 7:37 pm

This is referring specifically to getting a direct deal with music supe, coreect? In that case you would not give them any publishing, you would keep 100% writer's share and 100% publisher's share and retain all rights to the song. It's when you sign with a publisher that you give up your publisher's share. When going direct to the supe you are essentially representing your own publishing. That's how I understand it.

+1 to what Ethan writes here.