Do not use these rip off artists!
They only want to steal the rights to your music, and you can never get them back, nor can you receive money back from them if you indeed get into an agreement and decide not to renew your contract once it is done!
Robert Greenwood, CEO of WMG Distribution, told me that he is the person that the major distributors go to for their disstribution (Places like Soundscape, CD Baby, Catapult Distribution) and he had a program where artists can manage their artists music as a liaison of sorts; uploading unlimited amounts of music for only one time fee of $35, and signing an agreement. I spoke to Robert on the phone for over an hour, picking his brain, as I am a publisher myself. Robert stated that I would have opportunity to get in on the ground level, as they were looking to revamp and launch their on line database. And with them being the "distributors to the distributors" it would make no sense for me to continue going through other aggregators, and use them for that one time fee. My interest was peaked and I askedu for the contract. I had been really busy and did not have a lot of time to go over the contract, but prior to signing (yes before I signed) I sent the $35 to lock in on the price, then I stated that I would review the agreement and send it later. Mind you up until this time I was able to communicate with Robert without issue.
After reading the contract and its fine print, I realize that this company intended to not only obtain the rights to any work that I submitted, but in the event that the agreement expired, or I decided to leave, that I would not have any rights to the music, and I would forefit any royalties!!! Now I know in the entertainment industry shady deals are a dime a dozen, but after all the talk and the back and forth and what was said from what was written, Robert's only explanation was that "oh the lawyer made the contract and it is standard" but it was enough for me to head for the hills. I politely refused to sign the agreement and requested a refund of the $35, since, after all, I did not pay for any services. Robert assured me it would be no issue, and I proceeded onward. After a few days, I realized that I had not received the (PayPal) refund. I communicated with Robert, only to go ignored. I called and called and emailed, because at this rate it wasn't about the money, it was about the principle and the rapport that was established.
Long story short Robert continued to provide nothing but excuses (they haven't been paid yet; the pay is quarterly), or being ignored. I then received a message stating that he would refund the money at the end of the month, that was back in April. I recently asked for a final time to refund the funds or I would be forced to write a review that reflected this experience. Yes this was only a $35 transaction but had I signed the agreement there would be much more of a loss financially and legally. I want to warn other artists who may see this as a sweet deal not to bite the fruit; when all else fails, do it yourself!!!