Etu Malku wrote:jimmydanger wrote:The problem with just selling CDs, of course, is that no one buys CDs anymore. As a band you still have to make them, but in reality people are more inclined to buy your t-shirt before your CD. I think licensing your music to movies, TV shows and commercials is where the money is these days.
JD, how does one go about getting their music to these outlets (movies, TV, commercials)? Anytime I looked into this market it always seems closed to a select few or it requires a considerable investment to get your foot just in the backporch door!
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated (I should start a thread!)
Networking. If it's a cover song or title theme, like submitting for a TV show theme songs, look up the original rights owner through services like ASCAP, get permission from them to record and solicit a demo recording, then submit that recording to whoever is the music or soundtrack director of the TV show or movie. Many do not pay attention to unsolicited submissions, so send them an introductory letter first, explaining your intentions and why you feel it would benefit the show or movie. It's not always easy, but it opens doors and knowing people who know people always comes in handy. For that reason alone, it's not a bad idea to investigate shows and people in the movie, television and music businesses, offer contact/friendship through any social networks they participate in, occassionally namedrop any shared contacts, interests or influences and in time it all adds up.
These practices have been working for decades and have gotten me a fairly nice network of contacts since I started in the mid 80's. I've owned my own recording label for a stretch of a year, studying luthiery remotely under advice of luthier legend Ed Roman, using books, tools and correspondance with Stewart-MacDonald, apprenticed at WLRS-102 in my late teen years, where I got to meet several mainstream musicians of the 80's, worked to help local bands in a very prolific music scene (Louisville, Ky Punk and Indy scene, 80's and 90's). I have made hundreds of phone calls to record distributors like Redeye and others, other show and band promoters, other labels as a subcontractor such as Plan-9 and Geffen. I worked out consignment CD sales with music stores in four different states, including Tower, Victory and Ear-X-Tacy. Convinced reps from BC Rich to meet with two of the artists now on their list of endorsed musicians pages and all because as a teen, I decided to dive right in, talk to anybody I could, help whoever I could... and this paragraph itself, an example of working name-drops and the benefits of building a decent network.