What is melodyX?
melodyX is an online marketplace for songs and compositions that haven't been released anywhere in the world yet. We're mainly talking about songs the writer doesn't want to perform themselves — in other words, the songwriter isn't necessarily a performer. Songwriters and lyricists have someone else in mind: a third party — a singer or a band — who'll actually perform the track. And that performer could be a big name or a total unknown.
Performers can use these songs in two ways. In the first, the song is released as-is: the songwriter stays the credited author and earns royalties on sales, streams, and live performances. In the second, the songwriter sells their copyright outright. In that case, the performer who buys the composition is free to change the song's structure, its lyrics — anything they want.
What's melodyX's goal?
melodyX's goal is to gather songwriters and lyricists — working in different countries and writing in different languages — into one central, international database that's super easy to reach and search. melodyX will be open to performers who aren't songwriters themselves but are hunting for fresh songs for their record. And because it's so easy to search, it'll be open to literally anyone.
The idea is to replace the old-school method, where isolated songwriters had no choice but to take on the market solo. Sure, it's instinctive for a songwriter — one who doesn't perform — to go looking for an artist for their songs, or the other way around, for an artist to search out a writer or a song for their album. But that was a long, clunky, narrow process: either songs reached performers through personal connections, or you had to go door-to-door and play the agent yourself.
Why join as a songwriter?
As a songwriter, it's really easy to get isolated and fall into the trap of giving up — you've made all your rounds, you couldn't sell your songs through your own channels, so you just quit. If there's no breakthrough within a fairly short window, most writers drop the marketing work entirely.
With us, it's worth playing the long game and thinking together. Give it time — and don't just write songs for the drawer! Once your song is in our database, you've got exactly the same shot as any other songwriter. Take on the market solo, and that shot is tiny.
If you're an isolated songwriter who's dead set on selling your songs, then your place is here with us. If there's a public marketplace for songs that haven't been performed yet, that's where you need to be. Don't sit this one out! The bigger this database grows, the more people will join, and the better your odds that performers, producers, and labels find your song — because we'll get so big that nobody will be able to go around us. We'll be THE database.
Any songwriter who won't give themselves the chance to belong to a targeted database — one built specifically for independent writers' songs that are up for sale — is making a mistake. We're not each other's competitors; we're teammates. We have to stick together, because there's always demand for new songs — people love new songs. You can never tell in advance what'll turn into a hit, so give yourself the shot and put your work out there.
If you're an isolated songwriter who's dead set on selling your songs, then your place is here with us.
Do I need to copyright my compositions?
melodyX takes on one job: organizing independent artists' compositions into a database that's easy to search, easy to access, and quick to stream. But we don't get involved in the actual selling process. Songwriters connect with interested parties, performers, buyers, production companies, labels, and managers through their own profile page.
It's not melodyX's job to check whether a composition is protected. A song is under copyright protection from the moment it's created — but it's still absolutely worth registering it officially. Every songwriter can register their songs for free in their own country, at the local copyright office. It's not a smart move to publicly post a song to a database like this if it isn't under copyright protection.
What file format can I upload?
When a songwriter registers in the melodyX system and pays the membership fee, they become a full member. They fill out a profile, and that's where they attach their compositions. Before going live, every single song goes through a review stage. It's a really simple process where the song has to meet a few guidelines.
We accept songs in mp3 format only. A song can only go live if it meets the sound and content requirements of at least a demo recording. Basically, we're looking for presentable material — publishable, listenable compositions. They need to clear some minimal technical and content requirements to pass review. If we spot any issues, our audit team reaches out to the writer and helps sort out the problem.
Do I have to upload the lyrics too?
Only compositions that fit the classic definition of a pop song can go into the system — meaning they have both a vocal melody and lyrics. Instrumental pop pieces can't be added to melodyX.
Writers have to upload the lyrics in the song's original language. You'll paste the lyrics into a text display tool built specifically for this. If the lyrics aren't in English, the system will show an English translation. We'll clearly flag that it was machine-translated, of course. Alongside the lyrics, you can also list the key and the tempo. A song only passes the review process if the original-language lyrics are included.
What does melodyX put my membership fee toward?
For the database to run smoothly, we need some serious storage on the back end. The tracks have to stream well and fast, so it's basically a baseline technical requirement that this database is always up and running. The system is accessed over the internet. It has to hold up even under heavier load — so that's where part of the incoming membership fees go.
It's also really important to have a solid fund we can spend on marketing, with the goal of building a serious brand. All those small membership fees add up into a marketing budget — the foundation and the guarantee that songs reach the right people and the right forums, exactly where we mean them to go. Getting that kind of reach and that level of exposure for songs one by one, individually, is impossible. We'll put most of the incoming funds toward making sure our target audience hears about us and our songs.
How will performers, producers, and labels find my songs?
The money from membership fees builds a significant marketing budget. The melodyX marketing team forges relationships with labels, performers, and producers in person, and also places targeted ads across various media.
The marketing fund built from membership fees grows the industry reach of songs on melodyX in a targeted, measurable way. Offline networking and online campaigns work in sync to get every uploaded composition to the right ears as fast as possible.
How does a song sale actually work in practice?
melodyX doesn't take part — legally or commercially — in deals where a performer, a production company, a label, or a band reaches out to a writer wanting to buy a song's rights, or just to perform it. In these cases, there are two ways a songwriter can earn royalties. One is earning royalties from the song being performed or making it onto an album. (Worth knowing: for a performance or a stream, the song goes onto an album unchanged.) The other is when the songwriter sells the song along with the copyright.
Every songwriter's profile has a messaging area where interested parties can contact them directly. melodyX doesn't take part in this process — we just provide the opportunity for the two sides to communicate directly. How a sale actually plays out in practice is down to the two parties. It's obviously worth the songwriter checking in with their local copyright office. melodyX doesn't claim any brokerage commission from the money the writer earns on the copyright.
Is it safe to upload my songs to melodyX?
If the song is under copyright protection, nothing can go wrong. Our shared goal is to get compositions in front of as many people as possible and get them known.
If the songwriter has already secured copyright protection in their own country — and possibly internationally too — the song is already protected, which makes uploading it safe.
What do I do if I have a co-writer?
No instrumental compositions can go up on melodyX — only songs with both a melody and lyrics. As an online marketplace, melodyX is built primarily for songwriters. If a song with 2 writers goes into the melodyX database (say, a composer and a lyricist), both writers don't have to pay a membership fee — the composer's is enough.
Since every song has lyrics, and it can happen that the composer has a co-writer — meaning they didn't write the lyrics themselves — they'll need to declare this during the upload process.
