Lo recordings and hub 100 are dedicated to putting out as much good music as we can.
We listen to all demo’s submitted on CD but prefer not to receive submissions through services like myspace.
Inevitably however our release schedule is restricted by the cost of promoting and manufacturing a full album release. So we’ve come up with some other ways in which work can be promoted:
Our sister label Loaf which was initially launched in order to release EP’s of upcoming artists in a well presented format has now matured and is releasing fully fledged albums. Download only releases may also become a valid form of exposure and income for an artist, although we feel that strong design, packaging and physical product still play a vital role in our corner of the market.
We’re also looking into ways of licensing more material, at present we are sending out selections of licensable tracks to advertisers, and we have built a new search engine for the production library project that can be seen at www.loeditions.com A sister site for new material at commercial rates is to follow. www.lorecordings.com/licensing We hope this will prove to be a good commercial tool for advertisers and media music users. This will allow us to promote new music at very little cost to the label and the artist.
We have developed a music library with BMG. LoEditions. The response has been very good so far, we have built a site independently of BMG to help promote the library more directly. www.loeditions.com
There is a full explanation of what music libraries do and why you should be interested below.
For those of you who have not researched the structural nature of the music business, below is an explanation for the uninitiated and those slightly hazy on the issue. We hope they will explain the issues clearly. Although some parts are written to explain the nuts and bolts of production music, the issues involved in music licensing apply equally to commercial releases.
Once you have digested this info (and some of it needs digesting) please contact us with any questions. info@hub100.com tel 0207 613 1813
There is a little known secret in the world of music- library music.
The creating and marketing of which allow artists more creative freedom and access to a market most artists do not understand, have access to, or worse ignore.
One off tracks that may not sit within a body of work such as an album can be aired without the full critical pressure of the music press.
Odd noodles and doodles that had a certain something but never made it to the CD can earn money…for years.
Library music is marketed directly to those who have most need of fresh ideas and who pay for music constantly. Why not provide them with some of yours. The opportunity this gives to artists is actually more creative freedom.
Traditionally copycat music produced in reaction to a current trend- it has the worst of images for artist- tired, sad, dusty CD’s of muzak;
Yet, this music is used on a daily basis by production companies all over the world. It is all over every television programme, half the adverts and nearly all non broadcast videos.
Why? Because it is easy. All tracks are pre-cleared, the rate card is set, and they are sitting on the shelf of the editing suite next to the producer and director. This music is fundamentally low cost music available quickly with no problems for the licensee.
The average use of library music is by an editor who having cut his tv footage has 15 minutes to find a piece of music to fit it. He does not have time to license any commercial track so he turns to the library shelf.
Production Music exists because historically it provided music unavailable in the commercial sector. This may still be true for certain areas such as orchestral and period music but no longer applies for modern music. The breath of modern commercial genres is far more diverse than any existing music library. Due to the licensing structure that has grown with production music the libraries operate from a privileged position in terms of access to broadcasters, pricing, administration, and their relationship with the MCPS.
The downside of library is that all music is collected by MCPS and that means a delay in revenue from 1 to 3 years, especially when international agents and collection societies are involved. However once the revenue starts it remains steady. Some of our artists have received thousands already although most have only made a few hundred so far.
To understand how a music library works you have to grasp the structure of licensing in general
With any work there are four separate areas involved. The first thing to realize is that there is a difference between the composition and the recording. The rights to the composition date back to the days of printed scores and the rights to the recording from the rise of radio.
The four areasThis may be clearer if you think of cover versions for example Tom Jones cover of Burning Down The House. The composition licenses are granted by David Byrne (and his publishers) but the recording licenses of Tom Jones’ new version are owned by his label. Tom himself has none of the rights to grant licenses.
To add to the complication there are potentially five parties involved in your music.
Your Publisher
The MCPS(Mechanical copyright protection society)
The PRS(Performing rights society)
The PPL(Phonographic performance ltd)
and the Label.
The MCPS,PRS and PPL are not legal bodies. They act on behalf of their members and distribute the money for a commission. However when you join up and register with them you sign them the right to collect on your behalf. (this means that if one of your mates wants to use your track on a film he or she is making then technically they have to apply to the MCPS for a license to do so, you can no longer grant this right yourself.)
Assuming that as an artist you sign up to MCPS, PRS, and PPL, register all your works with them, and you sign the master rights to the Label, then the revenue from the four licenses are collected in the following way;
The right to copy or sync a composition is granted by the MCPS. The revenue is collected by the MCPS and then passed on to you and your publisher (if you have one.) This revenue is usually the mechanicals that are paid by a label for pressing your works onto CD and Vinyl. The price for this is 8.5% of the dealer price of the cd’s. However if the composition is being licensed for an advert or a soundtrack the revenue is a one off sync fee.
The right to copy the recording is normally granted by the Label, and the label collects the money. This is usually for use on TV or a Film and is usually a one off payment for the use, this is also called a sync license.
The license to broadcast the composition is collected by the PRS and then passed on to you and your publisher. Revenue is due for every time the composition is played.
The license to broadcast the recording is granted by the PPL, and passed on to the performers of the recording and the Label again revenue accrues every time the recording is broadcast.
(The term publishing is a throw back to pressing scores.)
Publishing companies usually offer an advance to an artist for their compositions and from then on own a share of the compositions revenue. This is usually a 70% for you and 30% for them deal. Publishers can only own up to 50% of a composition legally. The term of the deal can vary to. In the bad old days the term could be as much as 25 years, nowadays 7 to 12 years is considered quite long.
Publishers get most of their revenue from the Label who pay mechanicals to the MCPS for every time they press copies of the CD’s or Vinyl.
The other side to their revenue is from PRS when the composition is broadcast.
Many artists are drawn to signing publishing deals due to the instant advance that is offered, however in most artists experience the publisher does very little after the event to create income from the catalogue, content to let the record company market the works and build audiences, while they sit back and collect the mechanical royalty for any releases and the revenue for airplay.
also known as library music
For production music the arrangement is simpler than commercial music as the MCPS are responsible for all production music licensing. Only the broadcast of the composition is administered by PRS.
There is a set rate card; this covers all the different uses of music within the media.
To use production music a client has to register with MCPS, and sign the users agreement.
Any usage of a work is submitted on a standard MCPS form.
The revenue gained from library music licensing is accounted for in two ways, Blanket agreement. (All the major broadcasters and cable companies apart from Channel 4.) This amounts to about £13 million per annum. Rate card (i.e.. independent production companies, Channel 4 and non-broadcast usage) This amounts to about £4.3 million per annum. For music licensed through the blanket agreement, a fixed amount of revenue for music used throughout the year is agreed between broadcaster and the MCPS/PRS. Points are awarded for usage and the payment is worked out at the end of the year, by dividing the points total by the total revenue. That is why it can take a while to see the money.
Outside of the UK a license is in the form of an invoice, and is only granted on receipt of payment.
MCPS distribute the revenue from the license directly to the production music company, who then pay the artist The PRS revenue for the performance of the composition is paid directly to the publishers and writer separately.
The essential difference between commercial music and production music is that production music is available for general use, i.e. if any MCPS registered user wishes to use a work the MCPS can grant the three licenses without needing to gain permission from the copyright owners.
The second barrier of entry for musical works to qualify as production music is that the work should not be commercially available.
Thirdly the license to use of composition and right to use of the sound recording must be controlled by the company.
If you have any questions please contact Gavin O’Shea on
0207 613 1813
or Email gavin@hub100.com