Today I want to talk
about the idea of launching a successful licensing "campaign". This is different than just randomly sending
your music to a few places every once in a while. A licensing campaign is a deliberate,
strategic and long term effort with the end result being your music licensed in
tv shows, films and any other markets you target.
There are several key
factors that distinguish a successful campaign from an unsuccessful one. Let's explore these now.
Your Music Needs To Be Ready
This should go
without saying, but in order for your campaign to be successful your music
needs to be ready to be licensed. I have
written at length about this topic in the past so I won't dive into this too
deep here, but make sure your finished "product" is up to the standards
necessary to be licensed. I have done
two courses on music production and how to mix and master your music that will
meet the needs of music supervisors, so if you need to review these courses
prior to launching your campaign.
Production Course: http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/production-course.php
Mastering Course: http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/mastering-course.php
Compare your music to
other music that is being licensed to see where you stand. If your music is not ready to be licensed, it
doesn't matter how well you run the rest of your licensing campaign. A good
rule of thumb, is that if you're not sure whether or not your music is "good
enough" it's probably not.
Target The "Right Markets"
A key component of running a campaign, as opposed to just blindly sending your
music to anyone and everyone, is targeting the right people and companies for
your music. Research the places you're
considering your music to before you submit your music to determine how good of
a fit you are. If you specialize in
classical solo piano music don't send your music to places that primarily work
with country music.
This is probably the most
time consuming part of a licensing campaign.
Where a lot of songwriters go wrong is that they just submit their music
to anyone involved in the licensing market, hoping that by chance they'll be a
good fit. Sometimes you can get lucky
this way. But it's much more effective
to research where you're submitting your music to determine if it even makes
sense to submit your music. By
researching where you're sending your music you'll be able to target the right
people and companies much more effectively, which will result in your music
being more warmly received.
Consistency
And finally, the last
factor that distinguishes a successful campaign from an unsuccessful campaign
is consistency. Licensing music is a
long term endeavor. Every once in a
while writers get lucky and land a deal right away. But more often than not, getting started in
the licensing business takes time. It
usually takes time and consistency to connect and develop relationships with
the right people.
I'm going to be
working with a small group of songwriters starting next week for 60 straight
days, helping them launch their own successful licensing campaign. I'll be handpicking leads specifically based
on the style of music each writer makes and instructing them on how to submit
their music to each company. I'll also
be offering in depth coaching and training along the way.
If you want to apply
for my new mentorship program, please fill out the form on the following page:
http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/mentorship-program.php
I'll be contacting
everyone accepted into the program this weekend with details on how to enroll
in the program.
Happy Songwriting!
Aaron Davison
