Publishing

[J.c. Sherman]

Okay, I'm clueless...

I have been working on Finale of late. In 1995 I spent the whole year doing brass chamber music arrangements - all in pencil! Now, I'm starting to get some of these into a "publishable" format, and I have no idea as to what to do next.

Self publish on ebay?
Find a Publisher (who?, more to the point, HOW?)

Any thoughts would be apprecieated. I just have no idea what to do with these; I've been able to get some of the exnsembles I play with to play them, and they sound as I hoped, so I'd like to capitalize on my efforts a little bit if possible.

Thanks for any ideas y'all can offer! There're several tuba quartets at stake here!

J.c.S.

[pierso20]

I'm going to keep an eye on this thread and see what people say because I'm sorta in the same boat.

However, you may want to send an email to some of your composing friends or some prof's somewhere who are experienced with this.

I believe if you search through the internet you can find self publishing services.

[jacojdm]

You could stay local (sort of...at least they still have a local presence) and talk to Chris Donze at LudwigMasters. He's a euphonium player, to boot.
TUBA press is an option.

[Jonathan Fowler]

Try contacting Andrew Kissling, owner of AK Brass Press. He's a friend and colleague of mine, and is always looking for tunes to publish. Having seen and played many of his published charts, he does a great job and should be pretty easy to get a hold of.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Check out his website at:

akbrasspress.com


Jon

[BVD Press]

Here are some thoughts for you both from a an arranger and publisher side:

1. If you have the time to do it, you will make more money self-publishing. If you really want to arrange or compose and self-publishing will take time away from these efforts, find a publisher to do it for you.

2. If you do self-publish, make both hard copies and digital files available. I am all for digital files, but hard copies are still the bulk of the business. Invest in a good laser printer or go through a print shop that knows a little about music.

3. SPEND the time to make your product look great. If it does not look good on the page, it will be a tough sell.

4. When starting out, it is always difficult to get a new product into stores. Stores want to make sure you will be there for re-orders etc. Building up that trust takes a little time and don't forget they will ask for a discount etc.

5. If you decide to go with a publisher, DO NOT get locked into one publisher for all of your pieces. For Cimarron, it is a great home for Euph . and Tuba pieces but no such a great home for solo piano charts. Before submitting anything, check to see what they publish. I cannot tell you how many people have submitted Vocal or piano pieces to me. The catalog has none and it is a big turn off that a possible composer has not done their research before submitting a new piece for possible publication.

Ask away if you have specific questions....

[Stefan Kac]

There are places that will publish your stuff, especially if you have a quality recording to go along with the score when you submit it for consideration (remember, there really aren't all that many people out there who are first rate score readers anyway; most people need to hear it). Spend an hour on Google, come up with some candidates, narrow it down to a couple that seem the most practical, and send a couple of packages out. If you have already done the engraving and recording, the cost of paper, binding, CD-R's, and postage is probably about $10-15 per copy. Entering contests can also occasionally lead to publication, even if you don't win, although it can be difficult to find one with the right criteria (i.e. if they want pieces by female Welsh composers for handbell choir and solo harmonica, you're out of luck).

I've managed to get a few things published this way, and also by dumb luck. Unfortunately, just getting something published doesn't guarantee that it will sell. (seriously, how many of us will buy a score for a piece we've never heard by a composer or arranger we've never heard of?) Hence, if you are intent on getting your stuff out there and played and earning publishing and performance royalties that amount to anything more than chicken feed, you're going to have to play the self-promotion game, and I'm not someone who has any good advice to give there.

My impression of the T-E press is that they would only publish it if the tuba or euph is somehow featured in a solo or other prominent role. However, the ITEA Journal seems to review ensemble scores and recordings even if this is not the case, so if a publisher does indeed pick up one of your scores, you might talk to them about submitting it for review in the "new materials" section of the journal.

If these are arrangements and not original compositions to which you hold the copyright, make sure you have secured the necessary permission/licensing before going to a publisher (or actually, before you tell anyone they exist). Many times, all you have to do is ask, even if it's a very well-known rock or pop song; but you do have to make sure you get in touch with the artist or their representation. If the pieces are in the public domain, then you're ok.

You might also check out sibeliusmusic.com (although you said you use Finale). It's a good way to at least get things out there and available to people, especially if you have a score you want to make available free of charge. I have sold a few things there over the years, but not much.

[Brassworks 4]

I have to say "ditto" to Bryan at BVD Press and Cimarron. He hit the nail on the head with answering your Q's. If you want further input or more specific questions, please do not hesitate to drop me an email.

Good luck!

[MaryAnn]

My impression of the T-E press is that they would only publish it if the tuba or euph is somehow featured in a solo or other prominent role. However, the ITEA Journal seems to review ensemble scores and recordings even if this is not the case, so if a publisher does indeed pick up one of your scores, you might talk to them about submitting it for review in the "new materials" section of the journal.

You might think twice about having a piece reviewed though. My duets were reviewed in the ITEA Journal and I can only conclude that the reviewer looked at them but did not play them, because he concluded that they were appropriate for "young high school kids." I've seen professionals stumble on these, and that review about killed any chance I had of selling any, because high school kids, unless they are gifted, will find these very difficult to actually play even though the notes don't look all that difficult. The most common owners of these are college instructors (in the horn version) who love to use them to trip up their students.

So, beware on the review thing.
MA