What's a 'Good' library look like?

[eeoo]

For me, good communication is a big deal. If they're taking forever with things I might get concerned, bit of a red flag. Are they responsive to e-mails? Can you talk to someone directly over the phone? Have you expressed these concerns to them? In general I trust that Taxi thoroughly vets their clients and if something slips through the cracks an e-mail with your concerns might be appreciated.

[jdstamper]

That's a great question. If I sign with a library through a Taxi forward, then at least I know they've been checked out by Taxi to some extent. So far I've signed with 10 libraries through Taxi. Just 1 of those turned sour - it seems about the time I signed they went through some major internal changes and stopped doing new business, and they weren't very up front about what was going on - Taxi couldn't have prevented that. Even so, they were very professional about releasing me from the deal when I requested it, and I was able to place those tracks elsewhere.

What I would like from a library is most importantly - industry connections & placements!

Aside from that (not in any order) ... fast turnaround on contracts and future deals, good communication, good documentation about submission standards (file tagging, etc), professionalism, get music registered with the PROs quickly, get music added to the library quickly, a nice website with ability to search the music, willingness to meet via phone or in person, occasional feedback on how to make tracks better, email me with "calls" for new music needed by the library.

All that said, each library seems to have strengths and weaknesses just like any other business. Libraries are not one size fits all, we need to find the right partners for our individual needs. But what matters most to me are the end results ... good placements.

[jdstamper]

... amazed that some might even schedule meetings. I assumed that they would all be too busy to operate like that, ....

Some libraries seem to prefer talking occasionally, and some like to give feedback to help shape the music to match their customers' needs. It's nice when they can take the time to do it. Other libraries may have too many projects, too many writers, or not enough staff to do that.