First library deal - Should I sign?

[EthanLustig]

Hey guys, my song was forwarded through TAXI to a library. The library wants to sign several of my songs in an exclusive deal (perpetuity). He claims to get 60k placements a year in his company, mostly in movie trailers but also in TV. He also claims that almost all of his writers get something placed.

(I wish I could name the company, to ask if anyone here has seen success with them and thinks they are good, but that violates the rules...)

My concerns are:
1) I've seen people on a FB sync group say they are signed with the company...but it's unclear to me if anyone has actually had placements through him...
2) The site seems dated. My catalogue is vocal pop, hip hop. But the term "trap" doesn't even appear in his sourceaudio site. It's all rock songs and unclear if much has been uploaded after 2017. Will he be able to pitch my catalogue effectively?
3) If trailer music is his bag, and my songs aren't trailerized (no orchestral stuff, no big dynamic builds, just verse-chorus songs), will that be a problem?

What do y'all think? Should I lock in some of my songs with him? I've never been placed so it's tempting. But I don't want the songs to collect dust.

I already spoke with him on the phone and asked these Qs but he of course said everything will be fine and the genre mismatch won't be a problem.

It was through TAXI so I don't doubt the legitimacy of this company but I wanna know if it's worth locking in my song(s) with him or better off working with my sync agent (who takes 30% instead of 50%).

What do y'all think? Thanks!

[JohnnyP]

Hey guys, my song was forwarded through TAXI to a library. The library wants to sign several of my songs in an exclusive deal (perpetuity). He claims to get 60k placements a year in his company, mostly in movie trailers but also in TV. He also claims that almost all of his writers get something placed.

(I wish I could name the company, to ask if anyone here has seen success with them and thinks they are good, but that violates the rules...)

My concerns are:
1) I've seen people on a FB sync group say they are signed with the company...but it's unclear to me if anyone has actually had placements through him...
2) The site seems dated. My catalogue is vocal pop, hip hop. But the term "trap" doesn't even appear in his sourceaudio site. It's all rock songs and unclear if much has been uploaded after 2017. Will he be able to pitch my catalogue effectively?
3) If trailer music is his bag, and my songs aren't trailerized (no orchestral stuff, no big dynamic builds, just verse-chorus songs), will that be a problem?

What do y'all think? Should I lock in some of my songs with him? I've never been placed so it's tempting. But I don't want the songs to collect dust.

I already spoke with him on the phone and asked these Qs but he of course said everything will be fine and the genre mismatch won't be a problem.

It was through TAXI so I don't doubt the legitimacy of this company but I wanna know if it's worth locking in my song(s) with him or better off working with my sync agent (who takes 30% instead of 50%).

What do y'all think? Thanks!

Hi Ethan,
I'm pretty sure I know who you're talking about. The 60k placements a year gave it away . I believe I received the same email- did it mention a venture capitalist group?

I had the same concerns you have- the site is dated, last album released was I think 2017. He appears to be looking for a lot of vocal songs in different genres which is an avenue his company hasn't gone down before.

All that being said I've signed 18 vocal songs in many different genres with him in the last 2 weeks. Mostly because of the self funded TV/Film producer group he mentioned. My thinking is it could be an excellent way to get in on the ground floor.
Just my 2 cents. best of luck! John

[Casey H]

Hey Ethan
I don't know the library. But some questions that may help your thought process... What has your success record been with your sync agent? I assume that's exclusive as well. Sometimes it IS good to stick with what's working. OTOH, there is a lot to be said for spreading things out and not having all the eggs in one basket. The sync agent and a library serve different markets. A sync agent will only go after higher end deals that pay sync. But there are tons of library placements out there that (unfortunately) don't pay sync but pay well on the back end. Hence the different markets.

Are you the type of songwriter that feels "I can write plenty more where those came from"? Or do you hold on to songs as your babies? There is no right and wrong there, just a question. If you don't feel attached to your songs, then letting some go for a new opportunity often makes sense.

I know it's not easy. "Perpetuity" is a long time. Good luck!

Casey