All of our Arranging work is Work for Hire.
Privacy Policy
Copyright
This means we don’t make, and will not make in the future, any claim of copyright of any arranging work we do for any client, with the following possible exceptions:
- Original composition we create for media, unless under contract for a buyout of rights.
- Arrangements we create of public domain material.
- Co-writes specifically defined as such in advance of any work performed.
We will never contest copyright on any copyright held by any of our clients. Ever. This published statement is legally binding on us. You don’t have to worry. Ever. A printout of this page is your legal proof of our statement.
Our clients are responsible for copyright licensing and registration, if applicable. We can assist in administration, and will bill for the service – but the client is financially responsible to obtain
- “Permission To Arrange” for sheet music to be performed in any venue without a “blanket license.”
- Mechanical rights for arrangements to be recorded.
About Our Methods and Services
We begin with transcription, entering the notes we write down from your source material (mp3, sheet music pdf, jpg, or all the above) with pencil and paper, or creating a new Finale file from your .mid or .xml.
We’re also happy to accept files from your DAW (.mid, .xml) to begin the project. Extensive editing, transcription and reformatting are often needed in such files, and we quote these on a case-by-case basis.
From the Finale arrangement, we can output all requested audio files. An “audio proof” – a playback file of the complete score – is included with every arrangement (except some lead sheets with chords and slashes only). Finale exports midi and wav, as well as .xml (which is more complete and supported by most major DAWs). We provide a “minus vocal” track on request as part of our usual service. We deliver additional file types after the Finale score is revised and finalized per your specification.
Exporting isolated “stems” (individual audio tracks) is outside the range of our standard quotes, requiring extra time and handling. We bill additional isolated stems or tracks @$15 per. Finale exports midi and xml very well, and some excellent audio “stems” (individual session tracks) – in some circumstances they can be used in your DAW for additional production. Finale may make tempo map errors on export; this production method is not advised if there are tempo changes in the file.
We can provide Production services for recording in Pro Tools, also originating from the Finale data. Tracks can subsequently be replaced; we can set up a Pro Tools session and begin production here, initializing the session in Pro Tools, creating audio files from all the existing tracks. We do that in-house. For vocal and instrumental (real instruments) recording, we would move to a studio, which offers the opportunity to record live musicians as needed. Our setup fee to bring the Finale file and all its controller data into Pro Tools is $150 for up to 20 staves. More staves are quoted in advance.
Our Process
We bill a deposit on acceptance of the assignment and approval of our proposal. Work is scheduled on receipt of the deposit. On completion of the work, we send evidence of completion (a “proof” and screenshots) in one or more of these forms:
- Audio playback file (mp3) generated by Finale notation software
- and/ or jpg Screenshot of part of the completed score
and bill the balance due.
We deliver all requested files only on receipt of the balance due. Deliverables may include pdf, mp3, .aiff, .wav, .mus, .musx, .xml, .musicxml, .mid, and .ptx (ProTools).
Revision Policy
As stated above, on completion, we bill the balance due on the score, and deliver the score on receipt.
One round of revision is included in the fee.
Included revisions are offered within the terms of the original brief we receive. The scope of the job is defined by your description, which includes style and instrumentation, the source material, and any lead sheet or music you provide with the markings it contains. We will double-check the markup before we proceed with the arrangement, verify our raw transcription if necessary, verify choices of tempo and key, and any possible re-harmonizations that seem sensible to us. If you’d like a different key than the source provided, please let us know in advance.
How to request a revision
We accept the following file types for revision of musical scores:
- Marked-up scans of our scores
- Edit lists by specific score bar number
- Modified versions of our original Finale files.
The included revision can be done at any time after delivery. If you want to take some time to develop your markup to take advantage of the free round, thats fine. Otherwise, we’ll need to quote subsequent revisions in advance.
Exceptions to the Free Revision Policy
Transpositions greater than a third in either direction require extensive revision and re-voicing; we’ll need to quote those revisions in advance.
Any major change to the brief voids the free revision policy – for example: If you decide you’d like a different style after the arrangement is delivered, that is not covered by the free revision policy. An example of that would be if you ask for “medium swing,” then decide you want colla voce or rubato after delivery. A change from tenor voice to alto or soprano will require transposition over a third in distance, therefore will be quoted.
We do not accept other file types (xml, midi) or mp3 files for revisions as part of our original quote – they are new transcriptions and require creation of a new file, and considerable cleanup (in the general case). Therefore, we quote work of this nature in advance, or bill for the time.
Additional revisions are quoted in advance, with time estimated per our hourly rate of $75.
Terms of Service
All deposits are non-refundable.
We meet our deadline commitments. Short-term turnarounds or tight deadlines may result in a rush charge, which will be quoted in advance.
We will not deliver any score or master recording prior to receipt of the balance payment. No exceptions.
We make every possible effort to meet our Deadline Commitments. (See our Customer Reviews for support of this claim.)
