THE MYTH OF COMPOSER AND PUBLISHER WEALTH

BY GARY BARTON

Ireceive royalties from the sales of one book for which I wrote one chapter. I have received one-time fees for several magazine articles that I’ve written. These are the only payments I have ever received from a publishing company. While I have helped and supported many friends who are composers and publishers, I have never received money for any of my work. I say this with hope that it will be clear that I don’t have any personal reason to discuss where your print music dollars go and who benefits from this part of your budget.

When I began teaching in 1977, there was very little concern about what was legal or illegal regarding copyright. Technology has made this a significant issue in today’s world. I feel safe in saying that every school has professional quality copying machines and the ability to scan print materials. I’m embarrassed to admit that I broke copyright law frequently during my teaching career as the ability to copy became easier. This continues on a daily basis in schools because teachers have listened to incorrect information from others and honestly believe that what they are doing is allowed. My goal in this article is not to educate teachers on copyright law but rather to provide information on how the cover price of a piece of music is divided by the producer. For information on copyright law, I have discovered a small book that I recommend highly:

COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK for Music Educators and Directors, by Pam Phillips and Andrew Surmani Alfred Music, 2017; US $19.99; 72 pages, ISBN 1-4706-3598-4

I posed the same questions to a small publisher and to one of our largest publishing houses. Their responses were identical and they both said that some of the facts and numbers mentioned may vary in some situations, but the numbers and scenarios you will read are the industry standard. I only researched band and string music, so you may want to do your own research to find out if choral music follows similar guidelines.

Ten per cent is the industry standard royalty. Composers often don’t realize this when they are first selected for publication. Based upon the range of most sets of parts at sixty to one hundred dollars, a composer must have either a very popular piece that sells many copies or many titles that sell on a modest level, or both, in order to realize a large royalty check.

While some of the large retailers collect exactly fifty percent and some collect just a little less, the average discount to the dealer who buys from the publisher in order to fill your orders is still fifty percent. While this number is surprising at first, consider that the large retailer markets and advertises the music, hires employees who fill orders on a daily basis, and maintain large offices with the ability to warehouse hundreds of

Continued on next page sets of sheet music. When you go to a large convention, The Midwest Clinic comes to mind, and you see the massive exhibit space containing thousands of music titles for sale and perusal, consider that the actual space costs thousands of dollars and each employee who is working the space has transportation, food, hotel, and salary expenses.

Most people think the publisher keeps a much larger percentage of the sales of the music. While this is possible with the ease of ordering directly from the publisher due to technology and access to publishers’ websites, most sheet music sales to schools and universities still involve a retailer who fills orders.

So, the publisher has expenses, some required and some by choice:

1. Office rent or renovated home office, both with space to warehouse music and with personnel and equipment needed to maintain the daily operation of a business.

2. Printing of all materials including advertising materials and the actual sheet music.

3. Website design and maintenance.

4. Typesetting, engraving, and part extraction. Composers submit scores. Scores must be formatted to create a professional appearance and individual parts must be created. Consider approximately two hundred dollars for a brief grade one piece and three thousand dollars for a more advanced, lengthier piece.

5. Graphic artist who may be employed to create unique covers to each piece of music.

6. Copyright fees paid to the Library of Congress for each piece of music. This fee is in excess of fifty dollars per title.

7. Recordings used to promote and model the music. The most expensive scenario would be professional musicians in a studio setting with professional engineers. A smaller publisher may be able to use a university band, but a professional recording engineer who has invested in very expensive equipment will still be needed.

8. Exhibiting at state and national conventions. A state convention may charge five hundred dollars for a booth space while a large national convention may charge in excess of one thousand dollars per space. Consider the cost of transporting the booth materials and expenses for the people who must work at the booth as well.

I emphasize that these numbers and factors are approximate, but they are a good realization of the actual costs of producing sheet music and the actual profits that the producers may receive. It is my hope that all of us will do research to find out what is truly legal regarding copyright law. I paraphrase a question that we all need to ask ourselves before we reproduce music in any way, “Does this action deprive anyone of income?”