Publishing Original Compositions

[williampiano]

I've written a few works over the past few years and lately I've been wondering, how do I publish my music so it can be printed in music books and maybe I can make a little money off it? I've seen other composers today who sell their works in sheet music books at various music stores. Of course you don't see their music printed as commonly as the greats, like Beethoven, Debussy, Schumann etc., but they do exist.
So pretty much what I'm asking is, how would I go about getting my music printed, sold and possibly receive some recognition for my works? Do I contact a publishing company and show them my pieces, and if they like them they publish them or something?
I'm not planning on publishing anything for quite a while, but just for when I do, any suggestions for how I should go about doing so?

[j_menz]

I've written a few works over the past few years and lately I've been wondering, how do I publish my music so it can be printed in music books and maybe I can make a little money off it? I've seen other composers today who sell their works in sheet music books at various music stores. Of course you don't see their music printed as commonly as the greats, like Beethoven, Debussy, Schumann etc., but they do exist.
So pretty much what I'm asking is, how would I go about getting my music printed, sold and possibly receive some recognition for my works. Do I contact a publishing company and show them my pieces, and if they like them they publish them or something?
I'm not planning on publishing anything for quite a while, but just for when I do, any suggestions for how I should go about doing so?

You probably need to show that there's a market for them. Get some of them up on Youtube or something and start getting requests for the scores.

[ajspiano]

I would suggest perhaps setting up a website and selling compositions yourself - digitally.

Use youtube and social media to market yourself.

Sell your pieces for next to no money.

Expect to get pirated.

If you generate enough interest you may be lucky enough to get some kind of publishing arrangement with a known music publisher.

Continue to get pirated.

Live on baked beans.

[j_menz]

I would suggest perhaps setting up a website and selling compositions yourself - digitally.

Use youtube and social media to market yourself.

Sell your pieces for next to no money.

Expect to get pirated.

If you generate enough interest you may be lucky enough to get some kind of publishing arrangement with a known music publisher.

Continue to get pirated.

Live on baked beans.

Or instead, you could use the above as qualification for a chair in composition at some prestigeous school, gain extra income from recording royalties and be courted as a genius.

If so, avoid the Baked Beans entirely, or you won't get invited to parties.

[quantum]

You could release your music under one of the copyleft licenses and encourage dissemination among performing musicians that have taken interest in your works.  Once there is enough demand start charging for your music. 

[Bob]

I think... This is what I remember... I heard a guy who made his own line of method book, the beginner $5/book kind, and he said he was only making .25 on each book sold.  That was a through a standard publisher.

I know of another teacher who publishes their own music.  Prints it themselves, probably takes it to a local copy store to mass produce them, then binds them themself with plastic comb binding.  Ouch... I see what they're charging now.  Haha... Someone's optimistic.

In both cases they're teachers who are "out there," know in the region or nationally.  They're aiming at a student market with method and etude books.  If it's an original composition... Why is anyone going to care? And care enough to buy them?  What's new?  You'd have to have someone performing the work and then people would hear it and want to buy the music.

And there's copyright, yes.  Pirating probably wouldn't be a great concern at first -- Same thing, who would care enough about it to even bother pirating it? 

[ivanski]

https://www.halleonard.com/licensing/selfPublishing.jsp