I'm sitting at the airport getting ready to board a flight to LA. I'll be in LA this week and next to record my latest CD with my producer, Gary Gray.
Just a reminder that Gary and I will be hosting a meetup this Thursday, April 23rd to meet, network and see each other face to face. We'll be meeting at a place called The Saddle Ranch on the Sunset Strip at 7 PM.
We'd love to meetup with any of you who live in the area.
If you'd like to attend, please RSVP on facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/364188113770824/
Today I´m going to discuss a type of licensing deal know as a ´"buyout deal". Buyout deals are somewhat similar to signing exclusive contracts with music publishers, however in the case of the ¨buyout¨ deal you are a paid an upfront fee per track for exclusive rights to representing your music within the context of the music licensing industry. You will also receive the same performance royalties for songs that are broadcast on television. These royalties can be small for obscure uses or well into the hundreds or thousands of dollars per use for prime time network TV.
Buyout fees range from $150 to $1000, and they typically reside in the $300-500 range per track. Many libraries will ask that you make edited versions of each track they buy the rights to, such as a version without a lead instrument and some libraries ask for 30 and 60 second cues. If the library has to do work editing the track for you, it may result in a reduced fee. $300-500 might not sound like a lot for a song that took months to write and produce, but consider that production music does not necessarily have to be your ´´bohemian rhapsody´´. Often times the feel of the track is what´s really important for background production music.
Buyout deals are ideal if you can pitch a collection of songs that are similar stylistically. For example a collection of songs that are all instrumental metal or a collection of songs that are instrumental acoustic guitar.
If you're looking for a deal like this, there is an extensive list of music libraries in the TV/Film Music Industry Directory that I offer. My preferred approach for submitting music to libraries and publishers is to check each company´s website when listed for their submission policy. If there isn't info listed then simply call and ask how you can submit music. Generally if they´re open to hearing new submissions they will be forthcoming with this information.
