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I see this listing is over today –FMN Job 5341 – Music Needed Immediately For Feature Thriller . I submitted something a couple weeks ago. It was never listened to. In fact, I’ve been submitting to these listings for the last year with no listens. Makes me wonder if these are listings from old tip sheets. You would think I’d get at least one listen after a couple dozen tracks submitted. Something ain’t right.
John
Sometimes they get listened to and sometimes they don’t. You should e-mail Mark (the owner). He’s a very straight up guy.
FMN has been notorious for that. Their system was broken for a while and was supposedly fixed at one time. It’s very possible that the individual did listen to your submission and was never reported to you. Then again the job poster may just have already found something and not listened to it.
I know how frustrating that is but unfortunately that is how it works with them.
Overall, I’ve done well with FMN… Quite a few library deals. Yes, there have been many submissions that didn’t result in anything– some with listens, some without. But in the big picture, I’ve been pleased with FMN as a lead source. In fact, I signed some tracks with a library fairly recently due to an FMN listing. Sometimes you have to look at the big picture over the years.
Like Art said, if you have concerns, drop a note directly to Mark Northam.
I have never submitted through FMN but I will say that it is not uncommon to submit for a project, either directly or via something like FMN, and never hear a word back. Follow up / follow through is vital. They may not use you now, but if your work is strong, they may in the future. Also, don’t assume they will remember you or actually keep you “on file”. It’s your job to “stay in their headlights” (without being too annoying of course, you never want to stalk a potential client). Research what they are doing via IMDB or word of mouth and check in if you think you have something to contribute to the project. I hope this helps. I know it can be very frustrating.
TAE
Yup, no news is bad news is just part of being in this field. With service like FMN, of course, you can’t follow up because they are blind listings. If everything is working as is supposed to, FMN subscribers get an email when their submissions are listened to.
Sometimes, I assume our tracks are not listened to because at some point in time, the listing party has found all they need. That frustrates people but I suggest taking it in stride, all as part of the biz. Again, anyone who is concerned can readily contact Mark at FMN and ask. He’s a good, accessible guy.
In the big pic, FMN costs me $11.95 per month + $1.99 per submission… Not a whole lot IMHO so if I get at least 1-2 library deals a year out of it, it’s worth it to me. Everyone has different views. What works for one may not work for another…
🙂
I was feeling the same way johnnyboy and had given up on FMN. Then I saw a call that was a perfect fit for one of my tracks. I submitted, it was listened to 3 days later and I goat an email from the library a month after submission. I signed it non-exclusively. Since then I have had other listens and an exclusive offer that I turned down. I don’t subscribe to FMN, I pay the six bucks per submission since my library is small. My point, it can and does get your music heard by people looking for music.
A while back because of FMN I did a direct license with a client who needed music for an exercise DVD. Didn’t make too much on it but something. Also got in a few libraries…
I thought I should share this:
In May 2013 I submitted to a FMN Job listing. A month later I got an email from a video producer saying my track would likely be used, but the “client moves slowly.”
I had forgotten about it, then in September I got an email saying the “video was complete, please send me a contract and invoice.”
I got the check a week later. Only $150, but it was nice not splitting it with a library.
For me, FMN is legit.I don’t see the reason for frustration. FMN is a pay-to-play site. It takes sustained effort to make sites like this work for you.
I just would not blame the site.
I’ve had good success with FMN. Signed quite a few library deals over the years which resulted in placements. 🙂
I went nearly thirty years as an active student and performer before I started composing. I first thought I would start a band. That fell apart. I returned to Rutgers Newark campus where unbeknownst the focus in the music program is theory and analysis, perfect for a prolific composer. My intention was to be certified to teach. Nope. I thought I would start recording my music. Well, that is ongoing, but the self -production effort and initial ambivalence about the idea have prolonged the effort. Throughout this time I was researching and learning about the various aspects of the music industry. I was jolted one morning by the nation’s only 24-hour listener supported non-commercial Jazz station, WBGO. They were playing a song featuring a flautist that sounded like a clone of Rahsaan Roland Kirk. However, I had heard the song before. So, I wondered, who was this RRK clone playing on the soundtrack for one of the “Austin Powers” movies? Kirk died about twenty years before the first of these movies was made! It turns out that it was indeed Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and that the song was recorded in 1962. a composition by Quincy Jones, “Soul Bossa Nova”. Nearly 40 years after being recorded, performed and archived here was Quincy Jones earning fresh new mech-sync royalties for a blockbuster film that is still popular now! I wasn’t mad at him. This inspired me to keep composing and seeking out how to get my music in consideration for this kind of licensing.
That was many years ago. Two days ago, I decided to search for music repositories for unknown composers. This is almost literally what I searched. After a few links and jumps, I landed at FMN. Something just seemed legit, and I plunged in for the annual subscription and submitted three of my compositions in response to a job posting. I started doubting when I got no response. This concern eventually led me here, where my original impression is confirmed. I will now complete the submission process for the remaining allowed works.
Thank you fellow composers for eliminating my fear before I asked.
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