Submitting Directly to Sound Libraries

[AudiniAudio]

I saw where beatmakers like to use ******. One of the beatmakers recommending them said he also makes money by sending tracks directly to music libraries such as **** ************. I read where Pump Audio low balls everyone so where you should get $20,000 for a placement with NIKE for example, you only end up with $200. But people on various beat maker forums say, "but money is money and if no one else is placing your music or paying you then you have to sell in whichever market makes the money for you."

[Edited out company names -- ML, June 15, 2021]

Do any of you have experience with any of these libraries and what can you tell us?

[Casey H]

AudiniAudio

This forum is not the place to discuss specific libraries by name. Taxi rules prohibit that here. There are other places on the internet to research production music libraries.

Good luck!
Casey

[AudiniAudio]

I see. One thing I could easily know is that the other companies claiming to do what Taxi does were not actually delivering the goods. Taxi is the real deal.

[cosmicdolphin]

While over there, I saw where they got the information about which libraries are accepting music and actually make money from MLR Reviews. Some of the other libraries mentioned were A*******x, P***5, C******e, 4 and A**** N*****k.

Do any of you have experience with any of these libraries and what can you tell us?

A*******x - Non Ex Royalty Free Library, had an "offer" to join once after a Taxi Forward a few years back but truth is anyone can sign up for free and I had an Account already. Made $75 from a track on a Radio Ad but barely anything in the 5yrs since from 40 or so tracks. Upload process is quite long winded but you will learn about Metadata.

P***5 - Another Non Ex Royalty Free Library - these guys are selling micro licences to content creators , had 1 sale from 40 tracks in 3 years and haven't made enough to draw the money down.

I should add the same tracks that are in the above 2 RF libraries are in what I would call "proper" Non - Ex TV libraries as well which I got into via Taxi and a bunch of those cues have been on various TV shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashans so they're decent broadcast quality tracks. Overall the RF sites were a waste of time and effort for me and I would rather put my effort into Libraries that can get me TV placements and not somebody's self made video where I make a few $$ but YMMV.

C*****e looks like a composer owned boutique library that's been going a long time

A**** N****** is a large exclusive independent library and the biggest customer of Abbey Road studios in the UK but they don't use the MCPS rate card so were considered something of a disruptor 20yrs back when they launched

The rest I don't know but they sound like RF libraries. If you want to learn more about the overall library landscape I would read this.

https://www.soundonsound.com/music-busi ... sic-part-2

Mark

[Kolstad]

I've heard enough stories to stay away from low end companies, and those warnings are good enough for me. Everyone would like you to work for free, but that doesn't mean you should do it. Music companies are especially something to be extra careful with. Sometimes it can be an issue with Taxi listings too, as you don't know what company you are submitting to. I will never sign anything but a standard deal.

[AudiniAudio]

All very helpful, thanks you.

[Casey H]

I wouldn't say we should stay away from "lower end" libraries or RF libraries in general. Different libraries serve different markets and it's good to diversify. But given those different markets, it's best to learn what types of tracks work best in which markets. Nothing wrong with putting your high quality vocal songs in the better libraries that place in Film/TV but also putting a bunch of quickly cranked out instrumental tracks in some RF libraries. Also, some RF libraries are focusing now on in-store airplay and that can be a source of extra income, generally for good vocal songs. I get a few hundred dollars a quarter from in-store airplay. Others focus on videos-- wedding, educational, personal, etc.

The important thing is to educate yourself on the business, types of libraries, etc.

Good luck!
Casey

[Kolstad]

All true, Casey has a lot of routine with this. But I just don’t find it worthwhile to chase down a couple hundred a quarter (at best), considering the time you would spend on it. You can waste a lot of time uploading, doing metadata admin work and whatnot for those things, with little result. Others may be ok with that kind of ROI, if you already have fitting tracks and fast with the admin stuff. And everyone has to find their own way, and what works for them blah blah - I just can’t vouch for things like that, doing bad deal production music with heavy administration for pennies, sorry. You may not care, thats fine too.

[Casey H]

All true, I just don’t find it worthwhile to chase down a couple hundred a quarter due to other activities. You can waste a lot of time uploading, doing metadata admin work and whatnot for those things, with little result. Others may be ok with that kind of ROI, if you already have fitting tracks and maybe quicker at the admin stuff.

I make a few hundred a quarter, some make thousands. Some much less than me. But let's step back a second on ROI. What is the average lifetime income of songs you create? Some songs may make thousands, some hundreds, and many close to zero. You could put a great song in a quality Taxi friendly library like that "critical" one and it never gets placed. Not their fault, it's the nature of the beast. So that song earned 0. I bet if you go through all the songs in your catalog that are in libraries, you'll find the average earnings per song is not that high. I'm not saying anyone should or shouldn't look at RF and other markets, it's personal choice. My feeling is do a little extra work since every penny counts. But be careful, of course. Educate yourself on the pros and cons of any library before signing.

[Kolstad]

Yeah, and seize your resources. If you spend a lot of time in this segment of the market, chances are that you will work more and more hrs for less and less return. This is not opinion, historically we know those types of libraries offers worse and worse deals. As a smaller part of a bigger portfolio, it’s a cautious maybe, still for me, absolutely not. I don’t believe in any future as a musician in that segment of the market. That is opinion, though.