Yay! My First Forward! S240225UN

[DanGalasso]

Yay! I got my first forward ever and it was for the rhythmic piano underscore brief! It's my first time, so please excuse my excessive celebration.
Here was the listing
https://www.taxi.com/listings/S240225UN

And here's a link to the song that got forwarded:
https://www.taxi.com/members/ujrTCM1MTH ... underscore

After I submitted that one, I panicked because all my returns have been almost entirely for poor production (mix/master) value and I felt that mix was too muddy and at the last minute I submitted this copy where I pulled a little of the mid range out of each of the piano tracks to make them less muddy and ran it through Ozone 11 to bring it to life. I didn't make any real tweaks to the mix, just gave it an AI master, and for whatever reason, it got returned even though it sounds cleaner, at least to me. Here's that version.
https://www.taxi.com/members/ujrTCM1MTH ... underscore

I clearly still have a lot to learn about mixing/mastering, but I am so ecstatic about my first forward I will have to wait till I come down from this high and go back and look at all the comments to see if can tweak all my returns for the next opportunity. I realize it may not ever amount to anything but I'm happy to have a small taste of what this could mean going forward.

So.. the next question is... what do I do next? do I register the song with my PRO or wait to hear from the library? If I do hear from the library, what do I need to do right away? Is there a good resource I can go to that outlines the next steps for me?

[funsongs]

Congrats on the good report!
From The Peanut Gallery... just checkin' in.

[DanGalasso]

Congrats on the good report!
From The Peanut Gallery... just checkin' in.

Thank you! I'm far too excited about this for my own good.

[WSAO]

Hey, for me the second one also sounds better!
Anyway congrats! It's a beautiful song!
Now wait till the library contacts you.
Good luck!

[Telefunkin]

Yay! I got my first forward ever and it was for the rhythmic piano underscore brief! It's my first time, so please excuse my excessive celebration.
Here was the listing
https://www.taxi.com/listings/S240225UN

Well done! You've submitted a piece that meets the brief and is of broadcast quality, and also the screener believes it is up to the library's standards.
[Note that the listings disappear one the deadline has passed, and also links to the listing page bring back ALL listings]

And here's a link to the song that got forwarded:
https://www.taxi.com/members/ujrTCM1MTH ... underscore

Very nice indeed! Again, well done.

So.. the next question is... what do I do next? do I register the song with my PRO or wait to hear from the library? If I do hear from the library, what do I need to do right away? Is there a good resource I can go to that outlines the next steps for me?

Ahhh...that question....again . Its been asked and answered here loads of times and a forum search might help, but I'll have another go at answering. You might also be able to find some Taxi TV episode on it but I haven't looked.

Sadly, for many reasons its possible that the library might not get back you, so be prepared to hear nothing further (back to the old mantra - write, submit, forget, repeat).

More optimistically, if they do get back to you its possible that they might suggest some changes to the track to suit their needs, they might also ask if you have more tracks in the same style (and if you don't then offer to make some more within the next week or whatever), but usually they'll present a contract so you can see the terms of their deal. Be prepared to read their contract to make sure you understand the terms of their deal.

If, and only if, you wish to go further you can begin to fulfil their needs in terms of providing an edited track or more tracks, plus all the alternate versions (perhaps stems) and cut-down versions (usually something like 30s or 15s and a sting of several seconds). They might want 24bit or 16bit, at 44.1 or 48kHz, wav or aiff or mp3. They'll usually need some accompanying metadata for you and for the track (personal details, PRO, IPI/CAE no, track details, keywords, etc). All libraries have different requirements, standards, formats, specifications, and submission interfaces, but you never know upfront what or how you will be expected to submit. So, you can't do much now other than be ready to give them whatever they want. They might even need to re-name the track if the current name conflicts with another track in their catalogue. You can't know these things upfront though (and at present you don't even know who the library is yet).

