How Do Composers Get Paid?

Many thanks to Trevor Morris, Paul Thomson and Dru Masters for their valid and vital contributions.
Links below:
Those abysmal Paul brothers:

[MarkusJunnikkala]

From a business standpoint one of the key components is control.

I want control over licensing, music and streaming sales, but also my brand. In a changing landscape control is the leverage that is going to allow you to pivot and readjust. Without the rights to your work, you can't do that. So for me, whatever I do, I need to hold on to that so that when things and times change, and they always do, I can be in the right place doing the right thing. This is why selling licenses to the usage of my music seems like one of the few models that make holistic sense.

[yuggothproductions]

I’m in the US and I’ve actually made more royalties when the docs I scored played in India and Scandinavia than in US!

[ManchesterMusic]

A video about your entrepreneurial spirit, or 'how and why a stressed composer decided to start a profitable industry-leading sample library company' would be fascinating to watch from you, Christian.

[RLeaguer_Saint]

Also worth adding, in light of the highly competitive nature of the industry you describe, it shouldn't go unnoticed how generous it is of you to describe to others (in one perspective, your fellow competitors) how to maximise their income - in doing so, you are of course aware that you're enabling them to directly compete with you personally. I guess one would hope that the pot is large enough so as to not create such overlap and competition, but I can't judge that, not being in this industry myself. But informing upcoming composers which sorts of advertisements will earn them the most, when you yourself may well currently be doing likewise, is a particularly selfless act, that deserves recognition and appreciation.

[charlesrobichaud-parahawkm]

I may never get to meet or work with you but I am glad and thankful that you were willing to make this video, not to mention Dru and Trevor. Nevertheless, having a small map of the current landscape helps to make changes and provides the means to pivot and carve out a small niche. Thank you to all.

[dillonmderosa]

I 100% agree with you. To clarify though most of Hot Ones! music is as you described. But once in a blue moon they do ask for original music for a scene to be scored... once in a blue moon =(

[NeologicStudios]

I absolutely agree with that closing statememt, we all need to look at our own brand and think like musical entrepreneurs.
The music industry peddles the illusion that it has been of, for, and by musicians and artists, when that just plain isn't the "simple" truth. Those that are successful to any degree are those that have (whether they are conscious of this or not) wielded entrepreneurship to some degree and kept their mind on both facets of their career: working in the business, and working ON their business.

There is a great podcast put out by Brian Hood and Chris Graham that discusses a lot of business strategies and acumen and even just life skills for developing entrepreneurial mindset.
The Six Figure Home Studio Podcast. Worth a listen.

[fdawg]

"Where progress lies is opportunity" Great quote

[jeanchile]

Genius. Enough said.

Except one more thing: I was fortunate to be part of a “semi-successful” group in the past. Last year our songs were streamed about 33, 000 times on Spotify. Not much, but while in the past, that meant about $6, 000 to our publishing company through radio royalties, those streams didn’t even meet the $50 minimum payout to our PayPal account.

I weep for the future of career musicians everywhere.

[KeithNolanMusic]

Great vid thanks for taking the time to put it out there, and all valid points ! Thanks again !

[robnorthcott]

I've recorded a load of my orchestral music at Abbey Road with the best musicians in the world, am just starting to get my feet under the table, and everyone I know says "oh wow you must be doing really well", but I approach royalty pay-day with crossed fingers just praying that it will be ok. It's brutal.

Despite all my spreadsheets, book-keeping and general good business practices, I still have no idea how much I'm going to earn each quarter due to upfront fees being so scandalously small (especially for a new guy like me) and royalties being a bit of a lottery. I do wonder sometimes if that is a life I want to live, or if I'd just be better off going back to a career with a salary, pension, healthcare. Will keep fighting the good fight for fair remuneration!

[PeteCalandra]

Ratings of the show, in the USA, also affects the payout. i have had 2 tracks used a highlight music on Football Night In America (NBC) for over a decade. High ratings ( means higher advert rates) means that the 3 or 4 minutes they play per week during the season pays much higher than some other tracks i have also had on NBC that do not get the same ratings. 3 or 4 times higher.

[PhilReyGibbons]

2 of the most satisfying things in this awesome video are: 1-the perfect horizontal horizon at the begining of the video; 2- the perfect horizontal horizon at the end of the video. It had to be said. Thank you for this.

[kelvynification]

Christian! This is a wonderfully generous thing you’ve got going with these videos. To draw back the curtain on topics that were generally kept under covers in the past is extremely enlightening, especially to those just starting out. Thank you!

[oinkbastudios]

Here here Drew Masters (Christian & Paul)! The nail on the head.. we cannot allow these big companies like Apple, YT, Spotify, Netflix etc.. to dictate our future income. PRS, ASCAP, BMI these mediators are absolutely REQUIRED in this industry atm. Otherwise.. you may as well hire your own firing quad and buy the bullets! I agree Christian.. we need better ownership of our outlets with more emphasis on our art and more value on our products and hard work. If that involves better branding and merch "which is interesting" then it's probably.. the future!

[RLeaguer_Saint]

21:09: "...the suspicion of samples and how that's going to impact on live musicians, and it did, but in ways that are very surprising" - would love to hear a future vlog in which you expand on this Christian - you are uniquely positioned to do so.

[KerryMuzzey]

Great point about income being offloaded onto backend (PRO's). And it makes me wonder, with every production entity under the sun offloading the cost of music onto ASCAP, BMI & PRS, at what point does the same amount of PRO money being divided up amongst millions more cues diminish the royalty rate going to composers/publishers, and is there a point where networks just have to pay much more in PRO blanket fees upfront to help prop up the system, or do we soon reach a point of unsustainability. Basically, is there a rescue on the horizon in the form of PRO's charging much higher blanket fees to broadcasters to remedy the fact that broadcasters are dropping their music budget line into the laps of the PRO's.

[sinitus]

Wow this was amazing, I thought it was just me. This was very informative as well.

[plum_line]

This is very generous. I hope you will directly address Spitfire's success and explain it relative to the challenges of a working composer.

[damion]

Christian, this is great...thank you. One thing I'd like to humbly point out though is that there are many of us down here in the minor leagues who are struggling just to get decent project fees for jobs that don't even pay royalties...i.e. regional commercials, podcasts, industrials, small documentaries, etc. Fees are drying up more and more with a proclivity toward cheap/free library music. In addition, I'm hearing more and more library music placement by editors, directors, etc. in the industry who don't know jack about the synergy of music & story. Therefore mediocrity is becoming more and more the accepted norm by many (not all by any means) in mediums like commercials, youtube ads, political ads, etc.

I had a radio show where I talked about this consistently as well as having given presentations on the benefits of using a composer. Honestly though, it's been an uphill battle.

It'd be nice if you could do a video that addresses this more in depth for us little people as I think we are probably the majority of your viewers (and Spitfire customers :).

Cheers! DW