Were you sent an email from Music Reports with regards to licensing your music?
Did they also request from you a W9 form? They sent one to me.
What is a W9 form and how important is it between you and Music Reports?

That is what I am going to discuss here in this review.
Let's understand what the w9 form is?
It's a tax form that an employer hands to an employee in the U.S. or it could be handed to a freelance /contractor. They want the information from you, like your Tax id number or your social Insurance number.
What is a tax id number? let's spell it out. Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).
We all know that a social insurance number, ss, holds a shit load of information.
With regard to Music Reports, I am being asked to hand over a lot of information to a company I know nothing about aside from the email sent to my inbox.
I have no record of ever signing up with Music Reports? Say you signed up and forgot you signed up, now here they are sending you an email on behalf of their client, Equinox Media LLC

So, you have to ask yourself, why am I filing in a W9 form for Music Reports, if they are not the direct employer. What they are saying here is that Equinox is your employer.
First of all who is Music Reports? Music Reports serves: individuals and organizations seeking expertise and solutions in music rights licensing, administration, royalty accounting, and software. So who are the individuals that they serve? That would be the producers, writers, musicians etc., individuals looking for money for their work basically. They also serve the organizations, in this case Equinox Media LLC, according to the email sent. So, I can't speak for Equinox Media, because they did not approach me. But, I looked them up to see who they were. Equinox is a digital platform, blending digital with physical, via exclusive, authentic and engaging content: empowering consumers to choose where, how and when they work out. So, it seems to me from that, Equinox is a platform that caters to people who work out. So, if you don't have tracks suitable for workout it's probably not for you. Music Reports does not state what kind of music Equinox Media is looking for. But what about Music Reports,?how do they fit in to this? They say in their email that Equinox has a leverage of nearly 300 physical locations. From that you assume that they will be collecting your royalties every time that track is being played in any one of those nearly 300 locations. Fair enough, we all want our music heard and don't care much where, as long as we, the individuals are getting paid right?

This is where each individual come to the "what's in it for me?" What's in it for the individual? Well, first of all, your agreement to be a part of this guarantees you nothing. There is no telling, that if you sign this form, they will select any of your works. You are signing a contract of hope. I hope they choose my song, and I get paid. There is no guarantee.
Which brings me to the W9 form, that they want you to fill in. A W9 form is generally from an employer to an employee. There is no guarantee of money here, so we remain individuals, not employees. The w9 can also be given to a freelancer or contractor. Let's say that the individuals or producers etc., are freelancers. Fair enough, let's say you are a freelancer who goes to work for a company. As a freelancer who works for a company, the first thing you want to know, is how much you will get paid to do the work. Once you agree to the price of your efforts, then you sign a contract, stating that you will do the work for that particular fee. Music reports is not guaranteeing you any kind of fee. So, an individual is not much of a freelancer here are they? The contractor, he also wants his money. If he knows you personally he may say, ok I'll do it. If he doesn't know you at all, 10 times out of 10 he's going to want a contract stating, that if you use the work he's put in, he or she has to be paid this amount. Which individual knows Music Reports personally?

Ok, we want to make money from our work, as individuals, we want to make profits from the hard work we've put into our creations that we have put out for sale. So, we might think to ourselves. I don't know them personally, but it's a chance to make money. Yasss, it's a chance. It says in the second paragraph of the email "Equinox would like to consider your music as part of its content library,". You take the chance and sign the forms that will give Music Reports permission to give your music (access to all your music) to Equinox's nearly 300 locations. We still have no guarantee of anything. They haven't stated that your music will be played. So, the point I am trying to make here is. Why is Music Reports asking individuals to fill in a w9 form, if we, the individuals are not guaranteed of anything.

A W9 form that asks for your ss! What information can someone get from your social security number? Well, I looked it up, and here is what it said: Once someone has your Social Security number, they can essentially become you. They may be able to collect tax refunds, collect benefits and income, commit crimes, make purchases, set up phone numbers and websites, establish residences, and use health insurance: all in your name.

I am in no way accusing Music Reports of this, what I am saying is, when a business asks you for the rights to your music, and also asks you to sign a W9, this is what you are giving up. These corporate ambitions, want to use your work for their big ventures of nearly 300 locations, but give you no guarantee of profit for yourself. You are taking a chance that you will be the chosen one. But what if you're not the chosen one and you've given them all this information.

