WE ARE NOT SEEKING NEW SONGS TO LICENSE at this time.
Due to the number of projects in development – we are on hold for new submissions.
PlayTheGroove was seeking original, current global groove and jazz music, including ethno music, blues, Latin, AfroCuban, AfroBeat, and swing. The ideal songs need to be unique, refreshing, and fun to play.
We are especially seeking music from artists outside the United States and from women composers/artists.
For our educational initiative, we hand-select songs with an objective team of music teachers and musicologists to address a number of contextual and “playable”* elements. By “playable,” we mean a song can be played by middle and high school musicians in LIVE settings. We create sheet music, educational resources, and pedagogy to support music education and community engagement in the U.S. and globally.
*Easier tunes are preferred!
Basic song requirements (Please read!). The song is…
- Playable on Western instruments consisting of a rhythm section (drums, bass, piano, guitar) and horns (trumpet, saxes, trombones, clarinet, flute, vocals, etc.).
- Playable by teenagers and adults of amateur and intermediate skill levels.
Musically speaking, the main elements we look for include:
- Melody – Melody must be catchy, strong, and interesting for “instrumental” performances (initial focus is on instrumental groups, as most of our targeted customers have such groups).
- Vocals songs are great and will be considered IF the melody is playable on a melodic instrument like a trumpet or saxophone. (Foreign languages may be good contenders). Rap is unlikely to work for us because it’s usually not melodic. English spoken-word may work - (no explicit language please.).
- Harmony – Interesting chord changes and overall structure are preferred. If it has some changes, or it’s very rhythmic, we’re open.
- Groove-Rhythm-Beat – The element of a cool “groove” needs to be engaging to appeal to our target consumers––teenagers and their teachers.
- Resources – A master recording that is professionally recorded is required (no demos or sheet music only). Extra resources like performance videos, an interesting “story” about the artists, and background information to support the context of the music we’re presenting are big pluses.
- Styles – We’re open to any and all if they meet the above specifications. Reggae, current jazz, Latin, national/world grooves, Afro-Cuban, Afro-beat, Brazilian jazz, Zydeco… pretty much any current music that fits the above characteristics.
- Mix-Minus Tracks – Not required but very helpful. No-melody or solos (karaoke) is great. Mixes minus drums, bass, harmony are even better teaching tools.
- Lead Chart – a PDF of a lead sheet of the tune with chords and melody is very helpful if available (for accuracy). Handwritten is fine. We’ll take it from there.
If your song is accepted, we invest in you, the artist, by creating detailed sheet music for all instruments in the ensemble, develop educational materials as needed, curate video and textual resources, and create educational/community initiatives that motivate people to play music.
Terms and rights: We aim to keep this simple. Copyrights remain with the artist, this is non-exclusive, and there are no chart development costs to the artist. We pay 20% of sales from dollar one – no fancy accounting.
Our investment in creating professional charts and curating resources is significant, hence, we can not pay advances.
Benefits: We have a targeted audience of secondary jazz and concert band teachers and their aspiring musicians with the plan to activate a new income stream for your music. Your music, if accepted, will be developed to extremely high educational and publishing standards and will be in classrooms across the United States and internationally to energize and engage new audiences with educational connections. To gain traction, we will actively promote your music through direct communications with educators and social media platforms.
If this opportunity interests you, please send us a link to ONE to THREE songs max (or 1-3 song names on an album link – Spotify, iTunes, etc.) to [email protected].
We will respond to all submissions that closely follow the above guidelines. We’re excited to hear from you!
Musically speaking,
Richard Frank
Founder
[email protected]