Make The Publisher's Life Easier

[matto]

Quote:If I'm forcusing on sending submissions to library music companies would you recommend Dispatch?53...Dispatch has a lot of tv/film listings, but rarely library listings. Libraries are slow turnaround companies in general, the Dispatch service is meant for people in a rush, so it's typically music supervisors that need a very specific track very quickly.So strictly for libraries, it may not be worth your money.But as mani says you can get the dispatch listings emailed to you as a "plain" taxi member, to get a feel for what's coming in...you can even wait to sign up until you see a listing that looks promising...mattoedit: oops Ed beat me to that last part

[davewalton]

Quote:If I'm forcusing on sending submissions to library music companies would you recommend Dispatch?Music Libraries are excellent to focus on because generally speaking, they're easily found and easily accessable. In addition to whatever listings Taxi has, I'd highly suggest seeking out music libraries via the Internet and submit music directly based on their submission preferences on their websites. Most have some kind of link that tells how to submit music. Take advantage of what Taxi has to offer directly through the listings and critiques, but don't hesitate to make contacts on your own.

[roughly]

Hi Casey,Thanks so much for all the advice. It's great to hear it from a person who's been in the publisher's shoes to make sure we're doing as many things right as possible. I'm always afraid of making the wrong first impression, so this is great advice. I did have a question about something you said though.Just a reminder to everyone... NEVER contact the company to whom you were forwarded to hassle them as to what happened to the forward... That will only piss them off both at you and a TAXI... Simply wait a year, and send them a general inquiry as to submissions.Now, a couple of months ago in the Taxi newsletter Michael responded to a letter like this:"Is it a good or bad idea to contact a production company after you've been forwarded to further promote your music?SharmonHi Sharmon,It's a good idea... no actually, it's a great idea. You always want to do EVERYTHING you can to forward your career. If you've been forwarded by TAXI, that's a sign that you're talented, and good at what you're doing. Now that you know THAT, you should get busy and get your music out there using every connection you've got. Good luck!Michael"I've been writing companies we've been forwarded to just saying that we have more music available, may we send it, type of thing. Some people don't write back, some write back and say to send more music or sometimes send the forwarded songs again. So which is the right thing to do. I definitely don't want to annoy anyone, but by the same token, the people I know who have succeeded have done it by persistence. What is everyone's thoughts and how do you be persisent yet not give off a bad vibe?Theresa

[Casey H]

Hi Theresa My recommendation not to contact the companies you were forwarded to (in the short term) was based on my concern that not everyone knows how to handle this properly. It was purely my opinion not based on anything from TAXI. If you read this board, you quickly see that 95% of the folks on this board can do this professionally without becoming an annoyance to that company. I worry about the other 5% or so that can ruin it for others and make it hard for a company like TAXI to even provide the info as to where you were forwarded... and whether it can make that party more reluctant to deal with TAXI.Based on:Quote:I've been writing companies we've been forwarded to just saying that we have more music available, may we send it, type of thing. Some people don't write back, some write back and say to send more music or sometimes send the forwarded songs again. ...it sounds like I am off-base here- Michael encourages it and it's been working for you... CaseyPS I've been looking up software on the Internet for converting mp3 to ringtone... Haven't found a free one yet- the demo versions are limited to 5-15 seconds... Thanks for responding...

[nomiyah]

Say you wrote a great song about an apple. It has a really catchy hook with the word "apple" in it. Can you pitch it as a jingle to companies who grow apples or sell apples or make apple pie or applesauce or apple juice or Apple Computers, etc?I have a couple of songs that are begging to be product endorsements. Can songs be pitched directly to marketing departments of companies and, if so, how would that be done? Are there publishers or jingle pluggers who would be open to my ideas and, if so, how would I find and approach them? Or is this, like some of my unhelpful friends insist, something that isn't probable?

[hookstownbrown]

That's a really good question, Nomi. I've wondered the same thing. I think a well connected publisher would be best, but I'm not altogether sure of that...

