What does Music Business Watch do?
We are one of the leading companies who publish contact information for the music industry. We publish contact information for five specific areas within the music industry; A&R personnel at the Major and Independent labels, Creative personnel at the Major and Independent Music Publishers, Music Business Attorneys, Artist Managers, and all of the music contacts within the film, television and Video Game community. That's all we do so we are your go-to source for contact information when you need to reach music industry professionals.
What do we NOT do?
This is a REALLY important question because this will save you (and us) a LOT of time. We are NOT a record label, we are NOT a music publishing company, and we do NOT license anyone's music. We are also NOT a management company and we are certainly NOT music attorneys. While we know all the people who do those things, our job is to give YOU the contact information you need to reach them with your music.
While we certainly enjoy listening to music from new artists, please do not send us links to your music or ask us to listen to your music.
How often are our directories updated?
Current and accurate information is always important for our customers which is why we are updating our directory databases everyday. As soon as we learn of new information we update our records so that you are receiving the most current information available. For our online customers that means that everytime you log on you can be assured that the information you are seeing is the latest information we have available.
How do we update your contact directories or how do you get someone's contact information?
We've been doing this for over twenty-two years so a lot of the industry lets us know as soon as they have moved from one position to another. Even with that, we are constantly scanning press releases and music industry trade publications. And, after all that, we still reach out to all of the contacts in our directories prior to publication to once again confirm their information and to make any changes that might have just occurred. So, yes — music industry professionals listed in our directories know their contact information is being published in our contact directories. But, they also know that we always strongly suggest to our customers that you use that information in a professional manner and get to know the people with whom you want to work. Please, do NOT buy one of our directories with the intent of just bombarding busy professionals with your new demo without first establishing a relationship. Remember, the music industry is a relationship business so cultivate those relationships and don't burn bridges!
What kind of information do your directories contain, and can I see a sample?
All of our directories are specific to their title meaning that the A&R Registry, for example, is a directory of RECORD LABEL A&R executives and their staff. The Music Publisher Registry contains contacts for MUSIC PUBLISHING companies and their executives. The exception to that is our Film & Television Music Guide which lists over twenty-two categories (labels, publishers, music supervisors, scoring stages, etc.) because the licensing and placement of music is handled across the industry. Each of our directories list companies alphabetically and then list the personnel working at that company. We try to list everyone's title, direct dial phone number, fax numbers (yes, people still use fax machines), email as well as assistant's names and the company's website. If you're just starting out (or even if you're an industry veteran), you'll want to get to know the assistants since they are often the gate-keepers so be nice to them! For the Record Labels, we also list the genre of music the label handles as well as the distributor. All of the email addresses and websites are hyperlinked in the PDF versions so you can email or surf directly from your directory. If you'd like to see a sample of listings, just go to the product you're interested in in the store and click to open the product description. There you will find a picture of the directory as well as a sample page so you can see exactly the type of detail you'll be getting when you purchase your directory.
How can I get my company or a composer listed?
Actually, it's really easy! Just email us your contact information and we'll follow up from there. Be sure to let us know what your company does so we know which directory to update with your information. If you are a record label (or label exec), a music publishing company, a music attorney, artist manager, or involved in licensing of music for film, television and video games there's a place for you in one of our directories. If you are an artist or involved in some other aspect of the music industry just let us know more about what you do so we can update one of the appropriate databases we also maintain for the music industry.
What if someone's contact information has changed?
The music industry is a wonderfully fluid industry where personnel changes happen at the drop of a hat. While we do our best to always have the latest, up-to-date contact information for someone, it will invarilably happen that someone slips through the cracks. When that happens, just shoot us an email with the information and we'll get right on it. Chances are we already were aware of the change, but it occasionally happens when we need to make a few phone calls. But, as soon as we have the new contact information, we'll shoot you an email with the new information. Of course, that is if we haven't just released a new edition!
What's the difference between the PDF, online, and database or Excel versions of your directories?
