# Stock music market



## fustrun (Mar 19, 2015)

So i have stumbled upon this website on my browsing session 
http://filmandgamecomposers.com/guides/ ... io-market/

And i got interested in this concept . . selling my soundtrack music on stock music website, just wanted to ask if anyone has any experience with these sites and is it worth it?


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## Jaap (Mar 19, 2015)

There are a few good topics around here
http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtop ... ht=library
http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtop ... ht=library

Also worth checking out (though not free, but worth to take a week or one month subscription to check out some reviews of libraries) is this place: http://musiclibraryreport.com/

Also the book Emmet Cooke wrote about this subject is really nice and worth it (maybe you checked it already, but just pasting it if you didn't)
http://thebusinessofmusiclicensing.com/

As with everything, it's worth it if you dedicate time and energy in it. There is no quick way and requires as with everything dedication, time and hard work.


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## doctornine (Mar 19, 2015)

Good luck - it's a battlefield out there….


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## Daryl (Mar 19, 2015)

The most important thing to remember is know your market. It's no good writing and producing stuff that you expect to hear on quality network TV. It ain't gonna happen. The market is pretty much cheap cable TV, YouTube videos and the like. Think of the product as disposable. Write as may tracks as you can, and don't look back.

D


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## MichaelL (Mar 19, 2015)

Daryl @ Thu Mar 19 said:


> The most important thing to remember is know your market. It's no good writing and producing stuff that you expect to hear on quality network TV. It ain't gonna happen. The market is pretty much cheap cable TV, YouTube videos and the like. Think of the product as disposable. Write as may tracks as you can, and don't look back.
> 
> D




@fastrun that article is six years old. Much has changed. For example, Audio Jungle has many more thousands of cues in its catalog. But, some is still fairly accurate. For example. based upon composers posts on the Music Library Report, people do not do well on Productiontrax.

It's very true that a lot of on-line music goes into cheap cable shows and youtube videos. But, I have also licensed cues to a feature film produced in Ireland, a documentary produced in New Zealand, the US Special Olympics annual fund drive campaign, video games. In December I licensed a cue to Tony Award winning actress Laura Benanti for a short holiday film, that received national press coverage in Parade Magazine. In all of those instances I made more money than most cues receive in backend royalties from average placements on reality TV.

As far as disposable goes, the shows may be, but not necessarily the music (depending on what you write). Within the past two weeks, I've licensed three cues that were written and produced 30+ years ago. I remastered them with RX4 Advanced and Ozone6, then did the standard edits. Sales were nearly immediate, and I've already been paid. No waiting for months...or years. A number of the "exclusive" libraries that I've written for have either eliminated front end payments, or reduced them to a point where going the DIY route is attractive. 

I'm not sure what Daryl means by quality network TV. In the US that's a bit of an oxymoron. Quality TV in the UK is what get's shown on PBS in the US. :-D
From my perspective it appears that being a library writer in the UK is very different than in the US. Between PRS regulations and the BBC, UK writers seem to have a better go at it than US writers, where it's more or less the wild west. 

Daryl is the the stratosphere to which most of us aspire. But for mere mortals, such as myself, 
on-line sales are an option.

To be sure, write as much as you can.


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## lucky909091 (Mar 19, 2015)

Michael, would you be so kind and tell us which platform you can recommend?


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## fustrun (Mar 19, 2015)

+1 for the above post


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## MichaelL (Mar 19, 2015)

I do not participate in any re-tilting or former re-titling sites that focus on TV placements through blanket licensing.

Some people swear by it, but I do not like the business model. (maybe it's the lawyer in me). There has to be a reason why so many of those libraries have switched to an exclusive model.

My top "royalty free" (misnomer) libraries are:

1. Pond5 (number of sales and OK prices)
2. MusicLoops 
3. AudioSparx (better prices, better licenses, but fewer sales.

I've signed on with VI member Brian McBrearty's site https://sonitarium.com/home
It's brand-new, but Brian knows what he's doing. 

Keep in mind that my choices are based upon my individual circumstances. I've composed for a number of mid-tier WFH libraries and found both the money upfront and the backend to be such that RF is attractive. 
Daryl's advice, however, is completely valid, particularly if you are younger and building a career, or if you have connections that can get you into the door of upper echelon libraries.

Good luck


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## MichaelL (Mar 19, 2015)

doctornine @ Thu Mar 19 said:


> Good luck - it's a battlefield out there….



Didn't Pat Benetar say that?


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## Mike Marino (Mar 19, 2015)

fustrun: I'd recommend picking up Emmett's music licensing book. It's inexpensive, it gives you insight on the business and models of libraries, and some action steps (should you need them). A quick read that will give you lots of information.

http://thebusinessofmusiclicensing.com/


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## MichaelL (Mar 19, 2015)

Mike Marino @ Thu Mar 19 said:


> fustrun: I'd recommend picking up Emmett's music licensing book. It's inexpensive, it gives you insight on the business and models of libraries, and some action steps (should you need them). A quick read that will give you lots of information.
> 
> http://thebusinessofmusiclicensing.com/




+1 with respect to Emmett's book.

Again. I would stress that what I'm doing is based on my individual circumstances, the kinds of music that I've written for 35+ years and the types of clients (corporate /educational) that I've worked for, who are now very likely RF customers.

