Vintage tracks. How to prove copyright dates

[pepeluis]

Hi Folks,
I'm hoping to submit to listing S231207VG Vintage tracks. The listing states:
“They will only take AUTHENTIC, OLD RECORDINGS that were actually recorded back in the day, and have Copyright dates that prove it!”

The requirement is for tracks written/ recorded before the year 2000.

I have some tracks that I'd like to submit, one recorded in 1980 on a TEAC 4 track portastudio (mixed onto cassette) and a couple recorded in the 1990's (TASCAM 8 track), mixed onto DAT, I may have original DAT tapes but would be a struggle to locate and don't have a DAT player any more.
I've only now got WAV files for them dated when they were copied to that format.

They were genuinely written and recorded before the year 2000 but I don't have any way to prove the copyright. In the UK a copyright is automatically created just by recording the work, the advice at the time was to mail a copy plus lyrics to yourself and retain it sealed. The postmark would offer proof of copyright if needed.
I don’t think I now have any way to prove my ownership.
Is it a waste of time submitting these songs to the listing?
Any thoughts much appreciated
Thanks. José

[Casey H]

I'd contact Taxi and ask. My gut tells me you could submit and based on your word and the sound of the track, it would be OK. But don't trust my gut, contact Taxi and make sure. As my wife would tell you, I'm often wrong.

Good luck!
Casey

[VanderBoegh]

I'm assuming you're probably okay on this too, and you can't be the only person who's found themselves in this position. But as Casey suggested, I'd call Taxi and ask if they have any suggestions on proving the creation date to verify its "vintage authenticity". I'm also assuming that the owner of this library has pretty keen ears and call probably just tell from the sound quality itself, but Casey's wife might also say I'm often wrong too

~~Matt

[pepeluis]

Cases and Matt thanks so much for your responses to my post.
I did email Taxi and got a really helpful reply saying that, Yes it's not ideal to have no paperwork to prove copyright ownership but that, for a final end user so it could obviously make track less appealing or not useable.

Taxi also echoed what you said Matt, that they would use their ears + weed out anything that
 isn't clearly Vintage / recorded before 2000 --
Taxi made clear that they don’t police the copyright verification per se.

Alt mixes not expect.

It was also emphased in response to another question from me, NOT to eq, update or balance tracks at all.

I found it quite meaningful to literally search my attic for cassettes, some dating back several decades.
I found myself reconnecting with a more 'innocent ' expression in early tracks where I wasn't writing to a brief or listing but just to express something honest and unique to my life at the time.
I actually found some tracks recorded on a TEAC 4 track portastudio . I was blown away by the full sound as recorded on tape. I found some useable tracks mixed down to cassette (I also found an old cassette deck in the loft) .
Many I'd forgotten I'd ever written + recorded yet had been developed to a high degree.
I thought. Oh well nothing to lose so submitted 6 tracks.

For some tracks I submitted, it will be clear that they were vintage because of audio artifacts and quality. I did leave glaring 'imperfections ' that with a modern DAW are impossible to ignore and easy to fix so it felt weird to leave it raw.
None were ever released so it feels good to give them a second shot!
Cheers
José

[pepeluis]

Cases and Matt thanks so much for your responses to my post.
I did email Taxi and got a really helpful reply saying that, Yes it's not ideal to have no paperwork to prove copyright ownership but that, for a final end user so it could obviously make track less appealing or not useable.

Taxi also echoed what you said Matt, that they would use their ears + weed out anything that
 isn't clearly Vintage / recorded before 2000 --
Taxi made clear that they don’t police the copyright verification per se.

Alt mixes not expected.

It was also emphased in response to another question from me, NOT to eq, update or balance tracks at all.

I found it quite meaningful to literally search my attic for cassettes, some dating back several decades.
I found myself reconnecting with a more 'innocent ' expression in early tracks where I wasn't writing to a brief or listing but just to express something honest and unique to my life at the time.
I actually found some tracks recorded on a TEAC 4 track portastudio . I was blown away by the full sound as recorded on tape. I found some useable tracks mixed down to cassette (I also found an old cassette deck in the loft) .
Many I'd forgotten I'd ever written + recorded yet had been developed to a high degree.
I thought. Oh well nothing to lose so submitted 6 tracks.

For some tracks I submitted, it will be clear that they were vintage because of audio artifacts and quality. I did leave glaring 'imperfections ' that with a modern DAW are impossible to ignore and easy to fix so it felt weird to leave it raw.
None were ever signed or released so it feels good to give them a second shot!
Cheers
José

[BradleyHagen]

Interesting thread! Just curious now.....Were any of your old tracks forwarded??

