Why the new “Exclusivity” craze is meaningless.

[DesireInspires]

Some composers researched the markets each publisher served and avoided duplication, others avoided the re-titling market, still others do a combination of both.

No matter what, it pays to understand the business one is involved in!!

I know I'm still learning!!

Certainly. Thanks for the comments and observations. You bring up a lot of good information.

[mikeymike2000]

Composers should have been a bit more vigilant and decisive with their music instead of sending it out to multiple companies. I guess that is what separates the amateurs from the pros. Guys that are still successful probably saw the problems with non-exclusive retitling a mile away and avoided it.

Composers will have to work hard instead of taking the easy way out.

There is no easy way out in anything we do. But I have been trying to figure out this for over a year now. Send stuff out on my own for non-exclusive but then what, it sits there and maybe gets used and then what if the same production company uses more than one library (as mentioned above). It seems that ALL libraries these days all have the same clients.

It is like a catch 22 from my perspective so I still sit on my ass with great songs that nobody has ever heard because I am dammed if I do and I am dammed if I don't. So fine, I will ONLY use exclusive libraries, then my songs all sit in one place, much like they are now, and maybe something happens maybe not. Either way I have no control over it. At least now I have full control but that is not the answer either cause I don't have the time to pitch directly to the music supervisors.

Sure I will figure it out someday, maybe at Rally but for now, here I am facing this question again... got music, who cares, now what? Write more, why it is just gonna sit on my desk.

Thanks Desire, for reminding me to ask myself why I started doing this in the first place?

[mikeymike2000]

HA!

I just got a really cool idea that has nothing to do with this topic but was completely inspired by it.

Thanks!!

[DesireInspires]

It seems that ALL libraries these days all have the same clients.

It is like a catch 22 from my perspective so I still sit on my ass with great songs that nobody has ever heard because I am dammed if I do and I am dammed if I don't.

Exactly!

It is so weird because I have a lot of music out there. I thought I would be making big bucks by now. But when I see that I have songs sitting in libraries for over two years with no placements, I get frustrated.

I start doubting myself at times when I look at how many libraries and publishers I contacted. I also get disappointed when I realize that I have signed over so many songs with no return. I feel as if my music just isn't good enough and that I have wasted time and money. But that all goes away!

I listen to my catalog and see that I have music in a lot of TV shows already. If I already have so many placements, I have done something right. I have not done anything wrong in regards to those companies that rejected me and those libraries that are sitting on my songs. I have accomplished greatness.

Why am I beating myself up over things that are out of my hands? It makes more sense for me to move forward with the companies that are doing right by me. That is what makes the most sense.

I am awesome. Why? Because I put in the work. I think you can be awesome as well once you find the right companies. Don't let your songs sit around, Mike. You got skills and you should be getting checks!

[mikeymike2000]

Thanks Desire.

I agree that I should be getting checks

I just don't know where to start. I have a huge list of places to contact but first I have to figure out if they have reasonable rates before contacting them but it is time consuming. I did get myself into 3 libraries on my own and after several weeks to get this all to happen I then spent another several weeks taking it all down because they were licensing songs for less than $25 each.
And BTW, having music removed after signing it over for a year is not that easy to do.

It seems the industry is changing so fast that nobody really knows where it is going in terms of financials. I know I can get myself out there on my own cause I have but I have a slightly different mindset than the standard musician. For me getting it out there and in a major production is not enough. I am looking for checks and to chase after a few dollars here and there with several hundred songs seem to me like a fools game.

I think this is where 'treating it like a business' comes in and not to be confused with 'being in it for the money'.

I guess for me I am at a point where I am starting to think maybe I should just get the base hits rather than go for the home run. But I have always been the home run guy in anything I try. But then when I think about doing that it seems totally unfair to me and my work. - Not to say I am all that, I think there are LOTS of people on this board who can go for the home run but the question is will waiting for it be worth it or will it end up costing you? - For each person this will be different. All I can say is I am at a breaking point and maybe that is just what I need to take the next step for real.

