Less than two years ago, my mom and I began a sheet music website called ScoreVivo.com. Today, we published our 100th sheet music arrangement or original composition.
It all began when one of my mom’s traditional publishers was going out of business. When I learned that she could not simply choose another publisher (because she no longer owned the copyright of the work she created), I suggested we go out on our own. My knowledge of web development and her network of musicians might have a chance.
We launched the site with 10 of her arrangements. Today, we have 13 talented artists selling a total of 100 arrangements and compositions. While most of our sheet music is for flute ensembles, we have several that are for string, clarinet, and hand bell.
What I like most about this endeavor is how we are not a traditional publisher. ScoreVivo does not own a single copyright for the music it publishes. By requiring our artist to retain copyright ownership of their work there is nothing preventing them from leaving at any time to sell their music elsewhere at any time, yet no one has.
And if retaining copyright ownership of their own work wasn’t enough, we pay them greater royalties each quarter and we treat them more like partners than clients.
As for our customers, we remain amazed at just how many find our small site and how many return. We provide them DRM-free high-quality PDFs of their sheet music that they may immediately download and print. As our selection grows, more than half of our customers purchase two or more items at checkout.
Thank you to all who are a part of the ScoreVivo website. Here’s to another 100 more pieces to come.