{"id":406429,"date":"2020-09-02T12:31:39","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T16:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmusicusa.wpengine.com\/?p=406429"},"modified":"2021-06-04T16:28:25","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T16:28:25","slug":"online-score-sales-for-self-published-composers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmusicusa.org\/nmbx\/online-score-sales-for-self-published-composers\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Score Sales for Self-Published Composers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cNo one\u2019s going to buy your music if it\u2019s sitting on the shelf at your house.\u201d So says Kurt Knecht<\/a>, composer and co-founder of MusicSpoke<\/a>, a sheet music distributor focusing on choral music. And it\u2019s true! So, composers: how can you get your music in front of the right musicians in a format that makes it easy for them to purchase, download, and start practicing your pieces right away?<\/p>\n

This article will provide an overview of options for self-published composers to sell their PDF (and sometimes, physical) scores and describe the typical audience for each of these methods so composers can evaluate which option might be the best for you and your music. It will also discuss methods for selling your music on your own website, via Bandcamp<\/a>, or by creating a composer\u2019s collective. Finally, it will explore an alternative path: not selling your music. All of the distributors in this article share two similarities, with a few exceptions for special series or publishing arrangements you can opt-in to. First, composers retain the copyright to their work. Second, these distributors are non-exclusive: composers can sell on other sites.<\/p>\n

All of the distributors in this article share two similarities, with a few exceptions: composers retain their copyright; these distributors are non-exclusive<\/div>\n

And, a note as we get going: the legacy of systemic racism and sexism is apparent when one browses the distributors in this article. Many of the owners and operators of music distribution services are white men and the catalogs represented on these services often have a large proportion of white male composers. The work to amplify the voices of women, LGBTQ, and BIPOC composers must continue.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about two large distributors first: J.W. Pepper<\/a> and Sheet Music Plus<\/a> (SMP) Press. These distributors have name recognition, come in high on internet search results for sheet music, and serve large numbers of customers. However, they offer smaller payments per score (45-50% of list price) to composers, and do not share information about who purchased your music (name, contact info, etc.) with you.<\/p>\n

J.W. Pepper\u2019s My Score<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Logo<\/p>\n

Audience:<\/em><\/p>\n

J.W. Pepper is one of the largest distributors of educational music in the United States, selling everything from method and solo books to ensemble works. K-12 music educators are familiar with the website and often have purchasing accounts already set up and ready to go. My Score<\/a> is J.W. Pepper\u2019s distribution service for self-published composers. \u201cPeople know the J.W. Pepper name,\u201d says Isaac Brooks, who heads up My Score. \u201cThe My Score composer can be found in <\/a> results along with traditionally published pieces.\u201d Composer Karlyne F\u00e9lix<\/a> works as a music educator and first encountered My Score when she was looking for music for her students. Now she uses it as the sole music distributor for her own works. \u201cIt\u2019s very easy to use, accessible, and well-known among the music education community,\u201d she says. The audience of educators also attracted composer Garrett Hope<\/a> to the service. \u201cI\u2019m focusing my efforts on educational music,\u201d Hope explains. \u201cA big part of marketing is knowing your audience and knowing where they go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA big part of marketing is knowing your audience and knowing where they go.\u201d<\/div>\n

Logistics, Fees, Criteria:<\/em><\/p>\n

Signing up for My Score costs a one-time $99 fee. Composers receive 50% of the list price for every digital copy and 25% for every printed copy sold, paid quarterly. There are minimum prices for your sheet music starting at $2 for choral works up to $45 for a full orchestral work. For choral works, a minimum of 5 copies must be purchased, to avoid illegal copying. There is no evaluation process for composers, no quality standards, and no guidelines on notation to follow.<\/p>\n

PDF or Print Scores?<\/em>
\nWorks sold on My Score can be purchases as PDFs or printed scores.<\/p>\n

Security:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAll digital copies sold by\u00a0jwpepper.com<\/a>\u00a0are watermarked and made available for print\u00a0through a customer portal called My Library,\u201d Brooks says. \u201cThe product can also be\u00a0viewed through our\u00a0on a mobile device.\u00a0The\u00a0end-user has 3 attempts to successfully print the product, after that it will only be viewable\u00a0electronically through their account.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Isaac<\/a>

Isaac Brooks, who heads up J. W. Pepper’s My Score<\/p><\/div>\n

Additional Benefits: <\/em><\/p>\n

J.W. Pepper has a presence at music conferences, and often offers My Score composers the opportunity to stand at a booth. They offer Webinar training for their composers. One benefit that makes My Score stand out: every work is available as a digital score or a physical score through their print-on-demand service. Professionally printed and bound scores will be fulfilled within 3 days.<\/p>\n

