Getting My Compositions Published

[Stenir]

Does anybody have a list of different publishers that will look at my work? I know there are certain ones like Alfred, Belwin Mills, etc., but I don't know their rules on submission. I would like to get some of my music out there for publication.

Thx,
Stenir

[ttw]

Originally Posted by Stenir

Does anybody have a list of different publishers that will look at my work? I know there are certain ones like Alfred, Belwin Mills, etc., but I don't know their rules on submission. I would like to get some of my music out there for publication.

Thx,
Stenir

Did you try any of their websites? Perhaps one of the websites will give the publisher's rules.

[Boneman]

Try the smaller publishers first, they are always wanting to add to their catologue.

[reith]

Not sure how the system applies in the States. There's a Musician's Yearbook available with loads of info like that, lists of publishers, help on things like copyright and tax etc. If I remember from the last one I bought - 5 years ago abouts - it covers biz in the States. Must be available in the libraries but also on Amazon, if you feel like shelling out.


reith

[Boneman]

Just set aside a weekend to find these publishers on the net then send then some of your music.

[stevel]

Originally Posted by Stenir

Does anybody have a list of different publishers that will look at my work? I know there are certain ones like Alfred, Belwin Mills, etc., but I don't know their rules on submission. I would like to get some of my music out there for publication.

Thx,
Stenir

Do you people not now how to use Google? :-)

http://www.mpa.org/

http://library.music.indiana.edu/mus...rces/publ.html

Now, having said that, Stenir, don't get your hopes up. Who do you know? Becuase if you don't know anyone, the chances of getting your music published are slim.

Music publishers are in the business to make money. Period. They do not publish music unless they feel they can make money off of it. Now, there are some publishers out there who publish music for "art's sake", but they are few and far between. You can also find "niche" publishers who specialize in music for a specific instrument, by specifc composers of specific gender, race, religion, etc (if you're a female, african-american jew, your odds of being published are better than if you're a male, white, christian (the "traditional" western european composer). Odds of being published come both from competition, and from avaialability of niche publishers in this case. Some publishers specialize in Method or Instruction books - those are good if you are into that sort of thing.

There are also small publishers - though most of the ones I've seen tend to be "self-publishers" - that is, they have a bunch of music for sale on their website that is basically compositions by themselves. Some people do the same thing on Sibelius' site, or on MusicClick type sites - in effect, the host of the site becomes the "publisher", and people who visit can download your scores or recordings.

What a publisher basically does is distribute your music for you. You pay them (as a percentage of the profits) to copy, bind, distrubute, collect payment, etc. for you. Again, they're not going to pay to print 1000 copies of your latest "Piano Rag" as sheet music unless they think it will sell. If they have a choice between printing Philip Glass, or you, who do you think they'll pick? - the sheet music market is abyssmal. People don't even buy classical type music any more. If it's not by Mozart, or Debussy, or someone huge, they barely make it. In fact, how many stores can you go to an pick up the score to Mahler's 3rd Symphony? Dover probably doesn't even have it. So even for famous composers of the past, the demand has to be there first.

Most publishers won't even accept blind submissions. So I wouldn't just send out a bunch without looking at all the guidelines. What I suggest is that you concentrate on getting your music performed and recorded. Most publishers will ask for a recording before they'll consider a classical type piece anyway. The more people that hear your music, the better your odds of finding people who know people that can get you published.

But I have to ask you - WHY do you want to be published? Just to say you're published? Publication doesn't guarantee performances. You'd have to have a publisher who pushed your pieces. Why would they push yours over someone else's? Who is your publisher's audience? What capabilities do they have of distributing your music? There's a lot to consider here, and again, it may be more worthwhile to get your pieces played rather than published.

So not to be too discouraging - I think you should pursue this, but be aware of what you're getting into and adjust your expectations accordingly, and don't neglect your other music-making opportunities.

Best,
Steve

[Boneman]

What about the forum opening a shop where members can put their compositions up for sale? A lot of guests pass by throughout the day.

[Stenir]

Well, I know I never got back to the in-depth answer by Steve...

My expectations are that they'll review it. That's as far as expectations go. I guess I always wanted to consider myself among the likes of Alfred Reed. Not that I could say "Yeah, I'm up there with Alfred Reed", but more along the lines that you could see my music and his nearby.

It's actually more that I want my music to be performed. Scratch that....I want it to be heard. And it always sounds better coming out of a band, no matter how bad the band may be. I guess it's that sort of satisfaction that you've written something that somebody wants to play. Or at least try.

At the end of August, I'm submitted some music to Barnhouse, so wish me luck.

[stevel]

Originally Posted by Stenir

It's actually more that I want my music to be performed. Scratch that....I want it to be heard. And it always sounds better coming out of a band, no matter how bad the band may be. I guess it's that sort of satisfaction that you've written something that somebody wants to play. Or at least try.

Then send it to some BANDS! Seriously - bypass the middleman (the publisher) and go straight to the source. Ask for a performance. If they won't do that (many can't because they've committed to certain themes and have programs planned out a year or two in advance), ask for a reading and see if it's OK to record it. No matter how confident a composer you are, you can always tell them you're learning and looking for some real-world scenarios - if you're lucky you'll run into a band conductor who also composes and may do something like work in the MIDI-realization process and appreciate your desire to hear things by a live ensemble.

If you have money, you can hire them. Or in some cases, you can make a sizeable donation to an organization, and then say, Oh, by the way, I have this piece... - not my preferred method (buying in seems like selling out, plus I don't have any money!) but may work for some.

I would say that most of the time a band person contacts a publisher they're looking for something specific already. Now, publishers will send out advertisements of new scores they've released - or even old ones that fit some niche - for instance, there was a Lord of The Rings work for band written back in the 70's or 80s - before the current LoTR movie craze, but our band performed it last year, 1 because the director was selecting music from the band's trip to NY, and they say LoTR while there, and 2 because it was in the public's consciousness.

So let's just say, that if you're an "unknown", you have to have a lot of luck for someone to find your work in a catalog, or, be lucky enough to have a publisher that really pushes your work (which is not unheard of).

The additional bonus about a performance or reading is that you get to be there and interact with the performers, and possibly an audience. I mean, I get a far greater deal of satisfaction hearing my work performed here locally rather than knowing someone is performing it in NY. If it had been on Sibelius.com and some kid in Russia is listening to it, that's fine, but then it gets so far removed from me that it's almost like it might as well be anyone's work - does that make sense?

So try some local organizations. If you've not got any bands, try chamber groups - re-arrange something to fit, or write something for that ensemble. Then reach farther afield - but try to target what you're doing - you don't want to send you band works to a vocal ensemble called Musica 1492 or something!

I think a little strategic marketing on your part will garner you much better results (at least until you become to big to manage yourself) than a publisher would (though again, it's certainly worth spending a little time on if you have the time).

Best,
Steve

[Stenir]

Well, I have two bands that constantly help me work on my music. That always helps. And while I can play each of the parts myself, for techniques-sake I'm nowhere near performance level...so I'd have a hard time judging how easy it would be to perform.