Dilemma...?? Or am I making a big fuss??

[LalyaPars]

Hi,

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this conversation. Recently I've got a forward and the company reached out via email. I was very excited because it was my first reach out from a forward. They didn't end up choosing the track because I used a vocal sample that wasn't altered enough although I chopped it up to fit the beat. I was disappointed but was ok because they said they wanted to hear more stuff from me, so I sent 5 more songs to them via SoundCloud and Spotify. At first they were confused if I was singer, producer... so I told them I was the producer because I couldn't sing or rap and I use Fiverr to get my singers... so they asked if I can make a playlist with singers that wasn't from a sample pack which I did. They didn't get back to me about the songs so I sent them another email to see if they want to hear my song covers. They didn't reply at all for nearly 2 weeks. To be honest I was feeling disappointed with myself and that they didn't like the music that I sent and was questioning if I'm good enough. I felt iced out like yeah she's not good enough and we don't want to contact her again.... I don't know if it's me but If I don't want anymore music from you I would tell that person that we've listen to your tracks and don't think it's a good fit but keep sending in this type of tracks.... That's all I would need. But no, they still haven't got back to me. So I decided that maybe it's those tracks they don't like and sent them about 14 more tracks to go through. They still haven't acknowledge my email. I feel disappointed the way they went about it. I just wish they'd just say they're not interest and I would've moved on. Is it me or were they're being a bit unprofessional not replying in 2 weeks. I know they're busy but at least reply to me saying you're not interested in the tracks or say that we don't accept cover songs etc... sorry this is long I tried to shorten it. Or maybe I should've just waited a bit more? Give them more time to reply?

[Casey H]

It is possible that they are not interested in those songs but it's also possible they are busy or on vacation and therefore slow responding to emails. I'd give it more time, at least 3-4 weeks, and then you can drop them a note asking if they have interest in those songs. It is not unusual for libraries to take quite a few weeks to respond to an email.

Good luck!
Casey

[LalyaPars]

Hey Casey, thank you for the advice I think because I'm new to all this, I'll wait a few more weeks and go from there. Thanks again

[cosmicdolphin]

All the libraries I am with have it written into the composer agreement that no sample loops/packs are to be used and I think that's pretty standard across the industry, so it's probably best not to submit those types of tracks to Taxi ( that includes melodic loops and chord progressions too , not just vocals )

For the Fiverr singers you'll probably get asked to provide a Work For Hire agreement that's been signed by the vocalist to warrant that they come after the publisher for more money/royalties if the song blows up because it got placed on TV or in a movie.... so you really gotta make sure your paperwork is in shape for those.

Speaking generally , a lot of this kinda stuff can be problematic to a library ( and the same with generative AI now ) so it might be that once they realised there are vocals from packs etc and you're not the singer that it might be too risky to work with you on that basis and have developed cold feet despite liking the songs. If that's what it is then they should definitely tell you and not just ghost you or like Casey says they could just be away or super busy.

I would just leave it now but be more mindful of submitting tracks that they might not be able to sign when they do reach out.

Mark

[Casey H]

For the Fiverr singers you'll probably get asked to provide a Work For Hire agreement that's been signed by the vocalist to warrant that they come after the publisher for more money/royalties if the song blows up because it got placed on TV or in a movie.... so you really gotta make sure your paperwork is in shape for those.

+1 Yes, make sure you always get a signed work-for-hire agreement from any musicians or vocalists you hire. It's a critical item.

Casey

[VanderBoegh]

Yeah, I'm with the other fellas on this one. Finding out that you'd outsourced your vocal duties to someone off Fiverr is a red flag (I would imagine) for most library owners. Not only is there a lot of red tape involved, like getting signed work-for-hire agreements, but in general this type of arrangement is just not typical for the most part, and probably screams "newbie" to these folks. Not that there's anything wrong with being a newbie, as we all start there, but there is a lot more hand-holding that goes with people who are brand new to this field.

I give it 51/49 odds that the company got cold feet. But I'm hoping I'm wrong and they're just on vacation. Give it a few more weeks. Don't let impatience be the thing that ends up killing what might be a great opportunity. Let it play out and see where things land. If you still don't hear back in a few more weeks, you can probably close the books on this one.

P.S. in the future, try to get all your vocals needs fulfilled by your fellow Taxi members in exchange for a percentage of ownership on the song. There's really no need to go to places like Fiverr when you're surrounded by like-minded & talented folks right here, who all know and understand the in's & out's of this business.