All of our directories start out with the exact same information. What makes the difference between the different versions is how you can view or use that information and how that information gets updated. We release PDF versions of our A&R Registry, Music Publisher Registry, and the Film & Television Music Guide throughout the year. PDF versions are sent to you via WeTransfer which contains a link to download the PDF file to your computer for you to use. The advantages of this format are that the PDF Files most closely resemble the look and layout of a printed book, but are much more dynamic. All of the email and websites are hyperlinked, you can print individual pages, seach the PDF file as well as bookmark certain pages. You also do not need to be connected to the internet to view the PDF because it is a saved file on your computer or tablet. Because of the nature of the PDF, the information is static or locked meaning that it does not automatically update until the next issue is released. However, if you ever run across information that has become out of date before a new issue has been released, just shoot us an email and we'll do our best to get you corrected information. The Excel or database versions contain the exact same information as the PDF versions do, but because it is in an excel database format you can manilputate the data however you need. It can be imported into your contacts, a word processing program for mailings, searched by genre, zip code, company name, etc. — everything you'd expect to be able to do with a database file. That brings us to the online version of our directories hosted at MBLists.com. Once again, all of the database information contained in our other formats is also available online. The major advantage is that since the information is hosted online, the database is updated everytime you log on (yes, you must be connected to the internet to use this format). The online version is completely searchable and is hyperlinked as well so you can also email and web browse right from the program. In addition, we also offer an option to export the information if you also need that feature as well or want to use the information offline. The other major advantage of the online format is that there are contact directory databases available there not available in a PDF format such as our Artist Manager Registry.
Some useful links:
Performing Rights Societies
ALCS (Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society; U.K.)
AMCOS (Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners' Society)
AMRA (American Mechanical Rights Agency, Inc.)
APRA (Australian Performing Rights Association)
ASCAP (American Society of Composers Author and Publishers)
BUMA / STEMRA / CEDAR (Netherlands copyright organizations)
CISAC (Inter Confederation Of Societies Of Authors And Composers )
CMRRA (Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency)
GEMA (German mechanical and performing rights society)
The Harry Fox Agency, Inc.
IMRO (Irish Music Rights Organization)
JASRAC (Japanese mechanical and performing rights society)
KODA (Danish music rights society)
PRS - MCPS (Performing Rights Society: UK)
SABAM (Belgian Society of Authors, Composers, and Publishers)
SACD (The Society of Authors and Composers of Dramatic Works; France)
SACEM (Society of Authors, Composers, and Music Publishers; France)
SESAC (US Performing Rights Society)
SGAE (General Society of Composers and Publishers; Spain)
SOCAN (Society of Authors, Composers,
and Music Publishers of Canada)
STEMRA (Dutch mechanical rights society)
SUISA (Swiss music rights society)
Industry Organizations
& Publications
CCC (California Copyright Conference)
ICMP (International Confederation of Music Publishers)
NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences)
Nashville Songwriters Association International
NMPA (National Music Publishers Association)
PMA (Production Music Association)
RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)
SCL (Society of Composers & Lyricists)
Songwriters Association of Canada
Songlink International (pitch publication)
SoundExchange(Sound Recording Royalty collection)
What if I come across missing information or out of date information in a directory?
We won't kid you -- the music industry is CONSTANTLY changing and that also means that your favorite A&R person at a label one week may be at a different label the next week (or become a manager or gone to work at a tech firm). Believe us, we know because we're updating our database information every day. Even with our best efforts there are going to be times that information changes that didn't get into a new issue or we haven't been able to confirm it yet. Anytime you notice missing information or outdated information, just shoot us an email. We then jump right on investigating for you (if we didn't already know of the change) and will then be happy to let you know of the new information as soon as it's confirmed. The one caveat to this is that we're happy to do this as long as a new issue has not been released. In other words, please don't email us to let us know that information is outdated from a directory we released in 2014 when a brand-new issue is available. We'd all be happier if you just purchased the new directory! It will also save you a lot of time, money and aggravation!