I got my annual sales report from Alfred Publishing recently, in which they compile and break down sales of all my music for the year, from April through March, 2013. Unfortunately, sales were down a little bit from last year and the report showed some interesting trends. Here are my top domestic sales of scores and parts in 2013:
1. Maharaja
2. Avatar
3. Gargoyles
4. Gauntlet
5. Agincourt
Avatar has been the top seller for the past few years and was unseated by Maharaja. I'm still surprised at the popularity of Maharaja but that piece was all over YouTube this year. Gargoyles edged ahead of Gauntlet for the first time in a while - both are usually in the top five and are very close, but Gauntlet is normally slightly more popular. In truth, Gargoyles sold one more copy than Gauntlet this year.
It's important to note that this report predates the release of Dragonfly and Across the Wind, my newest pieces. That means that the newest pieces on this report are Harrowland, which would have come in 7th, and Beale Street Strut, which would have come in a distant 8th.
Foreign sales are a different story. Sales abroad are usually much lower, because the system of music education is different outside the U.S. and many countries don't have group music instruction in schools. Here are the top five sellers of scores and parts outside the U.S.:
1. Harrowland
2. Beale Street Strut
3. Samba Del Sol
4. Sneaking Suspicion
5. Avatar, Gargoyles, Gauntlet, Maharaja, Porcupine Pantomime
A complete inverse of the Domestic Sales list! And a five-way tie for 5th place! I honestly don't know what to make of this, other than deducing that foreign orchestras gravitate toward the newer titles. Also, there are more minor-key pieces on the Foreign Sales list than usual. Usually, this list is full of major-key tunes.
Finally, I'll include a list of the top five selling scores. This is important because orchestras buy extra scores for the judges when they take a piece to contest. And when a piece is included on contest lists, that speaks to its long-term popularity and quality.
1. Gauntlet
2. Avatar, Gargoyles
4. Las Mariposas Exoticas
5. Agincourt
Gauntlet is the runaway winner in this race, selling more than Avatar and Gargoyles combined. All are popular, time-tested pieces (Agincourt being the newest), which makes sense on this list. I'd be shocked if something from the last three years showed up here, but I expect that Maharaja will work its way up this list in a few years.
I'd also like to give a shout-out to the handful of honest folks who went through the proper channels and paid licensing fees to copy, record, and re-arrange my music.
So sales were down in general, but I got some good data from the report. Hopefully, things will turn around next year with five new pieces in the works. Look for March of the Wood Elves, Winstride, Zuma Breakers, Pioneer Sky, and Woodpecker Cha Cha later this year. Also, my next report should include Dragonfly and Across the Wind, which I suspect will make a major impact.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Thursday, October 3, 2013
New Music from Wingert-Jones
I got some great news recently – in addition to my three new compositions getting published by Alfred Publishing next year, two more pieces (Pioneer Sky and Woodpecker Cha Cha) will be published next year by Wingert-Jones Publishing! Here's the story of how this came about:
I've been working with Alfred Publishing for nearly 15 years now and they've included one to three of my compositions in their String Orchestra catalog every year. All the while, my editors have reminded me that we don't have an exclusive contract and that it's not uncommon for composers to get deals with several different publishers. So every once in a while I sent a portfolio of music to Kjos, Carl Fisher, or Hal Leonard and always received a nice rejection letter explaining that they're not looking to expand their stable of composers. Even when I introduced myself as the composer of Gauntlet and mentioned the enormous success that Alfred was enjoying with my publications, they still weren't impressed enough to accept my submissions. Eventually, I got bored with the rejection and stopped trying to get their attention. Alfred has been more than happy to work with me and I'm happy to work with them.
Then, out of the blue this past summer, I got an e-mail from the String Editor at Wingert-Jones, a small but well-established music publisher looking to expand its String Orchestra catalog. He knew me by reputation and invited me to submit some music for their 2014 catalog, which I did. This week, he wrote back to tell me that two of the five pieces I sent have been selected for publication!