~~Matt

[Casey H]

I rarely disagree with you at all, Matt, but I've been using WFH vocalists and full productions for many years and sign these with libraries all the time. I provide the signed WFHs-- all my ducks are lined up from the start. However, admittedly I've never opened a conversation with "I found this singer on Fiverr". I haven't used Fiverr, I use Taxi members and good people I met thru this community, but if I used Fiverr, I'd be sure to get a signed WFH directly from the vocalist, not some generic Fiverr one. I know folks who have done that. What matters you let the library know you have the paperwork.

That being said, this situation is different as discussed. From the get-go, the library may have lost trust because of the original AI vocal presented. The other thing is we don't know what the original listing said. Were they looking for artists to build a long-term relationship with? Someone for quick turnaround to requests?

Layla... If this one doesn't work out, chalk it up as an important learning experience. Sometimes the only way we learn is through our mistakes. What you learned here will go a long way toward future success.

Casey

[LalyaPars]

All the libraries I am with have it written into the composer agreement that no sample loops/packs are to be used and I think that's pretty standard across the industry, so it's probably best not to submit those types of tracks to Taxi ( that includes melodic loops and chord progressions too , not just vocals )

For the Fiverr singers you'll probably get asked to provide a Work For Hire agreement that's been signed by the vocalist to warrant that they come after the publisher for more money/royalties if the song blows up because it got placed on TV or in a movie.... so you really gotta make sure your paperwork is in shape for those.

Speaking generally , a lot of this kinda stuff can be problematic to a library ( and the same with generative AI now ) so it might be that once they realised there are vocals from packs etc and you're not the singer that it might be too risky to work with you on that basis and have developed cold feet despite liking the songs. If that's what it is then they should definitely tell you and not just ghost you or like Casey says they could just be away or super busy.

I would just leave it now but be more mindful of submitting tracks that they might not be able to sign when they do reach out.

Mark

Thank you Mark, I sometimes use vocal samples but when I do use fiverr vocalists I make sure to ask them to give me commercial use which is exclusive rights to their vocals... I will start asking for a work for hire agreement from now on when ordering. It's hard to find singers and vocalist on here. It's like people don't want to work with me so I just leave it, I've reached out to collab a few times but things didn't work out they just don't reply back. This is definitely a learning experience, I agree I think they might have gotten cold feet. Now I know what to do.

[LalyaPars]

For the Fiverr singers you'll probably get asked to provide a Work For Hire agreement that's been signed by the vocalist to warrant that they come after the publisher for more money/royalties if the song blows up because it got placed on TV or in a movie.... so you really gotta make sure your paperwork is in shape for those.

+1 Yes, make sure you always get a signed work-for-hire agreement from any musicians or vocalists you hire. It's a critical item.

Casey

On Fiverr there's this thing called commercial use, which is exclusive rights for their vocals. That means they don't get royalties etc... I'll be doing that from now on getting a work for hire agreement form. Because I cannot seem to find serious singers/rappers to work with me. I don't know what it is they just don't reply.

[LalyaPars]

Yeah, I'm with the other fellas on this one. Finding out that you'd outsourced your vocal duties to someone off Fiverr is a red flag (I would imagine) for most library owners. Not only is there a lot of red tape involved, like getting signed work-for-hire agreements, but in general this type of arrangement is just not typical for the most part, and probably screams "newbie" to these folks. Not that there's anything wrong with being a newbie, as we all start there, but there is a lot more hand-holding that goes with people who are brand new to this field.

I give it 51/49 odds that the company got cold feet. But I'm hoping I'm wrong and they're just on vacation. Give it a few more weeks. Don't let impatience be the thing that ends up killing what might be a great opportunity. Let it play out and see where things land. If you still don't hear back in a few more weeks, you can probably close the books on this one.

P.S. in the future, try to get all your vocals needs fulfilled by your fellow Taxi members in exchange for a percentage of ownership on the song. There's really no need to go to places like Fiverr when you're surrounded by like-minded & talented folks right here, who all know and understand the in's & out's of this business.

~~Matt

I definitely think so too Matt that they were put off. They should be straight forward about it though instead of being unprofessional and not replying. Tell me and I'll understand we're all adults here, that way I'll learn from the mistakes... just like you guys are doing now I appreciate everyone's input on this, I now understand what to do. I'll try again to find some singers/rappers on here. P.s. I did find one singer on here but she doesn't sing that much any more...