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Let's Talk About Sheet Music. (Patreon)

Published:
2018-04-05 13:51:32
Imported:
2026-06

Content

Hey, Patrons! I've got some interesting news to share with you regarding some potential changes to how sheet music will be handled with the channel.

I've been giving out sheet music for free in the descriptions of my videos ever since the start of the channel. There was no easy way to license this sheet music for download. I've maintained that in my mind that offering my sheet music should be protected by Fair Use - I'm not selling these arrangements, and they are intended to be used as learning for anyone who wants to learn how to play what I did in a video.

A few days ago, I had a voice call with some folks at MusicNotes, who have offered to create a partnership with me. If you're not aware, MusicNotes is a well-known distribution site for sheet music. They've got a lot of popular tunes on there, and they're reaching out into the world of YouTube to license sheet music made by creators like me. Just to be clear, I have not agreed to form a partnership just yet. Rather, I'm taking this to you for feedback.

Here's what the agreement would entail: I would be able to license my sheet music for download at $9.99 per arrangement. These downloads would mostly be lead saxophone lines, and I would produce full ensemble arrangements (sax, piano, bass, drums, etc) for some of my more popular tunes. Full ensemble arrangements are more difficult to produce by MusicNotes, so cost may be higher and they may be more infrequently produced. MusicNotes works with the music publishing company Alfred, who has access to sheet music print rights by Nintendo, so I would finally be able to create legally licensed sheet music of my songs without relying on the sometimes-ambiguous Fair Use doctrine.

Here are my current Pros & Cons on this matter:

Pros:

- Sheet music would be legally licensed

- I would be able to monetize my sheet music

- More people would have access to my music on MusicNotes' site

Cons:

- $9.99 is a lot of money for a simple saxophone lead line arrangement, in my opinion. (For the record, I didn't set this price - this was what was proposed to me in the contract).

- People would no longer be able to access my sheet music as a free learning resource

- If Nintendo chose to retract their willingness to allow publishing of their sheet music by third parties, my channel could potentially experience legal trouble.

I'm very interested in what you guys have to say on this matter. I plan to discuss this matter with some friends in the video game music community who have significantly more experience licensing sheet music than I do.

Comments

Levi Bechtold

I personally feel that this would ailianate a lot of people who enjoy learning with your covers. Many of them probably use your free version's because that's about all they can find anywhere. The majority of them are probably in high school and college to, so making it cost something will likely prevent most of the people who want it from actually getting it since $ is really tight for most people at that point in their lives. I'd say if you're satisfied with your funding through Patreon this isn't necessarily the most necessary opportunity to jump on.

Isaac Springer

It's a tough choice. I personally don't use the sheet music now, but I could see myself using it in the future. That being said, being able to monetize things like this is a huge deal for you and the growth of your channel. If only there was a way to halve the price haha. I think you should definitely consider it going forward, but whichever you decide will be a good choice.

insaneintherainmusic
>>11324657

Yeah, I agree. It's tough to spend that much money on sheet music, especially with my upload frequency. To be clear, the ability to monetize my sheet music isn't super important to me - it's the legal protection that most interests me.

Anonymous

I'm slowly learning how to read sheet music, and having access to notations for music I know by heart is really helpful. That said, at the end of the day you need to pay the bills. I, personally, could never fault you for entering into a contract that supplemented your income, especially in this case. Just having licensed and published sheet music would, I imagine, be a huge thing to have under your belt in the future. And ultimately, the less you have to worry about bills, the better your work (the thing we're all really here for) will be. That said, I do agree that it's a fantastic resource to have as a complete novice who would probably never even think of paying for sheet music. So, it really depends on you!

Max Dudek

I am totally willing to pay for your arrangements, but $10 per arrangement seems a bit to high. I don’t have anything else to add beyond that, your pro/cons list is pretty comprehensive.

Anonymous

I left my days of playing musical instruments behind in high school, so it doesn't affect me personally either way. That said, I'm all for you having more ways to make money from your work. 👍

twoloavesofbread

The majority of music that I see on MusicNotes is around $5.50 for full (piano, vocal, chord) arrangements, and $3 for lead sheets. $10 sounds extremely steep, but I have seen it before for more complex piano arrangements. It's rare, though.

Anonymous

Simply personally speaking, it's just not possible for me to pay $10 per arrangement. I love playing your music, I just don't have the income to pay that much per arrangement at the moment.

Anonymous

What if it could be a monthly service?? like lets say 15$ per month just for the sheet music, or something instead of buying per song, i understand if it is like big full band charts but its very steep and i totally understand. But another idea could be that you could set it to Patreon exclusive maybe??

insaneintherainmusic
>>11574123

I would be interested in setting this up, but a model like this would simply not work, given the hoops I have to jump through with licensing. Patreon exclusive wouldn't work with this - I would still have to acquire the rights to legally sell the music. For the time being, I've decided to keep the sheet music free and not make any changes to the way I have things now.

Anonymous

Hey insane, First dude, your music is awesome. I’ve been listening to you since you was little and getting started, it’s INSANE. You inspired me to pick up the sax back when I was hesitating. Your arrangements are great! I can only dream to play video game jazz at a club one night. I came to your Patreon because I was most interested in your sheet music and backing tracks, and I think it's very reasonable to make your sheet available and get paid for it. So in this case I would support you. Now, I am paying for your Patreon channel, and part of that is for your sheet music (at least that’s why I’m your Patron, because I feel you deserve it for these arrangements). The sheet and backing tracks give me a chance to recreate the song and that is a great feeling. If you charge for your sheet music, it will cost way more and I might buy a couple, but definitely not all. So your arrangements would actually not be as easily accessible and might not spread as fast. Also, if I’m paying for sheet music, then I might not pay for your Patreon because I’m getting the sheets somewhere else, and now all this is getting expensive. It would kind of be like leaving Patreon behind in a way because you are able to make money elsewhere. So I guess it depends which way you prefer, and what direction you want money to flow through: your Patreon, or MusicNotes? Not being able to get your sheets and backing tracks together would be a huge bummer and should be a major con for doing this. It’s like Abersolds, you wanna get them both to practice! Patreon is nice because I just discovered you here to support you, and there is this sense of community that is nice. If I just bought your sheet that would be the end of the transaction and we never see each other again. Patreon is still a source of income, but also a place to support you. MusicNotes is just income, and you probably can’t undo it. The legalese might trouble you here. One thing that’s important, is what are you taking home from the 9.99? What price do you want to set, does it have to be 9.99? If you take less, it’s easier for us to buy more. Are you being forced to pay licensing fees even when giving them through Patreon? Is the lack of licensing currently an issue for you? I really want to see all your sheet music! I was super excited about that when I pledged. I didn't actually realize they were freely available with each video! I’d be sad I wouldn’t get to have it all, because that would cost hundreds of dollars now. An idea for a pricing strategy I had: selling a bundle, because I’m interested in mainly a few sheets and wouldn’t pay 10/each for more. If you offered all the sheets, you could ask for 30 or 40 or something like that and I’d be okay with it. Does Patreon let you sell just your sheets? You could probably make more money that way if you cut out the middleman. I'll be sooo bummed if I came too late to get free sheets! But I'll also be happy that your work is being valued. You deserve it man. Peace, Mish