Does anyone know of a warning list for songwriters

Penny,

There is NO listing of Song Sharks that I know of but there are warning signs to look out for.

The song shark's most familiar bait is a small ad along these lines: "Send us your poems for expert criticism. You may have a song hit. Upon acceptance, we edit, publish, record your song and bring it to the attention of bands and broadcasting studios."

When the sucker has swallowed the bait by submitting his song, he gets an enthusiastic letter stating that his lyrics are indeed hit material, that with a good tune and publication they can scarcely fail to score. Expenses incidental to publication—tunewriting, arranging, etc.—will, of course, cost a small amount, which must be sent in advance. The sucker sends the money, and is gratified to receive 20 printed copies of his song. He next hears from an apparently different concern (the same shark using a different address), expressing great interest in his published song and suggesting that all it needs is a recording, by an unfamiliar but impressively named orchestra. This can be done for a small fee, and so on.

By the time the sucker has spent up to a hundred dollars, he usually gets tired and quits. For his money he has received a tune any hack composer could turn out for $5, a printing job worth $7.50, a cheap $1 acetate recording.

Song sharks are hard to catch. Most modern sharks are carefully surrounded by expert legal talent. But they are easy to detect. What gives them away is asking for fees. No legitimate U.S. song publisher ever accepts money for publishing a song.

If you see an ad anywhere promising to turn your Lyrics/Poems into Songs, Be very wary and check with the BBB if possible (They probably won't show up as they reinvent themselves with new names every few years if not more often). If you send them a poem and they start asking for fees for publishing, printing, or recording, (no matter how much praise they throw at you about how good it is) you can be pretty sure they probably are a SCAM, and that it's time for you to run not walk away.

Hope this helps.

JRH

For legitimate Songwriter services, Writer's Digest puts out a Songwriter's Market, similar to their Writer's, Artist's, and Poet's Markets each Fall, with lists of Publishers, Recording Studios, Contests, Publications/Resources, Agents etc., and which can be found in most bookstores or libraries or at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1582974314/?tag=absolutewritedm-20

For all my complaints about Writer's Digest as a magazine, they're diligent about not recommending pay-to-play services in their market listings, & can be trusted.

There's actually a CD produced by one of the subsidy composer/musicians, all from stuff that he did to pay the rent. That was a decade ago, though, & I can't find reference to the darned thing: I Died Tonight. Anyway, I'm pretty certain any suckers wouldn't get the services of a guy that was this talented.

Penny,

I'm puzzled when you say you've seen a lot of "Music" places on the Web. Most that advertise "Music" are selling CDs, Downloads, or Radio links, or books on Songwriting or the Songwriting Business. Those listing Songwriters usually refer to personal websites or General Information Chat Rooms. (The John Lennon songwriting Contest used to have a chat room that covered a lot of information and peopled by those actively entering the various Song Contests out there, who, in general, were quite knowledgeable but JLSC closed it down).

Most Song Contests that are listed are legitimate (at least those asking under $50 a song entry) but they are VERY competitive. The best quide to them is how long they've been around. If it's for over 3 years, you're usually pretty safe. (The best of the ones I know about are "The John Lennon Song Contest",
"The Billboard Song Contest", "The USA Song Contest", "The International Song Contest" "The Eurovision Song Contest", " CMT NSAI Song Contest" and "The Great American Song Contest" all of which have been around for a while).
Other Contest sites may be perfectly legitimate but should be looked at closely before entering.

The only other sites I can think of would be music stores and those offering lessons in theory or training on specific instruments, or independent A&R companies like "Song Connect" or "Taxi" that act as middlemen for Songwriters for a fee.

If you know any beyond that, please let us know.

JRH

Penny,

Your gut reaction is probably quite correct. They are obviously PROMOTERS who are attempting to set themselves up as Agents and Booking Agents. I suspect they are legitimate but whether they're worth their fees or not is problematical. Their own advertising says that their *Fees* are on a project by project or RETAINER basis, and the fact that they're on MY SPACE indicates to me that they are most interested in PROMOTING themselves.

Your best bet might be to contact some of the people they claim to represent and find out how they feel they've been treated and then check with those friends of yours that have had friends that placed their songs and see how they compare, or check out "Songwriter's Market" for Managers/Booking Agents that have established reputations. (and most who have posted there in the past ask 15 -20% commission on what they place)

Promoters have a valid place in the business and I know of NO way to determine their value other than by trying them out cautiously, (a project at a time) and evaluating their performance.

Hope this answers your questions, at least in part.

Jim Hoye, (JRH)