Facts

So what goes on here?

Any experienced songwriter knows, getting a cut is like winning the lottery–though chances of winning the lottery may be better…ha! But here’s the good news; It’s the ‘WILD WILD WEST’ and anyone can strike gold working from their house. Big record companies (especially) and publishing co’s are becoming dinosaurs. However if you are producing your music, it has to be competitive–sonically broadcast quality.

The best sounding tracks (my opinion) come from great musicians and engineers working together using top notch gear. Genre’s that are ‘organic’ need real people playing tracks. Dance, Hip Hop, etc., need good programmers who can create loops and do effects tricks. To get your stuff placed somewhere can be done on your own if you ‘know someone’, have an ‘in’ of some sort, but it usually takes a village.

Bottom line, here at OC Co, we know some people and our contact list is always growing. Decision makers prefer having some ‘go-to’ peeps they know and trust where some writer or pub co. doesn’t come out of the woodwork with their lawyer after a production is delivered.

Therefore we are interested in well produced songs that you own and are not tied up in publishing deals where hoops need to be jumped through to get clearance by all parties for placement. In TV sometimes decisions are being made at the shoot, in the trailer, on the fly. They need quick & easy, no muss, no fuss.

Here’s our deal. If you have a song that passes our muster and you want the exposure of this organization behind you, it’s a 50-50 split on everything–publishing and all license fees paid for the use of your song. And remember your song is one in tens of thousands of songs wanting to be placed. It could take 5 years. The placement could be a bleep in a scene where someone turns on a radio in a car. So why would that be your song? Somebody knew somebody. Again the good news is we do know some people. In most cases the $$$ you get in a license fee might cover your annual Starbucks nut. BUT if you get a featured song–now we’re talking MONEY!

Also the music decision makers on productions get a ‘kick’ out of being able to say, “Yea, we discovered that artist”. So it’s better if you have a CD/EP that can be sold on iTunes or Amazon that they can ‘tie-in’ on their TV program website. The show ‘Nashville’ is a good example.

More good news (to contradict myself on track quality); You don’t need to be Adele or Michael Buble. Sometimes that song where the vocals are pitchy and sounds like it was recorded in your parents garage with a sony cassette player is just what they want. Also remember, idea is King. If you’re song is about something very cool, please don’t be shy. I like to use the example ‘What If God Was One Of Us.

O’C Company can also provide music supervision consultation for the following:

Music Conceptualization — Provide preliminary creative input for the soundtrack of songs and score for the production.
Music Budget — Script and rough cut spotting; song cue research, provide music budget based upon estimated written and possible song cues, score minutes, type of score, song licensing and music production costs.
Music Clearance — Clear in advance all songs and source cues.
Composer Selection and Hiring — Provide suggestions and demo reels for review of top composers, availability and provide assistance in negotiation.
Live Music Scenes — Hire, coordinate & produce live musician scenes, including rehearsals, lip synching and performances.
Original Music Production — Find and hire the right songwriters to write songs for your production. Coordinate and produce specifically written songs for the production.
Music Spotting Sessions — Coordinate music spotting of “directors cut”; act as liaison between composer and director/producer overseeing all music spotting sessions and scoring.
Music Editing — Help coordinate where songs and score fall in to to picture in digital format prior to final mix.
Audio Mix –Be present and participate in final mix of music along with dialog, sound effects, ADR, foley, etc.
Music Licensing — Issue and coordinate execution of final synchronization and master use licenses for all compositions and recordings included in the production.
Music Cue sheets — Generate a cue sheet containing a complete listing of all song and score cues, timings, authors & publishers for delivery to distributors and performing rights societies.
Distributor’s Rights Package — Compile all music licenses, agreements, memos and cue sheets along with final music budget for delivery to producer in a “music rights” binder, for easy reference and hand-off to distributors and insurers.
Motion Picture CD Soundtrack — Shop and secure a soundtrack CD release for the production, including coordination of all music re-mixing and mastering, and artist, label and publisher agreements and licenses.

Definitions:

Audio/Visual Work: An industry term for film, television or any other audio/visual production such as presentations, Flash, Quicktime & other internet visual formats, videos, CDs, DVDs, etc.
Synchronization Rights: The right to use the music in timed relations with other visual elements in a film, video, television show/commercial, or other audio/visual production. In other words, the right to use the music as a soundtrack with visual images. Synchronization licenses are obtained from the publisher (or composer if no publisher) or the music library.
Master Use Rights: When you hear music on the radio or TV, this recording is known in the music industry as the “master recording”. This is what is produced after all the musicians have played their parts and these parts have been “mixed” together for release. The recording of the master is also protected by copyright. A record label or music library owns this copyright, and can grant the right to use the recording in a compilation album, film soundtrack or other Audio/Visual medium. It grants the right to use the sound recording.
Performing Rights: Public Performance Right is the exclusive right the U.S. Copyright Law gives to the creator of a musical work or other copyrighted material authorizing the use in public. Every time a song is performed on a broadcast, there is a public performance. This public performance is licensed by performing rights organizations (BMI/ASCAP/etc.) or directly from the copyright holder as a direct license.
Mechanical Rights: License granting the right to record and release a specific composition at an agreed-upon fee per unit manufactured and sold. Right to use a song owned by someone else on a recording.
Grand Rights: Term used to describe “dramatic” performing rights. This would include musical comedies (Broadway and off-Broadway), operas, operettas, ballets, as well as renditions of musical compositions in a dramatic setting where there is narration, a plot and/or costumes and scenery. The copyright owner has the exclusive right to issue licenses and collect fees for grand rights. Performance Rights Organizations do not collect performing rights royalties for this use, and are licensed directly from either the composer or publisher.
Direct License: A license obtained directly from the copyright owner or publisher where the Performing Rights are paid directly to the copyright owner by the Licensee. With a Direct License, no royalties are collected by, or paid to, the Performing Rights Organizations (BMI/ASCAP/etc.).
Copyright: The exclusive right, granted by law for a stated period, usually until 70 years after the death of the surviving author of the work, to make, dispose of, and otherwise control copies of literary, musical, dramatic, pictorial and other copyrightable works.