However, I do think your suggestion IS a very nice touch and have filed it away for when I do start trying to market my music on-line. I think that directors who hand out music with that line somewhere prominent might get oohs and ahs of appreciation from group members. However use of the line "For the exclusive use of" brings up a possible bone of contention when members of several see the same piece showing up in all their groups with the same statement of exclusivity. It would indicate that it wasn't really such an exclusive piece after all.
So perhaps changing the wording slightly, to read "This copy printed for the exclusive use of" might be more truthful and also might help to drive home the "please don't share through illegal photocopies" point.
I am leaning towards distributing my music where each work would be combined into a single PDF file, scores and parts, and that the person who purchases it would also be purchasing the right to make as many copies as necessary for their group to use the work. Thus it could be distributed as downloads or on CDrom, very easily, with almost no distribution expense on my end.
I believe I might also offer a printed version for an extra cost, on heavy-stock paper, for those who don't want to print their own. But even then I will include the right for that person to create necessary copies for the use of the group which purchases the music.
I will be joining either ASCAP or BMI and would like to ask the list if anybody has any suggestions either way, along with any reasons why. If anybody would prefer to respond to me off-list, that will be fine, since I realize ascap/bmi is really outside the scope of the list.
Thanks!
Noel Stoutenburg wrote:
In pondering the question of online sales of scores in which I might have an interest, I began to examine some of the underlying assumptions that inform the process of selling music.Traditionally, a publisher produced a sufficient quantity of each title of music, and charged a price sufficient to recover costs, and make a profit. A five minute composition for large instrumental ensemble would sell for some appropriate quantity because only a single copy of the item need be produced. On the other hand, a five minute work for choir was produced in significantly larger quantity and priiced significantly less per copy, because a larger number of copies would be sold. (I'm ignoring, for the moment, the difference in costs because of production concerns: size of paper, &c). Then, to help assure that the fixed costs would be met, and a profit realized on a given title, various promotional method was devised. In those days, one thing that usually happened at some point in the process (usually by the purchaser, but sometimes by the retail seller) was that the music was "branded" with a stamp or a sticker. Much as I wish it were not so, few if any of us on this list, are going to have a much smaller volume of sales, but since we are self publishing, we have the capability of doing our own branding. If you have a score whose distribution you wish to control, don't allow downloading. When you engrave the score, allow (perhaps as part of the copyright text block) for inserting a brand for the customer, for example, "Copyright 1725 by J.S. Bach For the exclusive use of the choir of the Elector or Saxony" or "Copyright 1770, by W. A. Mozart For the exclusive private use of Empress Maria Theresa". As I see it, if the Empress Josephine heard of it, and wanted her own copy, it wiill take just a moment or two to call up the file, change "Maria Theresa" to Josephine, and provide Josephine, whether by e-mailed ~.pdf, or snail mailed original, her very own copy. Also, by this method, it would be immediately obvious when the choirmaster from Saxony moved on to Prussia, took copies with him, and reproduced them. I know this is not a foolproof method, either; there is no way to stop an unethical person from trimming off the "for the exclusive use" bit, but frankly, at the moment, my work is not sufficiently popular that I to need to deal with that issue. ns _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
-- David H. Bailey [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
