Publication

Hi guys

So I've written this sextet for Oboe, Clarinet in A, Bassoon, Piano, Violin and Cello. it is very much a contemporary piece with lots of sul ponticello-there's a pattern of sul ponticello-one measure is sul pont, the next one isn't, the one after that is, the pattern is essentially measure 1: Sul Pont. 2) Natural 3) Sul Pont. 4) Natural 5) Sul Pont. 6) Natural etc etc. There are tone clusters, tons of weird tremelo's for the bassoon at the end of the piece, polytonal, etc etc. Does anyone know a contemporary publishing company that might be willing to publish the piece?

Many thanks

To be quite honest if you're all excited because you skip from ordinario to sul pont. in one of your pieces, you're probably not ready to be published.

Pubilshers don't look for that sort of thing.

They look to see whether the music is worth it or not. Yes, publishers make brazen judgmental decisions based on their opinion of whether something is good or not.

And whether there will be a market for it.

p.s. it's tremOlo, not tremelo.

What he said.

These days, if you're not already "somebody," there is almost no point in submitting a piece of music to a publisher.

I've contacted publishers in the past, and not only do you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get a submission accepted, but they're pretty up-front about the fact that looking through unsolicited submissions is WAY down on their priority list, so your submission may never be seen. Even if it is seen, the chances are uncomfortably high that it will be rejected because it does not meet their needs (i.e. whether they think it's good, and whether they think they can sell it, as Qc said).

You'd be doing better to publish your music yourself online. Lots of people are doing that now. The cool part about that is that you have complete control over the process. Unfortunately, it's not easy to market this way.

If you really want to give this a shot, here are links I found to the submissions criteria of a couple of publishers:

G. Schirmer

Schott Music

I checked a few others, but some don't even publish submission details on their websites - if that gives you any idea how eager they are to accept uncolicited submissions.

That's the reality of it. Good luck!

You'd be doing better to publish your music yourself online. Lots of people are doing that now. The cool part about that is that you have complete control over the process. Unfortunately, it's not easy to market this way.

Alright. So how does one go about doing such a feat? It sounds extremely difficult. Please help! I'm desperate! :( Thank you so much.

PS. I emailed TrevCo (double reed music specialists to see waht they might have to say) and I hope I getr some input on the situation. crosses fingers. :|

Look at some of the websites around, especially Nikolas's. If you're running IE, you can get a free domain from officelive.com (it's microsoft's service, but it's a great template site that's relatively idiot-proof. I mean, I made tchoupchup.com with it.)

There's a self-publishing company that seems like cafepress for publishing.

Quick google: buckman's magnatune blog: Self-publishing your music - how to do it

Self Publishing - Lulu.com

I have to agree with the other members about the publishing aspect. Some really good ideas to break into the business would be;

Try entering in a composition contest

This is a great way to get noticed, esp. if you place in the third or runners up position. It also exposes you to other composers, which is a great way to network.

Start Arranging first

You can't really expect to just jump of the proverbial boat and say "Here is my work!!! Buy it now!!" and have people take you seriously. You have to slowly build a reputation, acquire contacts and regular buyers of your music. The best way is to arrange music for people. It doesn't have to be a master piece/magnum opas, just a little something for your local high school, church or anything else. That will get the word out about you talent to work with music. Then you can gradually make the cross-over to compositions.

Create a Website/Business Cards

This is the absolute best way to get business, and keep business. If you tell someone that you have some amazing compositions, and they should really check them out sometime......but you forgot them at your house, or maybe trying to explain what going from a Am6(9) to an F half dim. sounds like is a little difficult....then what? You have to have a central location where the potential customers can go and look around and contact you if need be. Also, a website is a great place to catalog your pieces. Make it look professional too. Would you buy something from someone who doesn't have their act together? I didn't think so.

These are just some common knowledge things that could possibly help.

I have to agree with the other members about the publishing aspect. Some really good ideas to break into the business would be;

Try entering in a composition contest

This is a great way to get noticed, esp. if you place in the third or runners up position. It also exposes you to other composers, which is a great way to network.

Start Arranging first

You can't really expect to just jump of the proverbial boat and say "Here is my work!!! Buy it now!!" and have people take you seriously. You have to slowly build a reputation, acquire contacts and regular buyers of your music. The best way is to arrange music for people. It doesn't have to be a master piece/magnum opas, just a little something for your local high school, church or anything else. That will get the word out about you talent to work with music. Then you can gradually make the cross-over to compositions.

Create a Website/Business Cards

This is the absolute best way to get business, and keep business. If you tell someone that you have some amazing compositions, and they should really check them out sometime......but you forgot them at your house, or maybe trying to explain what going from a Am6(9) to an F half dim. sounds like is a little difficult....then what? You have to have a central location where the potential customers can go and look around and contact you if need be. Also, a website is a great place to catalog your pieces. Make it look professional too. Would you buy something from someone who doesn't have their act together? I didn't think so.

These are just some common knowledge things that could possibly help.

I'm currently doing all of these. Hopefully the composition competition, and my rachmaninov arrangement works out alright.

I'm sorry for my short posts and little to say, but I'm extremely under the weather (this is the first time I've gotten six in over four months). Thank you for all of the advice.

According to the blog it sounds like the guy really dislikes BMI. I might look into ascap, but to be honest, I'm not sure, and at the moment, too exhausted to look into it.

Thanks again.

Just be aware how useful and useless blogs are.