By Carla Acheson 

Musical opportunities seem to flow through thousands of musicians' inboxes and letterboxes by the day. You've probably seen loads of them if you have any musical presence on the Internet. Slogans such as 'Sign Up And Be Heard' written across the top of your e-mail in large eye-catching flashing letters, or colourful banners, purely aimed at encouraging you to join their services. But how can you tell a scam from the real deal?

Often many music sites, with all due sincerity, usually have something or other worth looking into. But scanning them at face value might not be enough to really know what you're letting yourself in for. Joining the massive ranks of people who sign up to music sites might get you some exposure and the elusive 'possibility' of industry recognition, but as with everything, you may just end up as another 'number' on the list of many. I would call this the 'Internet Sheep Syndrome'! Catch the attention of one sheep and let the others follow.

Some things you need to consider before signing up to some music promotional service sites, for one, is being wary of what exactly they are asking from you, and offering you. You also have to be very careful how much information you give away. Have you noticed how some sites ask non-musical related questions such as 'Tick your personal interests on this list', or, 'What is your average annual income? You might just think this is so that they get an idea what kind of person you are. More often than not this type of information gives some sites the privilege to abuse your inbox, by spamming you in future with advertising information they feel you would most likely be interested in. Not only from themselves either, but they will have passed your address (for money) to other companies as well. Your innocent information is a collective scheme for their gain and profit!

You can, these days, buy thousands of email addresses for a cheap buck or two from some corporations. The idea behind this is the huge advertising opportunity. We have received here, at Melodrift, countless mails offering 10,000 or so email addresses for a set fee! No Thank You.

So firstly, when you sign up for something only give the information which is truly necessary to what they need and what you are willing to provide. For instance, asking for your wage bracket is not relevant information that they need to host a couple of your songs!

Here is an example of a scam I received once, (without mentioning the company in question). It was a letter which arrived in my inbox from a very well known Music/TV corporation. The deal was catchy and bright:

'We have heard your music and would like to feature a song of yours to millions of people'.

The offer was for free and for my own promotional advantage too, they said. It seemed to be interesting enough to investigate further, coming from a big name in the entertainment world. And they were right, they were willing to showcase my music to millions, and also for free so what was the catch?

Looking closely at the contract (WHICH YOU MUST ALWAYS DO), they would not showcase musicians that had registered copyright protection on their songs! They would not showcase signed artists. You could not GET signed or accept any deals by any other label or publishing company, agent or corporation for the whole duration of time that they were using your music. You would NOT RECEIVE a penny for their use of your music, (as you could not be a member of any royalty fee-collecting organisation).

And to hit the nail on the head and dig in the last claw... these so called millions of listeners to your songs would NEVER know who you are, or be given any details as to who the song belongs to! So basically, yes they were right, my music would have been heard by millions, but no-one would have a clue that it was mine, plus I wouldn't be entitled to a penny from the company for using it.

Hello?..... Did I miss something here? Doesn't sound quite fair does it?

Basically then, this promotional offer was a great one. FOR THEM.

This is just one of the many scams which thousands of people enter into every day because they feel that 'any kind of promotion or interest' is great. But hey, stop a moment and think. How important is your music to you? Do you really want your unique art form stolen from you by others, just to promote their own product? You've spent days, months, (perhaps years) sweating away working on something totally original and unique, and then some big shot comes along and wants to take it from you, and use it to their own advantage. Make sure the deal goes two ways, not just to their own advantage. Think twice!

Be wary of sites which claim to put your music in front of the industry professionals noses! By this I mean be wary of how much money they are asking from you to do just that. There are, without a doubt, companies that will do this for a fee, but there are also those that will take your money and don't! How will you ever know?

Check that your music has the sufficient copyright protection and notices on their site when you upload it, and that they can use your music for promotional features and purposes with your permission only. Get copyright protection on all your tunes yourself if you are serious about your music. I discovered my songs were once being used as a promotional feature on a site I had never heard of before, or given permission to feature, just to promote their own site! This is stealing and it's very easy to do on the Internet.

If you are not sure about any of the features or functions on a music site, make sure you email/contact them first and ask any questions you have before signing up (especially if your intending to pay them for it). If they don't have any real customer service support then that in itself should ring a bell. How many forums have you visited where musicians are desperate for answers to their questions on what is happening to their music on that particular site? These could be valid questions which are never answered properly and some are never answered at all.

There are fewer honest individuals about on the Internet these days due to the explosion of advertising and marketing opportunities now available. You cannot trust anyone 100%, though with some you will have to give the benefit of the doubt. A case of innocent until proven guilty perhaps. If a company is offering a reasonably good service, and offering a decent proportion of promotion for your music at a reasonable cost, by all means follow it up. It is after all a business they are running, and they do have to meet many hosting and promotional costs themselves. Thankfully, many sites are still for free which means you are only at risk with your product and not your pocket.

What you must do though is keep your eyes open, follow your own rules and stick to them. You can take things as far as you want to then without having to look back in regret. If something doesn't smell quite right to you, or you feel there is information you don't understand, you have to ask, and you have to make sure you are answered before you say yes! It is possible to find the right places with the right attitude and distinguish the sharks between the friendly dolphins!. Just don't let the 'Scam dressed as Glam' catch you in their net!

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