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Joined: Aug 2002
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I got an email from a company I had submitted a few songs to, and they seem interested in them but of course I want to make sure it's legit before I proceed. Here's what they said:
We License Music for Film/TV, and In-store Airplay. Our terms are two years. 50/50 split on all upfront Licensing fees and Direct Licensing deals for In-store Airplay, and for Film/TV Placements we will retain 25% of the Publishers Share only for Back end Performance Royalties.
I asked them to send me the contract, which looks pretty standard but does include a part that says TITLES: Publisher shall have the right to register each song with BMI and place a tag at the end of the song title to separate our placed version, which ensures publisher will only collect 25% of Publishers Share Royalties from the songs that it licenses.
Is that normal? My songs are already registered with ASCAP; can they (or SHOULD they) be registered with BMI as well, with a tag on it?
Thanks for reading!
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Joined: May 2001
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Well, Writers can only belong to one Pro at a time. Since you are ASCAP they can't Register your songs with BMI. It doesn't sound like they are a Publisher at all. Can you tell us who they are? When a song is Recorded and Released by a Record Label the Publisher will Register the song with the Pro you belong to so Pro Royalties, if any will be collected and paid. A Publisher also has to be affiliated with The Pro you belong to if they are going to sign your songs.
Usually when a Song or songs are Licensed for Film/TV, etc. they want Finished Product. Good luck.
Ray E. Strode
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Joined: Aug 2002
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Cool, good to know about two Pros at the same time. When I look closer at their website it looks like they have an ASCAP section, too. I'd rather not say who they are, but it's non-exclusive, and yes, these songs are finished/fully-produced/etc. Maybe I shouldn't have used the term "publishing deal"; I guess it's more of a "placement deal"?
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Joined: Dec 2008
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That's a music library Diddy. Sounds about the normal deal with libraries. Being non-exclusive, they’ll want to register with a Pro using their prefix/ suffix to make sure they’ll get credited with the placements they make. Best, John
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Makes sense, thanks John!
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Doo Wah,
Full disclosure is that although folks here can offer educated opinions, they are not attorneys nor do we have the entire contract to review and without seeing the entire thing, any help offered must be taken in that context, a casual opinion based on limited info by non attorneys (or if they ARE attorneys, they are not legally working on your behalf in this public forum). If you want to know all the ups and downs of a given contract, you can only be sure of it's complete ramifications by talking to a qualified expert employed by you to review the complete contract. I would certainly go to folks like John for his take as he's doing this a lot, but he can't know all the pitfalls without at least having the contract in his hands and even then I doubt he'd want to guarantee you that he knew all potential outcomes of it unless it was extraordinarily simplistic and straight forward. Just a warning to be careful of even well meaning folks. These are opinions, not always facts so act accordingly.
Brian
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks jpfolkspro@gmail.com Skype: Brian Austin Whitney Facebook: www.facebook.com/justplainfolks"Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney "It's easier to be the bigger man when you actually are..." -Brian Austin Whitney "Sometimes all you have to do to inspire humans to greatness is to give them a reason and opportunity to do something great." -Brian Austin Whitney
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Joined: Dec 2008
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Yes, Brian's right. These are only opinions. So read your contract carefully. If it's a library, probably not worth the money for an industry lawyer. Make sure there's a reversion clause (2-3 years). If you PM me the company's name, I may know them. Also you can probably find reviews on https://musiclibraryreport.com/ Good luck! Best, John
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Joined: Dec 2008
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Reversion clause is a good thing (with an honest company), but not an ironclad safety net. Most contracts will include something like this with the reversion clause: if the compositions aren’t used within agreed amount of time in a broadcast performance medium the rights revert back to the composer. However, this could mean all tracks within this contract will remain perpetually with this publisher if one of the tracks is used (even if it’s a cheapo performance medium). And, if the composer fails to notify the publisher within the terms of the reversion(usually 60-90 days), it will automatically extend another reversion term. I had a publisher that didn’t place my music within the reversion term . I wanted them reverted back to me. I sent them several letters (the last one registered/ confirmation). Never got back to me. Just ignored my letters. I had another publisher tell me a client has my music on hold, so they can only revert it back to me non-exclusively. All kinds of crap going on in the Industry. But one just has to take educated chances some times, or never find any success. I've had about 50 tracks gobbled-up by the despicable publishing swines, that I can never use again. Bummer... but "it is what it is". John
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Joined: Apr 2001
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Reversion clause is a good thing (with an honest company), but not an ironclad safety net. Most contracts will include something like this with the reversion clause: if the compositions aren’t used within agreed amount of time in a broadcast performance medium the rights revert back to the composer. However, this could mean all tracks within this contract will remain perpetually with this publisher if one of the tracks is used (even if it’s a cheapo performance medium). And, if the composer fails to notify the publisher within the terms of the reversion(usually 60-90 days), it will automatically extend another reversion term. I had a publisher that didn’t place my music within the reversion term . I wanted them reverted back to me. I sent them several letters (the last one registered/ confirmation). Never got back to me. Just ignored my letters. I had another publisher tell me a client has my music on hold, so they can only revert it back to me non-exclusively. All kinds of crap going on in the Industry. But one just has to take educated chances some times, or never find any success. I've had about 50 tracks gobbled-up by the despicable publishing swines, that I can never use again. Bummer... but "it is what it is". John Perhaps you should name names?
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks jpfolkspro@gmail.com Skype: Brian Austin Whitney Facebook: www.facebook.com/justplainfolks"Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney "It's easier to be the bigger man when you actually are..." -Brian Austin Whitney "Sometimes all you have to do to inspire humans to greatness is to give them a reason and opportunity to do something great." -Brian Austin Whitney
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Joined: Dec 2008
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Didn't we cause a few ruffled feathers the last time we named names in your interview Brian? John
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Didn't we cause a few ruffled feathers the last time we named names in your interview Brian? John I know we've outed a lot of scam artists over the years, some who come here and do a better job proving themselves to be dishonest than anything we could have said. I also know we saved quite a few people from getting ripped off. Perhaps if you didn't want to name names you could offer up brief scenarios of what happened and how, if possible, someone might avoid the same results?
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks jpfolkspro@gmail.com Skype: Brian Austin Whitney Facebook: www.facebook.com/justplainfolks"Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney "It's easier to be the bigger man when you actually are..." -Brian Austin Whitney "Sometimes all you have to do to inspire humans to greatness is to give them a reason and opportunity to do something great." -Brian Austin Whitney
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Joined: Dec 2008
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If I see a lousy library someone is considering, I will send them a PM warning Brian. John
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