@Fastrun, I looked at your FB page. What I've heard from others is that epic / trailer type music is not the best fit for RF libraries. That's not to say that it doesn't sell. But if it does sell, it won't end up where you want it, and it certainly won't further your career.

I'm probably at least twice your age, if not more. I'm not worried about being a famous film composer, or game composer etc, in the future. So, on-line marketing is much for viable for me. The people who do the best in RF libraries are the ones who take the business model seriously, write for the market, and do more than dabble in it. As another place to just sell your stuff, maybe not so much.


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## musicformedia (Mar 19, 2015)

Hi there, Emmett here, the author of the article! As MichaelL stated, I wrote that a number of years ago, so just bare in mind that the information is quite out of date in terms of the library information


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## MichaelL (Mar 19, 2015)

musicformedia @ Thu Mar 19 said:


> Hi there, Emmett here, the author of the article! As MichaelL stated, I wrote that a number of years ago, so just bare in mind that the information is quite out of date in terms of the library information




Thanks Emmett. 

Yes, for example, Revostock is no longer accepting new artists. Audiojungle has raised it prices (I'm not a member) and AudioSparx's catalog is now at least twice as large. Pond5 has entered the market and gets favorable reviews.


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## Mike Marino (Mar 19, 2015)

> What I've heard from others is that epic / trailer type music is not the best fit for RF libraries. That's not to say that it doesn't sell. But if it does sell, it won't end up where you want it, and it certainly won't further your career.



+1

And this goes back to what Daryl said earlier; know your market. There are libraries (of all different tiers) that specialize in licensing music specifically for trailers/games/etc. It might worth starting in those places. If you're only considering the RF market right now, I'd agree with MichaelL in that the guys who do better than most there aren't dabbling in it.

And as MichaelL pointed out, much of this part of the industry is finding what works for yourself and doing the most you can.


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## Daryl (Mar 19, 2015)

Michael, I think that what I'm trying to say is go into this industry with your eyes open and your business head firmly screwed on. Of course tracks can be useful for many years, but particularly with sample based ones, they would be the exception, rather than the rule, and if it turns out to be the case, it is better to be pleasantly surprised, than disappointed that the track only had a life of a few years.

Regarding Network TV, all I was trying to say was that if you are expecting to get a RF track into a show as popular as Desperate Housewives, for example, it is highly unlikely, whereas Man vs Food is certainly possible.

The other thing to bear in mind is not the quality of your own tracks, but the lack of quality in the other tracks in the library. On the surface this would seem to give your music more chance of making money, but the flipside of that particular coin is that you have to hope that new, potential clients don't hear those other tracks when they click around on the site, persuading them to go elsewhere.

D


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## MichaelL (Mar 19, 2015)

Daryl @ Thu Mar 19 said:


> Michael, I think that what I'm trying to say is go into this industry with your eyes open and your business head firmly screwed on. Of course tracks can be useful for many years, but particularly with sample based ones, they would be the exception, rather than the rule, and if it turns out to be the case, it is better to be pleasantly surprised, than disappointed that the track only had a life of a few years.
> 
> Regarding Network TV, all I was trying to say was that if you are expecting to get a RF track into a show as popular as Desperate Housewives, for example, it is highly unlikely, whereas Man vs Food is certainly possible.
> 
> ...




Agreed on all points. The 30+ year old cues the I've recently sold were live performances, not samples or synths. Although...I am thinking about uploading a cheesy polka done 25 years ago with 8-bit samples as a children's cue. Recognizing that it's cheesy and that the samples have a retro-game quality to them it could work as a children's cue, rather than anything grown-ups should take seriously.

I do listen to other music on RF libraries to see who I'm keeping company with. I recently opted to not upload music to one of the libraries mentioned in this thread a) because so many people had reported no sales, and b) because so much of the music was laughably bad (really truly beyond hope). On the other hand I've heard some very good music on the three the I mentioned. So, the upshot is that with the exception of AudioSparx, I stick with sites that are curated and have at least a semblance of a gatekeeper.

What I've said before is that most of my catalog was created for non-broadcast projects (I retained the rights). So, I'm focused on marketing that music to the type of client who is most likely to use it. IMO, RF libraries are probably the best way of reaching that segment of the market. I would definitely agree that if TV, major films, top end games and back-end money are a composer's goal, RF is not the best vehicle.


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## Connor (Mar 20, 2015)

I write mostly a few different world musics (various Japanese, Chinese, Balinese, and Western Sub-Sahran African), contemporary classical (both chamber and large orchestra) as well as electronic stuff (ambient and industrial techno mostly). Audiosparx is the only one I use, my Japanese and Chinese stuff are my biggest sellers, playlist and radio saturators, etc. Mostly taiko and lion drumming. But some of the contemporary classical stuff gets used for god knows what, I haven't really checked usage reports. Audiosparx is nice because you get both worlds, the nonexclusive get your shit on daytime tv stuff, as well as the big clients like Viacom reality shows and Audi car ads etc. In which case you want to be on a PRO to get your backends.


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## Alatar (Apr 4, 2015)

Stock exchange is not the easiest genre to handle.
Just make sure, that your stock does not plunge. Otherwise you might hit blue tuesday and your music is no longer worth a penny


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