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Reprinted with permission from Percussive Notes, www.pas.org
Most percussionists I know dabble in
composing. Only a few, however, pos-
sess the basic entrepreneurial skills
needed to turn their compositions
into supplemental income. I am referring to
self-publishing, a growing trend among many
amateur and professional composers.
Many composers can benefit artistically and
financially from self-publishing. It allows them
to keep the rights to their compositions and
to retain all income derived from publishing.
Self-publishing also enables composers to mar-
ket, promote, and sell their music on their own
terms. These independent composers, who have
the freedom to use non-traditional and more
personalized marketing methods, may have a
better chance of attracting today’s musicians.
In order to establish yourself as a self-pub-
lished composer, you must first familiarize
yourself with the basics of music publishing.
There are three common ways that your
compositions can make you money:
Print Royalties: This is money generated
from the reproduction and sales of printed
sheet music of your composition. In a standard
publishing deal, your publishing company will
probably keep 90% of the print royalties; 10%
will go to you, the composer. As a self-pub-
lished composer, you will keep 100% of print
royalties.
If your composition
is performed live by another musician, or played
on radio, television, or in a public place, you
earn money. This money is usually collected and
paid to you by a performing rights organization
such as ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC, depending
on which one you are affiliated with. In a stan-
dard publishing deal, your publishing company
will probably keep 50% of your performance
royalties; the other 50% will go to you, the
composer. As a self-published composer, you
will keep 100% of performance royalties.
If your composition
is recorded by another artist, released, and sold
to the public, you earn money for every audio
copy sold. The standard government rate for
a recording less than five minutes in length is
9.1 cents, known as the statutory mechanical
rate. The artist or the artist’s record label pays
these royalties to you. (Publishing companies
are typically represented by mechanical royalty
collection agencies, such as the Harry Fox
Agency, who collect royalties on behalf of the
publishing company. The Harry Fox Agency
typically represents publishing companies,
not self-published composers.) In a standard
publishing deal, your publishing company will
probably keep 50% of your mechanical royalties;
the other 50% will go to you, the composer. As
a self-published composer, you will keep 100%
of mechanical royalties.
With that said, there is one main goal you
should have as a self-published composer: get
people excited about your music, enough so that
they want to purchase the sheet music, perform
the work, and record it. Before I delve into this
topic, let me first outline a strategy for self-pub-
lishing one of your compositions.
Your first step should be to register a copy-
right claim for your composition with the U.S.
Copyright Office. This will protect your legal
rights to the composition and will allow you
to seek damages in the event of copyright in-
fringement. While this may sound complicated,
it is actually a simple process thanks to a new
online division of the U.S. Copyright Office:
the Electronic Copyright Office, or ECO. For
$35.00, the ECO allows you to file a claim and
upload your files online, thus avoiding the tra-
ditional hassle of mailing in forms, scores, and
sound recordings. Visit www.copyright.gov/eco
to find tutorials and tips for filing a copyright
registration online.
The next thing you should do is affiliate
yourself with a performing rights organiza-
tion such as ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. Your
performing rights organization, or PRO, will li-
cense and monitor public performances of your
compositions, collect your royalties, and pay you
according to a specific payment system. Here
is a link to ASCAP’s payment system for more
detailed information: www.ascap.com/about/
payment/pdf/paymentSystem/ASCAP_Pay-
mentSystem.pdf
Usually, PROs charge a nominal fee (around
$25.00) for membership, and may request a
résumé and additional materials to support your
application. PROs retain the right to restrict
membership, so make sure your materials are
put together in a professional manner. Before
you apply to join a PRO, do some research to
decide which one is best for you. For example,
commercial composers tend to lean towards
BMI, while classical composers tend to lean
towards ASCAP.
Note: If you are not affiliated with a per-
forming rights organization, you have the right
to issue your own performing license for public
performances of your compositions, and are
able to negotiate your own fee.
It is also important to know that as the
copyright owner of a composition, you have
the right to license the first sound recording
of your composition to whomever you’d like. If
the first sound recording of your composition
is recorded and released to the public without
your consent, you are able to seek legal damages
against the record label or artist that released
your composition. After you license off the first
sound recording of your composition, any artist
can legally record and publicly release sound
recordings of your composition without your
consent, as long as they pay you the statutory
mechanical rate for every copy sold.
It’s now time to create a marketing plan for
your composition. First, write a catchy pitch
that describes the musical and emotional
elements of your work. Try to avoid general
adjectives like “unique” or “different.” I like to
describe my pieces using artists that people
may know. For example: “The piece sounds like
Thom Yorke on marimba if he studied with
Gordon Stout.” A short paragraph of three to
four strong sentences is all you need.
The next thing you should do is create a
quality recording of your composition for pro-
motional use. This is absolutely essential! One
way to do this is to mail or e-mail scores to col-
lege and high school music programs you know,
requesting that your piece be performed. Re-
member your pitch? This is a good time to use
it. Many colleges and high schools record per-
formances, so you won’t have to pay recording
costs. There are also many self-recording devices
that are reasonably priced, such as mini disk
players and MP3 recorders. While these devices
won’t produce a professional recording, they can
definitely suit your needs. You absolutely need a
well-performed, decently recorded performance
to use as a promotional tool. Without one it
will be difficult for musicians to get excited
about your piece.
