I've been away for a few days so I missed a number of posts here. 
 
Jeff is spot on with his comments about the bar being extremely high, and the forum NOT being a good place for critical feedback. Most people will tell you a song is good even if it's horribly constructed, lyrics make no sense, singing is pitchy, instruments are out of tune, etc..... all you have to do is read the comments in the songs forum....yeah I get it that people like to be nice, and want to be encouraging and that's all well and good, but if you're shooting for a commercial cut, you have to be honest and most folks listening are not professional song pluggers and don't really know what they are listening for. A few people in the forums have opinions and advice that I trust. Sharp well trained ears. The rest.... I  love them anyway and appreciate their comments as well, it's just that they don't dig deep with their comments. Hey, we're all having fun..., right?
 
Yeah, in recent years the trend is for simple, sparse music. Lots of TV shows are using it as well as commercials. 
 
Most of the guys and gals I know who are in the top libraries are not giving up the names of the libraries or the folks involved. Those names and contacts were generally very hard won. More than one time other folks not quite as professional or ready to be playing at that level have contacted the producers and presidents and used the names of those folks, saying essentially that "so and so recommended that I contact you" which creates an awkward situation for the guy there legitimately.  Once bitten, twice shy......Once you get there on your own, other people get to know and then it's OK to discuss the names once you're all on the same side of the gates.  One A-class I'll tell you about is Studio 51. they only take referrals from TAXI....I've seen the owner post in the forum on TAXI......Do you want in? They land big cuts for their writers. Very exclusive bunch. You gotta submit through TAXI, and TAXI isn't telling you either what the name of the library is before you submit, or after you submit unless you get a forward to the listing, and even then..... I've had forwards to "Major TV Library"..... as opposed to a specific name of the library. That's by the library's request.....lots of secrecy in some of the bigger places. Whether that is good or bad, right or wrong, IDK..... but that's what I've seen. And yeah, some of the libraries I'm in took a lot of time and effort to get there..... I'm not willing to tell that info to anyone .... you need to earn it yourself. You'll value it more that way. I share the info rarely and only when I;m sure the person is capable and ready..... just do me a favor and don't mention my name. (just in case you blow it)
 
Of course there are lots of B-class libraries that are online and accept on line from anyone.... those are no big problem. Pump Audio is one of them. Crucial is another. Crucial has tough screeners. The better libraries tend to not advertise or accept unsolicited material form unknown writers. You get one shot with a recommendation. On those, I'm not giving up those names nor are anyone else I know who's in them.
 
As far as my last year at TAXI being a rip off, I disagree. As Jeff mentioned, while I submitted good songs, they were not good enough for any of a variety of reasons. Could have been the lyrics didn't work for the listing, the style was not close enough, the recording had quality issues, or anything else that the screener heard that I didn't.
 
I had one song a number of years back that the screener commented that the lyrics were dead on target, but the style wasn't close enough..... returned.  Rock ballad, not indy rock enough....go figure.
 
The good thing is, there is no "one way" to success in this business. There are literally hundreds of ways to get your music into the hands of the movers and shakers. The key to success is to keep at it. You never succeed when you give up or slow down. Even the B-libraries can land you a lucrative TV deal. So keep working on the dream.

Guitarhacker
I've been away for a few days so I missed a number of posts here. 
 
Jeff is spot on with his comments about the bar being extremely high, and the forum NOT being a good place for critical feedback. Most people will tell you a song is good even if it's horribly constructed, lyrics make no sense, singing is pitchy, instruments are out of tune, etc..... all you have to do is read the comments in the songs forum....yeah I get it that people like to be nice, and want to be encouraging and that's all well and good, but if you're shooting for a commercial cut, you have to be honest and most folks listening are not professional song pluggers and don't really know what they are listening for. A few people in the forums have opinions and advice that I trust. Sharp well trained ears. The rest.... I  love them anyway and appreciate their comments as well, it's just that they don't dig deep with their comments. Hey, we're all having fun..., right?
 

