Broadjam

Company Structure & Services

Broadjam functions as a multi-service platform integrating sync licensing opportunity submissions, artist website hosting, professional music critique services, and community engagement features including contests and peer reviews. The operational infrastructure connects 110,000+ independent artists globally with music supervisors, advertising agencies, filmmakers, and production companies through a marketplace model where opportunity providers post specific licensing briefs. Artists submit tracks to targeted opportunities rather than general catalog representation.

CEO Roy Elkins brings industry experience from Sonic Foundry, where he served as VP Marketing for audio software products including Sound Forge and ACID. The company maintains advisory board participation with the MIDI Association and B2B relationships with entities including the Academy of Country Music, Warner/Chappell, and Yamaha. The searchable catalog enables music buyers to browse 500,000+ tracks filtered by mood, genre, tempo, and technical specifications.

The professional reviewer service operates independently from sync licensing, offering paid critiques from industry professionals including former A&R executives, music supervisors, and producers. Website hosting services provide artist portfolio functionality with streaming audio, biography pages, and promotional tools. Monthly contests and peer review systems facilitate community engagement beyond commercial licensing pathways.

Placement Track Record

Verified placements include Isaac Williams’ track on MTV’s “10 On Top,” Adam Dachman’s “Dixie” in the theatrical film “Wildcat” directed by Ethan Hawke, Jason Bennett’s “A New Start” in a Rolex advertisement campaign, and Greg Anderson’s “Mood Lavender” on E!‘s “Escape Club” reality series. Documented successes extend to Discovery Network programming and NFL broadcast content. James Ryan secured 12 tracks with a major television network through platform opportunities.

The company markets 16,000+ songs selected by opportunity providers, with 100-124 placements documented in 90-day rolling periods as of January 2025. Active licensing briefs include NFL broadcast production music requests. Placement tier distribution skews toward cable television, independent film, and regional commercial advertising rather than major network prime-time programming or theatrical releases from major studios.

Independent verification through IMDb and industry credit databases yields limited corroborating documentation for the aggregate placement claims. The ratio between marketed total placements and publicly verifiable specific credits suggests gaps in transparent success documentation or reliance on lower-tier opportunities without public credit attribution.

Business Model & Pricing

The revenue framework combines optional membership tiers with per-submission transaction fees. Free accounts incur $25 submission costs per opportunity, while paid memberships reduce submission fees to $5 per opportunity. Membership options include Mini (free), MoB ($4.95 monthly or $49.95 annually), and Film/TV ($9.95 monthly or $99.95 annually). Historical pricing documented $200 annual memberships with reduced per-track costs.

The company retains zero percentage of sync fees or backend publishing royalties. Artists maintain 100% ownership of performance rights organization (PRO) royalties and sync licensing payments negotiated directly with opportunity providers. This commission-free structure contrasts with exclusive publishing arrangements where representatives typically retain 50% of sync fees and publishing shares.

The pay-per-submission model generates platform revenue regardless of placement outcomes, creating inherent misalignment between company financial incentives and artist success rates. Doug Diamond of Music Opps, which utilizes Broadjam infrastructure, defends the approach: “We charge for submissions because it’s the ONLY way we have to generate income for the work we do.” The framework positions Broadjam as transactional marketplace rather than outcome-contingent representation.

Composer Experience

Composer testimonials reveal inconsistent value propositions relative to cumulative submission investments. One long-term user described submitting tracks across multiple years with repeated selections but stated “NOTHING ever came from that.” Forum discussions document patterns where composers observe “the same names also show up for shortlistings, but never win” and note that “hardly anyone ever get the so-called big budget placements.”

“If anyone does win, it is mostly likely a placement under $500. But never the big budget placement.”

Multiple composers report multi-year participation without securing final placements despite passing initial selection rounds. A 2014 composer blog documented years-long membership stating “didn’t have any luck there either” when comparing alternatives. Placement success rates appear statistically below 1% based on available testimonial patterns, though the company does not publish conversion metrics.

Cost-benefit analysis shows composers investing $50-500 annually on submissions (at $5-25 per opportunity across 10-50 submissions) with expected placement values of $100-500 for non-exclusive opportunities. For composers with fewer than 20 professional tracks, annual submission costs frequently exceed realistic expected return based on documented success rates.

Positive experiences concentrate among composers with extensive catalogs submitting high volumes across extended timeframes, where statistical probability eventually yields placements. The zero-commission structure means successful placements retain full sync fee value, differentiating the platform from commission-collecting alternatives.

Contract & Rights Management

Opportunity providers publish licensing briefs through Broadjam’s platform with varying contract terms, exclusivity requirements, and publishing arrangements. The company disclaims legal relationship with either composers or opportunity providers: “By submitting to Broadjam Music Licensing Opportunities, you are not entering into a legal agreement with either Broadjam or a provider in any way.”

The most significant documented issue involves predatory contract terms from opportunity provider “Fader 5.” One composer’s attorney analysis identified perpetual rights transfer with no payment obligations, described as a “wurg contract” (strangle contract). The composer warned: “This agreement is not acceptable… If your songs get selected by Fader 5, or any other bullshit artist who would steal your work, don’t sign it.”

Composers report limited transparency about opportunity provider identities before paying submission fees and passing selection rounds. One stated “you never knew who you were sending the music to,” creating information asymmetry where artists cannot pre-screen opportunity legitimacy before incurring costs.

The platform provides educational materials distinguishing exclusive versus non-exclusive deals, but composers navigate varied contract terms across different opportunities without standardized protections or publisher vetting. Broadjam maintains the position that opportunity quality control lies outside their operational responsibility as marketplace facilitator rather than publisher or representative.

Support & Communication

The company operates customer support through email channels and maintains a Zendesk help desk with documentation covering membership tiers, submission processes, and licensing opportunity explanations. Historical forum discussions from 2007 document dissatisfaction with refund policies during the operational separation from Taxi. One composer who renewed memberships with both platforms immediately before the split reported: “They politely pointed me to the small-print in their contract saying that they do not offer refunds.”

Opportunity update frequency varies by individual licensing brief rather than systematic platform-wide communication protocols. Composers receive notifications when selected for opportunities but report limited transparency about pitch status or feedback when not selected. The platform does not provide detailed placement probability metrics or historical success rates for individual opportunity types.

Industry relationship documentation through NAMM oral history interviews and MIDI Association participation demonstrates legitimate business operations and professional network integration. The company maintains active operations with 97+ licensing opportunities listed as of January 2025 and ongoing catalog expansion.