Our Model
Adoro Music Publishing is introducing an innovative business model to the music publishing industry. Our goal is to provide a wider variety of high-quality music while offering more options for customers and a larger share of revenue for composers. Founded to serve Christ, we aim to provide a higher standard for customers and composers using the principles outlined below.
A new standard in...
...printing
Most music published today is printed using the traditional method of offset printing. We believe that this practice, which requires that large quantities be printed at once, has a number of downsides (which are discussed throughout this document). Our printing and delivery method is vastly different. All of the music we publish is available for instant download from our web site; in addition, customers can order high-quality printed scores, which are printed on-demand and mailed to them. This allows us to publish a much wider range of music, while also ensuring that none of the music we publish will ever go out of print.
...engraving
Preparing music for printing used to be an incredibly complex process. Most commonly, master engravers painstakingly engraved metal plates in mirror image. While dies were used for fixed symbols, such as notes and accidentals, many elements, including slurs and ties, were engraved by hand. It's not surprising that engraving was a skill that took years of practice and apprenticeship to master. The skill of engraving, while often under-appreciated, was itself an art.
Beginning in the early 1990's, publishers began to abandon traditional engraving methods, opting instead to use computerized tools to “engrave” music for publication. These tools brought many improvements, especially in cost and speed. Unfortunately, an attitude began to develop that held that anyone with some musical knowledge and a computer could produce publication-ready scores. This is not the case, even with today's advanced software; small nuances in spacing and other details make a major impact on the readability of the finished score. We believe that good publishing requires quality engraving, by people with both an ear for music and an eye for the printed page. While the qualities that define a masterful engraving may not always be obvious, musicians will appreciate the relative ease with which the music therein can be read – and, therefore, performed.
...delivery
The Internet provides an exciting opportunity for composers and musicians alike. Composers are able to quickly reach a wider audience than before, while musicians can more easily find music that fits their requirements and wishes. Unfortunately, the publishing industry has failed to take advantage of these opportunities. Most music is still only available in print form – even if customers are able to purchase music online, they must wait for it to be mailed to them. In addition, most companies' web sites provide scant information on the pieces available for sale; purchasing music online is too often an exercise in speculation.
It doesn't have to be this way. We believe that in order to find good, appropriate music online, customers need the appropriate tools to do so. Finding music on our web site is effortless; customers are able to search based on a wide array of criteria, and each song includes detailed information about the music, text, background, and the like. Additional resources, such as audio part guides, are also available. Furthermore, after deciding to purchase a piece, customers are able to immediately download and view their purchases – even if they've opted to also receive printed copies in the mail.
...compensation
Traditionally, publishers have been unable to fairly compensate composers for the works they create. This is, in large part, due to the high overhead inherent in most publishers' business models: large print runs incur high up-front costs; music stores take a cut of profits; revenue from successful pieces offsets losses from less successful ones. Our business model is much more efficient than that of traditional publishers. We believe that composers deserve a higher share of revenue. Therefore, in addition to allowing us to charge less than our competitors, we are also passing along some of the savings from our business model to our composers, in the form of higher royalties. Our standard royalty rate is 25% - a figure previously unheard of in the industry.
...creativity
Every publisher is looking for the next best-seller. Traditional publishers, however, must limit their scope to only looking for such pieces. This leaves a lot of pieces with the appearance of only modest market appeal unpublished. Once again, this is an artifact of outdated business models. Due to their high overheads, traditional publishers must focus on potential best-sellers only, to the detriment of a lot of excellent music. With our lower overhead and print-on-demand delivery, we don't suffer from this restriction. We believe that good music – regardless of market potential – should be published.