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Songwriting Deals For Films |  |
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Writing for Film and TV SONGS FOR FILM & TV MUSIC SUPERVISION 101 PRODUCTION MUSIC LIBRARIES SONGWRITING DEALS FOR FILMS RESOURCES INTERVIEW: DANNY ELFMAN INTERVIEW: ALAN SILVESTRI |
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The following article appeared in Film Music Magazine and is used here with permission. It's a good example of the quality of informative writing you'll consistently find in the magazine. Michael Rogers is owner of Rogers Entertainment, a full-service film & television music supervision and clearance company in Los Angeles. MUSIC SUPERVISION By Michael Rogers The Music and The Money: Songwriting Deals for Film Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen and Hoagy Carmichael produced an unequaled succession of Oscar-winning songs and other hits including "Hooray for Hollywood" and "Moon River." In 1967, Donald Black and Mark London's "To Sir, With Love" became a hit song and the musical trademark for the dynamic film. In 1997, James Horner and Will Jenning's song, "My Heart Will Go On" conquered Oscar gold as Celine Dion turned audience passion into tears. From the beginning of Hollywood's heyday, the power and importance of hit songwriting has played a crucial role in creating the right emotion for the right scene or sequence. In this issue, let's take a look at the importance of original songwriting for film and how music supervisors coordinate songwriter deals. Writer/Director Sarah Kelly (Full Tilt Boogieand the upcoming The Blessed Virgins) on film songwriting: "I was working on this documentary and everything was rockin'. But we were shooting principal and still didn't have a name for the project. Quentin (Tarantino) comes up one day with a 45 record in his hand-he's an incredible music researcher, all the old stuff that people grew up on but forgot about he never forgets about - and says, 'I found this record called 'Full Tilt Boogie' and I think you should listen to it for your film.' I played it and it was amazing. Of course I used it and its name because it was perfect for the vibe I was going after." But "Full Tilt Boogie" is an already-existing master. What about writing original material for a project? Songwriter Dominic Kelly, who honchoed music responsibilities for Full Tilt Boogieputs it like this: "The business of writing original songs for film is about creating a custom fit and feel to give a project's scene or sequence the perfect vibe. If you can find the perfect already-existing master (and can afford to license it) that's cool; but the advantage of hiring a songwriter is that one can tailor a song in real time, then make changes or adjustments as needed." Indeed, his original songs such as "Myrna," "Playa" and others convey crucial emotional roles throughout Full Tilt Boogie. Let's look at the details of songwriter deals. To start, songwriters for TV and film generally fall into two categories: superstars and non-superstars. With film soundtracks such potential mother lode gold mines, record labels understandably prioritize fighting for the right to release a film soundtrack whether or not they are affiliated with the studio producing and releasing the film (e.g. Warner Bros. Music Group records and Warner Bros. film studio). Another reason for record labels to release soundtracks is to fulfill possible publishing responsibilities with regard to exploiting their artist's material in other commercial mediums. Artists whose publishing deal is with an affiliate of their parent record company will often realize financial and publicity benefits from being affiliated with a particular film's marketing campaign, distribution, and hype. For the labels, doing a soundtrack can, in and of itself, facilitate an incredible profit margin as well as put their artists in the spotlight, which drives audiences to buy those artists' full-length studio records. Non-superstar songwriters are rarely in the position of getting the sought out, "wined-and-dined" treatment. Songwriter, recording artist, composer, and music industry author John Braheny (The Craft and Business of Songwriting) relays, "In most instances, songwriters are guns for hire and mostly fly without a safety net. Writers and/or their managers/agents will usually find out about an upcoming project through the grapevine and will proceed through the cattle call process of submitting a demo she or he feels might add emotional texture to a particular scene or sequence. In these scenarios, the producer and/or production company usually gets the better end of the deal." We'll cover the business details of "the deal" shortly. So what about mega-stars-the Puff Daddy, Sting, Eric Clapton, Trent Reznor, Peter Gabriel crowd? What would a studio, production company, director or music supervisor do if they wanted one of these cats to write an original song for a scene in their project? This echelon of industry royalty certainly wouldn't have to grovel with the rest of us if they had an appropriate song and wanted to do it. Music supervisors upon the request of the project's director and/or producer usually approach artists of this caliber with their track records and industry juice. Music Supervisor Larry Robinson adds, "it's always advisable to go directly to the artist for permission to license or write an original song rather than to the artist's label. The labels always say no. But when you have convinced the artist of the project's merit, they go to the label and voila! Suddenly the label issues you the license and/or permission." They can enjoy a hefty fee (in the $25,000 to $50,000+ range), songwriter royalties, and a piece of the publishing. The size of the fee usually offsets and/or influences the publishing deal (i.e. an established artist may take a smaller fee and keep the lion's share of the song's publishing, which could translate into a better deal if the song is included on the film's soundtrack and in other commercial licensing). But what about us mere mortals? Here's the 411. The range of fees for a song in a major motion picture generally falls between zero and $25,000. However, according to the industry "on-spec" standard, the production company will be under no obligation to use the song in the final film and will usually run a non-superstar songwriter through a series of trial-by-fire demo hoops. It is advisable to have an attorney write language that insures a "pay-or-play" clause so you don't get left at the altar without a check. The traditional drill usually demands that the writer compose an un-mastered demo for a nominal fee. If the principal creative heads approve of this demo then a rewrite is usually completed to confirm that it's scene-prepared. Lastly, the production company can either pass on the song or proceed with its pre-negotiated deal. Such a deal typically includes:
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WRITING FOR FILM & TV - SONGWRITER RESOURCES - INTERVIEWS WITH SUCCESSFUL SONGWRITERS
THE LOS ANGELES SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE - SITE MAP