Music Dealers Processes: The Life Of A Song
February 1, 2012, 1:43pm
The process always begins with an artist creating a username and an artist profile. From here, they are able to upload a picture, bio and then upload music. The upload process is very detailed. All the info required is very important in making sure your song goes through our processes quickly and smoothly. They fill out our upload form and then click 'Upload.'
Once the song is uploaded, it enters our review queue and taken in the order they are uploaded.
When your song arrives at the front of the queue, it goes directly to our Rights Management team. This is where our publishing geniuses check all your PRO info and make sure it is accurate. We also make sure that we can legally pitch your music and they are not attached to any major labels or publishers. If something doesn't seem right, you will get an email with some questions.
Once all the PRO information clears, the songs are marked as "Review Ready" and enter the queue for the next phase: music analysis.
When your song arrives at the front of the review queue, it's time for some analysis. Our CORE team listens to every single song from front to back and reviews. rates and tags it with between 200-300 different tags. Some examples are genre, BPM, mood, vocal theme, instruments, etc. This makes it easy for our staff and clients to find exactly what they are looking for in one click of a button. This is also where songs get approved or rejected.
Approved songs get reviewed and enter our Discovery Tool and are immediately available for all searches performed by our staff and clients. They are also available to be sent to the networks we have deals with. This is really when your songs are ready to do some work for you.
Rejected songs are removed from our catalog and the artist is sent an email with an explanation as to why their song was not accepted. Some common reasons for this are illegal samples, vocal tags, poor recording quality, and upload errors.
This is the songs final destination within the Music Dealers system before entering playlists and clients media. We have hundreds of clients with access to our Discovery Tool 24/7 all over the world to find the right song for their project.
Music Dealers Artist Tips: Having Alternate Versions Available Immediately
January 31, 2012, 7:29pm
Alternate Versions Are Very Important!
There is nothing our clients love more than having multiple version of songs available. I mean, what editor wouldn’t love the freedom to drop vocal in and out while editing your song to picture? About 80% of our clients request multiple versions to be available right away. If you don’t have alternate versions uploaded, there's a good chance your songs are getting skipped over simply because of that. That's no reason to lose a placement!
How To Upload & Merge Alternate Versions
Upload new alternate versions:
To upload and merge new instrumentals, click on the white details arrow next to the title of the song you want to upload an instrumental for. From the drop-down menu, click “Add Another Version.” This will bring you to the upload form and allow you to skip a few steps that you fill out when uploading a new song. Once everything is filled out, your instrumental will upload merged with the vocal version. To view this, simple click the details arrow to the left of the song title - this will display multiple versions.
Merge existing alternate versions:
If you already have alternate versions uploaded to your profile, merge them with the vocal version. To do this, click on the white details arrow next to the title of the song you want to upload an instrumental for. From the drop-down menu, click “Merge with another track.” This will bring you to the merge form and allow you to select the original song you would like to merge it with. Select the vocal song and it will become merged – magic!
What is Merging and How it Benefits You?
Merging songs pairs the instrumentals, a capellas, remixes, and clean versions with the original vocal version. If your songs are added to a playlist, all the versions will be submitted and our staff and our clients will see that multiple versions are immediately available. This gives you the advantage over any songs that don’t have alternate versions available and can make or break a deal.
Some benefits to having multiple versions uploaded and merged:
Opens your songs up for many more opportunities A majority of our clients won’t listen to songs unless alternate versions are immediately available. Having them uploaded and merged will make your music available to all these opportunities.
Ensures you won’t miss out on placements. We have artists every week that get passed over by our clients because they couldn’t get instrumentals and/or a capellas quick enough. This is why it is very important to have them uploaded and available right when the client finds your song.
We have offices in 4 different time zones. There are times we will need to get alternate versions when you are sleeping. If you do not have an instrumental and we call you and don't get a response - we will move to the next artist and your song will not be pitched.
Conclusion:
Please get your instrumentals uploaded as soon as possible so you don't miss out on any placement opportunities. If you don't know what instrumental versions on your profile you are missing or need any help, please email care@musicdealers.com and they will help you out.
Music Dealers Artist Opportunities: Music Dealers & Coca-Cola - Play London!
January 31, 2012, 4:32pm
Music Dealers and Coca-Cola are inviting you to audition for a chance to perform in London this summer. One Music Dealers artist will receive airfare and hotel accommodations to perform at an exclusive venue for a very special Coca-Cola event.
This opportunity is open exclusively to our Music Dealers artists, and we are very excited to be able to bring this to you.
