A Musical License to Mint Money

Filed in archive Artists on August 23, 2006

The G Man (pictured here) writes "Music Critics Must Die: Money for Your Music - The Cold-Cash Facts About Music Licensing'. One songwriter has made up to $250,000US licensing music. While a cool quarter mil may be the exception, an average license still can bring in $5,000.

The G Man's article helps you make your music a Goldmine, not a minefield. Here is an excerpt:

Where people are involved, there can be errors. "Publishing and record companies sell and sublease and assign rights, some of which they did not own to begin with," points out Janet Fisher of Goodnight Kiss Music. She quickly lists a few more potential problems: "New companies file new cue sheets and suddenly a song is attributed to the wrong writer, a title is changed, a publisher forgotten; or sometimes a copyright holder just stops filing all paper work, including change of address forms."

One indie artist who has had several compositions in TV shows says, "Being an indie artist can be a huge advantage. Music supervisors are always looking for quality master recordings. An indie artist can sign off on a master synch music license in a day. Time is always an issue, and TV supervisors love indie artists because of the lack of major label red tape which often leaves them without clearance in time."