This probably isn’t of interest to everyone here, but for those of us at the more amateur end of the scale there is a project on Casting Call Club at the moment - an audio production company (which seems to be a not-for-profit aiming to give newbies industry experience) has posted an open call for composers to create short (15-20 seconds) intro music for a number of podcast pitches.
The pitches are minimally described - a title, plus a three or four word description, so there’s a lot of scope for interpretation.
There’s the promise of a nominal fee if selected - and, if the podcast is commissioned, the chance to compose for the production. The project closing date is the end of this month (Jan 2025).
(To be clear, I’m not affiliated with the project in any way - over the weekend I’ve found the process of trying to work inside these constraints a lot of fun, and it dawned on me this morning that others here might also get something out of it.)
My first thought is “Anyone who wants you to submit music, or anything, to be considered for use might easily keep and use what you submit,…and even copyright is as if it’s theirs”. I have heard this type of thing is happening. Just giving them your website so they can listen to examples of your work should be sufficient. Juat a few seconds of music can be a music concept for them to take and use, and never let you know.
I think it makes sense to be cautious. Nobody likes being exploited. But on the other hand, anyone with minimal technical knowledge can download demos from your website or reel too. And the line between “inspiration” and plagiarism has always been a bit difficult to define.
Again, I think we do need to protect our rights and intellectual property. But if it starts to resemble hyper vigilant behavior and we don’t show our work for fear of someone ripping us off, we may need to consider if that’s the environment we want to operate in, or if we maybe want to reconsider our approach to this being part of the reality we life in.
Again, I don’t mean to bash your decision to be cautious and suspicious. That’s up to you.
Thanks for your response, Merlin. I understand you, as well. It is shameful that people are so without intergrity that they steal wjat belongs to others. I plan to copyright all that I do, just to have that as a reference for ownership.
I’d add that it’s likely that any creative work we share online is almost certainly being used as fuel to feed somebody’s generative AI.
Sidestepping the rights issue, based on my experience with this project I’d encourage composers who haven’t done something similar to try an exercise of writing very short pieces to a prompt. You don’t need to submit them to get value from the exercise.
Thanks David
Yes, I think so too. AS much as I like to focus on the many friends I’ve made in this world of music who act with wonderfully consistent integrity, I’m right there with you in having encountered way more who don’t. And I also wish it was different, and know it is not. I think protecting your work in any way you can is absolutely smart, and something we should all do in one way or another.
Cheers!
The deadline for the project has been extended until the end of March 2025, and about a dozen new titles have been added this week.
It’s a genuine opportunity. I have been paid for my work as a composer for the first time ever having had one of my submissions to the project picked (which feels like a personal milestone).
Edited to add -
Rereading, I realise this sounds a bit spammy; you will have to accept the word of a random stranger on the internet that the above is true!
I wanted to second what you write here. One of my compositions was picked too. I got paid any everything went perfectly, and the fellow also seemed very friendly and genuine to me. I think it’s like you said. A great opportunity to work to briefs, and maybe even make a few bucks with some luck.
