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Question for Matto and all you other nice folks.

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 5:19 am
by gen5020
I got an email from a production library yesterday stating they wanted one of my songs that TAXI had forwarded to them (that's the good news!). The problem is, they are extending an exclusive contract but I already have the song listed with other companies non-exclusively.Here's my question to you knowledgeable people who have helped out so many on this board...Is my goose cooked or is there negotiating room for a non-exclusive agreement from them? Have any of you run into this before and what was your experience?I realize you don't know the company and a lot hinges on that but generally speaking, is there anything I should/could do?As always, thanks for any wisdom you can shed on this topic.Dave

Re: Question for Matto and all you other nice folk

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 6:16 am
by zink
Well, your goose certainly isn't cooked. You can always try to negotiate for a non-exclusive, and if they're adamant about signing exclusive deals, then you can always offer to "whip up a similar track" for them (if you have the means) and do it quickly. This way, the company will know you work fast and if they really like your music (which they obviously do) they may contact you directly in the future. You can also offer to write other material for them, potentially parlaying a one or two song deal into something bigger.Good luckZink

Re: Question for Matto and all you other nice folk

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 6:17 am
by matto
Hi Dave,First of all, congratulations to you! Well, generally speaking...it never hurts to ask.Depending on how badly this company wants your song, they may well give you a non-exclusive. Then again, they may not. Many of the most successful music libraries insist on exclusivity, since it does make things a lot easier for them, generally speaking.If that's the case, ask them for a list of recent credits. Compare these credits with those of the companies that you already have the song placed with non-exclusively. Does this new company appear to represent "a step up"? Do you think they will do a better job representing your song than the others. Have the others made you any money? Finally, is there any other reason you wouldn't want this song represented exclusively. Is it a song you think could be cut by a major artist? If this song is very dear to your heart and you don't wanna "give it away", tell them "unfortunately I can't give you this song exclusively, but I have other material that I would consider signing on an exclusive basis, would you be interested in hearing those" (assuming of course that that's the case ). You could also offer to write them a similar song from scratch...These are all tactics I have employed in the past. The key is to look at this offer as a "connection". If you can't or won't give them this particular song, is there another way to keep this connection alive and exploit it in some way?If you'd like, PM me the name of the company and I'll tell you if I heard of them/what I think of them.There's one thing I always like to point out to everybody, as far as film/tv/library music is concerned: If you write just a few songs every year, and each one of them is like "a baby" to you, you'll probably never make a living in this particular field (although you can certainly make "some" money). It's all about catalog, about volume. It's a field best suited to prolific writers. That's just something to keep in mind.Good luck to you!matto

Re: Question for Matto and all you other nice folk

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 6:25 am
by Casey H
Quote:I got an email from a production library yesterday stating they wanted one of my songs that TAXI had forwarded to them (that's the good news!). The problem is, they are extending an exclusive contract but I already have the song listed with other companies non-exclusively.Here's my question to you knowledgeable people who have helped out so many on this board...Is my goose cooked or is there negotiating room for a non-exclusive agreement from them? Have any of you run into this before and what was your experience?I realize you don't know the company and a lot hinges on that but generally speaking, is there anything I should/could do?As always, thanks for any wisdom you can shed on this topic.DaveDaveA couple of things... First, as mentioned, you certainly can ask them for non-exclusive -OR- exclusive with the exception of those other companies you have non-exclusives with. Second, some non-exclusive companies will let you out of their agreement if their are no deals or serious active pitches pending.So, you have a lot of options and most likely your goose is safe. One thing you should think about: Is THIS a company I want to give an exclusive to? See what you can find out about them. Also, make sure the contract has a reversion clause so your non-exclusive is not forever if they get no action.As discussed on these boards often, an exclusive is not necessarily bad. In fact, taking a risk such as that has often been a great decision. Many times (but not always), it's the better companies that insist on exclusive.Good luck! Casey

Re: Question for Matto and all you other nice folk

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 12:11 pm
by gen5020
Thanks a ton guys!Zink, I really like your comment about "whipping up a similar track" which I will definately put in my back pocket, and Casey, I never thought of asking them to make it exclusive except for those I already have a non-exclusive with. (say that fast 3 times) All your coments give me something to work with. Matto, I am going to pm you about the company, thanks.

Re: Question for Matto and all you other nice folk

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 1:13 pm
by Casey H
I'm glad to see this... I think this idea of using PM to talk about specific companies- the good, the bad, the ugly is the way to go. ..Good luck, GenCasey

Re: Question for Matto and all you other nice folk

Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 5:07 pm
by zink
No Prob,Hope it works out well. Keep us up to date.Z.

Re: Question for Matto and all you other nice folk

Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 12:50 pm
by spariam
Hi - I have a similar question...I had a few songs forwarded for a listing that recently expired. Now I see a new listing for the same style of music for a different music library. Should I consider the forwarded songs unusable and just come up with new tunes for the new listing? (which I could do - the others were put together pretty quickly) Just curious if I should consider forwarded tracks unusable for a while...I know many print publishers won't accept (or don't like, anyway) multiple submissions. Thanks...

Re: Question for Matto and all you other nice folk

Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 3:29 pm
by davewalton
Quote: Just curious if I should consider forwarded tracks unusable for a while...I know many print publishers won't accept (or don't like, anyway) multiple submissions. Thanks...This is kind of like selling cars. Just because a customer says he'll look at the car (the equivalent of a forward, sort of), doesn't mean you shouldn't keep showing it until a buyer actually comes along and hands you a check. If you have songs that are available at the time you're submitting and they're "proven" in the sense that they've been forwarded for similar listings before, by all means go with the songs that are going to give you the best chance for getting forwarded for that listing. Now, that's not to say that you shouldn't be doing new material for current and future submissions, because you definitely should. It's just that setting a forwarded song aside just because it was forwarded would be a "counting your chickens before they hatch" situation. Dave

Re: Question for Matto and all you other nice folk

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 1:10 am
by edteja
That is a good observation, Dave. I was wondering about that myself. Would you apply the same logic to sending directly to publishers and libraries? I know in writing some publishers accept multiple submissions and some don't. I haven't seen any mention of that concept in Songwriter's Market or other resource books. Maybe it isn't even an issue.