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rate of 40%, as well as the Graphite Marketplace that There is no upfront fee, and scores are only available

distributes works by independent/self-publishing com- as digital downloads (PDFs). The royalty rates are 50%
posers and pays 60%. The marketplace accepts pub- for original compositions and public domain arrange-
lishers as opposed to individual works, and markets ments, and 10% for arrangements of copyrighted mu-
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these publishers through email campaigns, conference sic. This platform is also non-exclusive, so composers
reading sessions, and their Take Note magazine. They can also sell these works on their individual websites.
only offer scores as PDFs, downloadable from their ArrangeMe is merely a platform that sends the scores
website. One perk of Graphite is that when a customer to the retailers for purchase, so marketing is up to the
orders music, the composer/publisher is alerted to the composer. ArrangeMe also features a catalog of more
order so they can reach out to the customer to build than 4 million songs with pre-approved licenses for
their professional network. custom arrangements that are then sold via their plat-
MusicSpoke sells works by self-publishing compos- form.
ers and retains a 30% transaction fee, thus giving 70% These marketplaces provide benefits that may be
of sales to composers. Co-founder Kurt Knecht likens attractive to self-publishing composers; their potential
MusicSpoke to “Etsy for composers.” Instead of pub- drawbacks can include the sheer number of self-pub-
lishing individual pieces, MusicSpoke accepts com- lishing composers using these venues; some composers
posers to their roster and then sells the works that the feel they may get “lost” in the large number of com-
composers would like to include in the catalog. They posers and works on some of these platforms.
advertise all of these composers, often with booths and
reading sessions at ACDA conferences and other pub-
lic events. In most cases, MusicSpoke does not require Retailers
composers to distribute exclusively with their platform Retailers are like grocery stores; they carry multiple
(unless there is a specific promotional opportunity), brands (publishers) of products (scores) that are avail-
and they also make the scores available through cer- able to their customers. The retailer gets a share of
tain retailers including J.W. Pepper (in which case the the sales (usually around 50%) and the rest goes to the
composer’s royalty is based off of the net amount after publisher. Some retailers are larger companies offering
the retailer’s discount). a massive selection of products, and some are smaller,
MyScore, a platform offered by retail giant J.W. offering fewer products (but also the option to order
Pepper, allows composers to publish their works us- specific scores their customers want). Retailers are a
ing Pepper’s services. Composers pay a one-time $99 separate link in the supply chain that may or may not
fee and then receive “25% of every printed copy and interact with all of the publishing options mentioned
50% of every digital sale, paid quarterly.” This plat- above.
form is non-exclusive, so composers can also sell these Why are there retailers of choral music when scores
works on their individual websites. MyScore does not could just be purchased from the publishers directly?
actively market the scores sold through this platform, The retailer system was founded decades ago, before
but individual works are eligible to be considered for the internet, when publishers needed “boots on the
Editor’s Choice, reading sessions, and other market- ground” to represent and market their products in all
ing opportunities if they are of especially great quality corners of the country. Without the internet, publish-
and fit other parameters set by J.W. Pepper. ers were dependent on retailers to connect them with
ArrangeMe, owned and operated by Hal Leonard, customers. Retailers developed meaningful relation-
is a platform for distributing arrangements and origi- ships with conductors, alerted them when new pieces
nal works via Sheet Music Plus (the “Amazon of sheet arrived in stock, and provided large bins of single cop-
music”), Sheet Music Direct (an all-digital retailer), and ies for conductors to look through.
if utilizing their “interactive score” feature, Noteflight All of this has changed, of course, with the inter-
Marketplace (requiring a Noteflight-created score). net: publisher websites, composer websites, search

CHORAL JOURNAL March/April 2023 Volume 63 Number 7 31