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by Michael Laskow
Dear Passengers,
I've got a really cool thing to offer you, but I'm going to get to that later in this e-mail. So make sure you read the whole thing! And read it soon, because it's time sensitive.
I had a feeling that I wouldn't be the only person to think the Recording with Apple's Garageband 2 magazine was cool. Not to mention of course, the software itself rocks! Here's the link to the magazine again, and thanks for letting me know that I'm not nuts: www.musicmakerpub.com
Also, several of you have written to me asking how long your instrumentals should be. Great question! The answer is that a sixty-second piece is always a safe bet. If the library likes what they hear and want to do a deal with you, they will often ask for various lengths of the same piece – probably five, ten, thirty, and sixty-second, and possibly a three-minute version. But for demo purposes, the sixty-second version is really all you need.
Last week, I explained how music libraries get used, and how your music finds its way from the "catalog" to the silver screen. But I didn't tell you what kinds of deals libraries offer – so let's get right to it.
Fact: Nobody ever got rich from a music library ADVANCE. Most libraries don't give them.
Even though libraries are essentially specialized music publishers, they don't typically offer the kind of advance one might get from a company like Sony Music or Universal Music Publishing. One reason is that the big publishers don't usually do too many single song deals. They typically sign pro writers to multi-year deals, and plug their songs to major-label artists, and sometimes film and TV as well.
Music libraries are the guerillas of film and TV placements. They specialize in it, and scramble hard to get as many as placements as they can. When they make money, you make money.
There are several types of library deals ranging from, "We take all of the publisher's share, you keep the writer's share," to "derivative" deals, where you re-title the piece and give them as much as 75% of every dollar earned, but the deal is totally non-exclusive. I like those deals, even though you might raise an eyebrow over the 75% part.
Who cares?! You've still got total control over the original version, and can do with it what you want. In other words, the library might get your track placed in a TV show, but you could still get the song cut by Madonna, and the library wouldn't get a penny.
Some libraries do buy-out deals where you get cash up front, but they own the copyright. Others do deals that have reversion clauses stating that they have 2 or 3 years to get the track used, and if they don't, you get the song or track back, Jack.
I could literally write a book on the subject of library deals, but instead, let me make this point: I've rarely seen a deal I wouldn't sign with a library. Virtually all that I've seen are basically fair, but please don't consider that legal advice. I'm not an attorney.
And speaking of attorneys – most of them are NOT all that familiar with library deals, and look at them through the same lens as they would for a "normal" publishing deal. A typical attorney response to a library deal is something on the order of, "Oh my God! I'd never sign that!"
Trust me when I tell you that it's just because they don't know what the norm is.
Often times, the money you'd spend on an attorney is more than what you'll make from that one song when it's placed. So what do you do?
If you try to negotiate a deal that's different from their "standard" deal, the library is likely to move on and offer a deal to the next person who won't cause them headaches or legal costs. Bummer, but that's reality, baby.
Now, I'm not suggesting that you just prostitute yourself, but I AM suggesting that you look at the possible benefits from ALL angles.
If you don't do this deal, will the song languish in a drawer and never see the light of day? Why not sign the deal? If it's a low dollar deal, is this particular placement prestigious, and will it look good on your resume?
Is the track a little quickie that took very little time to write and record? Why blow the deal by holding out for a deal that's inappropriately large?
My best advice? Ask your contact at the library to refer you to somebody who has worked with them in the past so you can find out if the library got them cuts, and if they got paid in the end.
Remember, once you sign the deal, your track or song could (and probably WILL) sit there for a while. You may wait a year or more before it gets used, and then wait for several months before you get paid by your performance rights organization.
As the CEO of one of our favorite libraries has been known to say, "The music library business is more of a marathon than a sprint." In other words, you must be VERY patient.
Why do I have the feeling that you're going to forget that I ever said that? ;-)
Okay . . . so, let's review:
- There is tremendous need for music in TV shows and films, and it's growing rapidly.
- You don't have to look like Britney Spears to be highly successful in this field. Whew! That really takes the pressure off, doesn't it? ;-)
- You probably have enough gear to do the recordings at home, but it may be wise to invest some time in getting proficient with what you've got.