Tips:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNeutral themes and music of hope are very good to have at any performance.\u201d<\/div>\n
\"Karlyne<\/a>

Karlyne F\u00e9lix<\/p><\/div>\n

F\u00e9lix suggests that composers considering My Score keep in mind who they are selling to: music educators and their (often young) musicians. \u201cNeutral themes and music of hope are very good to have at any performance,\u201d she explains.\u00a0 She says it took a little work to get the hang of uploading music, but that My Score\u2019s team was helpful. \u201cI have been contacted by their support team, at the beginning of my journey with them, to clarify a few edits before the site made my music public,\u201d she says. \u201cI appreciate that, especially being new to the system.\u201d Hope wishes that the editing process for scores was less cumbersome. After scores are added, any changes must be requested via email. \u201cI would love to be able to login and see my catalog and make edits,\u201d he says. However, Hope agrees that the customer service team is responsive, usually making changes within 24 hours. Brooks explains that one reason composers must submit edits through email is that My Score prepares a printable file for every score submitted. \u201cOne difference between My Score and SMP Press is that we are preparing the item for physical distribution,\u201d he says. Brooks says that a portal for composers to edit their current catalog is \u201cin the works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheet Music Plus (SMP) Press<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Audience: <\/em><\/p>\n

Sheet Music Plus calls itself \u201cthe world\u2019s largest sheet music store.\u201d SMP Press<\/a> is their distribution arm for self-published composers to sell PDF scores. The site caters to K-12 music educators and ensemble directors, private music teachers and their students and individual hobbyist musicians. Composer Juhi Bansal (https:\/\/juhibansal.com\/<\/a>) appreciates the popularity of Sheet Music Plus\u2019s site. \u201cIt\u2019s a place people are already going and looking for music, so you are exposed to a much larger audience,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"Composer

Composer Juhi Bansal<\/p><\/div>\n

Logistics, Fees, Criteria:<\/em><\/p>\n

SMP Press is free to join. Composers earn 45% of the list price for original compositions and public domain arrangements and 10% on arrangements of their copyrighted song catalog. Commissions are paid monthly once you hit the $20 minimum for payment via Paypal or $40 minimum for check payments. SMP Offers guidelines<\/a> (not requirements) for how much to charge for scores. They provide guidelines for scores, such as margin sizes and reducing ink on the cover (since customers are printing these out at home).<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know too many orchestral institutions willing to print and bind the conductor\u2019s score and parts, with their numerous varying page sizes.\u201d<\/div>\n

PDF or Print Scores?<\/em><\/p>\n

SMP Press sells only PDF scores at this time.<\/p>\n

Security<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Customers receive downloadable, watermarked PDFs.<\/p>\n

Tips:<\/em><\/p>\n

Bansal finds SMP Press easy to use. \u201cIf you\u2019re just starting out and you want to put music up, it\u2019s a good platform to do it. You can have one place where you sell your scores, and direct people to it.\u201d Composer Arthur Breur<\/a> agrees. \u201cYou create your company name, upload PDFs, you can include preview pages, a video or recording, description, select your price, and 24-48 hours later, your piece is approved and ready to sell,\u201d he explains. \u201cMaking changes are easy and then it will take 24-48 hours to update.\u201d \u201cSMP Press is a great option for artists who enjoy a \u2018set it and forget it\u2019 method to distributing their music,\u201d says composer Brian Nabors<\/a>. \u201cIt definitely gets the music into the hands of the musicians instantly.\u201d He does wish that SMP had an option to sell physical scores and parts, especially for large ensemble works. \u201cI don\u2019t know too many orchestral institutions willing to print and bind the conductor\u2019s score and parts, with their numerous varying page sizes.\u201d Because of this, he binds and ships his orchestral music himself, often using another music distributor, Subito Music Distribution. To enhance search on the Sheet Music Plus website, Breur suggests including the instrument or performing forces in the title field of your piece when you add it to your catalog. For example: \u201cDance \u2013 Piano Solo\u201d rather than just \u201cDance.\u201d In his experience, this helps customers find your piece when they search the site.<\/p>\n

\"Composer<\/a>

Composer Brian Nabors<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Next, let\u2019s talk about four smaller, composer-run distributors: MusicSpoke, NewMusicShelf, Graphite, and Murphy Music Press. These distributors offer a higher payment to composers (50-70% of list price), and share information about who bought your music with you, so that you can get in touch with musicians and ensemble directors.<\/p>\n

MusicSpoke<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Audience:<\/em><\/p>\n

