Media Music Blog

I am Lee Pritchard, the founder of Media Music Now and I am in the process of creating a composer directory… In a nutshell, we are going to create and launch a quality directory of composers that can be commissioned through Media Music Now.Believe it or not, I am in touch with clients who find it difficult to find composers to commission. Astonishing isn’t it? In an age where everyone is on the web in one form or another creative departments struggle to find good, reliable composers on the web.

But that’s not all… far from it! Even when clients do find composers they are usually confused about how to go about the process and have little or no understanding about royalties or copyrights.
Far fetched? Not at all. A lot of the problem is image and trust. Companies are not generally very trusting of individuals on the web and prefer to use companies who have image, branding and respect. That is where we come in!

Now at this point some of you are probably furious with me. Fair enough, you may consider yourself to be hugely successful and you may well be, however, I am emailing hundreds of people about this directory and can only assume that you have contacted us because there was something you liked about our company / branding. Whether you respect our search engine position, our corporate looking site, or whether your motivation is to increase your client base or just to be involved with a directory that has a limited number of places. Whatever it is, we have connected and I really believe we strive for the same thing… success!

First off, this is not going to be one of those directories with thousands of unqualified entries that attract poor enquiries. With our directory, enquiries will be managed and filtered; also places will be strictly limited. Once we have a full compliment of composers we will be operating a waiting list policy.

We want to find a broad section of about 50-100 composers with a serious attitude who will have a mini-site within Media Music Now. This will contain multiple pages; a demo reel and keyword rich copy that will be your brochure and selling platform to our users.

A word of caution, I may be rather direct with my email communications; to be completely honest with you I want to create this directory only with the most serious candidates; people who understand the goal and appreciate the journey and are positive about it. I have just not got the resources to spend time with people who are just expecting me to do all of the work for them or people who are negative!

But don’t get me wrong… I see this as a long-term working partnership between successful applicants that will develop over the coming months and years. I expect nothing less than success with this and I intend to integrate the service with Media Music Now offering the same quality and service that Media Music Now currently boasts! As far as I know there are no other directories with our philosophy, better still, I don’t know of any directory that limits its numbers!

So what’s the catch?

• There are limited places - you won’t all get on board, if you miss out, you miss out! We are not in this for a quick buck, we won’t create 100 additional memberships to cash in! We will only create additional memberships if we have a shortage of a particular type of composer / producer.
• This is not free! – Yes it is true, we will be charging you to join, however, this will consist of an initial one-off admin fee to cover the cost of getting you on our site. There will also be a minimal annual maintenance fee to cover bandwidth, storage, changes to your profile etc. We intend to make our money by adding on a percentage to paying clients.
• This is new – As with all things new, it will take time to develop and there will be teething problems. However, as I said, we will be in this together and you need to decide for yourself whether you want to try this with me, off the back of our success with Media Music Now or whether you are going to go it alone!

In the remainder of this month, I intend to compile the relevant information and demo reels from composers participating in the directory. I propose to get the directory live on Media Music Now during April 2008. The following 6 months or so will see the directory be refined, search engine optimised and indexed in the major search engines. Throughout this time, I also intend to contact a number of key companies / organisations directly for information / marketing opportunities.

I am not going to divulge my detailed marketing strategy, but will say that along side long-term search engine marketing and optimisation, I will personally network with production companies in and around the Manchester region. The news of the BBC coming to Manchester makes us particularly well placed for business opportunities.

I am not going to give a full break down of our plans, give you the hard sell or promise you unrealistic expectations of work from the directory. What I am saying is that this is more than just a listing in a vast directory, it is an exclusive place in a limited directory attached to an already established music library. Successful candidates will be part of a small number of composers and part of Media Music Now’s branding and reputation for quality and service. The intention is to generate more work and opportunities for us all.

In my experience of business, there are those who talk and talk, plan and plan, then analyse and over analyse - this is not my strategy. I believe that it is important to get started and perfect and modify as we go along.

