We used to run listings for long periods of time, 30, 60, and 90 days, but the problem was the listing companies often forget that they even RAN a listing with us by the time they got the music.
Over time, the industry has just started to move at a faster pace, and we've had to adapt to it. When I look at some of the "listings" from copycat companies, and I see as many as 12-20 listings that are all from the same company, I know exactly what happened. The copycatters reach out the them and ask, "Hey, are you looking for anything?"
"Sure, we're always looking for great music, just look at our list of genres and see what you can find us," they respond. So the copycatters run listings in EVERY genre because they want to look like they've hit a bonanza and have a ton of listings. They let them run for a long time (30, 60, 90 days) so that
cumulatively, it
looks like they've got a TON of listings. The problem with that methodology is that the libraries are typically well stocked in genres that have existed for many years. They don't ACTUALLY need more cues in—let's say—orchestral or solo piano. So even if there's good stuff in the pile, they may not pay attention to it because they already have more than they need.
But they may be happy to run the listings anyway because virtually all the copycats SPLIT the submission fees with the listing company! So the more submissions, the more money the person at the company makes for him or herself. There are cases where a lower level person at the company runs the listing and gets to pocket the money. I know of one case where a close friend of mine who owns a world-class company, and the company had listings on a copycat site. I called my friend and asked why she was running the listing with the other company and not TAXI. She had NO idea the listing was out there, OR that her assistant was profiting from the company's name and pocketing the cash. I don't think that person still works there.
I've OFTEN seen other cases where the copycat company runs a listing saying, "CBS needs music for XYZ, big name show." When you read the listing
details, it's actually some really low-level publisher who is looking for music they can PITCH to that show, and you have no idea whether they even have a relationship with that company, or they just HOPE they can get a pitch through the door.
Our experience has been that companies and supervisors need music much more quickly there days than in the past. When you see a listing for music for a TV commercial and it's got a 60 or 90 day deadline, you've got to wonder if ti's even REAL. Most of the ad agencies WE work with need music after they've shot and edited the spot, and they're are typically in a HUGE hurry to get it. It's not unusual that they THOUGHT they could license a song or track, and at the last minute found out they COULDN'T, so they are scrambling to find something else that works. That's why you'll see our screeners working weekends so we can make Monday morning deadlines in New York.
Notice that the copycat companies USED to make fun of TAXI for screening music, and bragged that they didn't? Have you noticed that now some of their listings actually say they ARE screening
Why? Because the unscreened stuff the listing companies got in piles of 500 at a time was a joke, and finding the good stuff was like finding a needle in a haystack. Nobody in the REAL music industry has that kind of time to screen 500 songs or tracks when they can get solid, pre-screened music from companies that are REALLY in the music business, and REALLY good at curating music for them.
Ask the copycat companies WHO is REALLY screening the music at
their office
Then drop by the TAXI office, unannounced, any day of the year, and ask me to go cubicle by cubicle and give you the resumes of the people screening YOUR music, and your mind will be blown!
Sorry for being so long winded about this, but when I look at "listings" on the sites of the copycat companies, I can spot what's real and what isn't pretty easily after doing this for more than 21 years. And it pisses me off that I've had to work so hard to legitimize an area of the industry that people suspected was a rip off, and now these shady companies are doing the very things we don't and giving good reason for people to doubt the entire concept of Indie A&R. And sadly, there are still a lot of less-than-sophisticated musicians out there who can't tell the difference between the real deal and a shady operation with a good looking website.
Just ask them in writing if they split the submission fees with the companies or individuals that run "listings" with them. That should tell you what you need to know!
And if the listings are open ended, or run for months at a time, that should also tell you some thing.
hope this helps,
Michael
