Last week, I explored the Mormon music market. I had concluded that Jackman Music has a virtual monopoly on Mormon printed music. There are several other viable options for publishing, but they are all digital in nature.
Mormon music is a niche market within the larger niche market of Christian music. If I expand my parameters to include all Christian publishers, there are suddenly so many publishers to consider that I can't even count them all. Here's one list of publishers: members of the Church Music Publishers Association.
You may recognize a few companies on that list: Alfred and Hal Leonard are two of the largest. These two companies print some Christian music, but they also print other types of music. Alfred and Hal Leonard are so large that they seem to have a "don't call us, we'll call you" attitude toward accepting new submissions. They make Jackman Music look like a small-time player.
Another prestigious publisher is Oxford University Press. They publish some of the choral works of Mormon composer superstar Mack Wilberg. Again, this is another "don't call us, we'll call you" publisher. If you are chosen by any of these publishing companies, you're doing pretty well.
In researching these options, I'm finding myself overwhelmed by all the different opportunities. The really big ones are closed off (unless they notice you somehow), and the other ones are so small, I'm better off sticking with the Mormon market.
One nice thing about Jackman Music is that they have a submissions page that's not too hard to find. They're small enough to want to constantly acquire new works. When I submitted something, I got a prompt response from none other than Mr. Jackman himself. He asked me questions and he answered my own questions. I never did get a rejection letter, but I experienced much more interaction than I ever got from any book/magazine publisher.
Next week, I'll describe yet another interesting opportunity and then explain why I came to the decision to just do it all myself.
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