I never had either and the whole world of script licensing threw me for a loop! So, here are some things I learned, with a lot of confused searching, about a very traditional, but evolving, industry.

Hopefully, it will also explain more about our own choices regarding pricing and material delivery, and underscore that we really are “family friendly,” though professional and vigilant regarding our own material.

A Quick Ballpark Price? Forget it…

It began with me searching for merely a “ballpark price” for scripts in general, musicals in particular. I had heard prices in the hundreds (four or five hundred) of dollars from people who “had heard” but really weren’t sure, but I just did not know anyone knowledgeable to ask at that time.

When I pulled up the sites of the biggest and oldest companies who represent the well-known Broadway plays and musicals, etc., I found royalty applications so detailed it blew my mind – and all that to merely get a quote.

I found a site for Christian children’s musicals. I pulled up a few and saw, at the top of the page, prices like $9.99, $11.95, etc. What??!! The whole thing is only 10 or 12 bucks? Turned out that was the price for one singer’s (or actor’s) booklet (or script).

Once I figured out to scroll down, I found a list of materials, digital and physical, with prices and boxes to indicate quantity for each one. Oh. There’s more to this, I realized. But I still did not understand all the terms or specifics.

Terminology for the Newbie and the Bewildered

Here are a few basics the newbie (like me) needs to understand about the industry in general, especially so you know a good deal when you see one!

The Royalty or the License – you are dealing with copyrighted material from a writer and/or composer. You are not purchasing the material itself. You are agreeing to license it, on the writer’s (and probably agent’s) terms. That license is for a specific time and a specific number of performances, for a specific cast size, and specific venue size, and, if applicable, a specific amount related to revenue generated. For some plays/musicals with certain agencies, you must submit an application for approval and you may actually be turned down.

Usually, you will pay an amount for the first (or only) performance. If you do more than one performance, you will probably pay a lesser (or the same) amount for each additional performance. That will apply whether or not each performance is public or private, paid or free. Period! Fundraiser? Charity? It matters not. A performance in front of any audience is a performance that requires a license and a fee. Otherwise, you are violating the copyright and, yes, breaking the law.

Some typical one-performance charges range from $35 for something very small to $120 or more. Each additional performance is usually $10 or so less. Typical high-school script prices for a reasonably large play/musical might be $90 and $80 or $75 and $65, etc. Musicals are generally more expensive – and should be! (You realize I write musicals.)

Rehearsal Materials – needless to say, guarding copyrighted material has always been a challenge. The tradition (and it still holds forth with most of the big guns) is that there is absolutely no copying of anything. Period. Scripts and scores and CDs are rented for a specific amount of time, mailed out, and returned – and on time, or you get charged a late fee, or a whopping replacement fee. Yes – they have your credit card number and won’t do business without it. We can all be sure that there are very good reasons that business has been, and still is, done that way by a major part of the industry.

One way or another, you pay for each copy you need of the Director’s Script, and each copy you need of the Actor’s Script (or Singer’s Book), including your technical people (stage, lighting, sound crew).

A typical price for one Actor’s Script seems to be $6.50 or $7.50, or more, in the case of the Singer’s Book I cited above.

Music scores for piano, guitar, or entire bands, must be paid for and may cost anywhere from $50 to $200 or so for a package, or so much for each copy needed. Sometimes you are allowed to make copies of a score.

Basically, be prepared to provide the quantity for each item you need and to pay for each one. If the size of the cast is 30, you will not be allowed to order 5 scripts. Sorry. No way.

The Dawn of the Digital

I mentioned this is a traditional, but evolving, industry. Obviously the ease and reach of acquiring and distributing digital products has had a profound effect on copyrighted material. I’m sure there are young people (and probably some older people) out there who think everything is, or should be, 99 cents, or free. Sorry. Not if we hard-working writers can help it. And not if you want writers to continue writing. And producers to keep producing and agents to keep repping, etc.

So, we have the upside and the downside of the marvelous digital world.

On the upside, it saves everyone money and time and grief if materials do not have to be printed in advance and stored, waiting to be rented, mailed, and returned. Delivery is quick and relatively painless (unless you are still computer challenged – get a techy friend!). When costs come down, prices can come down an appropriate amount. (But there is still time and talent to be considered!)

On the upside for you, the customer, it is easier to share files with actors and their pads and phones. It is easier to play CDs or MP3s during rehearsals or even a performance. No clumsy tapes to duplicate, play, and break, and wind around pencils (anyone remember that?).

On the downside for the copyright owner, it is so very easy for those files to get copied and shared where and when they shouldn’t – passed around to friends and uploaded to the world. Oops.

Materials can be copied and stored, physically and digitally, and passed down for future unpaid-for performances. Catch me if you can!

Well, it’s always been a mixed world of the honest, responsible user and the “catch me if you can” user, though today’s world, sadly, shows a growing percentage of those needing to take ethics classes in prestigious business schools and an ever-growing battle royal against copyright infringement and product piracy.

We must, and we do, bottom line, count on the good conscience of our customers. And, for the most part, it works and is worth it to provide our customers with this techy world’s convenient and more affordable benefits.

Affordable and Friendly

In our pricing and our options and our delivery, we have tried to be as affordable and user-friendly as possible, while still positioning our material in what we would call the “mainstream” of the high-quality script world and doing our best to guard our copyrights.

Family Friendly Productions

No overly complicated submissions and waiting. We have a basic information sheet that is easy to fill out online. We want you to know before you order exactly what you will be paying. No waiting for a quote dependant on the size of your venue and whether you have tickets and if you offer any discounts, etc. We want you to be able to do a good and fun show on a relatively small budget. We give you tips to save money on costuming and scenery.

We offer digital downloads for script and song materials.

On some of our smaller plays, we actually offer a customizable MS Word version of the Director’s Script (to be ordered instead of the PDF downloads of the regular Director’s Script and Actor’s Script). It requires only that you agree to protect the material and to submit your customized version for approval before your first rehearsal date.

A Relatively New Concept: The Copying Fee – in our perusal of the industry online, we noticed that one or more companies did not rent materials, but provided a digital download and charged a catch-all Copying Fee based roughly on the standard price of one script times the number of copies most probably needed and also some copying of CDs, MP3, lead sheets, etc.

Ah! That sounded like a good and reasonable idea. No printing or copying beforehand and mailing, etc. You make your own copies (only the amount you actually need, mind you). No mailing, no waiting, no returning.

So we have chosen to go the Copying Fee route, and we have gone easier than most on the amount of the fee, as we have on many of our fees.

FFP is a new kid on the block in the world of licensing plays and musicals. However, many of our scripts and songs have been around for quite some time and have been kid and audience tested, quite successfully, a number of times. If we may say, we’ve got some really good stuff to offer you, all with our own unique flavor and flair.

We want to make it easier and more affordable for a lot more groups, big or small, to have fun with a new selection of entertaining scripts and songs that have proven to be very doable and singable and enjoyable for every young person who has come our way – and for adults!

So, know that we are doing the best we can to offer you the best deal we can. Please enjoy our material, but please guard it as dutifully as you would your own!