[DesireInspires]

I guess for me I am at a point where I am starting to think maybe I should just get the base hits rather than go for the home run. But I have always been the home run guy in anything I try. But then when I think about doing that it seems totally unfair to me and my work. - Not to say I am all that, I think there are LOTS of people on this board who can go for the home run but the question is will waiting for it be worth it or will it end up costing you? - For each person this will be different. All I can say is I am at a breaking point and maybe that is just what I need to take the next step for real.

The base hits are what counts the most.

Many people would probably laugh at me and say "you are getting placements on cable shows, and not the big networks". But guess what: all successful composers get placements on cable shows!

Those are the base hits. Those add up after a while. I do have a handful of placements on network TV. But the overwhelming majority of my placements have come from cable shows. The math is simple. There are so many more cable networks and shows on cable networks than there are shows on network TV.

Homeruns are far and few in between for most composers. Don't let people fool you. A few are making six figure salaries. The majority are not. I am not. But I am building up my catalog and I am pulling in money every quarter. That was not true two years ago. Greatness starts with base hits.

As far as pricing goes, I will inbox you.

[mazz]

This is where I think the Road Rally will be educational and an eye opener for you, Mike. I suggest you spend some time hanging with the more successful Taxi members to get a feel for their journey. You may glean some insights into your own journey if you really listen deeply to some of these folks.

I can speak from personal experience that there are people at the Rally that will be standing 10 feet from you at the bar that are where you want to be in your career, and you may not even know it. By networking with and really listening to these people, you may just gain some clarity on some of the points you bring up. There is a vast pool of knowledge and talent in a few hundred square feet for 3 or 4 days next week and I suggest you take full advantage of it.

If you are open to it, it will be a humbling and broadening experience. If you have a fixed agenda, then you may miss some magic. I suggest bringing an open mind.

See you soon.

Mazz

[mikeymike2000]

hey Mazz,

I DO have an agenda at the rally: to meet people, learn and have fun, maybe give out a demo if it seems appropriate. That is what I am going for.

[matto]

Mike,

I would strongly recommend you listen to mazz. I think you are putting the cart before the horse. Unless you are getting very regular Taxi forwards to high bar listings, you are not ready to hit a home run.
You shouldn't even be worrying about getting checks, you should be worrying about getting better. *That* would be "taking care of business" at this stage.

Ours is a *very* competitive business. Talent is not enough. You need to develop your craft and continually refine it. That is what everybody who makes a living in this business does. I've been composing full-time for almost 10 years now and I get better every year. It is a life long learning process. That's part of what makes it so fascinating.

The most important quality needed to succeed in this business is the will to learn. Not willingness...*will*. There is a difference...
I believe it would be very difficult to succeed in this business without a true desire to continually improve your craft and every other skill needed to be a successful composer.

Best of luck and hope to see you at the Road Rally.

matto

[kclements]

Mike,

I would strongly recommend you listen to mazz. I think you are putting the cart before the horse....
You shouldn't even be worrying about getting checks, you should be worrying about getting better. *That* would be "taking care of business" at this stage.

...

The most important quality needed to succeed in this business is the will to learn. Not willingness...*will*. There is a difference....

This advice made a huge difference in my approach nearly three years ago and started me thinking in new terms - not worrying about how many forwards I did or didn't get or how many deals I could make at the Rally, or through Taxi - just started to really focus on getting better at 2 things:

1) write/record/mix/produce great orchestral and other instrumental tracks
2) Get better at reading between the lines of the listing and figuring out what they really wanted.

My first year with Taxi I earned about a 30% forward rate. I was frequently asking other members stats. Today it doesn't matter that much to me. What matters now - "is this track in some way better than the previous one?" I started seeing Taxi as a tool for learning/improving instead of a tool for making deals and money.

About 12 months later I got my first contract and I am now up to 5 contracts with various libraries. Placements are part of my long term goal. Today's (and the coming months) goals are all about getting better. Better at networking, better at deciphering the listings; at writing and production; better time management. My belief is by focusing on these things the placements will come.

Be patient, as Chuck (and many others) said - this is a marathon, not a speed race.

Cheers
kc