MusicSpoke<\/a> is a marketplace for music by living composers, with a strong emphasis on choral music. \u201cOur primary customers, in this order, are K-12 choral, university choral, and churches,\u201d says Kurt Knecht, co-founder. Composers are welcome to sell other genres of concert music on the site as well. Juhi Bansal sells her vocal music on MusicSpoke, in addition to selling her music on Sheet Music Plus. \u201cIt is more specialized,\u201d she says of MusicSpoke, \u201cmostly choral, a few piano works, and art song. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a great place to sell string quartets, opera, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

Logistics, Fees, Criteria:<\/em><\/p>\n

There is no fee to join MusicSpoke. Composers receive 70% of the list price, with some slight variations for rare physical copy sales or promotional offers. The vast majority of MusicSpoke\u2019s sales are PDF scores. When MusicSpoke works are chosen for state repertoire lists requiring physical scores, MusicSpoke works with Black Ribbon Printing to print and bind hard copies.<\/p>\n

\"Kurt

Kurt Knecht<\/p><\/div>\n

The process to join MusicSpoke is unique. \u201cWe evaluate composers, not pieces,\u201d says Knecht. MusicSpoke has a one-on-one dialogue with each composer to see if they are a good match for distribution on their site. They do not evaluate individual pieces (as a traditional publisher might), but rather add composers to their service and let composers list as many or as few pieces as they want. Knecht says that they do prefer that you have a recording available for any piece you want to sell.<\/p>\n

PDF or Print Scores?<\/em><\/p>\n

Music Spoke primarily sells PDF scores, with the rare option to print scores when works are chosen for state repertoire lists.<\/p>\n

Security:<\/em><\/p>\n

Customers receive downloadable, watermarked PDFs, or (rarely) physical scores printed through Black Ribbon Publishing.<\/p>\n

Additional Benefits:<\/em><\/p>\n

Bansal appreciates the reputation that MusicSpoke has built among conductors. \u201cPeople know it\u2019s a good place to look for contemporary choral scores,\u201d she says. She also like that they don\u2019t have a minimum purchase requirement. \u201cIf you want to check out a copy of a score, if you want to teach from it or share it in class, there are no minimums,\u201d she says. That can be an advantage if your goal is getting your music in front of a conductor. MusicSpoke maintains a presence at national conferences, with options for composers to join them at their booth. They are continuously developing a network of composers and conductors to promote the music of MusicSpoke composers. In addition, they curate several series with renowned conductors such as the Charles Bruffy, Derrick Fox, and Joseph Ohrt, and MusicSpoke composers are eligible for these. One note: these special series have an additional three-year exclusivity contract with MusicSpoke due to the special promotional services they receive.<\/p>\n

NewMusicShelf<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

Audience:<\/em><\/p>\n

NewMusicShelf<\/a> sells and distributes PDFs of concert music by living composers, with a particular emphasis on music for collegiate and professional performers, ensembles, and chamber groups. \u201cI believe chamber, vocal, and choral music work best on this platform,\u201d says composer Jennifer Jolley<\/a>, who sells her music on NewMusicShelf as well as through Murphy Music Press and ADJ\u2022ective New Music. Composers are welcome to sell educational music, but that is not its primary market. Of the composer-run distributors discussed in this article, NewMusicShelf is unique in the breadth of its catalog across instrumental and vocal ensembles.<\/p>\n

Logistics, Fees, Criteria:<\/em><\/p>\n

There is no fee to join NewMusicShelf. For scores sold, there are 2 fees per transaction: a payment processing fee from Paypal or Stripe, which is typically 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, and NMS\u2019s 30% distribution fee. This leaves the composer with slightly under 70% of the list price. Composers set their prices, with a minimum of $2 per score. Digital scores sold through NewMusicShelf must be priced less than physical scores sold elsewhere and identically to digital scores sold elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s appropriate for a gatekeeper to talk about \u2018quality\u2019 because that is very subjective.\u201d<\/div>\n

Of the composer-run distributors, NewMusicShelf is the most inclusive. Founder Dennis Tobenski<\/a> does not curate based on style or perceived quality. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s appropriate for a gatekeeper to talk about \u2018quality\u2019 because that is very subjective,\u201d he says. The most important criteria for acceptance is the engraving quality of your scores and parts. Tobenski suggests comparing your scores to professionally engraved music or seeking advice from a composer whose scores you admire before submitting. That said, he will provide feedback if your scores are not up to his standards\u2014it is not just a blanket rejection.<\/p>\n

\"Dennis

Dennis Tobenski<\/p><\/div>\n

PDF or Print Scores?<\/em>
\nNewMusicShelf sells only PDF scores at this time.<\/p>\n

Security:<\/em><\/p>\n

Customers receive downloadable, watermarked PDFs.<\/p>\n

Additional Benefits:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a guide to help us figure out how much we should charge per copy of our music. That is a game changer right there,\u201d says Jolley. She appreciates the service because it helps composers sell their music online even if they \u201chave no idea how to implement this on their own website.\u201d NewMusicShelf is Tobenski\u2019s self-described \u201cone man operation,\u201d but he still makes sure to have a presence at conferences, particularly in conjunction with the publication of their print anthologies of music<\/a>. His mission is to build a community of composers and new music performers.<\/p>\n

