In today’s post I want to dive into how to approach licensing music through libraries and what to think about when deciding to sign with different companies.  Should you go exclusive?  Non Exclusive?  Should you do buyout deals?  A combination of all these things?  Is there one “right” way that’s superior to all others?  Should you look for specific companies?  There is a lot to consider, so let’s get started…

The first thing to understand when discussing licensing music through music libraries, is that regardless of who you sign with, there are simply no guarantees of success, until something actually gets licensed.  Regardless of how much a library or publisher loves your music, nothing is certain, until something is actually certain.  In other words, libraries and publishers don’t have crystal balls and they can’t guarantee you anything.  They might genuinely love your music, but at the end of the day, all they can do is present it to buyers.  At that point, it’s out their hands.

Music libraries tend to sign a lot more music than they actually license.  They would rather have too much music than not enough after all.  I’ve talked to several library owners who have indicated that only around 5 to 10 percent of their catalogs get licensed consistently.  This leaves a lot of music left over with little or no activity.  This is the reality of the licensing business. 

So, knowing there are no guarantees and that a small percentage of music is getting the most action, how best to approach music libraries?  I had a conversation last year with my friend, tv composer Eddie Grey, that helped open my eyes to the reality of licensing.  I used to get sort of hung up on which companies I should sign which songs to.  Should I go non-exclusive?  Should I go exclusive?  I would stress over these minute decisions as if my life depended on making the right choice.  During a conversation I had with Eddie, he said something like “don’t get too attached to any single song”.  He was basically saying that some songs are going to get action and others aren’t.  You might sign some songs exclusively that never make a dime, where as others make you thousands of dollars.  But in the end, licensing is not about single songs, it’s about creating a catalog of music that collectively earns substantial money.

You have to step back and look at the big picture.  You have to think both long term and think in terms of what your overall catalog is generating, as opposed to what any single song generates.  This perspective, although sort of obvious in retrospect, was rather paradigm shifting for me at the time.  Instead of getting hung up worrying about any particular song, or any particular deal for that matter, instead aim to create LOTS of music and sign lots of deals.  Some of them will pan out and some of them won’t.  But if you make enough music, and sign it with enough people, eventually you’ll start to see some success.  Then, you can hone in on and focus on which companies are generating the most licenses and cultivate and nurture those relationships.

During a conversation I had with Emmy award winning songwriter, Michele Vice-Maslin, last year on my podcast, Michele expressed a very similar idea.  We were discussing what the “best” way is to license music is, I asked Michele if she prefers licensing music through supervisors or through libraries, publishers, etc.  Michele said something like, “supervisors, publishers, libraries, they’re all good!  A license is a license”.   Again, the idea being that it’s not about how you get things licensed, it’s about getting things licensed!  Just as many rivers lead to the same ocean, there are many pats that lead to success in licensing.

Of course, you should do your due diligence in terms of researching different companies, looking at their track record and so on.  But, like I said, there are still no guarantees, at the end of the day, no matter how much research you do.  I’ve signed with companies with incredibly impressive track records who expressed sincere love for my music, who have done very little with my music and I’ve taken chances with smaller, newer companies that have gotten me deals right out of the gate.  You really never know how things are going to pan out.

So, to sum up, think long term and big picture.  Focus on creating a large catalog of music (hundreds of songs or more) that you can license through multiple channels.  If you’re creating great music, and you create enough of it, and focus on getting it out to as many companies as you can, things will start to happen eventually.  Don’t get hung up on and stuck in the minutiae.