Cold-calling Music Libraries or Music Supervisors

[PeterD]

I would love to learn TOO!!!

[CHuckmott]

Sorry but if I contact I always follow up, just a rule of business in general. If I request to submit via e-mail, I keep it short as possible , the followup also. And I only follow up once and never by phone. DO the research, probably by the time I've posted this you have probably figured it out but 5 minutes on the net using appropriate keywords will get you going in the right direction. Feel free to message me and if you want leave your e-mail and I'll help further.

[Cruciform]

My 2c (due to the recent AUD drop are worth about 1.8).

I'm in my third year here and so far no deals (though I do have two introductions to publishers via other Taxi members and I've been able to introduce others in return). Yet I've just finished producing my second collection that paid an advance and was also the first to include a recording budget for a live string section and choir. That wouldn't have happened if I sat around waiting for validation from one source.

There are a number of online resources that charge for information about publishers, libraries and music supes. I currently use one that focuses on libraries and it has repaid its cost many times over. Some of the other guys here use that same resource.

My comments here will focus on libraries as I think contacting music supes will have a different set of challenges. For example, typically a supe will only be interested in hearing material they can use on current projects whereas libraries are often open to new material if it's great. Second example, a supe may be working on their own whereas a library may have a dedicated A&R person, hence it may be easier to get a hearing from a library. You can use google and track down libraries yourself but IMHO it's a far better investment finding a reliable information source then having to do all the basic legwork yourself.

Once you have a raw list of libraries/publishers, start visiting websites. First thing to check is do they consider unsolicited submissions? Some do, some don't, some will only if you submit if via their stated method ie. several European libs I can think of are only interested in reviewing your work if you send it on cd. They will ignore intro emails.

Check out their credits, listen to music they already have in styles you write or want to write. Be honest with yourself - does your music cut it? And is the library reputable and actively placing? (In the case of supes you probably should do some research like finding out the shows/films they're currently working on - often advised on their websites - and listening to those shows to see what kind of music is being used.)

When you're comfortable that your music is up to snuff or better than their current roster, or if you have a unique sound they might want to hear, craft a brief, polite and to-the-point introduction email. Keep it simple: your name and contact details, the kind of music you produce, whether you have unsigned material available or whether you're happy to write to brief.

If you already know they review unsolicited material then include links to an online player (eg. soundcloud, reverbnation) of ONLY the tracks you want them to hear. The Set feature on soundcloud is perfect for this. Include 3-5 tracks (your best work) with a brief description and genre of each.

Otherwise, ask them their preferred method for submitting material for review.

**NEVER send attached music files. EVER. ** Unless they have specifically requested it. Even then, I prefer to use a service like yousendit and just forward them a download link.

Then close, thanking them for their time. Shoot it out to about the top 3-4 libraries you want to work with.

If you don't hear anything, leave it 3-4 weeks before following up UNLESS it's GENUINELY time sensitive material eg. you wouldn't have wanted to wait for months if you were submitting vuvuzela tracks during the World Cup in South Africa. However, the caveat there is with time crucial writing, a library will usually already have a list of go-to composers for whipping up urgent work.

If nothing happens, move on to the next 3-4 libraries on your list. Rinse and repeat. If you've heard absolutely nothing after about 10-12 submissions, you might want to take another honest and open listen to your music. In any case, keep refining your letter as you go.

Once you have some quality signings and placements, start using those as leverage points in your intro letters.

That's it.

[AlpacaRoom]

On a lark yesterday, I sent an introduction email to a library--one that I know many Taxi members work with, and which gets them tons of placements--and already they've let me know that they'd like to work with me.

Of course, it helps that I was able to sell myself on a strong set of demo tracks with a consistent feel--which I've been writing as a result of a Taxi forward earlier this year, so credit goes partially to Taxi here--but it's left me wondering why I didn't do this sooner.


