Five tips from the World Soundtrack Awards for composer contracts

One of the key issues at the World Soundtrack Awards Music Days, one of the leading events for film composers, was how to negotiate a fair contract. The closing panel of the industry program delved deeper into the question, exploring the hidden contradictions and complexities of publishing rights and buyouts in screen music.

The conversation, held in collaboration with the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance, used the alliance’s recently published report, “Audiovisual Composers’ Contracts: Current Practices, Challenges and Recommendations,” as a starting point. In it, ECSA says the profession is becoming increasingly insecure, stating that “the secrecy surrounding contractual practices and the lack of comprehensive legal or contractual guidance” leaves creators vulnerable.

“In recent years, this problem has been exacerbated by the increasingly high concentration of the European audiovisual market and the rising market share of non-European video-on-demand platforms,” the report continues, highlighting how composers have “bargained in the dark” in this landscape, giving up royalties for “an often paltry” lump sum payment and reducing the sustainability of their careers. “If they refuse such contracts or wish to challenge their terms, they risk being blacklisted and excluded from future employment opportunities.”

To discuss best practice and key issues, the WSA assembled a panel consisting of the CEO of the Screen Composers Guild of Ireland, Sarah Glennane; founder of screen composer agency Strike a Score, Valerie Dobbelaere; commercial rights director at Faber Music, Harriet Moss; media composer and lecturer in copyright and contract law Johan van der Voet; and the Dutch/Irish composer Aisling Brouwer (“The Buccaneers”). Below are five lessons from their conversation:

Knows as much about music rights as he does about music technology

Glennane raised the above, based on a quote from British composer Kevin Sargent, as a way to emphasize the importance of keeping an eye on creative legal rights in the industry. “There’s a basic level to that,” Moss added. “If you have a contract, it should be in writing. Make sure you understand it. Pay someone to read it or manage it, if that’s not possible, whether that’s through an agent’s or publisher’s assignment, albeit through a lawyer.”

“It is important to be able to talk about it with other composers,” says Brouwer. “Because these terms that we sign have become commonplace, and it’s something that’s creeping into the industry. The more people agree to it, the more it becomes the new norm. As composers, we have so much power coming together and advocating for our rights and we have a responsibility to protect our sources of income because so much of it has already been taken away.”

Buyout beware

Buyout contracts are agreements in which the composer typically gives up all rights to his work in exchange for a single fee, forgoing any future income from his work. The ESCA report shows that 53% of its members have experienced buyer contracts, and 47% of audiovisual composers see buyout practices as one of the main challenges to their fair pay.

Van der Voet brought up major streamers when talking about the issue, saying he would “love to be hired by Netflix, but their contracts are terrible.” “What does happen is that you work with directors who may not be that famous, but your music may end up on Amazon or on streamers. [later]. I made a movie 10 years ago that was just sold to Disney+. That happens. What contract did I sign 10 years ago? Do I get money for this? Many composers do not look into the future. What do you sign off? You have to be very careful with that.”

The composer also emphasized how full buyout contracts are “an American thing,” as in many European countries and Britain you can’t buy out the writer’s share.

Glennane pointed out that buyout contracts are designed to take away revenue streams and that she views composers as “speculators.” “It’s a speculative career. You hope that the work you do is great and that you are recognized creatively and economically. Royalties exist in these types of ecosystems to reward that speculation and investment.”

Production companies are not publishers: pseudo-publishing

The ESCA report calls the practice of producers and broadcasters requiring composers to “sign or significantly reduce the publishing rights to the works while not complying with their legal obligations” to perform traditional publishing services “related to the exploitation of the works” and be transparent “pseudo-publication.”

During the panel, Glennane highlighted examples such as the use of game music on screen adaptations of the game to illustrate the practice, emphasizing that production companies are not publishers and therefore are not the best party to negotiate or be responsible for publishing rights.

“The problem with pseudo-publications is that they grab the rights and do nothing in return,” says Van der Voet. “An example of that is: you work with a director who works with a production company, and what happens is that some of these pseudo-publishers contact the production company and say they will set up a publishing company for you. Film production companies are not music publishers. In the Netherlands we have seen that people consistently get the composer to sign a contract and then nothing happens. You just lose money.”

Moss, who also works in publishing, advised composers about the possibility of a single song assignment, or SSA. “We can just publish an album or a soundtrack, but then you have that representation and also the opportunity for secondary exploitation if that is allowed.”

The issue of AI copyright

The conversation around AI arose during various panels during the WSA Music Days. As the topic was the common thread last year, many participants expressed a certain exhaustion from the ongoing discussions about the use of artificial intelligence in composing. Still, it is an important discussion to have when it comes to bargaining rights.

Moss explained how she manages a “small catalog” of about 13,000 copyrights. “We know all those composers and their work inside and out. That just means you hear something and your hair immediately goes up, but we work with as much technology as possible to look for fingerprints and things like that to protect the work of our composers.”

“But it’s hard to find balance,” she added. “There are a lot of film scores that are very similar, and that’s always a problem. There are definitely some gray areas.”

Long live murder compensation

As the panel wrapped up, participants were asked what advice they would give to aspiring composers. Most of them agreed on one important thing: always provide a killing fee. “You have to have a kill fee in case something goes wrong creatively or there are consequences,” Moss said. “It does happen, so you need something [in the contract] to ensure that all the work you have already started is paid for.”

“I do a lot of low-budget projects where the costs are not that high,” adds Van der Voet. “But there may be other parties involved who want to invest, so suddenly there’s money, but nothing can be changed about the movie except the music. Suddenly they have money to pay a great composer, and you’re off the project.”