So, how do you audition? All you have to do is compose an original song that features the famous Coca-Cola Five Note melody (mi, do, re, mi-do) and upload a simple video of you performing it. Vocals, no vocals, instrumentation, style - It's all up to you - just make sure that whatever you do, the Five Notes are represented in a creative way that's uniquely your own.
For inspiration, check out some of the other examples on the submission site.
Beyond being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform for the world's most influential marketeers, this is a great chance to get your work in front of Music Dealers staff and clients, by creating great content that will increase your visibility and help your music get placed.
The program is launching today, the last day of midem 2012 in Cannes, where you can film your audition in the Coca-Cola & Music Dealers Lounge (Open Zone, D2F Camp, #R11.07). Submissions will then continue on the official program website powered by This Moment: www.musicdealers.com/playlondon until Saturday, February 28th, 2012 at 11:59pm EST.
For questions, contact playlondon@musicdealers.com
Music Dealers Panels: Music & Brands Partnerships: Coca-Cola & Music Dealers - Midem [Video]
January 30, 2012, 6:03pm
Will 50% of the music industry eventually be supported by ad revenue? The takeaway from a MIDEM panel Saturday afternoon was: most likely, and sooner than you think. Emmanuel Seuge, Coca-Cola's head of global entertainment and sports marketing (and Billboard's No. 16 most powerful person in music), pointed to his company's recent and upcoming investments as examples of how brands will play a more integrated role than ever in contributing to the music business' bottom line. As Billboard recently reported, Coca-Cola is expected to spend upwards of $200 million globally on music in 2012 across event, advertising and Olympics-related programs.
"We're very intrigued by the business model of Spotify - very interested in a strategic partnership with Spotify," Seuge said, hinting at a deal that could see a formal announcement in the coming weeks. "Four years ago we had an accelerated plan for music. Now we have 10 of our global brands that leverage music in some capacity. How do we think in a more innovative way about partnership from a real value -for-value perspective?"
Billboard Reveals the 2012 Power 100
A big part of delivering Coke's part of the value equation occurred last summer, when the company obtained a minority stake in global licensing firm Music Dealers. CEO Eric Sheinkop and Music Dealers artist Petter Wesslander appeared alongside Seuge on the panel, moderated by Deviant Artists' Umut Ozaydinli.
"If we want the brand to play a sustainable role, they need to raise the revenue the music industry is making. Otherwise the music industry is not interested in working with us," Seuge said. "It's important we create a return for the artist communities, for the players in the music industry. That's a value-for-value partnership."
In the case of Wesslander's band, Sweden's You Say France & I Whistle, the group was able to secure major synch placements with brands like Xbox, McDonald's, Orbitz and The Gap as a direct result of its work with Music Dealers. "For our clients, [the brand support] gave them confidence that this was a real band they should get behind," Music Dealers' Sheinkop said.
The band even started its own company, You Say Corporate, to focus more exclusively on music collaborations with brands - even if it involves a little input. "The collaboration was kind of hectic and we did change the song a couple times, but it all worked very smoothly through the process," Wesslander said of a recent brand partnership.
Check out the video below of the Music & Brands Partnerships Panel.
Moderator:
Umut Ozaydinli, Chief of Possibilities, Deviant Ventures (USA)
Speakers:
Emmanuel Seuge, Group Director, Worldwide Sports and Entertainment Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company (USA)
Eric Sheinkop, CEO and Co-Founder, Music Dealers, LLC. (USA)
Petter Wesslander, You Say France & I Whistle (Sweden)
Music Dealers Press: Emmanuel Seuge / Coca-Cola - Billboard Power 100
January 27, 2012, 7:16pm
In the 2012 music business, brands are the new banks. And Coca-Cola is music's biggest bank. Between the Olympics, its continued sponsorship of "American Idol" (estimated to be worth $30 million annually), ongoing event sponsorships and a global artist discovery program led by Music Dealers, Coke will likely spend upwards of $200 million on music-related programs in 2012, and as Coca Cola's head of entertainment and sports marketing, Emmanuel Seuge is the man holding the bankroll. In 2010, he tapped K'naan's "Open Happiness" as its theme song for the FIFA World Cup, and the song became a hit in more than a dozen countries as a result. This summer, he aims even higher with Mark Ronson's Olympic anthem (featuring U.K. Singer Katy B), which is at the center of Coke's $150 million global sponsorship of the 2012 London Games. Look for other global music deals to pop up in the wake of Coke's recent assumption of a minority stake in licensing firm Music Dealers. Even the holidays are top music priorities for Seuge, with acts like Train and Natasha Bedingfield signing up to sing festive single "Shake Up Christmas."
Check the article here // Check the Full Power 100 list here
