Pay to submit libraries

[dwayne00]

Hello, I’m new to the site and it looks like a very helpful site so far. My question is what are some of your thoughts on using pay to submit libraries. Sites like sonicbids ad versusmedia ask for memberships or pay to submit. Do you think this is okay to use or a waste of time?

[Art Munson]

A big NO! There is no reason to pay to submit to libraries.

[woodsdenis]

Absolutely not !!!!

[dwayne00]

So would paying to submit to get a possible placement would be the same thing? I’ve ran into a few sites that do this and I just wasn’t really sure if it was legit or not.

[Altauria]

I do believe them to be the same thing, in principle. There are numerous sites out there that will have you pay a fee for the ‘top dogs’ to listen to your work. It wouldn’t be surprising if many people have gotten success and placements from this. The problem is the general business practice, and how nebulous it is. Of course there is always risk, chance, and a general throw of the dice with any venture, especially when you’re trying to sell something. But with the mentioned practices, there are no metrics, behaviors, patterns, etc. to be measured – at least by the investor (you!). There’s no concrete data. You have more control over your success running a mall kiosk.

Admittedly, I can’t lay any huge experiential claim to this, but it seems logical.

[Michael Nickolas]

I agree, there shouldn’t be a charge to submit for consideration by a library. But, if I’m remembering correctly, some here have had success paying the Film Music Network, which charges users to submit to different opportunities, no?

[Steve Ballard]

Simply put “Don’t pay to play”. To me it’s more like a lottery. You spend more trying to win than it’s worth.

[composer]

No. Please.

[Edouardo]

For me, libraries and composers should be on the same boat. We are partners trying to reach a same goal and then we share the cake.

There is hard work involved for both parties. For the library, a part of this work is to screen and select what they want in their catalog. And it is my firm belief that it’s not the responsibility of the composer to pay for the reviewer.

Let me explain why: I also sometimes “shop” for libraries, and make a careful selection in order to optimize my time. Only a few get selected. How would they feel if I asked them to pay me for checking them out? lol! Well this has the same effect on me. If there is pay-to-submit system in place, the library or publisher gets immediately disqualified: If they need money from elsewhere to pay for their review process, that means they are not good enough publishers for me…

[Advice]

I would never pay money directly to a library for submitting my music. As far as 3rd party services go, I stay away from ones where the listing party gets a share of the submission fee. That’s true for one that starts with “S” and one that starts with “B”.

But not all services are bad. I’ve had success through ones starting with “T”, “F”, and “H”.

This is a touchy subject here as Art doesn’t want to discuss specific pay sites on this site. And debates about certain services get heated very quickly. So I won’t go there.

[Peter Andersson]

Do not pay in order for a company to earn money. Its lose-lose for you and win-win for them. Wouldn’t it be more rewarding to have people paying you for your awesome work instead?

[Chuck Mott]

Just wanted some opinions here. I belong to one of those, and have had a handful of tracks forwarded along. although I hadn’t heard back from those opportunities. I belonged for 2 years, and am up for renewal if I choose o go with it. No they don’t have data on their placement rates or success rates when asked. But they did bring up some valid points: Did you experience a lot of growth as a composer while being a member ? DId you write a lot for genres you may not have written for? WHile I had to say yes to both counts, and did make extensive use of their forums, I am wondering what people’s opinion is to reup or not reup. There are some members of that organization here who have said, or might say, it’s a personal decision and yours alone to make, but I am wondering what a general consensus would be here? Thanks for the input or advice. Might I have , with work, gained the same benefit on my own? I have until the end of April to decide. Thanks for your input.

[Advice]

Hey Chuck
I know Art doesn’t want discussions about specific pay sites on MLR. Unfortunately, these discussions, especially about the company you are asking about, quickly get very heated and ugly.

Not my call… Up to Art.

Best

[Chuck Mott]

My bad…I don’t think I gave an indication which one, but maybe is apparent in the context.

[MuscoSound]

I would say no to that business model.

[Author]

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