\"Jennifer

Jennifer Jolley (Liz Glen Photography)<\/p><\/div>\n

Tips:<\/em><\/p>\n

Tobenski recommends that composers provide a lot of information to potential customers when they upload their scores to the catalog, including a perusal score or sample pages, program notes, links to recordings, and information on who commissioned the work. \u201cGive people too much information,\u201d he suggests. \u201cThat\u2019s what people are buying the score based on.\u201d Jolley hopes to see more options for educational music on the platform in the future. \u201cOnce they expand, they can make it so their musical offerings are sorted by grade level,\u201d she suggests.<\/p>\n

Murphy Music Press<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Murphy<\/a><\/p>\n

Audience:<\/em><\/p>\n

Murphy Music Press<\/a> is a distributor of composer-owned music for saxophones and wind ensembles, run by composer and saxophonist Sean Murphy<\/a>.\u00a0 The site sells everything from solos to chamber music to large ensemble works, at all difficulty levels. Composer Evan Williams<\/a> distributes his work through Murphy Music Press and ADJ\u2022ective New Music (more on ADJ\u2022ective later). \u201cBoth Murphy and ADJ\u2022ective have wide markets,\u201d he says. \u201cSome works are educational and some are collegiate\/professional.\u201d Murphy aims to sell to customers seeking a curated catalog. \u201cWe sell to the kind of person who buys an espresso coffee versus Folgers,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Logistics, Fees, Criteria:<\/em><\/p>\n

There is no fee to join and composers selling through Murphy Music Press set their own prices and earn 50% of the list price. Murphy Music Press pays for printing and binding out of its half of the sales. Composers are paid twice a year. The site includes around 200 composers at present and Murphy is always looking for new members. Composers interested in selling their music on Murphy Music Press can contact Murphy through the web form on the website<\/a>, and when invited, submit a piece. \u201cI listen to the piece and follow my heart,\u201d he says. \u201cIf I think there\u2019s potential I say yes, and if not, I say no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sean

Sean Murphy<\/p><\/div>\n

PDF or Print Scores?<\/em>
\nMurphy Music Press sells primarily print scores but can also sell PDF scores. The choice is left up to the composer.<\/p>\n

Security:<\/em><\/p>\n

PDF scores are watermarked.<\/p>\n

Additional Benefits<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Twice a year, Murphy Music Press provides composers with a record of who purchased their music so that composers can follow up about performances, etc. However, they sell a large number of scores to large distributors like J.W. Pepper, and from there, they cannot track sales for composers. Murphy Music Press maintains a presence at conferences such as the Midwest Clinic. Williams appreciates the time Murphy Music Press and ADJ-ective put into marketing. \u201cThe biggest benefit for me is not having to dedicate time, effort, and money toward printing, binding, and shipping scores and parts,\u201d he says. \u201cDistributors can also market your music online and at conferences, reaching a wider audience than you could yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Evan<\/a>

Evan Williams (Photo by Eric Snoza, SnoStudios Photography)<\/p><\/div>\n

Tips:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cComposers can be so bad at communicating. Answer your emails!\u201d<\/div>\n

Murphy vets potential composers by researching their presence online. \u201cBe nice!\u201d he urges. He also pays attention to how easy it is to stay in touch with composers. \u201cComposers can be so bad at communicating,\u201d he warns. \u201cAnswer your emails!\u201d\u00a0 Murphy prefers submissions with a score and a performance recording. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to market something without a recording,\u201d he says, but acknowledges that with the pandemic, a MIDI rendition may suffice on occasion. He advises that it is easier to sell a piece if it has already been performed, because it adds legitimacy to the piece and creates interest from buyers.<\/p>\n

Graphite Publishing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Graphite<\/a><\/p>\n

Audience:<\/em><\/p>\n

Graphite Publishing<\/a>, run by composers Timothy Takach<\/a> and Jocelyn Hagen<\/a>, is a considerably more discriminating option for established composers of primarily choral music as well as art song. There are two arms of Graphite: a tightly curated distribution catalog of composer-owned works and an even more select publishing house. They sell primarily secular choral works of all levels, particularly for high school, collegiate, and advanced amateur choirs. While they do distribute some music that is suitable for a church choir, it is not their primary market.<\/p>\n