- Music with and without lyrics is needed. It's easier to do instrumental tracks ;-)
- Dated samples make dated sounding recordings. Freshen up your samples.
- Most deals that I've seen are in the decent to really fair range, but your music attorney may not be familiar with this type of deal.
- Your goal is to make $150,000/yr. with library music. That will take a few years.
- Your more immediately achievable goal is to make an extra $35,000 next year while still keeping your day job. Remember, this is a marathon, dude, not a sprint!
- Ultimately, you want to get fifty songs each, into twenty libraries. That's 1,000 songs or tracks out there working for you!
Now, let's do some math:
If 10% of your 1,000 tracks get used in a year, that would be 100 placements – roughly two per week. Not crazy, right?
If you average $1,500 per placement (avg. broadcast network $), that's $150,000 per year!
You can do this. But you can't do it sitting on your butt! You need to get to work, and you need to get to work NOW!
You and I both know that if you procrastinate, you'll keep pushing it back, and pushing it back, and then you'll grow old and crusty. Do you really want to be sitting in your rocking chair in the old age home someday wishing you had followed my advice?
Nope. And I don't want to see you do that either.
I'm on a mission here kids! I know that a great many of you really CAN do this. Are you one of those people, or are you the kind of person who finds yourself saying, "I wish I had . . ."?
Frankly, you can do this on your own. You don't really NEED TAXI. But we can make life a lot easier for you, and help you progress along the timeline a lot faster.
Am I going to try to sell you a membership? Yeah, I am, but only because I believe so strongly in what we do here. I'm not the kind of person that would ever suggest that you buy something from me that you don't truly need.
And for those of you who don't need coaching, and don't need any more contacts in the business, please forgive me for even bringing this up.
But if you NEED some help, and you would like to have the opportunities land on your doorstep every two weeks, then stick with me here for a couple more minutes because I had a great idea the other night, and I want to run it by you.
You know that the first step is ALWAYS the most important step, right? So, I was wondering what I could do to help you take that first step. My wife was lying in bed next to me, and she said, "Give them something they all want and need, Michael. What's the one thing all your friends on the list would ask for if they could snap their fingers and be granted a wish?"
I love my wife. I really do. Most of the best ideas that I've had for our members have either come from her, or been inspired by something she said. And once again, she inspired a doozy!
My guess is that if you could be granted a wish (in the musical realm), most of you would simply like to get your music heard by a key person in the music business. Am I nuts?
So here's what I've come up with – join TAXI by clicking this special link below, and I promise to get one of your tracks OR a three-minute montage of your tracks to the President of one of my favorite music libraries.
That's a solemn promise, but it does NOT include a critique from him. I'm guessing that we'll get about 100 of you who will want to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and that would be too much to ask him to do all those critiques. He's got a company to run, too!
So let me repeat: THERE WILL BE NO CRITIQUES, but I promise that he will get and LISTEN to your CD. I'm actually paying him to do it!
My wife asked how you would know that I lived up to the promise. I told her you'd trust me. She giggled and said, "Get real, Michael. Ninety of them will trust you, but ten will be 'Doubting Thomases.' "
So I came up with this nifty idea!
We will randomly draw a name from our not-yet-members database, of a person who lives in the L.A. area. That person will be invited to join me, and the Music Library President, for dinner near my office. The person drawn will personally hand the Library President the box of CDs. We'll take a photo of the big hand-off, and post it on our Web site!
And here's the best part – if the Library President falls in love with your track, song, or montage, he will have your contact information and will get in touch with you personally to discuss a deal. How cool is that?!
That sucked a few brain cells out of me – whew!
So here's how it works:
Join by clicking this special link ONLY (because it will allow us to track who takes advantage of this):
http://www.taxi.com/joinL.html
YOU MUST JOIN USING THIS LINK ONLY NO LATER THAN THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29TH, 2005.
There will be NO exceptions to this. No late submissions, no extensions, and you must be a new member!
For those of you who are already TAXI members, but still on this e-mail list, you are NOT eligible for this promotion, BUT we WILL be offering something like this for renewing members in the near future, so sit tight!
