On 8/20/2009 6:43 PM, Daniel Wolf wrote:
bargaining position vis a vis the publishers.) But the most immediate
concern is that I just got a set of parts returned from a major European
radio orchestra. They are completely marked-up, with bowings and much
more. Should the orchestra have cleaned them up? Should I erase all of
these marks, or should some of them be kept?
It depends what your rental agreement says.
When I rent music from publishers, the agreement usually stipulates that
parts should be returned free of markings, and that a fee may be charged
if they are not (to cover the publisher's time in erasing them). This
implies that the publisher sends out clean parts, the renter marks them,
uses them, and cleans them, and then sends back clean parts.
In practice, just about all the rental parts I get arrive with lots of
markings in them. I erase those markings, add my own, use the parts --
and then return them with my markings still in. The net effect on my
time is the same: one cycle of marking and one of cleaning. I have never
complained to a publisher about markings already in the parts, and I
have never been charged by a publisher for leaving markings in.
In part, this works because of what you suggest. It can actually save me
time if parts arrive with bowings and such already in them, unless I
have strong preferences for a different set of markings. But I never
rent assuming that the parts will have usable markings. Sometimes a set
arrives with half the parts marked one way and half another. Sometimes a
set actually arrives clean!
You as the publisher need to decide which way you want to handle this.
And if your agreement states that parts should be returned clean, and
you decide to hold renters to this, then you should also make sure that
you send out the parts clean.
Pricing is a whole other issue. You're right that none of the publishers
like to talk about this directly. My experience has mostly been with
renting music on behalf of small to medium sized dance and opera
companies, and in general I assume that one way or another I will wind
up paying about 10% of the potential gross of the concert for rentals
and royalties.
Aaron.
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