[davewalton]

Quote:I've been writing companies we've been forwarded to just saying that we have more music available, may we send it, type of thing. Some people don't write back, some write back and say to send more music or sometimes send the forwarded songs again. So which is the right thing to do. I definitely don't want to annoy anyone, but by the same token, the people I know who have succeeded have done it by persistence. What is everyone's thoughts and how do you be persisent yet not give off a bad vibe?TheresaHi Theresa,Well, what is the difference between contacting them saying "I've been forwarded through Taxi, would like like to hear more material?" and (cold contact) "I'm contacting you to see if you'd like to hear some of our material"? Nothing except that, in my opinion, the "forwarded" aspect gives you a connection and some legitimacy in terms of the quality of your music. We all have to contact people and ask them to listen to our music. Someone should write a book called "The Unwritten Rules Of The Music Industry And Why They're All Wrong". One of the "unwritten rules" in the Taxi universe says never to contact anyone after you've been forwarded. I give this a big "FOOEY!" (because this is a semi-family oriented forum) . This unwritten rule comes from nowhere, certainly not Taxi itself. You're doing the exact right thing. True, don't hassle them about the submission ("Have you listened to it yet?") but they're in the business of finding good music. They seek it out and it comes to them from people like you and me. So if you have contact info, nothing wrong at all with waiting a little bit and then contacting them and asking if they'd like to hear other stuff. Good luck,Dave

[davewalton]

Hi Nomi,Let's have a little fun... Quote:Can songs be pitched directly to marketing departments of companiesNo. This is a violation of Article III, Section 6, Paragraph 10 of the Unwritten Rules Code Of Conduct. This especially applies to "Marketing Companies", who certainly wouldn't dream of contacting people and pitching ideas. OK, now that I've gotten that out of the way and subtly made a point , the question is HOW to do this. I don't really know, but this is one of the few times that I'd be cranking the telephone because you have to work your way to the person, department, or ad agency that can benefit the most from what you have to say. You really have to think that way. Not "I hope I'm not annoying anyone" but "I'll be a hero when I get my idea to the right person", because in reality you will be. Letters and emails won't work in this situation (my opinion) because any unanswered email or letter could derail the whole thing. Telephone allows for exchanges like "Oh, you're not the right person? Sorry. Can you direct me to the person who is?".Dealing with the apples example, there are apple companies (growers, distributers, etc), apple byproduct companies (juice, etc) and associations that all of these companies most likely belong to. They all either deal with outside ad agencies or with the ad departments of the television and/or radio stations they deal with. Either way, it wouldn't take too many phone calls to find out who the point man (or woman) is that you need to talk to and pitch your idea.Go Nomi go! Dave

[Casey H]

Theresa & Dave and friends I tend to be very conservative in a public forum, never knowing how my words get interpreted. Most of you out there are consummate professionals. Recently, looking at some of the "pissed at the world" posts raised my concern. I even got a private email about how Michael and TAXI are Darth Vader and the evil empire.I apologize if my post offended anybody by implying they wouldn't handle this properly. Dave is right- you have to be proactive regarding your career.This quote from Dave Walton on another thread addresses the concern perfectly:Quote:...As an example of what not to do, I sent a pissed off email quoting various sections of their original email and asking for an explanation of how things went from "we'd like to explore the option of you scoring our film" to "we already have a composer, thanks for your interest" (I guess I was having a bad day, bad week, etc). Anyway, I got an email from them that apologetically pointed out that "interest didn't mean getting the job" and that they had sent that email out to several prospective composers. Of course I felt like a total jerk (which I was) and I slunk away and scratched them off my "contact later" list. Bottom line: Do what you need to do... Just be a professional Casey

[edteja]

I used top work in PR and with various ad agencies and I can't imagine anyone getting upset because you contacted them to say "I have a great idea." Some companies won't listen to it, for the same reasons that some record companies won't listen to unsolicited material. But approaching jingle houses and marketing companies with a specific idea is a lot better than saying: "Do you need some songs?" You should be able to find out who does Apple promotion through Bulldog Reporter and such like. And Google. Even if they don't want the songs for ads, there are lots of promotional activities that use music (corporate presentations come to mind). Just my opinion, but I say: Go for it Nomi!