If you’re reading this then it’s likely you’re already a stock music composer, or are thinking of getting into the music licensing business and submitting your music to a library such as The Music Case.
If you’re anything like me then you do this is because you love music.
The great news is that as well as doing something you’re passionate about, there are a few other side benefits that you might not have considered.
Here are a few.
There is no doubt that composing production music as a full time career is hard work. You need to be disciplined and produce high quality tracks consistently.
However the benefits are numerous. You might be working long hours, but at least they’re the hours you choose. You might have set yourself a deadline to finish a track by a certain date, but at least it’s your deadline.
Variety is also key. Some days you might know exactly what it is your want to compose, on others your mood might lead the way. Once or twice I’ve been happily composing Christmas tracks on a hot summers day.
The best thing is that the choice is yours.
While I would say as a general rule it is best to play to your strengths and compose music in genres at which you are strongest, one of the advantages of stock music is that you can experiment, or throw a twist at a musical style you already love.
Of course it goes without saying that the end product should be appealing to users and sellable by music libraries.
You never quite know who is going to hear and buy your music. It could be someone buying a track for their home movie, or it could be a major TV network looking for music to fit into their latest show.
It’s definitely worth signing up for a service like Tunesat, which allows you to track your usage on TV networks around the world. At the time of writing they have a free account which allows you to upload 50 tracks for monitoring.
One of the greatest side effects of building up a good sized production music portfolio is that it continues to earn you money no matter what you do on a daily basis. Whether you’re sunning yourself on a beach, climbing a mountain or landing on a comet, your tracks are still online and available for licensing.
There is something quite rewarding about seeing your licenses accumulate as you’re sitting by a pool.
Most libraries allow you to withdraw your earnings immediately, request a withdrawal on a predetermined day or automatically send your payment on the first day of the month.
Okay, so it isn’t a regular pay check and you can never predict how sales will be in any given month, but at least you’ll receive your money quite quickly and can plan your expenses for the future based on that.
Submitting your music portfolio to a popular library is fantastic exposure. Users who have licensed your tracks could like your music so much they get in touch requesting custom work.
Always check the rules concerning this with the library concerned.