How To Get Out Of Music Licensing Slumps

Published: Wed, 08/13/14



 
I'm pretty excited because I just signed three of my new songs with a music supervisor who supplies music to over 20 different shows.This is one of the biggest deals I've signed in awhile, so today I wanted to talk about how to get out of slumps and pick ourselves up when we find ourselves in periods with little activity happening. A certain amount of up and down is normal in the life of a musician, and with something like music licensing it's inevitable that you'll find yourself in slow periods from time to time.
 
If you're like me, you prefer it when things are on the up and up. With respect to music licensing, there are some very tangible things you can do that will result in you moving forward towards your goals of licensing music much faster. If you're not exactly on track with your music career, now is a great time to start developing a game plan that you can put into action.
 
I find that it always helps to start with an end goal in mind and then reverse engineer the steps you'll need to take to get there.  You need to be somewhat realistic as you do this.  Start with a goal you really believe is attainable.  If you've never licensed any of your songs before, a good goal might be to license one song this year.  You can always re-write your goals once you actually start accomplishing them. 
 
So, hypothetically, let's assume your goal is to go from not licensing any of your music to licensing just one song this year. Now, let's reverse engineer the steps you'll need to take to get there.
 
1) Your Music - This is the hardest part to be objective about, but it all starts with your music.  If your music isn't ready to be licensed in terms of production, arrangement and so on, then not much else you do will really help.  

So make sure your music is ready to be pitched. Listen to music that is already being licensed, get feedback from producers and other musicians. There are no "perfect" songs, but there are songs that are simply not good enough.  Know where your music fits along this spectrum.

Depending on how ready or not your music is, one of your first goals might be to re-record some of your material.  Or record it for the first time, whatever the case may be.  I'm currently back in the studio working on some brand new material that I'll be shopping later this year.  It all starts with the recording process, so make sure you do this right.

2) Marketing Your Music - For the sake of our example, I will assume you don't have a lot of connections in the music licensing industry.  Once your music is properly recorded, you need to start making contact with people actually in a position to license your music in Film and Television. The more methodic and systematic you are about this, the better.  

In my new program. "The 90 Day Music Licensing Challenge", I provide a strategic way to make contact with a new music licensing company (publisher, supervisors, etc) every day for 90 days. Since when you're starting out, you don't really know where your music is going to be needed, you need to cast a wide net, so to speak.  There are a lot of opportunities for licensing music, but the needs and demands of those working in the business are constantly changing.

You can take a more passive approach if you wish and wait for opportunities that you think you are a perfect fit for, but I think it makes much more sense, at least in the beginning, to take a more aggressive approach and expose your music to a much wider audience.  Many publishers and libraries will sign music year round, even if it's not something they are in immediate need of.  That way when opportunities come to them, they'll have a music supply that meets their demands.

The idea here, isn't to just plant a bunch of random seeds that may or may not come into fruition.  That's part of the strategy.  But as you reach out to new people in the industry, the idea is to also develop new contacts and relationships that you can start forging ongoing relationships with.  This takes time. There's no shortcut.   It might take reaching out to twenty companies, before you find one that you're a real good fit for.  I had been shopping my newest material for a few months with little action before I found and connected with the supervisor I signed with recently.

Since you don't know who you're going to be a good fit with before you start, you just have to do the work.  But if you're making really strong music, you will find people who appreciate it and want to help you make money from it.

If you want to take part in a systematic program for getting your music licensed, be sure to register for my upcoming "90 Day Music Licensing Challenge".  This is my most comprehensive program yet about how to get your music licensed in Film and Television.

The 90 Day Challenge combines phone coaching, email coaching, video tutorials, daily licensing leads and a TON of free bonuses, including my newest program, Advanced Music Licensing Strategies.

The 90 Day Music Licensing Challenge starts on August 25th. Register until August 16th only, for just $99.99.  After that the price goes up to $149.99
 
Limited slots available.
 

The 90 Music Licensing Challenge is a 90 day long program all about how to get your music in TV and Films that combines one on one coaching with me via phone, 90 daily licensing leads, weekly video tutorials covering different aspects of the music licensing business and much more.

Here's how it works:

When you sign up for the 90 Day Challenge you'll get a one on one half hour phone consultation with me to discuss your specific situation, the music you make, your background and the steps you need to take going forward.

Then, every day for 90 days, you'll get a different lead of a specific place to submit your music.  Each lead will contain the name of the company, info about the company, how to submit your music and how to follow up.

Throughout the duration of the program you'll receive different video tutorials that cover different aspects of the music licensing business and things you need to know to successfully license your music.  I cover everything from publishing, music supervision, music production, types of deals, co-writing and much more.  

Throughout the program you'll also have access to me via email for any questions or issues that come up.

Then, at the end of the program, we'll touch base for one more half hour telephone consultation to discuss your results and how to continue your success going forward.

You'll also get a ton of free bonuses including The 2014 Music Licensing Directory, 20 Free Bonus Interviews, An Insider's Guide To Music Licensing Ebook, Advanced Music Licensing Strategies, Free Email Coaching and more.

Here's a breakdown of everything that's included in the program:

- Two One On One Half Hour Phone Consultations With Me 

-Email Coaching With Me Throughout The Duration Of The Program 

-Up To Date Daily Music Licensing Leads Of Specific Places To Submit Your Music For 90 Consecutive Days 

-Bi- Weekly Video Tutorials Covering Different Aspects Of The Music Licensing Business.

-The Program, The A To Z Of Music Licensing

-The 2014 TV And Film Music Business Directory 

-My new 205 page ebook, "An Insider's Guide To Music Licensing".

-Bonus Audio Interviews With 20 Different Music Licensing Professionals (Songwriters, Publishers and Supervisors)

-Submission Tracking Spreadsheet

-Advanced Music Licensing Strategies

Register until August 16th only, for just $99.99.  After that the price goes up to $149.99

Register here:

To listen to a recent participant talk about his success in getting his music licensed as a result of taking my 90 Day Challenge program check out my recent interview with the artist Alexy:
http://musicmoneyandlife.podbean.com/2013/06/12/getting-started-licensing-your-music-with-alexy/

To see another example of an artist who has successfully licensed his music as a result of going through my 90 Day Challenge program, check out Greg Savage's case study of the 90 Day Music Licensing Challenge: 
http://diymusicbiz.com/music-licensing-success-pt2

To hear from yet one more artist who has had success licensing his music as a result of the 90 Day Challenge, check out my interview with musician Chuck Hughes:
http://musicmoneyandlife.podbean.com/2013/05/07/how-to-make-50000-a-year-as-a-freelance-musician-with-chuck-hughes/

To hear a conversation I had with the owner of one the many licensing companies included in the 90 Day Challenge, check out my recent interview with Jason Greenberg of Soundscape Media: http://musicmoneyandlife.podbean.com/2013/09/10/a-conversation-about-music-licensing-with-jason-greenberg/

Register today to reserve your spot!

 
 
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