Compositions wanted for brass band.

[Chris Merritt]

I was requested to post this for our members. By posting this I am not approving of the validity of this opportunity. Please discuss below!

Brass Initiative
We are a new brass chamber group made of seasoned chamber players, adept in the realms of classical, jazz, Broadway, commercial, and pop styles. Our goal is to commission new works crafted to display the artistic diversity of brass in a variety of classic and contemporary styles.
We are currently accepting new compositions for our debut recording to be released in the fall of 2010.

We need new compositions in the following styles:
Jazz
Film score-esque
Hip hop
Country or bluegrass
Baroque
Romantic
Impressionist
Pop
Rock
Latin

The style is your choice. There are some additional criteria:
1. Work must be a stand alone piece approximately 2.5-5 minutes in length or a multiple movement work approximately 8-15 minutes long.
2. Scored for Horn, Trombone, Bass Trombone, and two Trumpets keyed in Bb or C. Eb and piccolo trumpet may also be employed as well as flugel horns. Drum set would be a preferred addition to the jazz, hip hop, rock, pop, latin, and country or bluegrass genres. Please contact us if you would like to alter or expand the instrumentation prior to submitting.
3. Works must be submitted no later than April 1st, 2010.
4. Hard copy submissions should include: An 8.5" X 11" score, 8.5" X 11 individual parts, and a CD containing a midi recording of the work.
5. All submissions must include a composition fact sheet available on our website, www.brassinitiative.com.
6. Please mail submissions to:

Brass Initiative
C/O Arlo Thompson
149 Zandale Drive
Lexington, KY 40503

Works selected for the project will be recorded in summer 2010 and released as a digital album in the fall of 2010. In lieu of commission fees the composers of selected works will receive a portion of download sales once annually for three years. For this reason, please keep in mind the commercial appeal of the work. Composers may submit multiple works for different genres. For any additional information or questions please feel free to contact us at [e-mail].

[Chris Merritt]

I am concerned that it state, "In lieu of commission fees the composers of selected works will receive a portion of download sales once annually for three years." Why only three years? Should not the COMPOSER of the the work be compensated as long as the publishers or performers are? Should the composer not be compensated for the length of the copyright (life +75 years or something like that?)

I would be wary of this.

[Kristofer Emerig]

... and that the composer has no control over how download sales are marketed in that three year window nor after. So what if the publisher does not begin aggressively marketing download sales until the third year, and they peak in the 4-6 year period? Just a thought.

Chris Merritt said:

I am concerned that it state, "In lieu of commission fees the composers of selected works will receive a portion of download sales once annually for three years." Why only three years? Should not the COMPOSER of the the work be compensated as long as the publishers or performers are? Should the composer not be compensated for the length of the copyright (life +75 years or something like that?)

I would be wary of this.