What's up with Music Libraries who ask for high quality files before evaluation?

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  • #21191
    johnnyboy30
    Participant

    Hello everyone, what is up with certain music libraries who ask for 16bit files before they evaluate your music? This is about the 3rd time this has happened. Their response usually goes something like this “thank you for submitting your music, in order to fully evaluate your music, please send 16bit 44kz files to us….” What that hell? Can’t they just evaluate my tracks from Soundcloud like everyone else? It just sounds fishy to me and I never actually upload my music to these people. Any one else experience this?

    #21192
    Desire_Inspires
    Participant

    It doesn’t sound fishy to me. I always send out a 16 bit, 44.1/44 kHz WAV or AIFF file for audition unless they ask for mp3s. That is the standard that most companies use.

    #21193
    John
    Guest

    Seems a perfectly reasonable request to me too.

    #21194
    johnnyboy30
    Participant

    Alright then, normal procedure it is! Thanks for your comments.

    #21195
    fauxmusicsupe
    Guest

    It’s a hoop many libraries/supes make musicians jump through to help prove they’re actually serious about selling/licensing their music.

    About one out of six people i ask to send me AIF/WAV files never write me back, and this is AFTER i have a placement for them.

    #21196
    johnnyboy30
    Participant

    Speaking of hoops. A music library in England wants to do a Skype interview with me this Friday! And to boot, it’s at 7am in the morning! I am usually on my 3rd dream at that time of the morning. Yeah, but I told them the time was fine hahaha.

    #21202
    Kubed
    Participant

    do the interview Johnny,you can go back to bed when the interview is done!
    2 months ago i had an interview from an LA library and,since i live in Greece it was 1.30am for me when they called.It lasted 45 minutes,i felt exhausted after that (i’m not a phone’s guy!) but it all went well and i slept like a baby that night,lol.

    #21203
    ChuckMott
    Participant

    They may also be aware that sometimes fishy things happen to music posted on soundcloud and some libraries ask that you submit directly. Chances are that if they accept you in that is the quality you are going to be required to submit, and maybe they are testing you to see how well you follow instructions.

    #21204
    johnnyboy30
    Participant

    Kubed,

    Your interview lasted 45 minutes?! Any insights on the things they might ask or say? I am new at this so I am spending time now making sure I understand legal and contractual terms. But is there anything else I should be aware of?

    #21205
    Kubed
    Participant

    @johnnyboy30: i’m also new,you’re doing very well spending your time on the legal and contractual terms,that’s always very useful!

    About the interview,it was mainly them talking.The guy of the library said they liked my music and then he said he will explain me how they work and then i could ask him whatever i needed to know.He was very detailed and easy to follow and apart from his own library he talked about how this biz works etc.He asked only a few questions,like how extensive is my catalog (he had listened to my music on Soundcloud where i keep only a sample of my work),what’s my PRO,if i had co-writers in any of my tracks and in general the usual stuff a library asks the artists before signing the contract,nothing extraordinary or weird.
    I just made sure to not interrupt him before he’s done.
    I only asked about the terms and conditions,in which markets do they work most (tv & adverts they said with an interest at the video games market as well) and if they are associated with Youtube Content ID.I’m not sure if i asked anything elese,my experience with libraries is only a bit over 2 years so i’m not sure what else should i ask or be aware of.
    Just be calm and listen to them closely,ask whatever you want without being pushy or extremely detailed.Since they liked your music enough to ask for a Skype chat,you’re in the right direction 😉
    Oh,i had a Skype chat with an exclusive New York library this summer,it was supposed to be a Skype video call but he decided it would be better to have a text chat so i can have his words written.
    Once again,he expanded on how his company works and asked me pretty much the same things the other library asked.It was a 30 minute chat,i guess it would be quicker on the phone.
    They were both friendly and easy to follow,i’m pretty sure you’ll get the same thing from the UK library.

    One thing: it’s better to write down your questions to a piece of paper and have it next to you when they call.I didn’t do that and in several occasions when i had the phone chat i was thinking “don’t forget to ask him this,don’t forget to ask him that”.This way you’ll be fully focused on what they have to say instead of trying to not forget all the things you want to ask!
    Ok,good luck and let us know how it went!

    #21212
    johnnyboy30
    Participant

    Thank you for sharing your experience and advice Kubed! I followed it. I asked all the normal questions (contract length, reversion clause, etc.). It was going good and then I mentioned that I have my entire music album up on CDBaby, Itunes and Amazon. They said that they now cannot use that material even if I take down from those sites. Whoops!! They mentioned that other publishers don’t mind it but they do. They still sent me over a contract and told me to let them know immediately when I have new material. I guess I can’t “Two Steps From Hell” sell my music lol! They did say that my album was good enough to sell as just a Contemporary Classical album by itself. I might just have to do that.

    #21213
    Kubed
    Participant

    ah,yes,CDBaby!Well,CDBaby is associated with Youtube Content ID,which is a red flag for many libraries/publishers (some others are ok with it,it’s true).If you want to learn more about Youtube Content ID,type it in MLR’s search engine (upper right side of this page) and you’ll get some very informative past topics about it.
    But hey,they liked your music and want you to write some new material for them,congrats man!
    It’s only fair that they ask for music that isn’t released on CDBabay.Youtube content ID could be harmful for both you and their reputation (is it an exclusive UK library?).
    If the contract terms are fine by you and you think this library can get you some good sales,then go for it!

    #21214
    Advice
    Guest

    Just to add… If you submit the hi res version for evaluation and they accept, it’s one less step for them. They already have the file they need. This streamlines their process and we have to remember they are busy folks too who are handling submissions from many, many composers.

    Yes, some prefer mp3 or SC link first. It varies all over the board and we just go with the flow. For me personally, if they have an FTP process for hi res files already set up, I don’t mind that at all– I like it.

    #21225
    johnnyboy30
    Participant

    Thanks kubed! CDbaby now allows you to opt out of the Youtube Content ID option (which I did). The Library said something about my current album being released in the digital domain as being the issue. I understand their point. I told them that I was about 40% done with Vol.2 album. They offered me two possibilities. 1. Buyout (I think we all know what that means). 2. Exclusive 5 year contract no reversion clause, 50/50 license and PRO split. But of course this would now apply to new material that I produce. As far as my faith in this libarary…hmmmm they have pretty good tracks in their library, there’s no highlight reel of their latest placements though, website is professional, no comments on MLR about the library though. They sound professional, they mentioned that they could even re-record my music with a live orchestra with my approval. I might end up just giving them a few new tracks just to see what they do with it. They promise to immediately add my tracks to their library and pitch it.

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