I normally send Alfred Publishing about nine pieces of various levels and styles each year and they take two or three of those. That means that about 70% of the music I write goes unpublished. When they pass over a piece of music, it's often not that they don't like it, it's because it doesn't fit their needs at the moment. Maybe they found another piece with a similar style or one that covers the same playing technique or they need more beginner-level pieces to create a well-rounded catalog. I've re-submitted music to Alfred and occasionally the timing is better on the second pass.
Alfred has been great to me over the years and I'll always give them the first (and sometimes second) opportunity to publish any String Orchestra music I write. But now, with Wingert-Jones, I have an additional outlet for some of the great music that was previously shelved.
So I hope you look for my two new pieces next year from Wingert-Jones as well as my three new pieces from Alfred! It should be an exciting time!
I've been working with Alfred Publishing for nearly 15 years now and they've included one to three of my compositions in their String Orchestra catalog every year. All the while, my editors have reminded me that we don't have an exclusive contract and that it's not uncommon for composers to get deals with several different publishers. So every once in a while I sent a portfolio of music to Kjos, Carl Fisher, or Hal Leonard and always received a nice rejection letter explaining that they're not looking to expand their stable of composers. Even when I introduced myself as the composer of Gauntlet and mentioned the enormous success that Alfred was enjoying with my publications, they still weren't impressed enough to accept my submissions. Eventually, I got bored with the rejection and stopped trying to get their attention. Alfred has been more than happy to work with me and I'm happy to work with them.
Then, out of the blue this past summer, I got an e-mail from the String Editor at Wingert-Jones, a small but well-established music publisher looking to expand its String Orchestra catalog. He knew me by reputation and invited me to submit some music for their 2014 catalog, which I did. This week, he wrote back to tell me that two of the five pieces I sent have been selected for publication!
I normally send Alfred Publishing about nine pieces of various levels and styles each year and they take two or three of those. That means that about 70% of the music I write goes unpublished. When they pass over a piece of music, it's often not that they don't like it, it's because it doesn't fit their needs at the moment. Maybe they found another piece with a similar style or one that covers the same playing technique or they need more beginner-level pieces to create a well-rounded catalog. I've re-submitted music to Alfred and occasionally the timing is better on the second pass.
Alfred has been great to me over the years and I'll always give them the first (and sometimes second) opportunity to publish any String Orchestra music I write. But now, with Wingert-Jones, I have an additional outlet for some of the great music that was previously shelved.
So I hope you look for my two new pieces next year from Wingert-Jones as well as my three new pieces from Alfred! It should be an exciting time!
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
You Tube Concert
It's the start of a new school year here in the States! Hooray! I thought I'd kick things off with another YouTube concert of performances of my music that I've discovered over the summer.
First up is a performance of Star of Valor, uploaded by the AFA Symphony Orchestra of the American Festival of the Arts Summer Music Conservatory at Pershing High School in Houston, Texas. They do a really nice job balancing the overlapping melodies and negotiating the tempo changes. Their intonation is really good. And just look at the concentration in their faces.
Here's a really nice performance of Westward Motion, performed by the CMS 8th Grade Orchestra. Again, there's no indication of where they're from, geographically. But they do a nice job with the piece. My only quibble: they clearly have timpani, chimes and a glockenspeil on stage and they're completely unmanned and silent throughout the piece! The percussion parts are optional, but I always prefer to hear them whenever possible.
I've saved a really good one for last: check out this performance of Gauntlet from the String Quartet Program of Northern Colorado Works in Progress concert. It looks like an all-ages group and they do a remarkable job bringing the emotion out of the piece. This is definitely one of the best performances I've heard of Gauntlet. The whole concert is great, but Guantlet starts at about 12:10.
There is another video of this same performance, just of Gauntlet, taken from a closer angle at stage level, but I wasn't able to link it to this post. It should be easy enough to find with a quick YouTube search, though.
First up is a performance of Star of Valor, uploaded by the AFA Symphony Orchestra of the American Festival of the Arts Summer Music Conservatory at Pershing High School in Houston, Texas. They do a really nice job balancing the overlapping melodies and negotiating the tempo changes. Their intonation is really good. And just look at the concentration in their faces.
Here's a really nice performance of Westward Motion, performed by the CMS 8th Grade Orchestra. Again, there's no indication of where they're from, geographically. But they do a nice job with the piece. My only quibble: they clearly have timpani, chimes and a glockenspeil on stage and they're completely unmanned and silent throughout the piece! The percussion parts are optional, but I always prefer to hear them whenever possible.
