My name is Aaron Davison, I´m the founder of Renegade Music Marketing.  I have been working in the music licensing business as a songwriter for close to seven years.  About two years ago I started a newsletter about the music licensing industry (www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com) and created several products and services all with the goal of educating other musicians about how to get started in the music licensing business.  During the past two years I've built up a fairly significant email list, I've sold quite a few of my licensing programs and I've worked with dozens of people one on one helping them get involved in the music licensing business.  It's been a very rewarding two years and I've heard from many people over the course of this time who have gone on to sign publishing or licensing deals after either working with me as a coaching client or after going through my licensing program, The A-Z Of Music Licensing. 

I have learned a great deal about the needs and frustrations of aspiring songwriters the past two years, both as a result of working with songwriters individually and from reading the many emails I've received from different subscribers to my newsletter.  Several months ago I emailed my entire list asking for feedback on how I could better help songwriters break into the licensing business.  I heard back from a lot of people.  Different issues were raised, but there was one issue that came up over and over.  It seems like there a lot of songwriters who need help in marketing themselves.  Either because they don't have the time to market their own music or they simply don't have the business skills to do it themselves. In either case, this seems to be the biggest frustration songwriters have with regards to getting started in the music licensing business.

Introducing Renegade Music Marketing...  A New Music Marketing Service For The TV, Film, Video Game And Advertising Markets

Based on all the feedback I've received I've decided to launch a new service to help musicians get their music into the hands of the right people.  I will be working with a limited number of artists on a regular basis, shopping their music directly to supervisors and publishers who are in need of music for Television, Film, Video Games and more.  This service will only be available to a limited number of artists at a time.  I'm limiting the number of artists because I simply don't want to take on more artists than I can adequately represent. I prefer to start with a small, but very talented group of artists as opposed to just taking on a ton of artists and throwing music out there randomly to see what sticks.

How The Service Will Work
The business model I will be utilizing is different than the model of a traditional publisher.  Most publishers work with artists for free on the front end but take 50%, or more, on the back end.  They make this money by way of what's known as a publisher's royalty and they also typically receive as much as 60% of licensing fees that songs generate.  I have nothing against this arrangement and I plan to eventually segue into this model as it will certainly be a better deal for me in the long run.  However, at least in the initial beta phase of my new service I will be charging a retainer's fee for my submission and marketing services and the artists I represent will keep 100% of their publishing royalties they generate.

Why am I choosing this model?  For several reasons, the main one being that it takes between six to nine months to get paid for songs that are used in TV after they air.  This is just the nature of the publishing/licensing industry.  In order to cover the expenses that I will incur to market the artists I will be representing I have decided to charge a retainer fee for my services.  This is similar to the way a publicist works for example, in that most publicists charge a monthly or annual retainer fee for their services. My plan is to transition, over the course of a year or so, into a more traditional publisher/songwriter model.  Songwriters who get deals with me during the course of the first year will have the option of staying on board with me once I begin the new phase of my publishing company.

Is This Like Taxi Or Sonicbids?
No. Both Taxi and Sonicbids charge a membership fee and then charge an additional fee for every song you submit.  I will only be accepting songwriters into the program whose music I think is great and ready to be pitched and I will only be working with a small, select group of people. There will be no additional fees for projects that I submit your music to and you will be guaranteed a certain number of submissions per month.  If you're invited to join the service I'll send you all the details, but I can assure you that the retainer fee I charge is extremely fair for all the work I'll be doing on your behalf.

How Your Music Can Be Considered
If you write great, marketable music and you're interested in licensing your music for use in tv and films, here's what you need to do:

1) Send me a link to your music. Please include the words "Music Submission" in the subject field.  Please reference two to three of your best songs you'd like me to review.  Please don't email actual mp3's as they will not be listened to. 

2) That's it.   After I review your music, if I think we'd be a good fit I will email you with all the details on how the service works, including of course how much the retainer fee is, how many submissions I'll make on your behalf and all other relevant details. Please don't email me about these details.  If you're interested in joining the program, submit your music and if you're invited in to the program I'll send you all the details via email and you'll also have a chance to speak with me to go over how the service will work.

Styles of Music I'm Looking For
I am primarily interested in working with those who write music that is stylistically contemporary and very well produced.  I'm looking for vocal and instrumental music and I'm open to all styles, but it must be relevant to what is currently happening musically.  Music that is current and similar to what is popular simply has a much better chance of being used.  So if you write music that you think fits into what's currently popular, send it to me! Although I´m interested in all styles of music, I'm especially interested in music that fits into the following categories:  Rock, Alternative Rock, Pop/Rock, Modern Rock, Hip Hop, Singer/Songwriters, Indie Rock and Contemporary Folk Rock Ala Sufjan Stevens, Wilco, etc.  I´m also looking for writers that write great instrumental tracks in a variety of styles.

I'm thrilled to be starting this new division of my company and I look forward to working with new up and coming artists.  My first publisher started as a songwriter, as many other publishers have, and I'm excited to begin this new endeavor.  So...  if you think you're ready to get started.  Send me your music today!

Best,
Aaron Davison