As mentioned previously I will limit the numbers, I plan on starting this directory with between 40-50 composers / producers. Furthermore, I have no definite plans to add more composers after this initial intake. However, I will keep the option open should I feel it an appropriate course of action for the directory / business.

Down to the nitty gritty, what are the costs?

To get on the site there is a one off admin fee of £60 (+vat in UK and EU). This will just cover our costs for getting all of your details on the site and will include hosting fees for 12 months. The annual hosting fee will be £10+vat to cover bandwidth and storage. We will make our profit by adding a percentage on to the cost of the jobs that come through the site.

Your profile will provide the ability to offer quotes through Media Music Now, take credit / debit card payment and deliver downloads / demos. You will also be able to have up to 3 eCommerce elements on your profile allowing instant payment for some regular services.

To keep this directory professional and credible, we will be monitoring the conduct of clients and composers. Clients who waste time and are inconsistent will be flagged so that you know who you are dealing with. Additionally, after successfully completing commissions, clients will be contacted directly for feedback / testimonials.

I hear you asking… what the heck will it look like? In anticipation, we did a small-scale test on Media Music Now. I used our voice-over talents to test this; these were people who were already in my trusted list of contacts. The composer directory is going to resemble the small voice-over directory on Media Music Now, check it out. (link at the end)

Again, no promises or hype, but I will tell you that a fair number of voice-over jobs have come through the voice-over section on search engine pull alone. Many £50-300 jobs have materialised and recently one voice-over invoiced us for one job totalling £1175. This can only get better and better as Media Music Now continues to grow!

At this time, we have a registration and payment link available for interested composers. The link will remain until the first 40 payments have been made. (The link is at the end of this email)

I already have 10 composers that will be making payment directly so this should give a team of 50 composers.

Once you have made your payment you will be contacted directly by my colleague to request a demo and information.

At this stage, our audio assessment panel will listen to your music. Providing your music is of a professional standard we will go to the next stage and schedule in the creation of your page(s) on Media Music Now’s Composer Directory. A full refund will be given to unsuccessful applicants.

If you miss out on these 40 places, there will be a waiting list created and places will be offered on a first come first served basis when and IF they become available.

To reserve your provisional place click here

I look forward to seeing you on the directory and working with you.Kind Regards

Lee Pritchard, Project Director

Some FAQ’s

A big thanks to all those who have already signed up and are on board. I really look forward to working with you and I am really excited about the standard of demos sent so far.

I am sending this email to everyone as a kind of Q&A based on feedback & questions so far and to give a little more info.

Q. Will my music be in your Royalty Free Music Library?
A. Yes or No. Let me explain, the music library is an entirely separate service. The composers who have contributed to the library so far are not part of the Composer Directory unless they join and pay the admin fee. The Composer Directory is focussed on getting you commissions, not licensing your already existing tracks. If you would like to host your pre-written tracks in our library, we will offer you the opportunity and provide more information once we have created your composer directory profile.

Q. The admin fee is a bit steep isn’t it?
A. No. The admin fee is actually lower than it should be. There is no automated system to create your pages; my colleague, Adam and myself will be doing it all manually. We will be spending time communicating, compiling and presenting your images, text and music in the best possible way. It is estimated that each profile will take from 2-4 hours to create.

Q. How many pages can I have?
A. At present we are planning from 1-4 per profile. For example, main sales page, credits list, quote page, and music on Media Music Now (If applicable)

Q. When I am commissioned to write music though the composer directory, who will provide the licensing agreement, Media Music Now or myself?
A. Either, we plan on offering standard agreements, however, if you would rather use your own that is fine.

Q. Can I charge what I want or do you set the fees?
Yes. You set your own fees. As composers’ fees vary based on industry experience, we don’t feel it is practical for us to set the fees.

I hope this helps. If you do have any further questions, please do not hesitate to get back to me. If it is a frequently asked question, I will send another one of these emails out or get back to you directly.

Kind Regards

Lee Pritchard, Project Director

P.S. Oh! I almost forgot! If you are not yet on board click here, to get your place! They will sell out!

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