ORPHIC ENDEAVORS

Orphic Endeavors' FAQ

Here is a little bit of foreknowledge for prospective associates.

Many of my tracks have been used in various productions around the world. (For example, you can hear "Mitsumushi" in this trailer: Yang Style Tai Chi Applications and Concepts.) I am not difficult to work with as long as the following information is understood:

My music is not Royalty Free or in the Creative Commons. While I do give away many mp3 downloads for free you must get permission to use my music in your productions or projects. The best way is to email me and discuss it. While I am flexible and understanding of limited or no budget projects, I do protect my work. If all a person can offer is a credit and a copy of the finished product, that's perfectly okay. There are some ground rules however. All the rights to my music stay with me. I am glad to grant the filmmaker use of the piece(s) he or she needs, but I will not sign any contract that tries to cover all of my work. If we make a contract we do so by listing each song that's to be used in the production and the name of the production. Things like how it is going to be distributed need to be disclosed, for example, if it is an independent film for the internet, or a DVD, or a film to be shown in festivals, or wherever. If this is a for-profit venture, then I have to ask for something besides just a credit if at all possible. For non-profit productions I am willing to donate needed pieces and the same rule applies as with a student film or a no-money venture; all I request is a credit and a copy of the final product for my files.

While I am no John Williams or Hans Zimmer, I am a composer and my sound is my own. I work very hard on this. I treat music as if it is my day job as I am an at-home-mom. I work over eight hours a day on my music between taking care of the kids and the housework. I am not likely however, to reproduce the sounds of well known composers. There are limitations to what I can accomplish due to my limited and sometimes very old equipment. (Here is a link to information about my tiny office and studio.) Most of the time, you can use music I already have in my archive. There have been a few cases where something unique was needed and I have produced special recordings for those cases. I have never done a full-fledged feature film length score however.

In a few weeks I'll have in my possession a legal kit and you will be able to request copies of the needed contacts directly from me. Most commonly used will be the "Synchronization License" and "Master Use License". You can find a detailed explanation of these here: http://www.ascap.com/filmtv/faq.html.

Here are the guidelines for what is expected of a musician/composer according to ASCAP:
http://www.ascap.com/filmtv/movies-part1.html and what a musician expects from a filmmaker:
http://www.ascap.com/filmtv/faq.html. Doing things the right way protects you as much as it protects me.

Thanks for reading my long winded FAQ.

-Bonnie