Songtradr just inked a serious partnership with Mood Media, a massive supplier of in-store music.
Once upon a time, getting radio play was the only real way to gain exposure. Now, technology has blown that memory to bits, with a strange twist for in-store retail play. Thanks to on-the-spot recognition by apps like Shazam and Songtradr, people can quickly ID a catchy song. And potentially become a longer-term fan.
Enter Songtradr, a company steadily shaking up a once-closed synchronization business. Just this week, the company inked a deal with Mood Media, which offers in-store music to roughly 500,000 stores worldwide. Now, Songtradr users can submit music to play in that massive network, and realize the upside from potential fans and performance royalties.
Songtradr has also inked a distribution agreement with PlayNetwork, which supplies music to heavyweights like Starbucks. That’s a lot of potential retailers, and a lot of potential listeners.
The deals augment Songtradr’s focus on the synchronization (or ‘synch’) marketplace.
Basically, synch refers to anything that pairs music with action, including film, TV, commercials, or even wedding videos. That market has largely been controlled by a closed cabal of ‘synch agents’ and music supervisors, with only connected or lucky artists getting chosen for juicy productions.
Songtradr is now aiming to dismantle that clique, and replace it with a more democratic, lower-cost marketplace. Now, mega-brands are coming to this table, thanks to a massive increase in smaller, ‘bite-size’ advertising vignettes designed for web consumption.
Accordingly, the company is also building out its infrastructure to enhance connections between licensees (like musicians and DJs) and licensors (like advertisers). Along with its Mood Media deal, the company is also launching a secure file-sharing platform, one that allows direct file-swapping and exchanges between both sides. According to CEO Paul Wiltshire, that allows artists to skip Dropbox and simplify their licensing lives. “We’re setting the stage to be a one-stop platform for managing and controlling your music,” Wiltshire said.
Since its inception, Songtradr has rallied $6 million in funding. The service now boasts more than 100,000 users and services 150+ countries.
There is a discussion at gearsluts forum about songtradr and it seems no one has anything good to say. To be fair, not much bad either. Very few have gotten a placement and those that did have no idea how much they will make. They sit in the dark until songtradr does a pay period. Other discussion sites people claim it’s an endless money pit where you keep paying for submissions only to be denied over and over again. Many people have there song hit the finalization stage and then… Silence. (Crickets chirp)
The big take home is at the end of the day you spend money to have little to show for. It’s the same thing with other sites like Reverbnation, feature.fm, and musicxray, You would be hard pressed to find one success story from a real person. I have NEVER read “best money I have ever spent” rather, “that was a big waste of time”. These site will no doubt clung to the “We provide a service” justification which they do. Unfortunately their services are darn near worthless when it comes to making money.
I haven’t used any of those sites so I can’t say it’s fact. I don’t have the funds to be throwing away and would be a fool not to learn from other peoples experiences. Granted there are few jobs vs applicants. Also I assume a good portion of those people are bad at making music and don’t know it yet. Maybe it just wasn’t what the agent was looking for. A lot of excuses can be made.
But why is there never real success stories? I don’t mean some fake quotes/reviews put on a website. I mean real people on forums giving advice at how they made any of these services help them out? It just does not happen.
Okay let’s be fair now. In the real world of music publishing and success, it’s always been that way. It’s still no matter what technology is used a crap shoot, and it’s still comes down to who you meet, know, trust and so on. There is no magic bullet to instant success. Fact is some of the worst music ever made becomes smash hits and some of the best music you’ll ever hear just doesn’t get heard.
I don’t know who’s saying that Songtadr is a money pit…but they haven’t pitted me at all. I also have not made money yet, but I’m a musician who’s been at it for forty years + so I know NOT to think I’m the next King Bee. If you want success you still have to work your ass off no matter who you are. Absolutely none of the giant legends of rock & roll ever had it easy. and nearly everyone of them had to sue their labels, managers and so on at some point in there careers to get their publishing rights back. It’s a wonderful art and a dirty business.
If you really want success stop working on that one hit wonder that buys you a yacht and pump out a ton of work…copyright your frigging catalog and hustle. Make friends in the business that actually trust you to deliver a good product without a lot of crap and drama trauma. I personally have a good friend who paid off his house mortgage and raised his family on nothing but “On Hold” Music. No insane mechanical rights as that genre cannot be properly tracks for performance. So it was for him all about selling catalogs of solid music that worked for the needs of the customers. or clients. The clients want to sell something either a product or service. The clients are not record labels looking to sell CD’s in every Walmart in the world. Nine times out of ten they pay for your song and only actually use a few seconds of it for a 6 second scene in a TV Show or Panorama. Or it’s PR Marketing in a B2B manner. If you want to be a super star and sell your records, go hustle labels that are willing to spend 100’s of thousands of THEIR dollars to hype you like you’re the second coming…if you want to make a living and feed your family get off your computer desk and start hustling. Go play gigs…help others in our art improve…collaborate, write sensible split sheets but most of all STOP trying to win the Gold Frigging Metal. Your income in this particular scene (i.e. TV/Film/Streaming) comes from the volume of your work that is accepted.
Their’s a reason why even with internet there are still only a handful of “Go To” Writers and composers…they deliver what the CLIENT wants…not their futuristic apocalypse vision of our world in ten years. Make up your mind…are you trying to make a living at your music? Or are you trying to achieve fame?
I’ve worked with Broadjam and all they have done is suck five bucks a pop out of endless emails of offers that never amount to zip…I’ve tried my hand with Taxi and they are (for me right now only) just too expensive to work with. Reverb Nation is a total sham. Songtradr has actually gone out and pushed for me. But they still cannot force their clients to accept our music if the client has other ideas.
One real easy to understand example is a couple of deal opportunities I just submitted to. I submitted identical songs to these two different opportunities. both were non exclusive so no conflict of interest. Both were doing music for the purpose of advertising. Only difference was one was for Malls, and Exclusive Boutiques and their piped in music, the other was for general YouTube Ad Sense type of streaming. One company I got shortlisted and am now waiting on final decisions from the client. the other rejected the same songs after shortlist. Point is one cannot predetermine the mood of the Supervisor on Monday vs. Tuesday. A Monday Morning Hangover can kill a great deal on a song or a daughters opinion of a song on Barney can influence that Adults entire day and his slant on everything he does in the work place. Come on folks… we know this already. How many times in your careers have you played your ass off in a club or restaurant and everyone in the place was talking loud over you and completely unaware that you were there pouring your heart out?? Did you get mad and write a letter to the owner of the business because his customers weren’t listening to you? or did you do your job, get paid and move on???
Grow up…earning a living in music is, was and always will be one of the hardest things anyone can attempt to do. I applaud everyone of you for trying. Money or no money…it’s still an art, a craft and in some cases a calling. Don’t forget that. Don’t forget how blessed you are to be able to play a guitar, or piano or sing or write. Most folks simply can’t. They work their whole lives never ever get out of debt and hope that when they’re 65 there might still be some Social Security for them. Their only moment of peace just might be that conversation with their fiancee when they ask her to marry. And your music was the backdrop that set it up. Or do you just want everyone to look at you?
Good luck getting your music and profile removed from Songtradr..you can’t do it yourself and I’ve been battling with them to delete my music/profile going on a month now..I’m SO unimpressed by that and really makes me wonder about the company and the new agreement they now have..if you stay with Songtradr you BETTER read it..