TAXI.com

Hi All,

I’m very new to the sync space so excuse me if some parts of this question don’t make sense, but I recently got in touch with a very well-established agency with a strong history of big placements (think big feature films and TV shows).

They really liked my cues and want a lot of them in the library. In speaking with the owner, he said that they way it works is he would own the copyright and publishing. I would keep the writers share and if he secures any licenses, I would receive 50% of any net synchronization fees that were generated  from your cues. He also mentioned that once we handle all the existing music, he can provide briefs and have me write for particular shows that they have briefs for.

One of my collaborators on a track is an established industry producer who has produced major TV themes and cues, and he said that he’s never done an exclusive deal without an upfront payment. He’s actually working on a big project right now for a major network, where he got paid upfront for each cue that they requested (+ royalties, etc).

Essentially what he said that it looks like they’re trying to take advantage of me because they think I’m new. He said he has done non-exclusive deals with nothing upfront (which makes sense), and said I should tell the agency that I either need an upfront payment for an exclusive deal and otherwise it needs to be non-exclusive. I’ll admit, placing cues on an exclusive basis and giving up copyright without any guarantee of future return does seem suspicious.

Wanted to hear your thoughts before I agree or sign over anything. This deal looks different than anything I’ve seen on Taxi.

Pretty standard deal in my experience. Upfront money (other than sync fees) is pretty rare unless you're firmly established with one of the big, A-list companies. That's why it's so important to produce ALOT of music and sign it to a variety of deals. As a newbie if you wait until someone offers you upfront money to sign a deal you'll likely be waiting a long, long time.

Hi,

Like eeoo said..... This is very standard deal.
I have done many many deals with these exact same terms.
Sign the contract!

Tim

Yes that's the norm these days, unless you you are a big hitter in a high end Library ( like your mate )

Thank you to everyone for the responses, it is reassuring to know that this is a standard deal. I'm glad I double-checked.

Any mention of a reversion clause?