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I recently composed (wrote, recorded, everything) original music for a documentary to be aired on a major network. The production company is a smaller one, and I was able to keep all the rights and shares to my music. My understanding (this is my first tv gig) is that the producer always submits the cue sheet to the performing rights organizations. However, since this production company is a little smaller, I don't think they're used to submitting cue sheets.

Should the producers still be the ones to submit it, or since I have the publisher's share does that responsibility fall on me?

Should the producers still be the ones to submit it,

Yes

or since I have the publisher's share does that responsibility fall on me?

You need to follow up to make sure that they are submitted.

Contact your PRO for further guidance on how to track your performances including cue sheets. These are questions they answer many times every day.

mikehalloran wrote:Contact your PRO for further guidance on how to track your performances including cue sheets. These are questions they answer many times every day.

Will do. Thanks, Mike.

I recommend having all three of these books in your library. I keep the Kindle editions on my iPhone.

What They'll Never Tell You About the Music Business, Third Edition: The Complete Guide for Musicians, Songwriters, Producers, Managers, Industry Executives, Attorneys, Investors, and Accountants Paperback by Peter M. Thall (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/16077 ... UTF8&psc=1

All You Need to Know About the Music Business: Ninth Edition Hardcover by Donald S. Passman
http://www.amazon.com/Need-Know-About-M ... 1501104896

Music Money and Success 7th Edition: The Insider's Guide to Making Money in the Music Business Paperback
by Jeffrey Brabec (Author) , Todd Brabec (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/Music-Money-Succe ... 0825673690

BMI is hesitant but they will accept cue sheets from me as the post supervisor in most of the productions I do.

mikehalloran wrote:I recommend having all three of these books in your library. I keep the Kindle editions on my iPhone.

Actually, I picked up two of those books since you recommended them to me previously . I don't have the third one, however, so I'll pick that up as well.

PoliticalBonobo wrote:

mikehalloran wrote:I recommend having all three of these books in your library. I keep the Kindle editions on my iPhone.

Actually, I picked up two of those books since you recommended them to me previously . I don't have the third one, however, so I'll pick that up as well.

Yea, I'm kind of a broken record on that subject.

The Passman is now in the 9th edition. The Thall has a lot of new info I have not seen before—my daughter is getting a copy in her stocking at Christmas. I sure hope she reads it, especially since she now teaches composition students at a music school in Vermont.

And frankly, there's a lot more to know about cue sheets than meets the eye or can be found in nd in ANY book Do it wrong and you could really loose a bundle of $$$.

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:And frankly, there's a lot more to know about cue sheets than meets the eye or can be found in nd in ANY book Do it wrong and you could really loose a bundle of $$$.

Sounds like that requires putting a lot of trust into your producer doing it correctly then. That worries me a little. Do you just trust them or ever request to see it for yourself?

Ask the producer for a copy of the cue sheet, before filing if possible. Producers who don't do a lot of filing may "forget" to file and welcome the composer's input. But they really should be doing it

I've done lots of broadcast works and I've never filed one. I don't know about the streaming world, but cue sheets are part of the delivery spec for major broadcast outlets. Meaning they don't accept delivery and can't air the project without the correct paperwork, which includes a cue sheet. The work turns up in my BMI catalogue after the project airs. Getting a copy of what the producer submits isn't a bad idea though. That way you can make sure it's correct, but again I don't think it's possible for them to 'forget'.

dix wrote:Meaning they don't accept delivery and can't air the project without the correct paperwork, which includes a cue sheet. The work turns up in my BMI catalogue after the project airs.

That's the interesting part about this case: apparently the network didn't have a cue sheet as a deliverable.

I've seen broadcasts where no cue sheet was present. The Colbert Report got into some hot water for this.

Hmm. Okay. I stand corrected. Definitely contact your PRO. I didn't know that was possible (but there's lots of things I don't know ). It's a rapidly changing world in this area. My understanding is that even projects with no music have to submit cue sheets. ...a month ago I got a frantic call from the producer of a short film I did that got picked up by PBS before I had given him a cue sheet, saying they wouldn't air the piece without a cue sheet.

I'm not sure how you submitting a cue sheet will help. I would think it would need to come from the outlet since they're the one that pays into the PRO. If composers could impose a cue sheet onto a film it could get messy.

dix wrote: If composers could impose a cue sheet onto a film it could get messy.

Which is why PROs don't like getting them from composers. I know one composer who complained he never got more than $40 feature length scores of 2 hours of continuous background music (for silent films) on TCM. That should have been around $5-6k on average, depending on the demands placed on the bulk license. He had filled out the cue sheet (ASCAP) but tried to game the system by falsifying all cues as "opening themes." He got paid for the first cue listed as a main theme, but the rest of the cues were dropped; only one main theme per show. Duh! I've made mistakes on cur sheets as well, but not maliciously and the mistakes always cost me income - some rather substantial coin, in fact.

Live and learn. Get to know the people at your PRO. If you make money, they make money and most often they want to help, but even there, some folks at the PROs understand less about cue sheets than composers and producers, especially after a few decades of seeing how the stuff gets reported.

Don't even get me started in the sub-publishing scams! CMI (Copyright Management Inc) screwed up more of my repertoire than I care to think and after 30-ish years, I still see the errors in how they reported stuff.