\"Timothy

Timothy Takach<\/p><\/div>\n

Logistics, Fees, Criteria:<\/em><\/p>\n

There is no fee to join.\u00a0 Composers receive 60% of sales for composer-owned scores distributed on Graphite Publishing and 40% of sales for Graphite-published works. To keep overhead low, they sell only PDF scores. There is an open submission process on their website, and scores are reviewed 1-2 times a year. Graphite curates with a philosophy of finding what Takach calls \u201ca balance between excellent craft and innovation of scores and the accessibility of the scores. We\u2019re looking for things that are different, things that enhance the choral experience and our catalog.\u201d So a piece setting the same Sara Teasdale or Emily Dickinson poem that everyone at your graduate program set is likely not be what Graphite is looking for. There is a high bar, and those who are chosen are typically composers who have an established catalog that is already selling. \u201cThe gate is open,\u201d Takach explains, \u201cbut it\u2019s open just a crack.\u201d \u201cI really appreciate their quick and helpful responses to any questions I have,\u201d says composer Dale Trumbore<\/a>, who distributes her music through Graphite. \u201cSetting up with any new distributor takes time\u2026but overall it\u2019s a pretty straightforward process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dale<\/a>

Dale Trumbore (photo by Lucas Hausrath)<\/p><\/div>\n

PDF or Print Scores?<\/em>
\nGraphite sells only PDF scores at this time.<\/p>\n

Security:<\/em><\/p>\n

Customers receive downloadable, watermarked PDFs that include their name, organization, and the number of copies that they are allowed to make.<\/p>\n

Additional Benefits:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate how Graphite Marketplace has composers rate their pieces in difficulty level on a 1-5 scale, so choral conductors can use that plus the perusal scores to assess whether a piece will be a good fit for their ensemble,\u201d says Trumbore. \u201cThere\u2019s a wide variety of music within Graphite, ranging from simpler pieces for children\u2019s chorus to challenging works for advanced choirs.\u201d Graphite maintains a presence at ACDA and NATS conventions and periodically organizes consortiums for groups of their composers. Their model is to \u201cbuild trust through adjacency,\u201d says Takach. Trust in one composer\u2019s excellence leads conductors to trust the music of other Graphite composers. Trumbore is grateful for this presence at conferences. \u201cThat can lead not only to them promoting your work there [at conferences], but to them potentially sponsoring all or part of your registration fee and\/or offering times for you to meet conductors and performers face-to-face at their booth,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

\n

What if you want to be fully in charge of your catalog and sell and distribute yourself? Bandcamp is one way, and selling your scores directly on your website is another. These methods require the composer to take on the work of building and maintain an online store and getting PDF or print scores to their customers.<\/p>\n

Bandcamp<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n

Audience:<\/em><\/p>\n

While many of us think of Bandcamp<\/a> as a way to listen to and purchase music albums, composers like Sean McFarland<\/a> use it to sell their scores. \u201cIt\u2019s an excellent place to pair your audio work and physical work together,\u201d he says, \u201cand for me, the communities that I\u2019m most interested in connecting with are doing a lot of their listening in Bandcamp already.\u201d<\/p>\n

Logistics, Fees, Criteria:<\/em><\/p>\n

McFarland appreciates how easy it is to get set up with Bandcamp, and the fact that there are no gatekeepers evaluating you or your music and deciding if it is worthy. \u201cAll you need is an email, and that\u2019s it!\u201d he says. Composers can sell their sheet music in the \u201cmerch\u201d section of their Bandcamp page<\/a>. Bandcamp is free to set up, and charges a 10% fee for all merchandise sales plus transaction fees of 1.9% + $0.30 for Paypal or 2.2% + $0.30 for credit card payments \u00a0(https:\/\/get.bandcamp.help\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/360007802394-How-much-are-transaction-fees-for-digital-sales-<\/a>).<\/p>\n

PDF or Print Scores?<\/em>
\nIt\u2019s up to you. If you sell print scores, you will have to print, bind, and ship them yourself.<\/p>\n

Security:<\/em><\/p>\n

Bandcamp is not set up for automatic downloads, which McFarland views is a plus: \u201cIt is more personal and connective anyway,\u201d he says. He emails scores to customers after they have made a purchase.<\/p>\n

Challenges:<\/em><\/p>\n

McFarland find the organization of information a little \u201cclunky.\u201d \u201cThe platform is not exactly meant to sell scores, so you have to get creative with the track organization to make it look reasonable,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Selling Scores on your Own Website<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are as many ways to sell your music on your own website as there are composers.<\/div>\n

There are as many ways to sell your music on your own website as there are composers. To give perspective on ways this can work, I spoke to Reena Esmail<\/a> through her assistant Melanie Eveland, Jennifer Wagner<\/a>, Alex Shapiro<\/a>, Stephanie Ann Boyd<\/a>, and self-described New Renaissance Artist Elizabeth A. Baker<\/a> about how they each approach selling their scores and other materials and services.<\/p>\n

