# HELP! Exclusive buyout situtation



## Will Musser (Aug 28, 2013)

Hey guys, I'm in need of some advice.

A company has asked me to score a low budget feature. The executive producers want to have a buyout deal where they sell the soundtrack, once the score is complete. The only problem is that not only am I getting a low creative fee, but they want exclusive rights to sell the soundtrack, so no royalties for me. I'm basically cut out of the deal. 

My question is what is the norm for this? What do I counter offer?

Thanks!


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## Daryl (Aug 28, 2013)

Where do you live? Are they asking for your Writer's percentage as well as the Publishing?

In any case, if they Publish the music, they have a duty to try to ensure secondary usage, so you will get a writers' percentage of every soundtrack CD sold.

D


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## Mike Greene (Aug 28, 2013)

_"Exclusive rights to sell the soundtrack"_ is common, and it generally doesn't imply you don't get royalties. It just means that you can't sell it on your own.

I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't give you a percentage of sales.


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## Will Musser (Aug 28, 2013)

Daryl

Its sounding like they want 100% no strings attached. Which to me sounds down right greedy for the upfront fee they are paying me! The whole selling of the soundtrack is kinda a new thing for me, as most of these features just don't have the interest to sell the film music. That being said, are you saying they absolutely have to give me some percentage of the writers share?


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## gsilbers (Aug 28, 2013)

Will Musser @ Wed Aug 28 said:


> Daryl
> 
> Its sounding like they want 100% no strings attached. Which to me sounds down right greedy for the upfront fee they are paying me! The whole selling of the soundtrack is kinda a new thing for me, as most of these features just don't have the interest to sell the film music. That being said, are you saying they absolutely have to give me some percentage of the writers share?



seems they might be asking you for the publishing share. you would still keep writers share which is paid by the PROS. like BMI/ASCAP.


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## Greg (Aug 28, 2013)

If they are seriously insisting on cutting you out of soundtrack sales then I would tell them to get fucked. Politely


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## Greg (Aug 28, 2013)

Oops, double post


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## Daryl (Aug 28, 2013)

Will Musser @ Wed Aug 28 said:


> Daryl
> 
> Its sounding like they want 100% no strings attached. Which to me sounds down right greedy for the upfront fee they are paying me! The whole selling of the soundtrack is kinda a new thing for me, as most of these features just don't have the interest to sell the film music. That being said, are you saying they absolutely have to give me some percentage of the writers share?


This depends on where you live. If you are a PRS member in the UK, for example, they are not allowed to take your Writer's share. The laws in other countries may differ.

However, if you are not getting a decent upfront fee, they ought not to be getting any Publishing, never mind trying to take yours.

D


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## Dean (Aug 29, 2013)

Thats pretty normal,they own 100% publishing so they can do what they like with the score but you still get the standard 50% of the performance royalties unless you negotiate for more.
However AFAIK royalties from CD/DVD sales are referred to as 'machanical royalties' and are very different from the standard 50/50 performance royalties,usually the deal might be 10% but you could negotiate?

Its unusual for the producers to be so specific about wanting to sell the score before a note is written,maybe someone got it into their head that they can make a serious buck from selling the score too,which is very rare unless the film is a phenomenon.
like most low paid indie films you should expect,(besides a small fee),priceless experience and a good credit,I doubt you will work with this client again,..projects like this are not about the money(for you)if you dont want or need the credit and experience then you're wasting your time.

You should really contact your PRO to get professional advice on this.
D


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## Will Musser (Aug 30, 2013)

So as it turns out, here is the deal:

The EPs are outside the US and only want exclusive rights to sell the soundtrack in their own country. Is it even worth negotiating a deal at that point? So no domestic sales of the soundtrack. Perhaps asking to raise the upfront fee to cover any money I'd miss out on over soundtrack sales?


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## RiffWraith (Aug 30, 2013)

Why don't they give you a percentage of the sales? That doesn't make any sense.


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