Risk Vs Reward Hmmmmm....

[sswift]

So im in a pickle...

A little background info: I produce music, i usually shop the tracks on my own to whomever is interested.. tv/film/radio/artists/videogames/commercial, etc. Lately, Ive found myself getting overwhelmed shopping the tracks, so ive taken consideration in finding a manager or agent, which will help me shop the tracks, while I can focus on creating new product (material/music...

The pickle is as follows:
Finding representation is harder then it seems.
I reached out to a bunch of reputable companies, and got 1 reply back. It was an interesting reply back which stated:
We are willing to accept a consultation service agreement. The cost is $500/ month PLUS 15% commission on anything sold... There are no guarantees that they will make any sales, and realistically, there is no guarantee that they will do anything with the money besides snort it up their noses...
I sent them back a copy of the agreement revised by me, and added some things along the lines of:
"Company" will contact "client" once a week with updated status report.
and other things that may help my own piece of mind justify me sending them $500. I spoke to the boss of the company over the phone, He said "I feel like there is a high probability that we will be able to place your music, but there are no guarantee's. you have the option to renew the consultation after the month is up.
I even added things in the contact like: "client(me)" agrees to increase commission to 30% in order to add more incentive to get the tracks sold.

They replied with "there is no option to negotiate this contract, other then splitting payment options from 500 upfront, to 250 now and 250 halfway through the consultation." :coco:

Long story short:
-If I take the risk and pay the 500, It could be a very well spent investment. The companies profile and clients charge $10,000+ for the licencing...
-This somehow could be an elabrate scam... alot of forms on the internet state "do NOT pay a manager or agent to shop your music, if you do, there is no incentive for them to make any sale, they have already been compensated...

I dunno, if i was in the companies shoes, and got a massive amount of emails per month asking for representation, why not monetize that?

But there is absolutely no way of tracking what the company is doing... they could be shopping my music all day everyday for 1 month, or they could pocket the cash, take the girlfriend out to lobster dinner, and send me a status report at the end of the month that states "No commitments were made upon the purchase of your music, would you like to renew the agreement?"

Arrrggghhh, sorry for the Spiel... any advise, or your take on the situation, would be worth wonders... thanks fastlane...

 

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[snowbank]

Do not pay people for undefined services. Usually these services will be the bare minimum if any at all, and you will be severely disappointed the majority of the time.

This is like the PR companies who charge $10k/month and don't guarantee any results at all. They usually don't guarantee it because they suck at it. It's a lot easier to only have to convince a couple of people to pay them a monthly stipend for 'trying their best' than to actually go get deals done.

I'm assuming the way you described it, that you aren't necessarily selling these for big amounts of money. So, let's break it down with that assumption:

They are getting $500/month from you. Then 15%.

$500/month they don't have to do anything for.

15% of $500 deals is $75.(I'm using a random number since you didn't give your current numbers) They'd have to make 7 deals/month to make the same amount of money in commissions.

As you can see one of these ways they have to work for the money, one of these ways they don't. What do you think they'll be more motivated to do:

Make a bunch of sales for you or try to convince someone else to give them $500/month?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Pay for results, not hope. As Bill said, their incentive is not to push product but to keep adding $500 clients. Can you hire an independent contractor and pay them a sliding commission?

 

[sswift]

Pay for results, not hope.

Your right :smx4:

I guess I needed someone besides my sub-conscious to tell me that.

 

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[Russ H]

We always talked to others to find out who they liked working with.

Seems like the more logical approach to me.

If I knew (or had spoken to) a dozen folks who had paid something, and were happy w/the results (ie, had actually made money/gotten lots of sales), then it makes sense.

What about all the pay for use sites on the 'net? Every time I want something royalty free, we go online, listen to the cuts, and buy what makes sense.

-Russ H.

 

[CommonCents]

I was in the live recording biz and not so much publishing directly but in general, there is so much supply in that biz and so many people that want to get into it. I had a literally endless supply of interns to go on the road and work for free. That makes it tough starting out. It's all about networking. Go to industry conferences, I'm sure there are ones that focus on your trade.

Due to economics and the rock star dream, there may not be much option besides getting an agent on retainer. But put yourself in their shoes, they probably get tons of hope and dream inquiries and their standard reply with fee separates the serious from the dreamers. I think you'd help yourself out by networking with the agents in person at industry functions. If you get someone to believe in you and know you are serious, they'll work harder on your behalf. Answer this question for them: How will them taking time/money to rep your product be profitable for them?

Another idea is target successful artists in your field who have a good reputation already and network with them. Nothing wrong w/ riding some coattails. Many successful people like to help out proteges. They may be out of ideas and be looking for new ones w/ co-credit. That'd give you a foot in the door with their developed network.

Good luck and we'll look for you on future Grammy's! A ton of fun to attend, went in 04.

 

[eloise]

If you have an icky (sorry I am originally from Minnesota)feeling in your gut, then do not do it!! It's your conscious warning you to stay away!! Maybe check into them a little deeper and talk to people that have used them before and get their opinions.Good Luck to you.

 

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