My song did not make the cut for the x-files soundtrack. Its interesting how it all works.. and to see that it really is the way that the worst nightmare explains to you how it is.
why am i saying this?
About 3 years ago i decided i would not be a part of the music industry, and so i went on that path. i bumped into creative commons and then saw the potential of making whats created free. if i’m in a place far away from something and people demand i’m in another place, is it worth it? you do what you do and you are what you say you are.
its interesting how people say how great it is that your song is in a major flick. its interesting that the song does not make the soundtrack, especially as i would have licensed it to the soundtrack label for next to nothing for use. maybe the production quality was sub standard from decca records point of view, yet the soundtrack did include remixes of songs and final track in the film. Universal music had previously licensed my song for free goto this link. the film use is great, yet the reality seems that the people that are going to find out about the use of the song are the people that i bump into or if i blog or tag it. i can pay a publicity person to promote me, yet where are the sales going to come from to pay the publicity person if the tunes are free? if i was included on the sound track it would be different.
As the song was not on the soundtrack, i started on the path of posting a single of of the tune on i-tunes, via cdbaby. Although the tunes are free anyway. some would say, well why post it on i-tunes…if people expect something to be somewhere, its a good idea to put it there… that’s the way i see it. if something is worth something, its cool that they pay for it… keep in mind that the reason the songs are free is partly also because the industry gave the songs no value…
The orchard who i paid 150 dollars 4 years ago to promote the album listed it next Jerry Seinfeld in their catalog and in that time i’ve sold less than 25 dollars worth of downloads, at least it was not exclusively next to Jerry Seinfeld. What was i supposed to do? wait for the big wave and remain loyal to the music business, i made it free cause i wanted people to get the tunes.
as a result of my songs being with a creative commons license people do get to hear the tunes, the intro music in this youtube clip shows the potential of the license.
A couple of hundred million people are going to hear about a minuet of recorded music i created in cinemas, cable, TV, yet still only 5-10 people are going to arrive to see a live performance sometimes. i have not sold one cd since the film has been out.
to go on…
i put this single together for i-tunes, i was not able to use the word “soundtrack” in the tittle of album as “soundtrack” and “x-files” is owned by Decca records/fox, i would have to create a license for that to happen… to go on further.. can i use an image from the fox film with the release of the single to i-tunes…? no fox’s images are under a strict copyright…can i make a license with fox to use their image in conjunction with a cd single?.. no response yet.
i best be more happy about the use. maybe i had some expectation of something, yet even when i sent an email to fox here in Prague, they did not respond. If i was in the soundtrack they might have.
anyway, i reckon its worth saying all this. maybe i’ll get back from that far away mountain sometime. artists and musicians best understand this about the music business though. if you do want to get your music onto a popular soundtrack released by the likes of Decca in conjunction with a popular film. best that you remain with a business model that integrates into the current system. If you go against that union of publishing corporations that put a block on all culture, be prepared for the consequences.
The big corporations do not work on terms that relate to market conditions it seems, its appears as if a mafia from the smallest amount pirated from the business to the largest dollar sucked from the consumers pocket. Don’t be worried about corporations using tunes or photo content free via a creative commons license. Putting a CC license on whats created, that allows commercial use is good way to fight back and allow new business to evolve, that does have a fair spirit. Don’t expect to find to much humanity in the entertainment industry as it is.
For universal music to put you on a compilation with a global release, they would have to own you. Its just the way it is, i sent my cd to universal music in Australia and it was rejected. I would never sign with this kind of company. I gave them a free license to distribute my songs in Poland. They could have negotiated a free license to use my song on the soundtrack. Its sad that art that is part of a film soundtrack can’t make the released film soundtrack, even the use could have be negotiated for free.
*** to add to this blog, i found out that i was not able to send out a single as i did not read the fine print on the contract when i paid the Orchard 150 dollars to release my songs through i-tunes. You see according to the Orchard what is non-exclusive has changed in the last years. They claim i have a non-exclusive exclusive. Anyway the result is that my songs have been taken down from the Orchard. I no-longer distribute the tunes through i-tunes or any paid digital networks. The tunes are available for free on my site and a couple of other services where i can make them free for download. Even if self published artists do really sell music through i-tunes/Orchard, my thoughts are at the moment that these funds are being tunneled into the pockets of executives that work within the Orchard and labels around the catchment area.