 
 Agreed there's some good ears on the forum and some not so good ears.But you can get good professional feedback and it's free. You take the good and leave the bad.
I've used a cello player and a drummer on a library project from here and both did a fantastic job.So no,I disagree the forum is useful for library music composers,if it's for recording advise,people recording parts or just simply  a bit of encouragement in the way of 'I like that' - it's a good resource.
 
 

Guitarhacker
 
Most of the guys and gals I know who are in the top libraries are not giving up the names of the libraries or the folks involved. Those names and contacts were generally very hard won. More than one time other folks not quite as professional or ready to be playing at that level have contacted the producers and presidents and used the names of those folks, saying essentially that "so and so recommended that I contact you" which creates an awkward situation for the guy there legitimately.  Once bitten, twice shy......Once you get there on your own, other people get to know and then it's OK to discuss the names once you're all on the same side of the gates.  One A-class I'll tell you about is Studio 51. they only take referrals from TAXI....I've seen the owner post in the forum on TAXI......Do you want in? They land big cuts for their writers. Very exclusive bunch. You gotta submit through TAXI, and TAXI isn't telling you either what the name of the library is before you submit, or after you submit unless you get a forward to the listing, and even then..... I've had forwards to "Major TV Library"..... as opposed to a specific name of the library. That's by the library's request.....lots of secrecy in some of the bigger places. Whether that is good or bad, right or wrong, IDK..... but that's what I've seen. And yeah, some of the libraries I'm in took a lot of time and effort to get there..... I'm not willing to tell that info to anyone .... you need to earn it yourself. You'll value it more that way. I share the info rarely and only when I;m sure the person is capable and ready..... just do me a favor and don't mention my name. (just in case you blow it)
 

Not really sure why you posted this !! So you say you have worked with decent libraries but you're not willing to disclose the names ? That's pretty funny if not a bit sad considering the context of this thread.What are you worried about ?You have absolutely no need to feel threatened... no'one is asking for contacts or recommendations....just experiences. If your experience has been like you've posted I feel a little bit sorry for you... it seems like you are living in worry for nothing.
So lets  be super clear... I'm not after your work,I'm not after your territory,I'm not after a recommendation and I'm not after using your name...
Jeff has mentioned the label he's worked for.....here's mine.
I've worked with Atmosphere (Universal) prob the biggest library in the UK  and Imagem (Boosey and Hawkes) 
 
 
 
 

Guitarhacker
 
 
The better libraries tend to not advertise or accept unsolicited material form unknown writers. You get one shot with a recommendation. On those, I'm not giving up those names nor are anyone else I know who's in them.
 

 
Thats funny,because I approached Universal with just a phone call...no recommendation,no middleman,no TAXI and still got the work.You make out the industry is un-approachable. It isn't.They will take any material that will sell and that makes a profit.It seems to me that u are either (a) Overprotective about your turf  or (b) You've not worked with any Majors (hence the secrecy) and are full of ****...... Either way the statement you've just made is false.
 
 
 
 

Guitarhacker
As far as my last year at TAXI being a rip off, I disagree. As Jeff mentioned, while I submitted good songs, they were not good enough for any of a variety of reasons. Could have been the lyrics didn't work for the listing, the style was not close enough, the recording had quality issues, or anything else that the screener heard that I didn't.
 
I had one song a number of years back that the screener commented that the lyrics were dead on target, but the style wasn't close enough..... returned.  Rock ballad, not indy rock enough....go figure.
 

 
Yeah so you work with A class companies and yet you still paid TAXI for submissions who rejected you ? What can I say man ?? Why didn't you approach your contacts or use one of your recommendations ?
 
 
 
 

Guitarhacker
You never succeed when you give up or slow down. Even the B-libraries can land you a lucrative TV deal. So keep working on the dream.

I totally agree.
K
 

Well, you can pick everything apart that I say if you wish. That's your choice.
 
I stand by the things I posted.  If you are seeking new libraries, why not simply google them on the internet. A search I just did for "music production libraries" on google turned up a bunch of them.
 
Do your due diligence and place your music with them if you feel so inclined....or not.
 
Interesting, though, I didn't see the names of any of the libraries I'm with, listed in that search. Then again, I really didn't expect to see them seeking submissions from the general music population either.
 