When they are happy that you can satisfy their needs they'll want you to sign the contract, and its usually in digital form, so get an image of your signature ready to paste into their documents.

As for PRO registration, do nothing! At least not yet. All libraries are PRO members as publishers, and they will always register songs they publish with their own PRO to make sure they get performance royalties. If you happen to be in the same PRO as the library they will register the track in your account too. If you are not in the same PRO then be sure to ask them whether or not they will register the track in your PRO. Some do, some don't, and some will only register when they know there has been a placement. Its all OK as long as you are clear what their policy is so you know what to expect from them. It is rare that they will suggest that you do the registration yourself, and you certainly can't do that now though because you don't have all the information (and some might change). Therefore, do nothing, at least not yet, and it is unlikely that you will need to do any registering yourself.

I hope that helps, and good luck for the best outcome.

[DanGalasso]

Yay! I got my first forward ever and it was for the rhythmic piano underscore brief! It's my first time, so please excuse my excessive celebration.
Here was the listing
https://www.taxi.com/listings/S240225UN

Well done! You've submitted a piece that meets the brief and is of broadcast quality, and also the screener believes it is up to the library's standards.
[Note that the listings disappear one the deadline has passed, and also links to the listing page bring back ALL listings]

And here's a link to the song that got forwarded:
https://www.taxi.com/members/ujrTCM1MTH ... underscore

Very nice indeed! Again, well done.

So.. the next question is... what do I do next? do I register the song with my PRO or wait to hear from the library? If I do hear from the library, what do I need to do right away? Is there a good resource I can go to that outlines the next steps for me?

Ahhh...that question....again . Its been asked and answered here loads of times and a forum search might help, but I'll have another go at answering. You might also be able to find some Taxi TV episode on it but I haven't looked.

Sadly, for many reasons its possible that the library might not get back you, so be prepared to hear nothing further (back to the old mantra - write, submit, forget, repeat).

More optimistically, if they do get back to you its possible that they might suggest some changes to the track to suit their needs, they might also ask if you have more tracks in the same style (and if you don't then offer to make some more within the next week or whatever), but usually they'll present a contract so you can see the terms of their deal. Be prepared to read their contract to make sure you understand the terms of their deal.

If, and only if, you wish to go further you can begin to fulfil their needs in terms of providing an edited track or more tracks, plus all the alternate versions (perhaps stems) and cut-down versions (usually something like 30s or 15s and a sting of several seconds). They might want 24bit or 16bit, at 44.1 or 48kHz, wav or aiff or mp3. They'll usually need some accompanying metadata for you and for the track (personal details, PRO, IPI/CAE no, track details, keywords, etc). All libraries have different requirements, standards, formats, specifications, and submission interfaces, but you never know upfront what or how you will be expected to submit. So, you can't do much now other than be ready to give them whatever they want. They might even need to re-name the track if the current name conflicts with another track in their catalogue. You can't know these things upfront though (and at present you don't even know who the library is yet).

When they are happy that you can satisfy their needs they'll want you to sign the contract, and its usually in digital form, so get an image of your signature ready to paste into their documents.

As for PRO registration, do nothing! At least not yet. All libraries are PRO members as publishers, and they will always register songs they publish with their own PRO to make sure they get performance royalties. If you happen to be in the same PRO as the library they will register the track in your account too. If you are not in the same PRO then be sure to ask them whether or not they will register the track in your PRO. Some do, some don't, and some will only register when they know there has been a placement. Its all OK as long as you are clear what their policy is so you know what to expect from them. It is rare that they will suggest that you do the registration yourself, and you certainly can't do that now though because you don't have all the information (and some might change). Therefore, do nothing, at least not yet, and it is unlikely that you will need to do any registering yourself.

I hope that helps, and good luck for the best outcome.

Thank you for all your insight and help with this! I am banking on them not calling me at all, but hopeful they do and in the unlikely case that happens, I just don't want to get caught with my pants down.

[danjkav]

Well done, it's a nice track