Once you have a solid recording, create a
website that contains audio samples of your
composition, your descriptive pitch, your biog-
raphy, your contact information, and the price
and availability of your score. There are many
free websites with music players on the Internet
that you can utilize, such as Myspace.com. I
have a Myspace page devoted specifically to
my music, which allows anyone in the world to
hear my compositions and read about what I’m doing. While it isn’t the most professional web-
site, it definitely gets the job done, and it’s free.
If you would prefer to have your own personal
website, many companies offer website tem-
plates at a reasonable price. For instance, check
out Dynamod.com, which offers flash website
templates designed specifically for musicians.
You may be interested in adding an online
payment system to your website, which would
enable your customers to enter their credit card
information and purchase your piece directly
from your site. PayPal offers some of the most
commonly used online payment systems. Visit
www.paypal.com for details on their various
programs and associated fees.
Next, you need to identify your target mar-
ket. Ask yourself, “Who is likely to be inter-
ested in my composition?” For example, if your
piece is written for percussion ensemble, your
target market can be high school, college, or
professional percussion ensembles. Create a da-
tabase of these contacts with names, numbers,
and e-mail addresses. This database will come in
handy for marketing future compositions. Don’t
be shy; the more people you include in your
database, th
e better chance you have of reaching someone
who is interested in your music.
Note: If you have the funds, you may be able
to purchase contact databases from companies
and organizations. This can save you a good
amount of time and energy.
After you have compiled your contact list,
create and send a concise and friendly e-mail
to your target market that includes the fol-
lowing information: a bit about yourself, your
composition pitch, an Internet link to an audio
recording of your piece, instructions on how to
purchase the piece, and your contact informa-
tion. If your composition is solid, your record-
ing is good, and your marketing is strong, you
may get some positive responses from people
who are interested in purchasing your score.
If you want to try a different approach, con-
sider purchasing a classified ad in newsletters,
journals, or magazines (such as this one) to
get the word out to an even broader audience.
You should also try non-traditional methods of
marketing, such as blogging and YouTube. The
Internet is potentially your most valuable mar-
keting asset. Take advantage of it.
Before printing copies of your score, make
sure it is presentable, easy to read, and easy to use. For example, make sure that all page turns
are manageable, the notes are all correct, and
the expressive markings are clearly indicated.
Once you proof your composition, research your
best printing options. Try visiting a copy shop
like FedEx Kinkos where you can copy and
bind your scores.
Duplicating and binding scores will provide
a good reference for pricing your piece. For ex-
ample, if it costs you $5.00 to create a hard copy
and $2.00 to ship it, you can probably sell the
piece for $14.00. Creating hard copies of your
score will cost you money, so make sure you
only print as many as you need. You should also
research the prices of published compositions
that are similar to your composition. Make sure
your piece is in the same price range as what is
out there.
As an alternative to the traditional method of
printing, many self-publishers sell PDF files of
their books and music scores exclusively online.
Many companies facilitate this method of self-
publishing, such as createspace.com or lulu.com.
This may be something to look into if you don’t
have the time or funds to make print copies of
your music. However, these companies usually
take a percentage of your earnings (sometimes
up to 25%), so do the math and figure out if
this is right for you.
Make sure to keep track of all of your ex-
penses, such as printing costs, website fees,
copyright and registration fees, and all other
business-related expenses. Keep all receipts and
documentation for all business expenses and in-
come generated. You can deduct most business
expenses from your taxes; contact a tax special-
ist for detailed information.
Today’s musicians are always searching for
new repertoire to perform. Self-publishing gives
independent composers a chance to reach these
musicians, while at the same time controlling
how their compositions are marketed and pro-
duced. As a self-published composer, you will
be able to keep all income derived from selling
scores and all performance royalties paid to
you by your performing rights organization. If
someone is interested in recording and selling a
sound recording of your composition, it’s icing
on the cake.
In the end, you may find the process of self-
publishing a fun and rewarding experience, or
you may realize why publishing companies exist
in the first place. With online marketing and
promotional tools at your fingertips, I believe
self-publishing is worth trying, more so than
ever before.
Ivan Trevino is a percussionist, composer, and
music entrepreneur. He manages and performs
with Break of Reality, a cello rock quartet dedi-
cated to keeping instrumental music alive and
relevant. He holds degrees in Percussion Perfor-
mance and Music Education from the Eastman
School of Music and has also earned a Profes-
sional Certificate in Music Business from the
Berklee College of Music’s Extension School.
Ivan currently studies percussion with Michael
Burritt, Bill Cahn, and Charles “Chip” Ross
at the Eastman School of Music. Visit www.
myspace.com/ivantrevino for more information.
PN
As a self-published composer, you will be able to
keep all income derived from selling scores and
all performance royalties paid to you by your
performing rights organization. |
