…well, nothing worx in silence…at least no skater shots… 
…but…as u mentioned…ur in china…the land of copycats…the concept of copyrights, the idea of the fact, that an idea also has a price tag, not to metion the time u need to create and actually work on that idea…hmmmpf…well…that concept can’t be teached overthere…that whole industry wonderland is based on just work it, don’t question it…
so, stop bothering…no chance…
China is no excuse. In the USA were slaves 160 years ago. Workers should work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week 130 years ago. Changes came with a lot of fight. Your decision and totally understand your point but I would not feed the free-music system.
Thing is (and I’m speaking with experience from over a decade ago, so things may have changed) Apple production software includes an amount of library music that you can use in your productions. It’s good quality and it’s all over the place. It may be harder to find something to fit “the scene” but I don’t think it’s impossible.
I was writing music and SFX for games (alongside the main code) in a previous life. I stopped doing it because of those libs. I’d crank up a DAW if something specific was required, but else it wasn’t worth my time.
Quite the mind reader aren’t you
Or how did you come to that conclusion?
I replied to people who thought of the situation in new ways and mainly didn’t find it useful to reply to those who confirmed what I already said with few exceptions. All those new ways involve some compensation, none is suggesting I should do it for free.
Claiming that the people in that company generally don’t value music is going a bit far I think. The person who thought up the budget apparently thinks they don’t have to pay and is (again, this is China) most likely right. Not trying to defend their practice but I don’t think that kind of generalizing is appropriate.
Btw who said it’s advertising?
I often work for free if it’s a good cause, a charity, etc. But I will never ever work for free if it’s a professional production that’s being used to sell something. Even if it’s a small token fee - the principle is too important.
Having said that - deals can be made. Maybe you could negotiate some sort of compensation? Discounts on something? Future work? Full credit to be included in the piece of work? Whatever it takes - get SOMETHING for it. Exposure is an important part of a creative career, and yes - exposure can be part of the payment process, but it shouldn’t be taken as standard, remember you are setting a precedent every time you wave your fees.
In this case - it may have been worth your while letting them use your music, but if it’s for free, I’d have tried to negotiate something like a clear music credit, perhaps they can put it at the start of the piece. So then you are actually benefiting.
Ah. Ok. Well then, as someone that used to work in the skate industry, I say screw em. Dont give them anything.
If they were a legit brand, they would pay you. They are just a distributor, middle men. Thats all. Of course they dont “have a music budget”.
I’m the farthest thing from a skateboard video expert but I would think the skateboard brands will be front and center in the video, no? Product placement.
My first thought upon reading your opening post was - at the very least make them come to you with some footage before you (possibly) give them permission to use your music. Or maybe the company already has some earlier videos they could show you? Otherwise no guarantee of the quality or coolness of the whole thing.
Having possibly millions of people listen to your music is an intriguing prospect for sure but it’s very likely the exposure doesn’t amount to anything else than that.
I understand the principle but I would have just done it, who’s going to listen to it now, will it just sit on your hard drive or get a few listens on soundcloud. If you got a credit on the video that would have been good enough for me, there’s no value to music these days and most of us do it as a hobby, maybe someone would pay you further down the line.
Apple paid people for that music.
I clearly see both sides in this argument. But I would lean towards thinking that my music would at least get some exposure, probably more than somewhere on Bandcamp or Soundcloud. And would this be any different from accepting to play a live set for free?
Same with pretty much every outdoor movie. Though there’s certainly a promotional aspect to all of those I wouldn’t just label them “ad”.
Yeah, performance is all about YOU. At the very least you get direct ego confirmation.
A corporation appropriating an unknown artist’s music has a completely different dynamic.
No need for sarcasm.
I said “it seems”, based on this whole conversation. I wouldn’t dare state this is what you really have in mind.
I don’t think I ever do this.
Sorry if you felt like I stepped on your toes.
Of course they don’t, as they want to have music in their video. A silent video doesn’t work that well, does it?
But
Well, seems they can.
I thought you did.
Might have misread this:
Well, this again sounds like you made a conclusion about what’s on my mind. Maybe I just have one of those touchy days.
Commercial purpose as in not a private purpose. Common distinction in many a licensing process.
There are 1.4 billion people in China
You thought none of them skate?
Never ever take exposure over payment, even if you don’t need the money because taking exposure ruins it for everyone else wanting to get paid for their work. The only exceptions to this rule is to do stuff for charity, or a friend who is just starting out, for example.
Abstracting from the China context: what if Elektron asked if they can use one of your tracks for free in a promotional clip?
There is a lot of stuff we dont know here. Like is this an after hours project that some dedicated employees wanted to do for fun? Featuring some local kids that are sponsored with free stickers… That is pretty different that if it is an official nation wide advertisement campaign.
Ive done some free work in the past. Music for some teasers for an film festival. It gave me a possibility to do something new, and i learned from it. So for me it was worth it.
Sometimes I do things for free even though I could get paid simply because it is too much of a hassle in terms of declaring/paying social charges, income tax, etc. in addition to my regular income. (Maybe a specific French experience…)
Well you see I identify as an elektron user. I wouldn’t be getting paid in exposure I would be getting paid by supporting the brand. The more people who use elektron the more people I can relate to and forge communal bonds with. It is a reciprocal arrangement.