Your success as a singer-songwriter depends a great deal on the strategic way you position your self as a musician. The artistry of producing superb music—your vision, your mood, your intuitivesense of rhythm and musical figures—is a vastly different beast than the frequently daunting legal and economic panorama of music in this new era of digital distribution. One venture is imaginative and intuitive; the other requires red tape, legality, logistics and variables.

Aside from the creative process, it's important to consider strategy when examining where you want your music to take you. Do you produce music as a career? Is music your largest type of funding? Do you produce music to sell albums and create a fan base, or do you primarily perfect to have your productions placed in film, television and video games? Perhaps you create music for all three purposes.

Yet another crucial aspect to consider is what distribution method will actually make you money. Given the present landscape of diminishing download earnings and the high cost of antiquated physical distribution systems it is often a daunting task to discover the method that is suitable for you. In 2012, most producers agree that the top two ways to earn money from music are to tour, or to license productions for film, television and video games. After contemplating the effort and expense involved in organizing, booking and carrying out tours licensing naturally emerges as a preferred revenue stream generated by music. If placement in films and television is your primary purpose, please keep reading.

The way you control ownership of your productions is an essential element for potential music licensing deals in the future. You'll want to research what would make the most sense for your own music with a lawyer, but in general, you'll need to keep in mind:

  1) You are going to want to keep your own publishing.
  2) It is easier to contemplate licensing contracts if there is one sole
  songwriter credit for your music.
  3) It is easier to work with licensing agents if you release your own
  songs as an independent artist. In general, the less parties there are
  in a contract, the better.
  4) It is best to evaluate licensing companies effectively. Have an attorney
  examine any possible contracts. If you choose a licensing agent, they
  are likely to prefer to be the exclusive agent—so choose well.

Musician Jennifer Clarke is one such singer-songwriter. She creates her music mainly as an emotional pursuit. Her productions are deeply personal and soulful. Yet the moment the album is mastered and printed, Jennifer becomes all business. She licensed her track, “More Than I Have,” on the FX Series starring Denis Leary, Rescue Me. Her current album, Trinkets in Rubble, is scheduled for release in March 2012, when she'll begin new efforts to get the album licensed.

What can you do to pursue licensing? Get in contact with Music Nomad, ASCAP, or use your favorite search engine to look for companies that specialize in the field. Most importantly, never give up. If you knock on enough doors eventually one of them will open.