Hi everyone, last night I received an email from SMFilms, an agency that is looking for music for a multitude of projects including TV series. I would like to ask if you are familiar with this agency and if you have also received an email from them. I guess they got to know me through my portfolio on Audiojungle and wanted to know if I would be interested in pitching myself as an artist for their projects. I of course sent them my portfolio and after a few hours they sent me a long email full of details (all great stuff!) including some kind of $29 fee to pay. If you also received the same email let me know if you would like to. Or if you are simply interested and think you can help me I can also paste their email here and let me know what you think.
Thank you all.
What is the fee for? You should not have to pay a fee for them to find you an outlet for your talent unless their obviously be a commission to pay. Sorry if I am skeptical about this arrangement.
I honestly don’t know what the fee is for, I don’t really understand. Anyway you are right, I am very skeptical and even suspicious too.
I will shortly paste here the emails they sent me so you can get a clearer idea.
The first email:
"Hope all is well. My name is Stephen, one of the directors over at SM Films. We’re reaching out to you today to see if you are interested in placement opportunities with several film companies we are currently in production with.
We are seeking musical compositions for television ads, films, series, radio ads, etc. If this is something you’d be interested in please respond at your earliest convenience with the following:
*Provide samples of your music: mp3s, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube, etc. All
genres and styles acceptable. One of our reps will reach out to you
with more in depth details upon submission.
Thanks, we look forward to connecting with you soon!"
Here is the second email they sent me after two hours that I had sent them the link to my portfolio:
"Thank you Dagored, we appreciate your submission. We’re just informing you that your music is in the process of being heard by our staff. We’ll get back to you promptly if we feel your material fits what we’re looking for. At this time, we have available record label, television and film opportunities. All paid opportunities. Please keep an eye out for our follow-up email with info on our current projects. Have a great day!
Be sure to follow us for updates: twitter.com/SMFilmsUpdates"
Finally here is the third email two hours ago:
"Good morning,
We finished listening to your music and we are impressed. You have a really fresh and unique sound, specifically what we’re looking for. Definitely would love to hear more, once we get everything squared away. We are looking to add on a few more musicians to complete our roster for the year. You’ll fit in well with many of the projects that we’re currently working on.
Please read the following information carefully:
We are currently seeking music for the following television series: Royalties and Licensing negotiations will be discussed once you’re considered for a placement. These are all paid assignments (payouts start from $1500 per track).
*** ABC series Cruel Summer (Season 2)**
*** Amazon Prime series The Boys (Season 4)**
*** AMC series Fear the Walking Dead (Season 8)**
*** Apple TV+ series Swagger (Season 2)**
*** BET+ series Tyler Perry’s Bruh (Season 2)**
*** CBS series The Equalizer (Season 4)**
*** The CW series Riverdale (Season 7)**
*** FOX series The Masked Singer (Season 9)**
*** FOX series 9-1-1: Lone Star (Season 4)**
*** NBC series Young Rock (Season 3)**
*** NBC series That’s My Jam! (Season 2)**
*** HBO series Euphoria (Season 3)**
*** HBO series The Last of Us (Season 1)**
*** Netflix series Lupin (Season 3)**
*** Netflix series Top Boy reboot (Season 3)*
*** OWN series Ready to Love (Season 8)**
*** Starz Run The World (Seasons 2-3)**
*** SHOWTIME series Billions (Season 7)**
*** TBS series Miracle Workers (Season 4)**
*** TNT series Shaq Life (Season 3)**
*** VH1 series Black Ink Crew (Season 11)**
All genres are accepted, so submit your best work. Full songs and/or instrumentals. Keep in mind, Explicit lyrics can ONLY be placed on premium networks such as HBO, Starz, Showtime, etc. These projects are Top Priority so submit in a timely fashion.
These are all based on non-exclusive agreements, meaning you can use the same tracks for multiple projects at a time.
Other assignments we have at the moment: Nationwide Television/Radio Ads
*** T-MOBILE: URGENT 22’ Samsung ad (paid 5k upfront+royalties) All genres.**
*** Sony PS/XBOX/PC: URGENT Marvel’s Avengers video game release. (paid 2k upfront+royalties) Theatrical and orchestral tunes)**
*** Coke ZERO: Campaign 2022 (paid 3k upfront + royalties) EDM based tunes.**
*** Nissan Maxima: 2022 commercial (paid 3k upfront + royalties) Open for all genres.**
*** McDonald’s: radio advertisement (paid royalties only) Hip-hop based tunes.**
*** Beats By Dre: Beats-X new product ad (licensing fee negotiable) Trap EDM tunes.**
*** Gatorade: Sports Fuel commercial. (paid royalties only) Hip-Hop and EDM tunes.**
*These are all also based on non-exclusive agreements. These tracks will need to be edited down to about 45 seconds or less. You’ll be given specific instructions on how the edits should be made as we move forward.
