Sonic Bids a Scam?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Robertt8
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Robertt8

Robertt8

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Maybe it's just me, or our band, or something, but as far as i can tell, Sonic Bids is one of the biggest scams out there right now for musicians.

It seems like they are nothing more than a company that instills (in most cases) false hope in bands (we're not really one of them as we really weren't expecting much from them in the first place) and take a bunch of money for each "electronic press kit" they look at.

My question is this...what's to keep those companies, promoters or whatever looking for artists from simply finding the 2-20 acts they might want (whether through Sonic Bids or elsewhere), and then pocket the $10-20 charge for the hundreds or thousands of bands that send them stuff?

I'm a completely miss reading this?

Have any of you guys had any luck getting a gig with Sonic Bids?
 
I've gotten into a few festival-type gigs and also did well in the Billboard Songwriting contest. There are certain things I would never sign up for though.
 
Actually plenty from Sonic Bids. Since there are hundreds or thousands of whatever submissions a day/week/month, it would be stupid, and probably ruin the rep of the company AND artist, to put just about any artist paying Sonic Bids and they suck (not saying you do). But it's not like they are doing anything 'wrong'. Majority of musicians do not have a clue of what and how they should be presenting themselves either way. Those bands that have too much hope, shouldn't be playing gigs because they sent in $20 bucks to some company anyways.
 
...simply saying that everything we've tried to get into that seemed like good fits have come up dead ends for us. we've only tried like 10 different things, but they've all gone nowhere. (feel free to insert "cuz your band sucks" here), but it just seems like there is a huge potential for abuse here with this system. i'm just curious why companies wouldn't simply pick the band or two they need (whether through sonic bids or not) and then pocket the $20 submission fee from the hundreds of other bands the applied...i'm sure that is what actually happens. why wouldn't they?

i just wanted to hear if there were bands that actually got some killer gigs from sonic bids. keep in mind, we are pretty picky and had very specific things we were looking for (festivals and things like that), but we even aimed for a couple things that seemed almost too easy and we completely glazed over by those as well.

just figured i'd get a little conversation going as it does seem like sonic bids or the companies using it must be making a mint on bands.
 
Robertt8 said:
My question is this...what's to keep those companies, promoters or whatever looking for artists from simply finding the 2-20 acts they might want (whether through Sonic Bids or elsewhere), and then pocket the $10-20 charge for the hundreds or thousands of bands that send them stuff?
Click to expand...

I don't know if Sonic is legit, but the practice of charging an application fee for this kind of thing is nothing new. Organizers of all kinds of events have been doing this for a long time. Music festivals, art shows, craft fairs, beauty contests, you name it. Even colleges do it.
 
I don't think Sonicbids is a scam in the meaning that you intend. I think it IS a scheme that can be exploited, and I think that for certain there are opportunities on the site that aren't as glamorous as they sound.

That said, I've had success on Sonicbids as both a performer and promoter. I've picked up about a dozen shows through my submissions in various venues around the country, and most were at least lucrative enough to have been worth my time.

The magazine I work for put together a themed compilation CD and used Sonicbids as a tool for gathering submissions. I thought that Soncbids did an excellent job in checking us out to make sure we weren't trying to job their customers. They were very thorough in the questions they posed about our project, and had a lot of input in every phase of crafting the promotional opportunity (including the price and guaranteed number of accepted submissions).

The trouble is that promoters are bombarded with so many submissions that they can't even listen to all of them (a problem we faced with the above compilation). The intent isn't malicious or dishonest, it's just a reality. I think Sonicbids was a great service to its members initially, but I think the membership growth has outpaced the number of available opportunities and now there are too many people competing for too few spots. I still use it just because I like not having to send out hard copies of my press kit, but I'm realistic about my expected results.
 
Robert, your music definitely doesn't suck, but Sonic Bids seems completely unnecessary as you can still get most of the gigs they offer without using their services. If I was you, I would just sign up for the mailing list to check out the offers, then get in through outside means.
 
Lots of musicians that I know of got lucky with Sonic bids. I don't know if they are a Scam or not, Sonicbids may not be for everyone.
 
I don't perform live anymore but I use Sonic Bids for other promotional services such as song contests, magazine reviews, compilation CD's and Film and TV submissions. I had more misses than hits with my submissions but one thing that I have learned is make sure you really research the opportunity. Go to their website and send them questions through their contact information. Especially if they list "all genres accepted." or have short turnaround times. If you don't get any response, don't bother submitting your work. I have found that some of the sites have contact information email adresses that don't exist.
 
The TRUTH About Sonicbids

From learning that festival rosters are frequently completed prior to submissions being closed, to reading of several cases in which artists' submission statuses have been changed to "not selected" for given opportunities despite no evidence of changes in their views or audio streams...

In 2009, Sonicbids shared $3 million earned from submission fees with music promoters. As per Sonicbids' "Promoter Terms of Service," in order to list a gig opportunity, one is required to pay a one time set-up fee of $50, agree to "accept/review" electronic press kit submissions (EPKs), "promote" his/her gig listing, and provide Sonicbids with a copy of their venue contract/licensing agreement to ensure the legitimacy of their event. Further, promoters who host CD comp opportunities are required to provide a copy of the comp once it is released, licensors must notify Sonicbids of songs placements, and those hosting prize pack giveaways are to confirm their goods were distributed to their winners.

Promoters are able to easily recoup the aforementioned one-time charge by having NO restrictions placed on them in terms of what they wish to charge interested artists. While there is an increasing move toward providing more "Musicians' Friend No-Cost Listings," in my experience, eligibility for these free submissions is often restricted to US residents, and the average going rate for submissions to major events (the ones that artists more than likely created their accounts in order to have access to) is between $10 and $50.

In terms of payment, Sonicbids processes all submission fees (and covers additional expenses created by the use of their technology), and takes a varying percentage of each fee, before paying out its promoters. Promoters can also earn additional funds via "The Sonicbids Affiliate Program" by driving traffic to the site, thereby potentially increasing artist signups.

Okay, okay, so all of this sounds well and good, and fairly correct policy-wise? Wrong! Here's where all of you need to pay attention. There is NO requirement on the part of promoters to provide Sonicbids with proof of a formal business license, references regarding their business history, or membership in an accredited business association like the Better Business Bureau. Moreover, you do not even have to have any past experience successfully working in the music industry – literally anyone can sign up. So long as you pay your fee and "appear" to abide by the terms of service (easily accomplished if you select a single Sonicbids artist per gig and provide them with a somewhat decent experience), you're good to go, as they say.


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