Abuse of "additional composer" credits

I’ve worked in the film and television music industry for many years. At times I’ve needed to verify the credits of film and TV composers who were applying for work and I often used IMDb.com as one resource for verification. Unfortunately, over the years I’ve seen the rapid growth of composers failing to use the “uncredited” designation for incidental cues that were licensed to TV shows through music libraries. In fact, I feel this type of cue should not be listed at all.

It’s important to note the difference between a composer who actually creates a cue for a specific need (per a music brief, or as part of a music production team, or as part of a resource for a particular show) and one who pitched a generic cue to a music library with no intent to create it for a specific show or scene.

These “blue sky” cues bear no relationship to any specific show. They fill a generic need (e.g. "tension cue" or "good for a reveal”), a need that is likely to occur in many similar TV shows. 

I’m not suggesting that cues provided by a music library are substandard, only that the composer is not in the same position as someone who is actually working directly with the music supervisor overseeing the show. 

This is happening almost exclusively in Reality TV shows. A good example is Catfish: The Television Show. When the Series Music  Department includes a major production company like Vanacore, plus a Music Supervisor (Sam Carlin, M. Allison Thiel) ) and a Music Coordinator (Drew Kramer), you’ve pretty much covered the people who are personally interacting with the Director, Showrunner, and other permanent staff. 

The rest of the Series Music Department list for Catfish—160 composers of additional music—is simply not accurate. I am well aware that these people did not compose additional music for this show; they composed cues to pitch to music libraries. A call to the music supervisor could quickly confirm this by asking "How many people do you have on your music department staff?"

IMDb’s credibility is seriously hurt by this situation. While this mess could be corrected by individuals with experience who visit your site, it’s far too widespread for anyone outside of IMDb to really take on. 

To maintain your site’s credibility, I’d like to suggest that IMDb entirely eliminate the option to add uncredited cues unless someone specifically worked for the show. (Must show payroll stub or proof of independent contractor status. A royalty statement only proves that a cue was used.) Or have someone on your staff make a quick call to the show’s music supervisor to ensure that uncredited composers are not abusing your system. 

I am remaining anonymous because I am still active in the film and television music field. I appreciate the work you do and want to thank all of your staff for the support you give our community.

Synthia Music  (not my real name)