I've saved a really good one for last: check out this performance of Gauntlet from the String Quartet Program of Northern Colorado Works in Progress concert. It looks like an all-ages group and they do a remarkable job bringing the emotion out of the piece. This is definitely one of the best performances I've heard of Gauntlet. The whole concert is great, but Guantlet starts at about 12:10.
There is another video of this same performance, just of Gauntlet, taken from a closer angle at stage level, but I wasn't able to link it to this post. It should be easy enough to find with a quick YouTube search, though.
Monday, August 12, 2013
A Performance in Qatar
So I was looking around on the Interwebs recently and discovered an article from May 26th, 2013 about a performance of Maharaja. The article was in the Gulf Times and my first thought was that it was from Mississipi, Louisiana, or maybe Texas. But I was way off.
The Gulf Times reports news from the PERSIAN Gulf.
It turns out that Maharaja was performed in Qatar. In the Middle East. Roughly, here:
Here's what the article said about the group and about Maharaja:
Here's a link to the full article.
The Gulf Times reports news from the PERSIAN Gulf.
It turns out that Maharaja was performed in Qatar. In the Middle East. Roughly, here:
Here's what the article said about the group and about Maharaja:
Almost 80 musicians took to the stage of the American School in Doha (ASD) on Saturday evening to perform in front of a delighted audience.
Musicians range from semi-professionals and professionals, including the occasional ‘loan’ from the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, to amateurs ranging in age from 10 to those nearing retirement - all united in their passion for music.
It seems that at every concert the orchestra achieves new heights, and Saturday’s performance was no exception.
...and then it was time for ‘something completely different’ with the musicians snapping their fingers as well as playing away for dear life in Doug Spata’s sizzling and stylish ‘Maharaja’, with the audience invited to join in the finger-snapping by conductor Brita Fray. Combining rhythms and motifs from Southeast Asian music with a powerful beat and exciting melodies, this very recent composition is as much fun to play as it is to listen to, and the DCO did it full justice.They were doing a "multi-cultural" program and chose Maharaja to represent India (by way of the U.S.). My mind is blown. I also appreciate the Monty Python reference. Thanks to the DCO orchestras for choosing my music!
Here's a link to the full article.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
New Music Selected for 2014
I'm thrilled to announce that Alfred Publishing has picked up three of my pieces for their 2014 String Orchestra catalog! Back in March I sent them nine selections of varying styles and ability levels and they took all of the beginner pieces. Here's what to look forward to:
March of the Wood Elves starts with a minor-key pizzicato pulse and a sly melody, builds in intensity, and then quietly marches off into the distance. I think the influence of Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony is pretty apparent in this one.
Winstride is a sunny, vibrant piece with a bit of a rock feel. Easy syncopations and simple, sparkling 8th note accompaniments give way to a contrasting minor key middle section before returning to the main themes and an exciting conclusion.
Zuma Breakers pays tribute to classic surf rock artists of the 1960's like Dick Dale, The Ventures, and Jan & Dean. It's a fast-paced zip down the beach with a focus on the second finger pattern and G-string notes. This one includes an optional drum kit part for extra rock & roll flair.
I'm excited about these three selections and I'll be sure to update their progress here on the blog when they go through the editing, recording, and publication phases.
March of the Wood Elves starts with a minor-key pizzicato pulse and a sly melody, builds in intensity, and then quietly marches off into the distance. I think the influence of Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony is pretty apparent in this one.
Winstride is a sunny, vibrant piece with a bit of a rock feel. Easy syncopations and simple, sparkling 8th note accompaniments give way to a contrasting minor key middle section before returning to the main themes and an exciting conclusion.
Zuma Breakers pays tribute to classic surf rock artists of the 1960's like Dick Dale, The Ventures, and Jan & Dean. It's a fast-paced zip down the beach with a focus on the second finger pattern and G-string notes. This one includes an optional drum kit part for extra rock & roll flair.
I'm excited about these three selections and I'll be sure to update their progress here on the blog when they go through the editing, recording, and publication phases.
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