JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Success Stories Forum Song placed in "Heroes" on NBC primetime

Hi Lynn - thank you for the very kind words! Thanks to everyone else as well.

Lynn, your description of what happened is mostly accurate. The music production library was PumpAudio, not AudioSparx, though they are somewhat similar (the difference is that PumpAudio is more selective and has a higher-end clientele.) Technically speaking, there are two sets of licensors and licensees.

Two years ago, I was the licensor and PumpAudio was the licensee, as I was licensing my CD (containing Warhead) to Pump, non-exclusively.

Then, recently, PumpAudio was the licensor and the producer(s) of Heroes were the licensee(s), getting a non-exclusive license to synchronize the song Warhead from that same CD.

In terms of placing or pitching songs, here's what I can tell you. There are a LOT of music libraries out there, and really, they're not much different than music publishers in the traditional sense. The primary difference is that they want sound recordings too, not just songs or demos. 15 years ago it might have been the case that a company would take a song or demo and turn it into a full production, and you'd still get paid. However, now, it's much easier to make "broadcast-quality" recordings, so the libraries expect you to do all the work.

Some libraries work on a track-by-track basis. For example, Crucial Music will license one song at a time. They have an online submission system where you fill out a form and upload an MP3, and they'll tell you whether they accept or reject the submission. They're quite selective. On the other side of the spectrum, AudioSparx will take almost anything you upload to them, but with AudioSparx, the people that are going to be licensing the music are not going to pay nearly as much because they are not the sort of big-budget producers as the people that work with Crucial Music.

So, how do I pitch? Well, several years ago I struck up a relationship with a NYC-based library (UniqueTracks) that I've since done three CDs for. I basically found them through a Google search and then cold-called and emailed them. I did this for a number of companies, but UniqueTracks was the first to respond. I told each company that I was a Philadelphia-based composer and producer of electronic music, and I had a CD that I was looking to license - I listed similar artists as well (The Crystal Method, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim.) Some libraries prefer to buy entire CDs from you, so I think it is good if you can at least offer that. If you only have a single song it might be harder for you, depending on the company.

Does that make any sense? I know it seems a bit nebulous, but in all honesty, simple, direct contact was what got me several deals! Music libraries are often looking for new content all the time, so it's a matter of seeing what they are looking for, or pitching what YOU have as unique and being a great addition to their catalog.