Recording - January 2014 - 51

JANUARY 2014

The Great Debate at the 2012 TAXI Road Rally

Exclusive VS Non-Exclusive Music Libraries, Part Two
PANELISTS:
Tanvi Patel - CEO/Partner, Crucial Music Corporation, taking the non-exclusive side of
the debate.
Adam Weitz - V.P. of Film/TV Music at TAXI (at
the time of the debate), playing the role of
someone who would be on the exclusive
side of the debate.
Moderator: Michael Laskow - CEO of TAXI,
acting as a neutral party to facilitate the
debate.
We get calls all the time from new little non-exclusive libraries. They really don't seem to know music
very well in many of the cases. They've built a website that allows people to upload music, which end
users can download and license. And they're nonexclusive and they have no idea where else that
music is out in the world. Adam, would you say there
are hundreds, if not possibly thousands, of those out
there?
Adam: I don't know if there are thousands, but
there may be hundreds. By this point next year
there may be a thousand.
Tanvi: Another hundred more.

Adam Weitz seems to be enjoying one of Tanvi Patel's quick
rejoinders during the Exclusive vs. Non-Exclusive debate.

Tanvi Patel flashes a million dollar smile as she debates with
Adam Weitz.

precision in what we're taking in.

remember that it is property, ultimately. So if
you're gonna give somebody ... this is what I
believe.

So Adam, put on your artist hat for a minute. You're
no longer-for the moment- playing the role of
the exclusive library guy. You are now an artist, creator, composer guy, and tell us why it would benefit
you as that guy to have an exclusive deal.
Adam: Well, first of all, the good ones are going
to pay you upfront.

Adam: Especially when you can get content
without any kind of expenditure. I liken it to the
way the whale eats... just sort of swimming
through the water with its mouth open.
That's a good analogy. You're so good at analogies.
[laughter]
Tanvi: I like to think of us as a shark that has

Adam: Yeah, I'm not playing myself. What I
think is that when you create property and you're
gonna give it to somebody or you're gonna transfer it to somebody you should be remunerated for
that.

Tanvi: How many do that?
Tanvi: Absolutely. I agree with you.
Adam: Let's say ...
Tanvi: Has anybody been paid upfront for an
exclusive deal? OK. Do they own the copyright?
Yes, they own the copyright.

Adam: They're growing.
Tanvi: They're popping up every day. Everybody
seems to think it's easy to start a licensing company.

You as a composer guy?

Raise your hand if they bought out the copyright, but
you still get the writer's side. All right.
Adam: Yeah, I mean, it's important to remember
in the digital age we're thinking of music maybe as
sort of an ephemeral thing that exists as a file, but
it's actual property, right? So it's as if you crafted
something in your workshop and sold it to somebody. So we have to remember in this context
when we think about music and songs that it
doesn't exist in the physical form anymore, you
know, now that it's on the computer, we don't
even have a tactile relationship with our music. So
it kind of exists like email exists, but we have to

Adam: And so I think one of the potential benefits is when you do transfer your music to
somebody else that you do get paid for it.
Tanvi: That is the standard realm of the production libraries. I mean, I used to be in a production
library. I produced tracks for OneMusic, which
was distributed by FirstCom, which is now owned
by Universal. And yes there are budgets and there's
also the thing about the number of releases a production library will have in a year. And there's a
budget for each project. And yes you go out and
you hire those composers and you own those copyrights. That's one exclusive nature. Now these
same production libraries, it's taken them way too
long to get on the independent artist bandwagon
and they may or may not have a slot in their schedule for an artist release. And they may or may not

Continued on page 52
51

Recording - January 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - January 2014