Recording - August 2020 - 63

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So it's the details. The last thing you want to do is
have a library contact you for a song and you're
not prepared, that you don't have your mixes all
done, your stems all done, that the underscore is
all set. If they want it, they want it now. It's kind
of like the Army, hurry up and wait. But when
they need it, they need it today, or they need it
tomorrow.
My big placement in the Donna Karan commercial... When I got the call, I knew I was gonna get
the deal, because my computer broke. I remember
sitting there and it was a white screen, and I'm like,
"Oh my God, I'm gonna get the call." You know
how you get this sixth sense? And I thought, "I'm
gonna get the call." So I call the computer place,
and it was a mess. There was no one in town that
fixes them; the guy was gonna come out like next
Tuesday. And then, that Monday night at three
o'clock Eastern time, I get the call, "We need the
WAV files." Then that's when you have to step up
and pull your bootstraps up and become the ultimate professional and say, "Okay, I have a small
problem."
One thing I really learned... Because I was writing
with my son and we would exchange files, and
because I was traveling a lot, he had all the files. But
they were MP3s and they wanted the WAV file. And
now I know that in the cloud I have WAV 4416; I
have 192, 128, 320; I have AIFF. I have them all, and
then for all the stems and all that, so it's a lot. So if I
ever get a call, I can download whatever that person
needs then, right then and there.
It's a business. And as creative as we are, and we are
artists and everything, it's still a business. And
when you get to the point where you can either
retire-like I'm gonna retire into being a fulltime
composer-or tell this job, "Take this job and..."
You know, you want to be more than just the creative. You have to have the business acumen. Like
Michael said earlier, "Oh I'm not gonna submit,
because they're just gonna take advantage of me,"
or "I'm gonna get screwed on this." Well, you're not
if you know the business, and that's the other side
of it.
I want to make that our closing thought. How many
people in the room have ever worried... I get calls
from TAXI members saying, "I was offered a deal." But
they are so deathly afraid that they are somehow
gonna get screwed by this company. Is it your experience that these companies are look for ways to screw
you guys?
Bob: Oh, absolutely not. Never, no!
It's a small industry. People talk. There may be some
incompetence. There may be a little sloppiness, but
what there is not-to the best of my knowledge, and

I've been around for a long time-people are not trying to screw you. They want to make money, and your
product is what they make money with. So maybe
some bad accounting, or maybe they didn't title something right, or maybe they forgot to file something;
that stuff happens. It doesn't happen a lot.
But if you get offered a deal, respond quickly, and
respond professionally. Don't be afraid to say, "I'm new
at this," and ask for a little bit of hand-holding. But
don't go overboard and ask for too much hand-holding. The reason is because they've got better things to
do, like making money with other people who don't
require as much hand-holding. So follow those simple
rules on a business level and you'll find the industry
much easier to negotiate.
Bob: The biggest statement that you said in there,

"Respond immediately." I have probably 18 different co-writers that I have worked with over the
years. And I have my favorites, and I work with
some more than others. But like we just got contract renewals, and I've had to send out four
reminders: "Please open up you account; please
sign it. You know, the 90-day note, the 60-day note,
please sign the damn contract so we can stay in the
catalog." Simple little things like that, that's just
business. That's just business acumen and making
it happen. Make it easy for your publisher to make
you money.
You guys were nothing short of wonderful. Thank you
so much, Matt Vander Boegh, Sherry-Lynn Lee, and
Bob Mete. Thank you all very much. I'm sure these
guys would be happy to answer your questions out in
the hallway. [Applause]

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Recording - August 2020

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