After you join, we will send you a coupon with instructions for submitting your music when we process your NEW MEMBER application. You will receive it in the mail, approximately TEN business days after we receive your application.
The rules one more time:
Join TAXI by clicking this link ONLY, no later than DECEMBER 29th, 2005.
http://www.taxi.com/joinL.html
No exceptions, no extensions, and you must be a NEW MEMBER.
Existing members are NOT eligible, but will be offered a similar program for renewing.
After you join, we will send you a coupon with instructions for submitting your music when we process your NEW MEMBER application. You will receive it in the mail, approximately TEN business days after we receive your application.
Cool?
Even I'm excited by this promotion!
As you can probably tell, I'm pretty passionate about what I do for a living. I firmly believe that thousands of you on this list can and will someday earn your living doing what you love, too – making music. And having been in the music industry for more than 30 years, I think that Film and TV placements are the best way for you to realistically do that.
I want to thank all of you who have read this series of articles and sent me all the positive feedback. I can't begin to tell you how much I've enjoyed writing it. Thanks for letting me be part of your lives.
I KNOW you can do this. It's probably easier than you think, but nobody can do it FOR you.
YOU need to commit. YOU need to imagine how your life will change when you succeed. YOU need to dig deep inside yourself and ask this question: "Do I want to keep repeating my life, day after day, and getting the same results, or do I want to change my patterns and live the kind of life I've always felt that I deserve?"
I know I sound like Dr. Freakin' Phil here, but you know what? I've done this with my life, so I KNOW that it can be done. I'm not super human. I'm not all that smart. I just took a chance and worked hard.
Can you do that?
If you can, why don't you make this a gift to yourself for the New Year.
Happy Holidays to you and your families,
Talk to you next week,
Michael
P.S. One more thought. People often tell me that they're not ready, or their music isn't ready yet. There's no better way to GET ready than using my team of experts as your sounding board and coaches. Why spend a year getting "ready," only to find out a year later that your music still isn't ready? – ML
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"I just want a shot, and I feel that TAXI has given that to me."
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— Roger Yeardley,
TAXI Member
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"I recently got my first deal as a result of a submission to TAXI! I'm very excited to see that this actually works!"
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— George Leverett,
TAXI Member
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"I received a giant BMI check from TV airplay that I probably wouldn't have earned without TAXI."
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— Julie Ann Bailey,
TAXI Member
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"You are making an incredible difference in the lives of musicians and artists trying to break into the business!"
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— Rob Khurana,
TAXI Member
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"Thanks so much for forwarding "Sheree" to Dawson's Creek. It's been selected for the show!"
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— Fran Lucci,
TAXI Member
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"TAXI, thanks for all your help. My song, 'Drowning In Love,' will appear in the upcoming Mirimax film, 'Takedown."
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— James Kole,
TAXI Member
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"The Road Rally was so educational! So many musicians were able to do in four days what usually takes years."
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— Irina Falberg,
TAXI Member |
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"I've had several meetings at Dreamworks Records and made several new contacts as a result of belonging to TAXI."
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— John Scott,
TAXI Member
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"My band "Jake" just got three songs placed in a film called "Lady In The Box." Thanks so much for forwarding us!"
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— Jessie Lee Montague,
TAXI Member
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"I would like to thank Taxi for helping me and my partner and become more polished writers."
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— Liz Aday,
TAXI Member |
"I can't thank you guys enough for everything you do."
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— Peter Elakis,
TAXI Member
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"Thanks to you, I've recently signed a deal with a publisher in New York."
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— Rene Gely,
TAXI Member
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"I have spent my life playing and singing in bands and this is the most real thing I have ever seen."
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— Dwight Nichols,
TAXI Member
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"Getting all these critques in the mail is encouraging and instructive as well. Thanks for your help!"
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— Lisa Knouse,
TAXI Member
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"The dedication you have to your members is apparent."
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— Tom Kovacs,
TAXI Member
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"Wow! 6 forwards for one listing! Thanks guys, you made my day (week, month, etc!)"
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— Reid Power,
TAXI Member
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