Client wants raw .wav tracks

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rockysar
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Client wants raw .wav tracks

Post by rockysar » Tue Nov 23, 2010 6:22 pm

Folks:
Increasingly, I have new customers coming in for recording and mixes and also asking for multiple CDs with all the raw .wav files from their tracking sessions. In the past, I have not offered these raw tracks to clients.

How are you dealing with these requests? If you do provide raw .wavs, what do you charge for that service?

Rocky Sarter
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chris harris
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Post by chris harris » Tue Nov 23, 2010 6:42 pm

Organizing/archiving sessions for clients is fairly common. It's charged just like any other studio work. Hourly, or during the hours payed for in a day rate.

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Post by kslight » Tue Nov 23, 2010 6:44 pm

I'd have them supply an external drive and charge by the hour for bouncing individual tracks assuming you don't want to give them your entire sessions.

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Post by cgarges » Tue Nov 23, 2010 8:23 pm

Um, yeah. They pay for the session, they own the masters. Simple as that.

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Gregg Juke
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Re: Client wants...

Post by Gregg Juke » Wed Nov 24, 2010 1:00 am

>>>>Um, yeah. They pay for the session, they own the masters. Simple as that.<<<<

Absolutely. It's always been that way in the music/recording world (unless the sessions are paid for by someone else; a benefactor like a label, for instance; or, if there is a production/development agreement in-place and the producer needs to protect his or her interests).

When I tried to apply this logic with my graphic designer for our last record, she would not budge. The individual work files constituted her proprietary intellectual property, yadda-yadda-yadda. She and her partner messed me up and gave me the screwgie on so much stuff, I will never hire her or recommend her for another project again. But I thought that her insistance on keeping the files was a little odd.

GJ

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Post by jnTracks » Wed Nov 24, 2010 4:00 am

it's just like giving them their 2" reels at the end of the session right?

i've often given clients the final stereo mixes. and then also consolidated and exported each track to a .wav file. so they could walk into any studio and remix as though it was from the same tape but they couldn't just re-print my mix (maybe with a couple slight changes) and somebody else's name on it.
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Nick Sevilla
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Re: Client wants raw .wav tracks

Post by Nick Sevilla » Wed Nov 24, 2010 8:03 am

rockysar wrote:Folks:
Increasingly, I have new customers coming in for recording and mixes and also asking for multiple CDs with all the raw .wav files from their tracking sessions. In the past, I have not offered these raw tracks to clients.

How are you dealing with these requests? If you do provide raw .wavs, what do you charge for that service?

Rocky Sarter
Cottage Productions
They pay, they own it.

Now it's either a hard drive or a DVD or a bunch of CDs.

In the old days it was the 2" multichannel tape.

I highly recommend that they take their master with them, after they pay of course. I am not an audio file storage facility.

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Re: Client wants raw .wav tracks

Post by @?,*???&? » Wed Nov 24, 2010 8:26 am

rockysar wrote:Folks:
Increasingly, I have new customers coming in for recording and mixes and also asking for multiple CDs with all the raw .wav files from their tracking sessions. In the past, I have not offered these raw tracks to clients.

How are you dealing with these requests? If you do provide raw .wavs, what do you charge for that service?

Rocky Sarter
Cottage Productions
If they paid for the recording of *masters*, they own the tracks/files.

If you did the recording for free or offered them some kind of deal, then you own the *master* files. It's pretty simple.

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Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Wed Nov 24, 2010 8:45 am

just curious as to what your reason for NOT giving out the tracks would be?

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Post by @?,*???&? » Wed Nov 24, 2010 8:58 am

MoreSpaceEcho wrote:just curious as to what your reason for NOT giving out the tracks would be?
Good question.

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Post by chris harris » Wed Nov 24, 2010 9:07 am

And, if you don't give the raw tracks to the client, what do you do with them?!?

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Aquaman
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Re: Client wants...

Post by Aquaman » Wed Nov 24, 2010 9:40 am

Gregg Juke wrote:When I tried to apply this logic with my graphic designer for our last record, she would not budge. The individual work files constituted her proprietary intellectual property, yadda-yadda-yadda
She was right to do so. Graphic design work files are not analagous to stems or recorded tracks, unless you generated all the individual graphic layers yourself and all she did was collate them into a layered file without any additional manipulation - highly unlikely.

Graphic work files are always entirely the property of the designer, unless a work for hire agreement is in place specifying otherwise. You own what you paid for, i.e. the finished graphic.

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Re: Client wants...

Post by Gregg Juke » Wed Nov 24, 2010 9:45 am

>>>>Graphic work files are always entirely the property of the designer, unless a work for hire agreement is in place specifying otherwise. You own what you paid for, i.e. the finished graphic.<<<<

It was precisely a Work for Hire agreement that I wanted, and that she would not sign. While I'm not a graphic designer, I'm not sure how she'll ever use those files again. I on the other hand, could actually get some use out of them.

GJ

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Aquaman
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Re: Client wants...

Post by Aquaman » Wed Nov 24, 2010 10:00 am

Gregg Juke wrote:It was precisely a Work for Hire agreement that I wanted, and that she would not sign. While I'm not a graphic designer, I'm not sure how she'll ever use those files again. I on the other hand, could actually get some use out of them.
I'd want the work for hire agreement, too, I like to mess around with graphics as much as the next guy. But if she didn't sign it, those work files are not yours. You were free to take your business elsewhere, but you didn't, you chose to do business with her on those terms.

She can use those files again (and generate more business based on her efforts in creating the work file) the next time you need a poster for your album release, or t-shirts featuring a subset of the graphics, or whatever. While I understand your desire to "get some use out of them", that's exactly why she is retaining control, so your business relationship can continue and she can build on work that she's already done for you.

This is also why "work for hire" contracts cost more than just paying for a finished graphic - because you are purchasing the future usage of the artist's labor, a commodity that artists generally count on for future income for themselves.

You may have spoiled the business relationship by insisting on treating the files as work for hire when they were clearly not, in which case she's just hanging on to the files because legally they are hers, not yours.

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Re: Client wants...

Post by chris harris » Wed Nov 24, 2010 10:00 am

Gregg Juke wrote:While I'm not a graphic designer, I'm not sure how she'll ever use those files again. I on the other hand, could actually get some use out of them.

GJ
Actually, I think that she could get use out of them by creating the art that you have a use for.

If someone hires you to write and record a jingle, you would want it spelled out up front that they intend to take all of the individual tracks, so that they may change the content, or produce additional content, using the parts that you created. I would certainly expect to be paid more for this than for simply delivering a jingle. But, as was mentioned, these things are typically handled on a work for hire basis, where the ownership of the designs/songs/etc. and the component parts used to create them, goes to the company rather than the artist.

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