Why sell your music yourself? <\/em><\/p>\n

A major reason to sell your music on your own site is to earn your full sales commission. \u201cI like to keep my money,\u201d says Baker, who sells her compositions, recordings, books, and consulting services through her website. She also emphasized the importance of retaining creative control of your work. \u201cWe live in a time when you can self-publish your albums; you can self-publish your own work. You don\u2019t need other humans to put your stuff in a warehouse and take a big percentage of the pot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Elizabeth

Elizabeth A. Baker<\/p><\/div>\n

Another aspect that came up with every composer I spoke to was the ability to build relationships with customers. \u00a0\u201cA significant benefit for composers handling their own score sales is the direct contact they will have with the people who purchase the materials,\u201d says Shapiro. This often leads to future collaborations, commissions, and residencies. Boyd adds, \u201cIf they are exploring contemporary music, they are probably someone who wants to ask questions of a composer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Logistics, Fees:<\/em><\/p>\n

Esmail and Wagner design their websites on WordPress<\/a> and use the WooCommerce<\/a> plug-in for sales. WordPress\u2019s ecommerce sites begin at $45\/month, with no additional cost to add WooCommerce. WooCommerce charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for U.S. credit and debit cards, and an additional 1% for non-U.S. cards. They both do their score delivery and licensing individually, separately from the website transaction. \u201cWe like to see the orders that come in and provide a personal level of service to musicians,\u201d says Eveland, Esmail\u2019s assistant. Wagner sells both PDF and print scores, and works with a reliable printer with a fast turnaround time for physical scores. In some ways, she wishes customers could automatically download scores, but on balance, she likes the connection made by sending the email. \u201cIt allows me to personally thank them for their purchase and wish them a lovely season with their students,\u201d she explains. She uses MailChimp \u201csparingly\u201d to let past customers know of new works of music or particularly special opportunities.<\/p>\n

\"Reena<\/a>

Reena Esmail (photo by Rachel Garcia)<\/p><\/div>\n

Shapiro sells physical and PDF scores. She uses a PayPal shopping cart<\/a> on her website and charges one set shipping and handling fee for print and digital scores. PayPal charges a 5.4% + $0.30 transaction per transaction, but there are no monthly fees or set up costs<\/a>. Shapiro\u2019s customers receive a custom email with a private web link to download their PDFs. She prints chamber music in house and outsources larger ensemble works to be printed. Shapiro\u2019s works are also available through many distributors and retailers, giving her publishing company a far larger domestic and international footprint than it might otherwise have were her scores only available through her website.<\/p>\n

Boyd designs her composer website and store, Femoire<\/a>, on Squarespace<\/a> and uses their built-in ecommerce functionality, which includes a score preview function and the option to sell downloadable PDFs. Squarespace\u2019s Business plan costs $18\/month plus a 3% fee per transaction. For users selling more than $3200 annually, they offer Commerce Plans starting at $26\/month with no transaction fees. After customers purchase music on Boyd\u2019s site, they can automatically download their music.<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie<\/a>

Stephanie Ann Boyd<\/p><\/div>\n

Baker uses Square<\/a> and appreciates the business management tools the platform offers. \u201cSquare is like accounting software,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt offers scheduling, it offers online booking, inventory management, and it helps me with invoicing. I can print out very coherent reports which allow me to work with my financial planner.\u201d Square stores begin with their Free option which has no monthly fee and charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and offers additional features at Professional ($12\/month), Performance ($26\/month) and Premium ($72\/month) options<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Security:<\/em><\/p>\n

To reduce illegal file sharing, Shapiro embeds metadata into every digital audio file, always watermarks her digital perusal scores, and often watermarks her PDFs to reflect who purchased them. Boyd and Wagner watermark the score previews on their sites but not the purchased copies. Baker takes a different view on preview scores altogether. \u201cAll these quick view perusal scores nonsense is giving too much away,\u201d she says. \u201cI am heavily against it. I know a lot of specifically white male conductors and composers are going to say, \u2018No, we need this, because I need to know your stuff.\u2019 No. I have a website, you can clearly get a better picture of someone through a walk through their website than a single score.\u201d Baker\u2019s music is not notated in standard notation so she does not watermark purchases. \u201cI make things that are unstealable because people stole my stuff in the past,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

Challenges:<\/em><\/p>\n

Of course, if you are selling yourself, you really are going at it alone. Shapiro warns, you\u2019ll be administering your catalog, hold your engraving to a high standard for print and digital scores, deal with printing and binding, purchase materials, and process and ship orders\u2014all by yourself. She suggests hiring others to help you with some of these tasks so that you still have time to compose.<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/a>