I received this email from Music Reports for my music the other day. I was excited at the chance for my music to make more income, but I had problems getting into their website, in fact, I have no information on Music Reports other than the email they sent me, and although they are offering me the chance of having my music in nearly 300 locations? I have to ask myself, is it worth it?

What are the alternatives if you don't want to give out your ss information. Your other choice is an (EIN) number, but that's not applicable in the case of Music Reports because you are not an employee. An (EIN), is an employee number. The form also mentions another choice, a TIN.

Scroll down to Part 1 of the form, you will find the term TIN number. Do you remember at the beginning of this review I asked what is a tax id number? Let me spell out again, A tax id number is a TIN.
Now here's what the W9 form says about the TIN:
Enter your TIN in the appropriate box. The TIN provided must match the name given on line 1 to avoid backup withholding. (Backup witholding is another story- there's a link below if you want to go into it) So, the TIN is for individuals, this is generally your social security number (SSN). However, for a resident alien, sole proprietor, or disregarded entity, see the instructions for Part I, later. For other entities, it is your employer identification number (EIN). If you do not have a number, see How to get a TIN.

The reason Businesses request you to fill in a W9 form is to report you, A Taxpayer Identification Number, to the IRS, it is so that (the IRS) gets information from vendors they hire as independent contractors. (so then, music reports is a vendor/contractor for the IRS.

When the vendor/contractor/business pays a /freelancer/individual $600 or more during a tax year, it has to report these payments to the Internal Revenue Services IRS. Music reports, has not given $600 or more to me or any individual freelancer with this email request and W9 form. Yet, they want all that information.
Please note, that businesses do not send the W9 form to the IRS, they fill in another form for that.
After reviewing the W9 form situation, I sent an email to Music Reports, stating that I would like to be a part of this venture of sharing my music with Equinox and it's 300 locations, but I refuse to sign a W9 form at this time, because, I am not your employee, therefor I have no EIN. And although I am a contractor/freelancer/individual, you have not paid me $600 or more during any tax year, which is the requirement to fill in this form for you. If you would like to use any of my music I am interested, but I won't sign anything unless I see a substantial amount mainly over $600 somewhere on the table.
If they come back and tell me, I have to sign the W9 tax form first. I will opt out of the scheme. I have a feeling I won't hear from them.
If they agree, and withdraw this tax form. What is left? To trust that this company will make my music available to the wellness of the people who will work out in their nearly 300 locations, and pay me an appropriate amount a month that makes it profitable enough to give them access to my catalog of all my hard work. I must ask myself, is this another spotify? These companies, in my experience are not set up to make money for individuals. They are set up to make money from individuals like you and me. They set up algorithms only to make money for themselves. By the way, the IRS, takes 28% of the earnings of the individuals, so say I make $600 from Music Reports for the year. Guess how much I get from that? What if I made $6,000,000.00? No wonder Wesley Snipes would rather go to jail. There's no way of telling in any of these places, how much you make really, because there is always a middle man that you have to trust and take a chance with.
I know that some people make a substantial amount of money but who are they? What have they done? How do they do it? By talent? Smuh, Who get's to be the chosen one to sit in their playlists that they provide to the public, to reach an audience. They may tell you that you have to have your own following, you will get no help from them unless you pay, then why are they taking a percentage of your work if they're not going to help you except to put you in some corner until you pay them more? For just sitting on the platform? Your music may be making nothing, because no one wants to listen to it. But your music can be out there in the world making lots of money for one of those middle men and you have no idea.
This is the music business, you’re taking a chance putting your music in the hands of people, but you have to take these chances because there’s hardly any organizations out there that is fair that has integrity. Back in the day a manager took his chance because he believed as strongly as you in your music. Now they want up front money, or blood, it seems. I don’t want to come across as a Jerry Mcguire, actually yes I do, the more we talk about these situations, the more we may be able to find solutions or companies with some integrity that we can work with to prosper from our artistic productions. Until then be aware of companies asking you to sign the w9 tax contract. They should show you the money first before you sign on the line. Or if they want you to take a chance with them, they shouldn’t be asking for such personal details. There should be a foolproof screen that doesn’t include you loosing your identity to some criminal that may get their hands on it.
This is a Music Reports review that includes the W9 form, but also a message to individuals.
For more information on the w9 form, like backupwithholding click on the link below: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/082714/purpose-w9-form.asp
This is a review on behalf of Zosar Music
Published March 18, 2020

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