Good SOS article on strategy for making money off TV music

[mhschmieder]

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec10/a ... s-1210.htm

This article covers a lot of ground in terms of how to position yourself for such work and how to make sure you don't get screwed later on. Probably much of this advice applies to other broadcast outlets as well.

[BKK-OZ]

Thanx for the tip, now, if I only had some talent...

[James Steele]

Did I miss something? It was a very short article that seemed to say don't give up your publishing rights even though you'll likely not get the work if you don't "play ball." It seemed to be geared toward the UK not surprisingly.

[Guitar Gaz]

I think the whole series of articles have been a waste of space - a gripe of mine when they have cut down DP coverage. But its not in my area of interest so I guess I would say that....

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Not to mention it's not true. It is possible to write new music for broadcast and make money. Clearly, the key is connections. If you don't "know someone" you won't get in. They will get someone who "knows someone." There's a lot of talented folks out there and competition is brutal.

There is one strategy for making money by making music for TV. Get music on TV and retain your licensing. In this day of putting your crap on the internet for free in the hopes it will get discovered as well as blatant piracy, some of our younger and/or less seasoned colleagues are under the misconception that nobody can make music for money any more. While it is true that lots of folks can't, lots of folks still can. And frankly, as long as there are defeatists willing to give up the fight, I'm more than happy as that diminishes the competition and makes my product all the more marketable.

Nobody is holding a gun to your head to sign away your rights. If you believe in your product then don't sign stupid agreements. I get them as well from folks wanting something for nothing. Well guess what. Just say no. Simple. If you are desperate, do what you must, but I don't need a British licensing agency to pretend they are on my side. They could care less about American composers. Get real. BMI and ASCAP are your real choices for licensing in the USA. Pick one then work with them.

Two lousy paragraphs purporting to show the way in making money from broadcast. That's hysterical. But you know what that article is really about? It is about masses of people who don't know any better trying to get insight into a field they know little about but think there is a gold mine waiting just for them. If they really wanted to contribute something useful in the "how to write music for TV" area the space would have been better dedicated to using a DAW to sync to picture, or file formats, or how to write a cue, or how to work with a director or post production supervisor or musical professionals. I suspect there are not many on the staff of the rag that could do that. If they could and do it successfully, they probably wouldn't be writing for the magazine in the first place.

How about an article on how to make money writing for magazines like SOS? Think they'd ever publish such a useful article? Not a chance. They won't give you those secrets or contacts either.

Too funny.

“Know where to find the information and how to use it - That's the secret of success”
Albert Einstein

[mhschmieder]

Yeah, I didn't notice that was a British licensing agency at first...

There are some better articles in Recording Magazine and even the freebie Performer this month (the one that shows up at Guitar Center and the few remaining record stores).

[mikehalloran]

ASCAP members have access to some great conferences on the subject by logging in.