Music Library / Photo Credit: Jake Haws - Band camp
WHAT ARE MUSIC LIBRARIES? (In the Entertainment industry.)
Bruce Bisbey…please follow me at: https://dumbdogproductionsllc.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/DumbDogProductionsLLC/ thank you.
What Are Music Libraries?
Let’s focus on production music libraries.
They have their flaws but are great to start learning how to licensing your music, understanding how much admin work is needed in the background (it’s not all music making heaven if you want to get paid!), and figuring out what works for you and what doesn’t.
What Are Music Libraries?
They are platforms that curate music and make it available to license.
Their role is not to promote your music to venues or potential fans. They don’t really focus on that, it’s not their business.
The focus of music libraries is to make your tracks available for licensing to potential customers like ad agencies, YouTubers, videographers, indie filmmakers, music supervisors on TV shows (a LOT of reality TV shows out there! :p ), etc.
Here’s an example so you can see how libraries are being used:
An indie filmmaker is looking for a really cool tune for her new western. She can’t really afford to hire someone like Ennio Morricone so she checks out if her favorite music library has anything in a similar vein.
She’s happy because she finds a really nice, low key tune that will fit her project perfectly.
She giddily adds that tune to her cart, pays her license and gets a link to download the audio files.
When someone licenses a song, they are paying for the right to use that song in their project.
How Do You Know Which Music Libraries Are The Right Fit?
Well, you don’t right from the get go.
It’s important that you research the music libraries you’re thinking of submitting to.
Why?
Because different libraries offer different things:
- Opportunities (TV, video games, and wedding videos)…
- Licensing deals (exclusive, non-exclusive)…
- Genres of music (happy pop, trailer music, children’s music)…
Here are a few examples that are all different that will hopefully give you a better idea of what I’m talking about:
- Audiosparx.com (a fairly big player that will give you a good idea of all the admin that comes with licensing, i.e. writing a description for your song, finding the right keywords to increase its chance of appearing in the search results, etc.)…
- Jinglepunks.com (big player, lucrative but selective)…
- Premiumbeat.com (“race to the bottom” type of library in the sense that they really sell their catalogue for cheap… they’re popular BUT they want exclusivity for your songs)…
- Railroadtrax.com (small boutique library, competent & super friendly; standard 50/50 non-exclusive deal)…
Research Music Libraries
There are many other opportunities in the music licensing world but they require more time, organizational skills and energy.
How Do You Research Music Libraries?
Take a couple of hours to identify 6-8 production music libraries, visit their website and do your research.
That means:
- Analyze the music they already have. Is your music is an obvious fit? Is there’s a gap in their catalogue you might be able to fill? ...
- Find out how to submit music to them (you’ll usually find the information on the FAQ or contact pages)…
- Find out if they sign tracks on exclusive or non-exclusive music licensing deals. If it’s obvious from their website that they’ll want exclusivity of the songs they accept, I would skip it. Unless you’re already experienced in music licensing and know the risks and rewards of exclusive deals…
While you’re doing your research, there are a couple of things I want you do to:
Write down on a piece of paper the name of the music libraries that you want to send your music to; and
Create a “Music libraries” folder in your browser’s favorites’ and add the submissions/FAQ page of every library you’ve selected.
IMPORTANT
If you’re just starting out with music licensing, we suggest you stick with non-exclusive deals.
Why?
When you sign a song to an exclusive deal, the library you sign the deal with is the only one authorized to license that song. That means if they forget about you or don’t care (which can definitely happen!), you won’t be making any licensing money from that song.
There may come a time when you’re more familiar with the licensing ecosystem when you might want to research and test out exclusive deals but for now, I highly recommend forgetting about them.
Submit, Submit, Submit
There’s not much to explain here.
Just PLEASE make sure you follow the submission guidelines detailed on each music library’s website. They took the time to write them, you should take the time to read and follow them.
That means if they ask for a minimum of 4 tracks and you only have 3, wait until you have another tune to offer. If they ask for streaming links of individual tracks, don’t send those attachments or links to a playlist.
I know, I know, that’s just common sense. And yet, scores of musicians don’t put in the time or effort to actually follow the simple guidelines of music libraries. Don’t be that person.
Try to keep these few things in mind:
- Don’t let the production quality of your tracks stop you (within reason of course: don’t go sending obviously flawed mixes). What I mean is don’t procrastinate with the excuse of being a perfectionist if you’re not sure, send them anyway…
- Don’t worry if you don’t have a professional looking email address. A Gmail address has never stopped anyone from doing business! …
- NO, your music doesn’t need to be on Spotify, Pandora, etc. to be considered for music licensing opportunities…
Basically stop making excuses and working under silly assumptions like you need a website, a strong social media presence, an album, a big catalogue, an agent, a professional mastering engineer, etc.
You don’t need ANY of those things to get your music licensed. They might help but you don’t need them.
Focus on the music and you’ll be fine. You’ll build those other things up over time.
Conclusion – How to License Your Music
Now you have a super simple roadmap that will get you started in no time.
You can easily do it by committing to work on it for 1 hour every day over 7 days.
If you want more to learn how to license your music with more comprehensive licensing guidance, check out our online training program called Get Your Music Licensed.
If you are interested in promoting your music, check out the Music Business Accelerator program (MBA).
Break a leg………………
Sources, References & Credits: Google, Wikipedia, Wikihow, WikiBooks, Pinterest, IMDB, Linked In, Indie Wire, Film Making Stuff, Hiive, Film Daily, New York Film Academy, The Balance, Careers Hub, The Numbers, Film Maker, TV Guide Magazine, Blurb, Media Match, Quora, Creative Skill Set, Chron, Investopedia, Variety, No Film School, WGA, BBC, Daily Variety, The Film Agency, Best Sample Resume, How Stuff Works, Career Trend, Producer's Code of Credits, Truity, Production Hub, Producers Guild of America, Film Connection, Variety, Wolf Crow, Get In Media, Production Beast, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, UCAS, Frankenbite, Realty 101, Careers Hub, Screen Play Scripts, Script Doctor, Any Possibility, Music Bed, Joyce Kettering, New Artist Model
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Music Library / Photo Credit: Jake Haws - Band camp
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