Saturday, January 4, 2014

Publisher's Panel IWCMF

IWCMF 2012: Publisher's Panel
Publishers Panel

Hosted by Mohammad Fairouz, I think this was intended for the composers, but we attended and learned a lot!

Fairouz prefaced the panel by sharing how his teacher, Gyorgy Ligeti, took Fairouz to Hamburg to experience Schott and introduce him to the world of publishing.
  • publishers need to see a compelling body of work with the potential for a long term future to consider taking on a composer
  • publishers are there for business ($$$) not to give out handouts
  • piracy has required publishers to be very selective and demanding because they are loosing revenue caused by piracy
  • re: composer/publisher relationship
    • composers still need to create their own "buzz"
      • do your own legwork
      • continue to self-promote
    • publishers are necessary
      • self-publishing will become impractical with composer success
  • DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
    • digital music stand/E-Stand is not good yet, still impractical
    • digital only distribution is risky; still need print distro
      • What will still work in 100 years?  Paper!
    • publishing is not limber, they can't anticipate the size of the screen needed/desired in the future for long-term digital use
  • A good editor/publisher = easy rehearsal
    • page turns
    • accidentals
    • markings
    • readability
    • a good publisher goes unnoticed because everything runs smoothly; a bad publisher gets a lot of complaints from musicians
  • Distributors
    • get music into store
    • Hal Leonard = exclusive print distributor for Associated
    • Presser = associated with Carl Fischer allowing hand off of certain services
  • Quality output of an edition has a real, measurable affect on the success and acceptance of a piece!
  • "No one lives on royalties!"
    • Composer revenue:
      • day job (university faculty)
      • commissions
      • small royalties
      • misc other earnings
  • Music with preexisting text must have copyright approval for use
    • don't create the work and assume the copyright will "be fine"
  • High quality archival recording
    • don't just possess it, be sure to reserve the rights to use it
    • you can skirt the issues of use with a "limited use" clause to distinguish between use for distribution and use for performers, submissions, etc.
  • Pedagogical texts/materials
    • get famous!
      • Jeanne Baxtressor submitted her excerpts with 30 years of markings and annotations from playing in the NYPhil, now her excerpt book is her "greatest income earner"
    • create demand
    • recognize demand/necessity

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