I've been sitting here at the PC for years writing music. But knowing how impossible it is to 'get in', I've never tried. Now I'm thinking why not try. At the age of 62; what have I got to lose! I have no idea how to start with regards to licensing & what it entails, hence this message. Do all tracks submitted have to be properly mixed so they can be used straight away? Can tracks be submitted in rough demo form just for the idea for interested parties to work on from there? Or both? Please excuse my extreme ignorance here. Any help/ advice on how to get started would be truly appreciated. Thanks for reading this far. DC...

Hi DC - That's a pretty broad question.. I guess the answer would depend on the genre of music you're working in, and how you plan to distribute/monetize it -- and of course strategies for distribution and marketing have changed and evolved significantly over the years. You might want to check out some of the courses on this page: https://www.macprovideo.com/library/topic/musicbusiness?afid=E470KLQ7r9 These are mostly a few years old, and some things will likely have changed, but the basic mechanisms of copyright, royalties, and synchronization licenses should still hold. Regarding demos vs finished/mixed tracks, I would suggest that if you're looking to establish a working relationship with a producer for a work-in-progress, then a demo version of a song would be appropriate, but if you're looking to distribute/market finished songs, then a professional-quality master would be in order. You'll want to do some due diligence -- search the web for something like "current strategies in music marketing", there should be a lot of information out there..

wow thanks for your time, joe.. yes very broad. thanks for the link & advice.. i'll look into that right now. Peace. DC...

Hi, joe.... To add: professional-quality masters are a no-go financially for me therefore looking at the: "a working relationship" option. Good to see it's possible to "sell? the idea" as well as distributing/marketing finished songs.. Would there be a music business phrase used for this option? Again, please excuse my ignorance here- I really have no clue & to be honest, my old brain gets highly confused when googling/ youtubing this subject.. Oh well, there ya go:) Thanks, joe...

"Professional-quality masters" doesn't necessarily mean that you have to spend big $$$ at a mastering house like the labels do -- nowadays all the tools needed are available within most DAWs, it's just a matter of learning how to use them (admittedly a time-consuming task for a beginner) or finding someone who'll do the job at a modest price, like a small project studio operator or freelancer, or even a recent graduate form an audio school..

thanks, regarding your last reply... This is interesting. (can't see how to quote a post in here) I've linked a few tracks in a handful of relevant forums & although some have said it's not what they would normally listen to (which of course is probably a polite way of saying they don't like it) but have all said the production is good!? This is where I'm confused because none are mixed- they are literally nothing more than a quick cubase audio mixdown of the levels etc when recording= just to get the ideas across.. I guess I'm asking who/ what sets the yardstick with regards to acceptable mastering quality? And thanks again for your time, Sir- much appreciated....

Hi DC - Mastering incorporates a number of concerns, but the main idea is that when your tracks are heard in rotation on the radio or in a playlist, they don't stand out negatively as sounding somehow less professional/polished, or by being too soft, or too dark and muffled, or too thin and edgy, or too inconsistent in level, or...etc, etc.. There are a lot of courses here on mastering, some on the general topic, some some tied to a particular DAW (Logic, Pro Tools, etc) -- it might be worth a look at one that's presented in your DAW of choice (Cubase did you say?) to get an idea of what kind of sound issues are typically addressed. Of particular concern are the new mastering standards for overall (average loudness) level, enforced by most streaming services.. https://www.macprovideo.com/library/topic/mastering?afid=E470KLQ7r9 Mastering in Cubase: https://www.macprovideo.com/course/cubase-10-105-mastering-essentials?afid=E470KLQ7r9 General topic of mastering: https://www.macprovideo.com/course/mastering-in-the-box?afid=E470KLQ7r9 https://www.macprovideo.com/course/audiopedia-mixing-mastering?afid=E470KLQ7r9 https://www.macprovideo.com/course/audio-mistakes-104-10-common-mastering-mistakes?afid=E470KLQ7r9

"mastering standards " now there's a yardstick to look at-- thanks for the links, Joe.

thanks DC and JOE for this discussion