Alex Shapiro<\/p><\/div>\n

Tips:<\/em><\/p>\n

Esmail has found that score sales are only one, smaller part of her income streams. \u201cWe have noticed that score sales are a lagging indicator\u2014not a leading one,\u201d says Eveland, Esmail\u2019s assistant. \u201cIt has not been our experience that a concert composer can set up an online store and hope to build an income that way without already being known through other sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shapiro suggests setting up Google Alerts for your name (in quotes) and each piece in your catalog (the title in quotes as well). This allows you to track performances you might not be notified about otherwise. Boyd\u2019s emphasis is on reducing what she calls \u201cconsumer friction.\u201d \u201cThink about how you shop online, pay attention to the brands whose shopping experience you enjoy, and try to re-create that,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t have an organized way of managing inventory and shipping, you won\u2019t be productive.\u201d<\/div>\n

Baker advises composers to choose a method that helps you stay organized on your end as a seller. \u201cIt\u2019s not about having the most sleek website, it\u2019s about what\u2019s going to work on the back end: delivery of content. If you don\u2019t have an organized way of managing inventory and shipping, you won\u2019t be productive.\u201d She also urges composers to get set up like a business: create articles of incorporation, assign successors (especially now, during a pandemic), and work with a lawyer and a tax professional who is also a certified financial planner. \u201cSet up everything the right way and put in the initial investment,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Wagner reminds composers to keep their customers in mind as they write, especially for those writing educational music. \u201cIf you are going to self-publish, you need to be on the cutting edge of what teachers need,\u201d she explains. \u201cIf you supply teachers with the tools to be successful, then profit will come organically.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jennifer<\/a>

Jennifer Wagner<\/p><\/div>\n

A hybrid model that combines aspects of a small music distributor with selling your music yourself is to create a composer collective such as ADJ\u2022ective New Music.<\/p>\n

Composer Collectives: ADJ\u2022ective New Music <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"ADJective<\/a><\/p>\n

Composers can band together and create a collective of like-minded colleagues to sell and cross-promote one another\u2019s music. This is the model of ADJ\u2022ective New Music<\/a>, a publishing and distributing company begun by composer-performers Jamie Leigh Sampson<\/a> and Andrew Martin Smith<\/a>. \u201cThe idea from the beginning was that a rising tide raises all boats,\u201d says Sampson. \u201cIf one composer does well, then people will come to our website and see the works of others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Composers should create their own collectives.<\/div>\n

ADJ\u2022ective\u2019s roster currently includes 14 composers and has a model in which they expand every other year and only with a few composers, by invitation, at a time. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the capacity to have an open call for new members,\u201d Sampson explains. Rather than wait for their next period of expansion, Sampson suggests composers create their own collectives. She shared how ADJ\u2022ective works to supply a potential model for other composers.<\/p>\n

\"Jamie

Jamie Leigh Sampson<\/p><\/div>\n

Logistics <\/em><\/p>\n

The ADJ\u2022ective website features a store for score purchases and rentals. ADJ\u2022ective composers retain their copyright, can choose to sell or rent physical and\/or digital scores, and receive 50% of the net profits of sales and rentals. Sampson and Smith invested the profits from the first several years of the business into purchasing printing and binding equipment and industry-standard paper at various weights. They print and bind physical scores in house. ADJ\u2022ective shares information about who purchased works with composers.<\/p>\n

Security<\/em><\/p>\n

At this time, ADJ\u2022ective does not watermark PDFs, partly because their volume of PDF sales is fairly low.<\/p>\n

Benefits<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cADJ\u2022ective is special because we are a composer\u2019s collective, so we advocate for each other and are often involved in group commissions, projects, or festival appearances,\u201d says composer Evan Williams, who sells his scores through ADJ\u2022ective and Murphy Music Press. ADJ\u2022ective composers have pooled resources to share booths at conferences such as the Midwest Clinic and ADJ\u2022ective has a podcast, Lexical Tone<\/a>s, which is hosted by collective member Robert McClure<\/a> and which features guest musicians involved in contemporary music. \u201cCollectives help bring legitimacy,\u201d says Sampson. \u201cWe have the old guard thinking if you\u2019re not published, you aren\u2019t legit.\u201d A composer\u2019s collective, she says, offers the best of both worlds: artistic ownership and control with the power of a group advocating for your music. They are planning to expand this partnership to include performers in the future.<\/p>\n

\n

One Final idea\u2026What about NOT selling your music (most of the time)?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because I love to rock the boat, I asked composer Melissa Dunphy<\/a> to share her \u201cradical\u201d (as she puts it) approach to score distribution with me. Dunphy, best known for her social justice-inspired choral music, makes all of her self-published scores free to download on her website. Trusting in an honor system, she asks anyone charging admission to their concert to get in touch with her for an invoice and she charges them $1.50 per digital copy. For free recitals and church service performances, her music is free, provided she is informed of performances so that she can list them on her website and online and report them to ASCAP.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes no sense for me to create \u2018artificial scarcity\u2019 by placing a barrier on the distribution of my sheet music.\u201d<\/div>\n

