The Business of Making Music | #13 Types of TV Music

In this video I talk about the three types of music found in television shows....

1. The score
2. "Needle Drops"
3. Source music
4. Theme
5. Bumpers
6. Library Music

Each have their own qualities and requirements.

For example...

The Business of Making Music | #12 Types of Film Music

In this video I talk about the three types of music found in films.

1. The score
2. "Needle Drops"
3. Source music

Each have their own qualities and requirements.

The Business of Making Music | #11 Intro to "Mailbox Money"

There are many sources of revenue for the musician/songwriter/composer.

Performance Royalties - issued in the US through BMI, ASCAP and SESAC, which are usage on radio, TV, restaurants, concerts, stores, internet, streaming.

Mechanical Royalties - from the writers/publishers share of record/CD sales, iTunes sales, Amazon and others.

CCLI income from churches for using worships songs.

If you are playing music or even pretending to play music (sidelining) on a TV show or in a Movie there is something called "Secondary Market Revenue" that is paid based on your percentage of the entire union contract.

Union jingles sessions pay "mailbox money" as reuse every 13 weeks.

Union record sessions will pay again if your name is attached to a song and that recording is used in a TV, commercial or film or other such use.

The Business of Making Music | #10 Don't Believe Everything You Hear

The Business of Making Music | #9 Guard Your Brand

Here I talk about one of my few regrets in the music business, promoting myself too soon.

The Business of Making Music | #8 Should I Learn To Read Music?

Some good sight reading materials...

A Modern Method for Guitar Vol. 1
A Modern Method for Guitar Vol. 2
A Modern Method for Guitar Vol. 3
A Modern Method for Guitar Vol. 1, 2, & 3
Melodic Rhythms for Guitar
Reading Studies for Guitar
Advanced Reading Studies for Guitar
Advanced Jazz Conception for Saxophone: 20 Jazz Etudes
Tommy Tedesco - For Guitar Players Only

ALSO be on the hunt for 25 cent Flute, Trumpet, Sax etc. studies at thrift stores.

Metronomes (though you could jut a free app on your phone that does this) -

Seiko Metronome
Korg Metronome

The Business of Making Music | #7 My 5 Reasons To Take A Gig

My five reasons are...

For the money
For the experience
For the connections
For friends
For God (or good causes)

The Business of Making Music | #6 Be Your Own College

Can't afford to go to college?  Think you are too old?  Don't have the time?  Be Your Own College.  #1 - Figure out what you need to learn.  #2 - Figure out how to learn it.  #3 - Learn it.  You will probably learn more from #1 and #2 than #3 surprisingly.

The Business of Making Music | #5 Should I Go To Music School?

A very important question.  Should you go to music school?  Will a degree in music make a career in music more likely?  Possibly.  If your school is in a major music town like LA, NY, Nashville, Miami or Atlanta it could help you forge long lasting connections.

The Business of Making Music | #4 Living Below Your Means

One way to guarantee a failure of any endeavor is to run out of money.  A negative cash flow will eventually catch up with you.

The Business of Making Music | #3 Being In The Right Place

Are you where you need to be successful in you musical pursuits?

Here's an article on the subject

The Business of Making Music | #2 Get In The Game

Here are a list of subjects I hope to cover in this series (adding to it all the time)....

Gigging - be prepared
Writing
Publishing
ASCAP/BMI
Session Work
Music Schools
Record deals
Touring
Writing for TV and film
Cue Sheets
BMI Statements
Library Work
Gear Acquisition
NAMM
Practicing - time management
Keep learning
Learn new instruments
Traits of Artists
Traits of successful musicians
Writing Pop Music
Split Sheets
Cue Sheets
YouTube
Streaming - Spotify, et al.
Social Media - Instagram and Twitter
Joining the Union
Being where the action is
Learning ProTools/Logic
Getting and Keeping Students
Contracting
Be Open to a Different Career in   the Business
Be Upwardly Mobile
Home Studios
Making Connections
Getting in the Game
Live Small (below your means)
Producing
Film Sessions vs Record sessions
Powerful People
Don’t Believe Everything
It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you
Take Yourself to College


Here are list of jobs I've done in and related to the business of music (adding to this list all the time too!)...

Working in a Record Store
Working in a Guitar Store
Running Sound at a Nightclub
Teaching Private Lessons
Teaching Clinics
Teaching a Class at USC
Guitar Coaching Actors
Copy Work (doing charts)
Playing Jazz Gigs
Playing Top 40 Gigs
Playing Classical Music at a Restaurant
Playing Weddings (classical guitar)
Playing Rock Gigs
Playing in Cover Bands
Playing in Original Bands
Playing in a Pit Band (for plays/musicals)
Playing in Worship Bands
Leading Worship
Writing Worship Songs
Writing Rock Songs
Writing Classical Songs
Writing Pop Songs
Writing Music for Television
Writing Music for Film
Being a Music Director
Being a Contractor
Playing on Records/CD's
Playing on Movies
Playing on TV Shows
Playing on Jingles
Sidelining in TV Shows (on camera appearances)
Producing Records
Developing Artists

The Business of Making Music | #1 Something to Think About

NEW YOUTUBE SERIES!

Are you struggling trying to make it in music?  Maybe you're meant to play a different role.  And if you find success in that different role you'll no doubt find it more satisfying going "somewhere" than going "nowhere". 

Here is LA Reid's interview on Charlie Rose.

All You Need To About The Music Business

Yeah, it's not in this blog, but the title says it's in this book.

It actually is a really good book letting you all the ins and outs of the business. All the ways your music can make you money.

A Session From Way Back...

The Theme from Herman's Head

Had crap for gear but the composer and the engineer made me sound good. Think I was playing an Ibanez Roadstar through a Yamaha Rex 50 and a Fender solid state amp and an Acoustic 164 amp. Like I said "crap".

Supplement Your Income as a Copyist

One way I've been able to stay in the game and make a living as a musician and not have to get a real job was to learn how to use music notation software, like Finale or Sibelious. Most orchestras in the country have staff copyists, many churches pay to have charts prepared, some artists who use lots of different musicians have a great need for accurate music preparation, many schools public and private. That just a few examples.

It's actually quite easy to get started though the software may seem very complex at first. I use Finale's Allegro and it seems to do most everything I need. If you work at a school or a church you could get this one... Finale 2011 Academic

My secret to learning the thing? Do the tutorial. And only to the point that you think you'll need it. It's progressive, starting with entering melodies, then chord symbols, lyrics... basically at that point you have all you need for a basic lead sheet. All within a couple of hours. If you don't need to know how to do big band charts or a full orchestral score don't go that far into the tutorial.

A more basic version of Finale.... Finale SongWriter 2010

Notepad is a free, very basic version of Finale that can get you started.

Once up and going you can charge by the hour, the page or a flat fee. At first if you charge by the page, say $20, it might take you four hours to generate one page thus making five bucks an hour, but eventually you'll be doing two pages an hour or more.

I would highly recommend getting a usb keyboard to speed up the note entry process, mine... M-Audio Keystation 88ES Midi Controller or even a small one like this...  M Audio KeyRig 49 49 Key USB Keyboard Controller.

Your catalog of already charted tunes can earn you money as well, so save and back up everything. Every now and then I get a call for something I've already charted I send them the pdf (never the finale file) in the key that they want it and charge them the going rate. Usually $20 per page.