Will music licensing suit me?

At this point, it’s perhaps important to ask the basic question of whether or not music licensing is right for you. While I cannot answer that for you - and it may be something you decide once you’ve read through this book - I offer these basic considerations before getting started:

It IS for you if...

- You are an amateur or professional composer.
- You enjoy writing music.
- You are happy to “sell out” and write music in more commercial genres.
- You want to earn a small side income.
- You are able to focus on long terms goals rather than short term results.

It ISN’T for you if ...

- You write less than 5 tracks per year.
- You expect to earn money straight away.
- You are unable to stick to a long term plan.
- You don’t want to write “commercial” sounding music.
- You don’t like emailing people, administrative work or exporting stems.

As for the commercial aspect that I listed above, some might debate its merits along the lines of what they consider to be a viable art form. Personally, I put a lot of effort and thought into creating any tracks I write for my publishers, so I feel it is an art form which requires just as much creativity within the confines of what the marketplace desires.

Practically speaking, music licensing not only represents a potential income source for paying bills, any tracks already placed in libraries can generate a steady flow of income, freeing up a musician for other artistic and professional endeavors (after all, many musicians have day jobs not even connected to music). Still, if licensing presents a personal, creative dilemma, then simply put, it is not for you.

Finally, I provide a glossary of terms below that will help you familiarise yourself with essential information I cover throughout this book. I highly recommend reading through that glossary first, though you can always flip back to this section as well.

I hope you enjoy this course - if you have any questions at all, please leave a comment in the comment fields of the lectures. Good luck!