\u201cThe vast bulk of my income comes not from sales of scores, but from commissions and performance royalties,\u201d Dunphy explains. \u201cGiven this situation, it makes no sense for me to create \u2018artificial scarcity\u2019 by placing a barrier on the distribution of my sheet music, such as a price or copy protection. Rather, I should want my music to be distributed as widely and easily as possible, to create more opportunities for performances and commissions. I should especially want music students, many of whom will become music professionals and educators (and many of whom don\u2019t have a lot of money, as I know from experience), to have free and easy access to my sheet music.\u201d She feels her career has benefited from this model and that it is \u201cparticularly well-suited to choral music because choral directors on the whole are social creatures and born networkers and very game to try new music from living composers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Melissa<\/a>

Melissa Dunphy<\/p><\/div>\n

While she does feel that instrumental music has to be approached a bit differently: \u201cmore direct marketing, more specific networking to individual performers,\u201d she also points out that \u201cfor solo or chamber works, you\u2019re only selling a single copy or a few parts, so the potential revenue to be gained from putting a price on your sheet music would be even smaller.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dunphy\u2019s sacred choral music is not available for free. It is published with a traditional publisher because of their connections to churches and religious communities that aren\u2019t in her network, and she feels that her publisher works hard to market her music, which she appreciates.<\/p>\n

\n

Even More Options:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Score Exchange<\/a> is an online music distributor with no fee to sign up, and no editorial criteria to pass to be accepted. Composers retain their copyright, and Sibelius users can take advantage of their built-in \u201cpublish on Score Exchange\u201d function. Composers earn a percentage of the list price, beginning at 45% and increasing as your monthly sales exceed $200.<\/p>\n

Black Tea Music<\/a> describes itself as a \u201cboutique music promotion, publishing, and management representative for composers and new music-inclined artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Subito Music Distribution<\/a> is a service that allows you to sell or rent your works while retaining copyright of your music. One benefit is that they will print and bind parts at industry-standard sizes. There is a $50 fee to join and $50 annual fee subsequently. Composers begin with 5 titles in their catalog and may add 10 more during the year. Composers receive 55% of retail sales.<\/p>\n

Other options to take payments online include Stripe<\/a> which charges no set up or monthly fees and a 2.9 % + $0.30 per transaction fee, Sellfy<\/a>, which charges $19\/month and no transaction fees for up to $10,000 in sales per year, and Shopify<\/a> which combines website creation and ecommerce and begins at $29\/month plus 2.9% + $0.30 per transactions online.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Empty<\/a><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with distributors rather than publishers has allowed me so much more freedom for future projects.\u201d<\/div>\n

So composers, is your music sitting on a shelf at your home? Are you ready to change that? As you evaluate options, Tobenski suggests, \u201cComposers should genuinely ask themselves, what do I do, and where does it fit? Don\u2019t try to shoehorn yourself into some place.\u201d And you can take advantage of the non-exclusivity of many of these distributors. \u201cI like using several methods because the audience for the different genres of music varies greatly,\u201d says Jolley, who distributes music through NewMusicShelf, Murphy Music Press, and ADJ\u2022ective New Music. \u201cWorking with distributors rather than publishers has allowed me so much more freedom for future projects,\u201d says Trumbore. \u201cFreedom to make arrangements of existing works or even withdraw works from my catalogue if I feel they aren\u2019t representing my best work anymore. The tipping point in deciding to use a distributor came when I started to resent that score sales were pulling time away from my creative work. Freeing that time back up is well-worth the cut that a distributor receives from my sales royalties.\u201d And of course, choosing a distribution or sales method is only the beginning. Arthur Breur reminds readers:\u00a0 \u201cYou have to market to let people know about your music.\u201d<\/p>\n

My hearty thanks to everyone who contributed their voices for this article: Kurt Knecht, Isaac Brooks, Karlyne F\u00e9lix, Garrett Hope, Juhi Bansal, Brian Nabors, Arthur Breur, Dennis Tobenski, Jennifer Jolley, Sean Murphy, Evan Williams, Timothy Takach, Dale Trumbore, Sean McFarland, Reena Esmail, Melanie Eveland, Alex Shapiro, Stephanie Ann Boyd, Jennifer Wagner, Elizabeth A. Baker, Jamie Leigh Sampson, and Melissa Dunphy.<\/p>\n

\n

Support for the writing of this article was provided by the ASCAP Foundation Irving Caesar Fund.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"ASCAP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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