[kjckjc]

I also submitted 7 tracks to that listing # S231207VG ~ from an "album" I recorded in the mid 80's... which was never released or published beyond the recording... I actually copyrighted them officially (to protect my tunes) just before I submitted... They all got rejected - and one of the common feedback responses is:

Recording and Production:
"Song instrument sounds or samples sound dated or of a lower quality- Recording/Mix needs improvement - Not Broadcast Quality in context of this listing"

as well as:

Performance:
"Vocals are pitchy - Vocal performance off target for the listing"

...which I don't get either... I don't mind the return (may not have been right for the end user), but if they wanted actual recordings from the era, then why is that an issue... It was recorded at a pro commercial studio, and the quality is excellent - recorded direct to digital tape at the time... perhaps a bit "hissy" from the transfer, but that could easily be fixed... I only have the stereo mixdown, so I cannot redo any of the actual tracks or overall mix... The vocals especially are locked in - cannot be redone or manipulated at this point... Any way - just curious about all that.... They are available to listen to on my profile page - if anyone is interested in critiquing as well... Thanks!!!

[BradleyHagen]

I submitted one track that I recorded on ADATS back in the mid 90's to this same listing, kind of a power punk, cowpunk track.... I submitted it just for hell of it - for sh*ts and giggles really
They returned it because they didn't like the chorus - I mean, I was just starting out in recording my own music back then, what do they expect! lol

Original Listing:

ORIGINAL, VINTAGE SONGS in ALL GENRES Recorded BEFORE the year 2000 are needed by the TOP PUBLISHER of VINTAGE MUSIC for Film and TV Licensing.

We purposely avoided putting references in this request as we felt they could be more misleading or limiting, than helpful.

This company is very aggressive and incredibly successful in getting tons of Songs placed in Top-rated TV Shows and some really big Feature Films! Nobody in the Vintage Music space even comes close to the number of placements this awesome company has nailed for TAXI members! All reports from our members are that the company is extremely straight-ahead and ethical in its business practices. We concur!

If you’ve got top-notch, well-written Songs that were recorded BEFORE 2000, this company wants to hear what you’ve got! Seriously, these folks LOVE older recordings and get tons of placements with them!

And it's notable that they're looking for a wide range of styles and genres right now!

This Publisher is open to just about any popular genre you can think of – Folk, Country, Singer/Songwriter, Classic Rock, Soft Rock, Prog. Rock, Pop, Reggae, Disco, all types of Jazz, R&B, Big Band, Orchestral, Adult Contemporary, Americana, Punk, Soul, Hip-Hop, etc., etc., etc.! All (popular) genres are fair game for this pitch, as long as the material you submit was written and recorded prior to 2000! This company has even been known to sign old, 4-track recordings and bring them back to life. They love finding really good demos that sound like they should have been a hit back in the day, but never got signed or released!

As long as you own or control the Master Recordings and the Compositions you can submit for this Golden Opportunity to get PAID UPFRONT and get back-end income from any applicable Performance Royalties when the Songs are licensed! You CANNOT submit for friends because you need to own or control the Copyright and Masters! Have you inherited original, old recordings that a parent or grandparent created? Can you prove that you own and control their use? This Publisher is very interested in hearing those too!

NOTE: If you know somebody who might have material like this and they don’t belong to TAXI yet, please forward this to them! This company is hungry to find as many oldies as they can, so your friend may want to join TAXI to take advantage of this incredibly rare opportunity!

Dozens of TAXI members have signed deals and received checks from this company. Some of those checks have been in the $10,000 (or bigger!) range, depending on the catalog size and quality of the material! Many of those deals have been made with TAXI members who never could have imagined that their old recordings would be worth anything in today’s market. Surprise!

They DO NOT want ANY material that was recently recorded and made to SOUND old. They will only take AUTHENTIC, OLD RECORDINGS that were actually recorded back in the day, and have Copyright dates that prove it! If you’ve got Demos or Masters in any genre, then you could very well have what they need! Worried that your old recordings and productions might sound “lo-fi,” dated, and/or not contemporary enough? They could actually be perfect for this company! They DO NOT want slick, Pro Tools-generated recordings!

Please submit as many Songs as you’d like, online or per CD. All submissions will be screened by TAXI. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59 PM (PST) on Thursday, December 7th, 2023. TAXI # S231207VG

TAXI # S231207VG

My Return Feedback:
https://www.taxi.com/members/DVGQpc37Tk ... u1MHy6wP2g

The actual recording submitted:
https://www.taxi.com/members/DVGQpc37Tk ... methin-new

[BradleyHagen]

Curious to hear others who were returned for this unusual listing! But maybe we move this over to another forum??

[BradleyHagen]

Like over here?? forum21.html
"Review Station" (see guys, I am learning!!! lol)