-Nick

[CHuckmott]

For the record Rob gave me similar advice when I made a similar post. I have stuff in 5 libraries now. For what it's worth it means more when someone takes a listen and says "send us everything on that one track" then carte blanche accepting all. Feedback from Taxi and Peer to Peer forums were essential as I built confidence over the past year to the point where i took the leap. VIrtually nothing form the first year was sent though, with the exception of 2. Now I am mindset of everything I write I want to be good enough to send, hate wasting my time on a track. I try to develop a radar quickly for "This really stinks and doesn't work at all" and then onto the next one, " which happens once in awhile Then off it goes. Returned by Taxi? Off it goes elsewhere. I am still of an opinion though that a forward from taxi goes a long way but also gauges your progress. On the other hand, getting a Taxi return is like submitting a track (o.k. not "like " submitting to one library, that's exactly what it is) , getting a rejection and saying the heck with that track. But in the end, it's not getting into libraries that counts, it's getting it placed. I'm consistently floored by much of I what I hear in the libraries -the stuff has to be good. Too much music in the libraries, and as a result, too much really good stuff for substandard stuff to make a dent (that's not a comment on your music, sorry but honestly haven't listened). Thanks Rob for being open with the advice.. My opinion is he hit it head on. For the record, I blanket much more then 3-4 libraries, more like 10 a week, since most seem to blatantly ignore. Is that a commentary on my stuff? Maybe.....who knows. Try to be honest without taking too much time second guessing. End soapbox.

[CHuckmott]

Alpaca can I ask which tracks you are referring to that you sent?

[AlpacaRoom]

Alpaca can I ask which tracks you are referring to that you sent?

Hey Chuck,

I just sent links to the featured set on my Soundcloud as well as to the profile page (linked below, in my signature). I approached it as an introduction-audition rather than sending tracks for licensing, letting them know that the cues in the demo set were spoken for, but that some of the others were unlicensed. Maybe this isn't the best approach, but it seems to have worked out this time.


-Nick

[Casey H]

My comments here will focus on libraries as I think contacting music supes will have a different set of challenges. For example, typically a supe will only be interested in hearing material they can use on current projects whereas libraries are often open to new material if it's great. Second example, a supe may be working on their own whereas a library may have a dedicated A&R person, hence it may be easier to get a hearing from a library

I agree with that-- directly contacting supervisors is much more challenging than libraries. As you noted, Rob, sups generally are only thinking about their current project(s). They also are getting hit up from many sources-- composers, libraries, publishers, etc. and have their own "go to" list. That doesn't mean you can't have success contacting sups directly. I see music libraries still as the bread and butter for folks like us. We focus on the music and they focus on the relationships with sups, the pitching, the admin, etc.

Also, when you get your music in a quality library, chances are it will be pitched over and over again for many opportunities over many years. Often, if you send music to a sup for a project, if it's not used in the short term, it gets lost or discarded. (I'm sure there are exceptions!)

As far as pitching through Taxi vs. researching libraries on your own, I do both and see them as complimentary activities, certainly not mutually exclusive by any means. My philosophy is: At $199/year to renew, all it takes is one good new relationship to make it worthwhile to me. Not every library out there takes unsolicited but will contact folks after a Taxi forward. But you are right that ultimately we are all responsible for our own career success and should take the path that works best for us.

Always enjoy chatting with you Rob, whether here or on Facebook.

Casey

[CHuckmott]

Just another thing to think about, if going direct to supervisors is that much of a challenge this is eating into your writing / contact time. If you haven't already started doing it you may be surprised how time consuming the "business" end of things can be (pitching, creating stems or what ever the library requires, of you are going nonexclusive the surprisingly wide variations in formats, etc the libraries are looking for). Finding about 1/4 of my time is sucked up these days doing stuff like that. I believe in your typical cold calling sales job the rule of thumb is generally 10 calls to make one sale - given the number of contacts/calls these guys get in this biz probably much more challenging then that. Not discouraging it but also given all the above undecided about how much further ahead it will get you or how much you enjoy that sthe sales end of things.

[Kolstad]

I would also suggest waiting untill the cold is over. You'd be a lot more intelligible