Wanted to vent and this seemed like the most appropriate place to do it...

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StephenBStephenB Frets: 75
edited October 2020 in Making Music
This happened today and it is tangentially related to music making - I really need to get this off my chest, so here we go..

A new local taxi company has a competition for a new jingle, awarding 500 quid for the "best jingle" - approx 30 seconds of music that they can use across social media and radio.

So I threw my hat in the ring and wrote them a doozy: a catchy hook, cheesy, studio quality, the whole shebang.

I get a call from them saying that they loved the entry, in fact they were already using the jingle on the radio (I checked and right enough, they were) and they wanted me to add a line about downloading their app, so I figured, heck if they are using it already, then I don't mind putting in a bit more work to get the cash.

Fast forward up to today, they give me a call to inform me that I have come second in the competition, offering 100 quid on the condition that they can continue to use the track across their social media platforms and presumably radio spots.

I basically told them that if they wanted to use it, they would have to pay for it and they said "well that's what the 100 euros is for".

I know I don't have any recourse as this was a competition entry, but I feel really cheated by this, considering extra work was put in and they seemed to like the track enough to put it on the radio.

So what would you guys do? Take the 100 and suck it up? Or protest and not let them use the track?

For reference you can find the track here:
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Comments

  • dariusdarius Frets: 619
    If they didnt offer £100 AND free exposure then screw them!
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  • StrangefanStrangefan Frets: 5845
    I bet in the t and Cs it will say something about rights, I'd take the 100 personally 
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  • Tell them that £100 per month is acceptable?
    When logic and proportion
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  • sev112sev112 Frets: 2739
    Why aren’t they using the one that won who presumably they paid £500 for.

    i don’t suppose you will get any coverage from it , it’s not as though they are going to say “jingle written by StephenB” at the end of each advert.

    id  all their bluff.  Tell them they are in breach by using your jingle, which you only authorised to be used in the event that you “won” and they paid you £500


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  • sev112sev112 Frets: 2739
    ... and that in the meantime while they are thinking about it, you want 33% of the fees of every job that has come into them since they’ve been using your jingle 
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  • poopotpoopot Frets: 9098
     A new local taxi company has a competition for a new jingle, awarding 500 quid for the "best jingle" - approx 30 seconds of music that they can use across social media and radio.

    that’s for the winning entry right?

    You came second... thank them for the £100 runners up prize and tell them if they’d like the rights to use your jingle it’s “X pounds”...
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  • I think the $64k question is did you agree to terms by entering the competition, and what were they?  It may be that by entering you were granting them the right to use the jingle whether or not you won.
    “To a man with a hammer every problem looks like a nail.”
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  • IMC1980IMC1980 Frets: 141
    It either will or won't be in the competition terms that you accepted by entering. If it is, take the 100 and move on, if not take the 100 and get a lawyer friend involved to ensure they either pay for using the jingle or stop using your work.
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  • FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
    Ok. Why not accept the £100 and think of the whole thing as a learning experience? 

    You'll have a commercial jingle on the radio which may leads to other things. You've done the work, don't let it go to waste and get £100 into the bargain.

    They sound like dicks, but that's useful information going forward - people.will take advantage of you don't tie up all the details. 
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  • The Ts & Cs for the competition should have the answer to this. Does it give them the right to use your work just for the radio jingle? Or does it give them copyright control to use your work for anything they like? Including re-licencing all or part of it to other people and other uses without paying you a royalty for it? Like using the music and redoing the voiceover for another firm?

    Nice Caembert-flavoured jingle, BTW! 
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  • stickersticker Frets: 869
    I’d take the £100 and add the jingle to your CV , it might be the thing that gets heard that leads to other work ...
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  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    If you do decide to take the hundred, you can always haggle with them - sell it to them for 200. They’re not the one to determine the price, the one willing to walk away from the deal is!
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • viz said:
    If you do decide to take the hundred, you can always haggle with them - sell it to them for 200. They’re not the one to determine the price, the one willing to walk away from the deal is!
    I suppose on the other hand though, they've already used it and the Op will have little choice (as in, options that won't cost him a sight more than £100) should they continue to do so without his consent anyway, so they could just walk away also!
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • Thanks for all the input guys, the weird thing is there doesn't seem to be any Ts & Cs outlined, this is a fairly new company so there is a chance that they didn't have a lawyer to write them.

    I think I agree with the general consensus here of taking the money and calling it a learning exercise.

    I'll update when I know what the final story is...

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  • good job btw.
    ဈǝᴉʇsɐoʇǝsǝǝɥɔဪቌ
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