What does this look like to you?

[Hookjaw Brown]

I got a song accepted for a movie. I have not seen a contract but the library has this to say about payment:

BUDGET/LICENSING NOTES:

DEFERRED FEES ONLY (no upfront fees): There is no budget for upfront fees for song licensing. However, we can offer a deferred step deal based on Box Office levels and DVD sales charts. The primary revenue will be for performance royalties to the songwriters/publishers (i.e. ascap/bmi payments) - songs listed on all official cue sheets.
Marketing Value: Possible listings of your website contact info to help in marketing your artist/album project – included in the end credits of the film (space permitting) and on the film’s website. Potential availability of film footage for promotional music video use.


Have any of you seen this type of offer?

[guscave]

Hey Hook, I also saw this someplace but can't remember where. What drew a red flag for me was the " The primary revenue will be for performance royalties to the songwriters/publishers (i.e. ascap/bmi payments) - songs listed on all official cue sheets". There's no mention of any broadcasting of this movie, and as you might know the U.S. PRO's don't pay on DVD or Box office.

I'm assuming that they would try to get TV broadcasting which then will provide you the PRO revenues they're talking about. I'm also assuming by "step deal" they're talking about mechanicals. Again all speculation until you can actually view the contract.

Best of luck,

[Hookjaw Brown]

Whoa! I did not know that DVD and box office sales were excluded from PRO payments. Who collects those payments?

[mazz]

PROs do not pay performance royalties on films shown in theaters in the US. This is not the case in most other countries in the world.

http://www.nrbmlc.com/?page_id=568


For DVD sales, it's whatever can be negotiated, but usually there's a license fee paid once and that's it. In fact, often production companies replace well known songs in films when they go to DVD to avoid paying another large license fee to the original artists/publisher. They often request songs that are similar in style (a la's) from indie artists who would be happy to receive a 500.00 license fee and their name in the credits. The production company will pull the song that was licensed from whatever big name they used for the theatrical and TV release and replace it with the indie artist's song.

Basically it seems like what they are offering is a share of the profits from box office and DVD sales and if the film makes it to cable TV, the cue sheets will have already been filed and you'll get your backend royalties from there.

Depending on what you are trying to do with your career, the "potential" marketing exposure could be valuable, "if there's room in the credits for it" (I guess an extra 2 seconds on the credit roll might be too much to ask! ).

At the very least, ask for a listing on imdb, because at least you can put a film on your resume and a link to your imdb page on your website.

Some exposure and resume material is better than none. Only you can judge if it's worth it, because you probably won't see much, if any, money from a small film.

Just from my experience.

Mazz

[matto]

Actually step deals are very common on low or no budget indie movies where there is no money for music (and often no or not much money for anything else).

It basically just means, you give them permission to use your song without upfront payement in lieu of a share of the profits the company may make via box office receipts and DVD sales.

So, they make money, you make money.
That money would be paid to you directly by them, the production company.

If they don't make money then you won't either except for potential PRO royalties if the movie shows in foreign theaters or on cable. Those would be very minor if the movie is just a small thing.

Then again I don't think any of us would mind having had a step deal type song on Paranormal Activity or Blair Witch Project...

Try to gauge the movie and the people involved. If they seem like people that are going places (even if perhaps not with this particular movie) then it may be worth doing it cause it might turn into a valuable relationship.

[mazz]

+1 on the relationship building!

Several composers who are now big time got their start by becoming trusted collaborators with up and coming film makers. Carter Burwell getting his start with the Coen Brothers is a classic example.

[Hookjaw Brown]

At the SXSW conference during the BMI seminar it was stated repeatedly by Indie movie people that the only budget they had was for unknowns and promises of backend payments. I would love to get some movie credits and something to list on imbd. When I was doing mobile recording of the punk scene it always seemed points were paid, just for fun, since none of it sold. (Sturgeon's Law - 90% of everything is crap). Since the song is going to be released by us this year, it would be nice to tie it to a movie.

[mazz]

In film, most film makers it seems don't know how to budget for music, or even know that they should budget for music. Unfortunately we musicians perpetuate that mindset by doing the work for free or almost free. Now the cat's out of the bag and they can wave that "credits" carrot and attract a lot of attention from musicians hungry for attention.

I'm not slamming anyone, I've done it myself, but it's just another way we devalue our music and by association everyone else's.

It's going to be hard if not impossible to break that cycle.

So why not go for the credits, heck, it might help you sell some CDs! That would be cool!

Good luck!

[coachdebra]

I recommend, if you go for backend payments, that you specify your percentage on gross receipts, not net receipts, even if you have to negotiate a smaller percentage. It's not unusual for a small film that gets picked up for distribution to never have "net receipts". because all the gross gets eaten by marketing budgets.