Feeding libraries with tracks

[groovydude]

Hi folks

Im a member since september 09 and made a few connections through taxi. Since then i write and produce up to 20 tracks a month.
my question is how many songs would you give a library the first time to see if it works well? 10 or 100 tracks?
and how long would you leave them in the library?

i want my tracks to distribute useful but have no clue how

excuse my bad writing

can someone help me?

thanks in advance

Groovydude

[groovydude]

hm noone

so i guess i have to find out by myself....

[mazz]

I think part of the answer is: How is the library doing for you?

If a library is producing placements, then it makes sense to give them more than another library that may not be making placements for you. Of course, the caveat to all of this is that it takes time, a couple of years in some cases, to see any placements.

Another thing to consider is diversification. It might be good to have a smaller number of tracks in each of several libraries that cover different markets.

I don't think there's an exact formula, but choose your libraries on placements and potential placements.

HTH

Mazz

[coachdebra]

And Mazz - where would you research the Library and what market it serves?

[Tree]

Check their credits on their website and see if the have good credits. If they have a lot of real good ones then it might be worth placing more in. You can try asking around, some of the board members may already work with a library and be able to tell you if they are good or not.

It seems it's one of those unsure bets. If you give them only a dozen because you aren't sure about them, they might not find homes for those specific songs, but if you give them 100 they might get you placed consistently or if they're not good that's 100 songs tied up. I haven't found the magic number yet either. If you know you're going to write a bunch more anyways it wouldn't hurt to go higher and see what happens.

Contracts I've seen usually have around a 3 year term with automatic renewal. That should be enough time to see if the songs place. Any less and you're probably shooting yourself in the foot.

[groovydude]

thanks for your replies

that gives my a direction . off we go !

[k o star]

Check their credits on their website and see if the have good credits. If they have a lot of real good ones then it might be worth placing more in. You can try asking around, some of the board members may already work with a library and be able to tell you if they are good or not.

It seems it's one of those unsure bets. If you give them only a dozen because you aren't sure about them, they might not find homes for those specific songs, but if you give them 100 they might get you placed consistently or if they're not good that's 100 songs tied up. I haven't found the magic number yet either. If you know you're going to write a bunch more anyways it wouldn't hurt to go higher and see what happens.

Contracts I've seen usually have around a 3 year term with automatic renewal. That should be enough time to see if the songs place. Any less and you're probably shooting yourself in the foot.

Correct me if I'm wrong.. I would also like to add that IMHO & observation.. it might also depend on what genres U write vs what Libraries U submit to..
I've notice that some Libraries do better with genre A & others with genre B, C & so on.. some a group of A,B,C others D,E,F etc..

K

[eliotpister1]

I'd also chime in that it's a good idea to check with the Member Services people at your PRO (ASCAP, BMI, SOCAN). Just ask them, "have you heard of XYZ library, and do you see their name on a lot of cue sheets?". I have found that SOCAN (in Canada) has been valuable for me in establishing which libraries are more prominent that others. And just in case they HAVEN'T heard of them, just take this as one piece of evidence - not that you should avoid them altogether.

As far as what particular genre libraries are good at (mazz's comment), I think that's a little tougher to investigate. This is when a good LinkedIn network will serve you well. Put that question out to your contacts there, and see if anybody "on the inside" knows.

Oh, also ... don't be afraid to call into Taxi and ask Craig or somebody if they've heard of this library (whether or not they're a past client) They have probably heard their name before, which gives a credibility boost, I think. It's worked for me.

One word of warning, though, about going by their published list of credits as Tree mentioned. I've encountered a library that was really just a retired composer that dabbled in music licensing. He listed credits such as Honda, Toyota, McDonald's, NBC, CBS, ABC, etc., but I only found out later that these placements were all 10 years old, and he was coasting along in semi-retirement now. I politely passed on the opportunity once I found this out, and am glad I did!

Cheers and best of luck,

Eliot Pister

[Cruciform]

I have some general questions about libraries.

I know that Taxi have the policy that one is not to discuss any clients in relation to listings, deals etc, but I've been hitting up libraries everywhere external to Taxi, and I'm just wondering in general about one or two. Can I find out more info/experiences/pros/cons etc in a discussion here when it's not in the context of taxi sources deals/listings?

Rob O.

[mojobone]

Forum rules prevent discussing specific libraries by name, but you can PM or email a forum member you trust for further info. There is also a clearinghouse on the web for reports on music libraries. Sorry if that's a little cryptic.