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I was thinking about it.. What are the main differences? Are there any?

There's some crossover, but typically music libraries deal with instrumentals & songs, pitched solely to film/tv opps (they tend to be more instrumental-oriented). Music publishers may also pitch to film/tv, but they pitch songs to record labels, producers, and artists (they tend to be more song-oriented). IMO.

Thanks Vikki. Do music libraries actively work to find placement in the same kind of way that publishing companies do? I mean, is it kinda like; a music library finds music, categorizes and sets up the catalog, and the goes out and tells people "hey we have a great catalog here, come online and check it out when you need something." Or do they go out and try to find people who are involved in projects they think a certain type of song might work well in, and then try to market, negotiate, and license said tracks. (Is this the way publishers work..?) Do you think it's on a more individual scale, or a larger picture scale? This is a curious question, albeit above my pay grade.. Hopefully my underlying question is clear.

The best libraries seem to have great connections in the production industry and are aggressively marketing and establishing new relationships and servicing existing ones. The best publishers are the same way.I think a publisher usually has a smaller catalog and works more closely with the writers, although smaller libraries seem to work this way as well.I work with a small publisher who contacts me when a need for instrumental music arises, but he also deals with songs (probably primarily songs, I never asked).Both entities do essentially "publish" the music out to their client base. I guess for me, the line is a bit blurred with the distinction being the size of the catalog.As I gain more experience in the industry, I'll probably be able to discern the subtleties of the different businesses a bit more readily.Good question.Mazz

Thanks for your time Mazz. Appreciate you guys letting me pick your brains.Jamie

SP,They're both publishers, and it's my observation that the best libraries get most of their best placements by doing hand to hand combat -- meaning that they develop relationships and actively pitch. Another observation is that music supervisors really don't like to search databases for music. They'd rather email or call a human, have them cull a few tracks they think would work and pitch them, whether by email or in some cases, in person. The world's biggest and best libraries have sales forces all over the world.A straight up music publisher like Warner Chappel or Universal Music Pub might have as many as 250,000 (or more) titles in their catalog (spanning decades) and a staff of creative people who act kind of like TAXI, in that they tell their writers which songs are best, give their writers some creative advice and hand-holding, sometimes in the form of pairing up co-writes, as well as pitching their songs to artists, and yes, even film and TV opps. A couple of major differences are that pubs like Universal typically don't sign single songs. Instead, they sign songwriters, give them an advance against future income, and the songwriters need to turn in a song or two per month (that meet the pub's standards), depending on the number of co-writers they will be splitting the income with.To get a staff songwriter deal, it typically takes having a song that's already been cut to get the publishers interested. Once they know there's an income stream, they're much more interested. They often want a piece of the existing cut. Another way to get a pub deal is to get a record deal and be the songwriter in the band, or for yourself if you're a solo artist. Once you've inked the record deal, a publisher will often offer you a pub deal because there is some probability that the record will generate mechanicals, and with tons of good fortune, performance income as well through airplay, etc.A big difference with libraries is that they typically don't give advances (unless you're creating custom projects/CDs they commission you to create to order), and many of them offer non-exclusive contracts on single songs. I think it will be quite some time before the majors do non-exclusives, as they're interested in building equity. Exclusive rights build equity, much like equity in stocks or real estate. Eventually, they cash in their chips and sell off the entire catalog for what is called a multiple, similar to selling a business for X times net profit.Gotta stop now before I write a book. Hope this helps,ML

Thanks for the info ML. ....It's nice to see you around without the boxing gloves on! Jamie

Trust me Jamie, I'd much rather be answering THIS kind of question than spending my time dealing with the other kind. Thanks for asking an intelligent question.Michael

From my limited understanding, as good an answer as you're likely to get. Bravo.

May 22, 2009, 1:41am, mojobone wrote:From my limited understanding, as good an answer as you're likely to get. Bravo.Ditto mojo. Good question, good answer. Thanks ML as always for your time spent in here!Keith