Miscellaneous Paid Opportunities:
*** Also seeking music for video games and featured films.**
*** We have several indie artists/labels requesting beats/songwriting/hooks.**
*** Selling your lyrics/beats (ghost writing/producing)**
Members of our team have affiliates with the following record labels. We’d like to pitch some of your material here too, if that’s something you’re interested in. Full songs, instrumentals, and demos accepted
- Atlantic Records- Island/Def Jam****
- RCA Records
- Sony Records
We also assist in the following:-Artist Development -Consultations -Copyrighting
-Helping with Exposure
-Promo
-Publishing
-Engineering and Mastering
New assignments come in on a weekly basis, so the workflow is steady. Many of our musicians do this full time. It’s a good way to earn extra money from your music. So we encourage you to consider it.
How To Get Started: We’re looking to add on a few more musicians to complete our roster (there’s roughly 10 more slots available). There is a one-time registration fee of $29. [The fee will cover your registration and your catalog that’ll go into our client database]. Once the fee is processed, notify us immediately. We will send you the registration form, then schedule you a conference via phone, Facetime, Zoom, or Skype to discuss details, and to answer any questions you have. We want to get your material submitted for these projects within the next few days.
We look forward to you joining our team!
Pay REGISTRATION fee here: cash.app/$SMRegistration(See Below for directions on how to submit payment).****
How to Pay Registration Fee:1) Click on Link2) Enter the fee amount 3) Enter your payment information4) Press “Pay” buttonMore info: Cash App - Secure P2P Payments
*Thanks, and look forward to speaking soon!"
what do you think? Is this normal? thanks again.
It’s a bit strange I couldn’t find their website easily (well, I couldn’t find it at all), and they’re are not listed in trustpilot either, specially if they are working with a big volume of broadcast contents…
They’re offering several $K upfront for non-exclusive deals with huge companies, they never mention author/publisher share split or any other details, and they’re asking for $29 for registration. That’s too suspicious, if you ask me.
My humble opinion; FAKE.
I’ve already received, it’s SPAM.
Hi @Dagored, I’ve received the same fisrt emmail from them.
- I’ve never heard about their company. If you do a search for their company name, you get a bunch of Sado Maso Porn sites as a result.
- In my email was an e-mail adress listed, where I should answering. This email address was a GMail account. Honestly: Every serious company should have an own domain.
- There was no website address listed.
I answered them with my concerns and never got a further e-mail from them.
This is not a serious company or business.in my opinion.
Thank you all. I already had so many suspicions and by sharing this with you now I have no doubt: it is a fake. By the way, it was already strange that they chose mid-level artists like me.
Thank you again.
Mmm, I don’t want to get into this discussion so no need to reply, but IMO you are not a mid-level artist. You have some really cool tracks, many of them quite unique, with fresh sound, and your portfolio is huge. I would boost those prices and I’m pretty sure you will see your income grow a bit.
Just a humble opinion. This ship is going down anyway, so I rather watch it sink with fair prices.
Best of luck!
Thank you.
The first email:
"Hope all is well. My name is Stephen, one of the directors over at SM Films. We’re reaching out to you today to see if you are interested in placement opportunities with several film companies we are currently in production with.
We are seeking musical compositions for television ads, films, series, radio ads, etc. If this is something you’d be interested in please respond at your earliest convenience with the following:
*Provide samples of your music: mp3s, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube, etc. All
genres and styles acceptable. One of our reps will reach out to you
with more in depth details upon submission.Thanks, we look forward to connecting with you soon!"
Here is the second email they sent me after two hours that I had sent them the link to my portfolio:
**"Thank you Dagored, we appreciate your submission. We’re just informing you that your music is in the process of being heard by our staff. We’ll get back to you promptly if we feel your material fits what we’re looking for. At this time, we have available record label, television and film opportunities. All paid opportunities. In my humble opinion, there are not a lot of great online casinos. If you don’t want to waste your time on useless research just visit play casino online for real money Canada and grab your bonuses. You may not believe me so in this case you can read real reviews.
**
Be sure to follow us for updates: twitter.com/SMFilmsUpdates"
As far as I am concerned, this is a very strange letter.
Their tweeter is just netflix retweet, no trace of sync.
That’s right, really strange.
No, it’s fake.
If you get this kind of email - DO NOT SEND YOUR WORK TO THEM - verify the sender first else run the risk of your work being ripped off. From working on terrestrial TV in the UK it is normally through agents and history working with the production company rather than a cold calling. Be very wary of such email and make sure that your work is protected and registered with Content ID and a Pro.
I have not found any web site.
I just sent them that if you want to work with me, welcome. But I am not going to pay any fee or smt.
And they have been keeping silence for about 2 weeks)
I have received one yesterday. I have made searches on internet, found nothing, like you did.
So yes it is fake…
Their mail was received at a good time for them because I am currently in contact with some sync/licensing agencies so I could have made a mistake…