Archives for October 2009

Major Labels, Indie Labels, Pop Labels, Rap Labels, Christian Labels, and Country Labels are actively looking for new artists every day. It's easy to think that songwriters and artists can make it on their own with all the great self-promotional tools and opportunities on the Internet. But looking at this week's  Billboard Top 100 Chart, I can't find a single band or artist that has become successful on their own using the Internet as their only form of promotion. Yes, the Internet is a large piece of the music promotion puzzle, but it's a piece, not a panacea. Companies that...

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TV Music Licensing pays songwriters and composers differently than Film Music Licensing does. Most songwriters don't know that, and they ask me the question pretty frequently! The short answer is "yes, it pays differently," in the U.S. In the United States, composers of scores, background music and featured songs do NOT get paid when the music is played in a movie theater. In other words, there's no back end, no performance royalty for music played in theaters. But there IS a performance royalty for theater play in many, if not most other countries. So, while you won't get an ASCAP,...

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Thursday, November 5th 5:30pm - 'til close: Rally Registration - Hotel Lobby - next to Grand Ballroom - Must have your Photo ID to get your Road Rally badge! 6:00pm - 'til close: One-to-One Mentor Registration - Grand Ballroom Foyer - next to the Rally Registration desk. Refer to the Mentor Bios sheet to make your selection. Members only, please. One Mentor per member. First-come, first-served basis. Must already be registered and have your Rally badge with you to sign up. 6:00pm - 8:30pm: Dinner 8:30pm - 11:30pm: Open Mic - Grand Ballroom - Names are drawn at random to...

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How to Choose the Right Music Licensing Companies It seems like so many songwriters and artists have given up on the dream of getting a record deal with major record label. Flying around on private jets and trashing hotel rooms is a dream now long forgotten. Film and TV placements are the new "record deal." Most musicians don't know how to choose the right music licensing company or companies, because they haven't done their homework yet. They haven't learned how to know which company has the best chance of getting them a film or TV placement period, and they often...

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Film and TV Music Licensing Opportunities For Independent Musicians Running opportunities for Film and TV placements in our Music Industry Listings back in 1992 made me the laughing stock of the music business. It was unheard of for Indie artists and songwriters to get their songs placed in network TV shows or better yet, feature films put out by major Hollywood studios back then. Nobody seemed to know much about Production Music Libraries (which are Film & TV music publishers) - what they did, how they worked, or what kind of music they needed to license to TV or Film...

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My staff and I often get asked if there are Film and TV licensing opportunities for songwriters and artists who make Christian music. The answer is "yes," though maybe not as frequently as secular music. But fear not! Because the overall market is smaller, the number of people producing Christian Music is also smaller. It's proportionate. You could end up being a bigger fish in a smaller pond! But there's an often overlooked aspect to all this. Most artists and songwriters also do mixes without vocals as a matter of course these days. If your Christian lyrics and vocals are...

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Giving Your Tracks the Right Title Can Get Your Music in More Films and TV Shows You might think that writing great songs and instrumentals is the best way to license more of your music. You could be right, but here's a really simple tip that I'll bet you never thought of -- give your songs and tracks better titles that make them easier to find. Imagine that you're a music supervisor searching for music to license for a Television Show or Movie. As you type in your database query, "uptempo, male, country, instrumental," trying to find the perfect track...

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