# Publishing for sale in a royalty free site



## Fermile (Feb 16, 2018)

Hi,
I was wondering how you guys feel about selling your creations on a royalty free site like pond5 and other sites that are similar.
Did any of you sell there ? if so, do you find it profitable ?
What kind of creations are you publishing there ? Do you know something about their clients ? Which kind they buy and how frequent ?

Thanks
happy weekend.


----------



## Wake (Feb 16, 2018)

1. There's a series of articles by Dan Graham on Sound on Sound detailing the library music industry. Read it!

2. Buy Emmet Cooke's book "The Business of Music Licensing." Read it!

3. Buy a one month subscription to Music Library Report. Read everything!

Then you will know if you are ready to head into this dark, dark place you're considering.
Good luck.


----------



## wst3 (Feb 16, 2018)

Allow me to underscore the first two recommendations above - Dan's articles are good, Emmet's book is outstanding. Both are required reading, but I think I'd read the book first.

I've not yet subscribed to Music Library Report, but I've heard good things about it.


----------



## Fermile (Feb 18, 2018)

1. Thank you for your comments, just finished reading the series of articles.
2. Sadly for me, I cannot seem to get my hand on it.
3. In-progress.

Thank you both.


----------



## Wake (Feb 18, 2018)

Don't mention it.

A few other important considerations: you will encounter services that offer to promote your library music tracks for a fee. Think hard and read up before you accept any of these "pay to play" offers.
Don't sell your work cheaply. Keep the rights to your music always,
unless you're being offered an extraordinary sum. Be cautious.

Be diverse, but write to your strengths. Also, if you're mixing and mastering your work yourself, be mindful of the potential uses for your material, and ask yourself from time to time are you being too forward and attention-grabbing if you're doing underscore, or are you being too shy with something that should be bombastic and in-your-face. Stay flexible and critical, and learn to love it.

Also be sure that your stems sound great and provide a great mix without any plugins on the master bus. Be meticulous and provide the libraries with lots of alternative versions that make sense.

Finally, realize that somebody in the library music world is making a killing doing just the opposite to anything you've been advised. This paradox is the heart of the matter. Times are changing and rules are being bent all the time. The only constant I can think of is that you need to be very, very prolific and hard-working. Think hundreds, if not thousands of pieces of music in the long run.

Etc.


----------



## Fermile (Feb 18, 2018)

Thank you for introducing me to this field, I actually already worked in the way of creating library content, just didn't know what to do with my creations up until now.
I guess this is my route.

About your first post, did you mean to read all of the forum posts in Music Library Report ?


----------



## mac (Feb 19, 2018)

Fermile said:


> 1. Thank you for your comments, just finished reading the series of articles.
> 2. Sadly for me, I cannot seem to get my hand on it.
> 3. In-progress.
> 
> Thank you both.



Try evenant.com for the book.


----------



## Fermile (Feb 19, 2018)

mac said:


> Try evenant.com for the book.


thanks
bought it directly from his site


----------



## Wake (Feb 19, 2018)

I meant that it's a good idea to gather data, perhaps in a spreadsheet, I use google sheets, about all of the libraries you're interested in.

A lot of them have conflicting policies and methods, and if you're going non-exclusive, you'll have to find a way to tick all the boxes you need ticked, and not tick anyone off. 

MLR is a godsend for this purpose. As a forum, not worth my money in the slightest. IMHO


----------



## AllanH (Feb 19, 2018)

I hope I got right: http://thebusinessofmusiclicensing.com/

I did not realize that Emmett Cooke was behind VSTBuzz.


----------



## artmuns (Feb 21, 2018)

Okay, I'll jump in here. 25% off for VIC folks at musiclibraryreport.com. Use coupon code VIC25OFF when checking out. Offer good through 2/28/18.

"As a forum, not worth my money in the slightest. IMHO"

BTW the forum is free so no money to spend there.


----------



## Desire Inspires (Feb 21, 2018)

Wake said:


> As a forum, not worth my money in the slightest. IMHO













LMFAO!


----------



## reflekshun8 (Feb 22, 2018)

Can I ask what sort of information does music library report have in it? I'm curious about checking it out, but information on the website is very vague and I'm just not sold on it yet. Any info would be appreciated!


----------



## Lionel Schmitt (Feb 23, 2018)

reflekshun8 said:


> Can I ask what sort of information does music library report have in it? I'm curious about checking it out, but information on the website is very vague and I'm just not sold on it yet. Any info would be appreciated!


The main part as far as I know is that there are almost all productionmusic libraries listed and there are comment sections where people who have worked with them share their experiences. You can also see whether the labels accept submissions, how they split the revenues, whether they retitle, up-front money and so on... even though this info isn't always available. You can also just a get a one week access for 15$ to see whether it's worth for you to stick around.


----------