One thing I will respond to in your last post. Yeah so you work with A class companies and yet you still paid TAXI for submissions who rejected you ? What can I say man ?? Why didn't you approach your contacts or use one of your recommendations ?
 
Did you read the section above that which you quoted? Taxi screeners are very targeted to the requirements for the listing. Miss that by a small margin and no matter how good the song, they will "return" it to you. When the listing says "indy rock" you get a return if it's not "indy rock".  Taxi runs a streaming show called TAXI TV once a week. Look it up. The president (Michael L) hosts shows on occasion, featuring a specific listing and plays a handful of "returns" and "forwards" from that listing, live, to show what has been submitted and why it was forwarded or returned. It's interesting to see because they will sometimes have a screener on with him explaining their reasons for their decisions.
 
Besides that whole targeted thing, Taxi is constantly adding new libraries and production companies to their listings. So the chance to connect with new blood in the biz is always there. No matter what people think about Taxi, they do have a growing and well respected reputation in the music business. If you had ever attended one of their road rallies in LA, you would know that from the caliber of people who volunteer to come in to conduct the sessions and lectures. Some of the top songwriters and producers and library owners in the music business are there and active in that event.
 
And yes, I do approach my existing contacts and place my material with them...... but referring back to your original post where you said: 
 
I'm looking to approach music libraries and was hoping maybe some people on here can give me some pointers to libraries they've worked with and would consider them worthwhile ?!
I've worked with a couple of good libraries in the UK and have done ok with them...just looking at branching at a little and not to put all my eggs in one basket :)
 
exactly!  Me too.
 
Peace....

Guitarhacker
Well, you can pick everything apart that I say if you wish. That's your choice.
 
I stand by the things I posted.  If you are seeking new libraries, why not simply google them on the internet. A search I just did for "music production libraries" on google turned up a bunch of them.
 

 
Maybe it's comes across as picking apart sure,but all I'm doing is quoting from my experience and you are quoting from yours and we seem to differ on a lot of things. Maybe the US library business model is different than the UK and Europe and hence our attitudes are going to differ too.
 
As far as looking for new libraries,yes it's easy,but its more interesting to hear people experiences then doing a search on google.  Having said that I've just found a company called Sonoton who have good placements in TV and are part of the APM group. I've worked with their sub-publisher in the UK so I've got a good chance of some work coming from them.. 
 

Guitarhacker
 
One thing I will respond to in your last post. Yeah so you work with A class companies and yet you still paid TAXI for submissions who rejected you ? What can I say man ?? Why didn't you approach your contacts or use one of your recommendations ?
 
Did you read the section above that which you quoted? Taxi screeners are very targeted to the requirements for the listing. Miss that by a small margin and no matter how good the song, they will "return" it to you. When the listing says "indy rock" you get a return if it's not "indy rock".  Taxi runs a streaming show called TAXI TV once a week. Look it up. The president (Michael L) hosts shows on occasion, featuring a specific listing and plays a handful of "returns" and "forwards" from that listing, live, to show what has been submitted and why it was forwarded or returned. It's interesting to see because they will sometimes have a screener on with him explaining their reasons for their decisions.
 
Besides that whole targeted thing, Taxi is constantly adding new libraries and production companies to their listings. So the chance to connect with new blood in the biz is always there. No matter what people think about Taxi, they do have a growing and well respected reputation in the music business. If you had ever attended one of their road rallies in LA, you would know that from the caliber of people who volunteer to come in to conduct the sessions and lectures. Some of the top songwriters and producers and library owners in the music business are there and active in that event.
 

 
We'll just have to agree to disagree about TAXI. Each to their own,if it works for you great,but it's not for me.I really don't have anything more to say about it.
 
 
 

Guitarhacker
I'm looking to approach music libraries and was hoping maybe some people on here can give me some pointers to libraries they've worked with and would consider them worthwhile ?!
I've worked with a couple of good libraries in the UK and have done ok with them...just looking at branching at a little and not to put all my eggs in one basket :)
 
exactly!  Me too.
 
Peace....

Best of British luck to you....