My experience with & review of Leah Rossand the Insider Network, Nashville, TNa.k.a. Joy Njuguna of the Royal Tea of Kenya ?? |
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Insider Network scam Insider Network complaint Insider Network problem the music insider scam NOTICE: this is my personal experience. The following is based on emails, phone calls, and promises made by Leah Ross (Joy Njuguna?) of the Insider Network. I've done my best to not interject my personal opinions and just state the facts. My hope is that by having this information available on the web, it will help others make an informed decision if approached by the Insider Network (or any other business) Royal Teas of Kenya Royal Teas Kenya I like to be a educated consumer, and usually spend time researching products and companies on the internet before moving forward. After i received some interest in my songwriting by the Insider Network in the fall of 2009, i did just that. Unfortunately, there was very little information, positive or negative, on Leah Ross and the Insider Network out of Nashville. There were very few comments or reviews or stories from present or past clients. And although the quotes on the web from past clients sounded almost too good to be true, I still signed a 1-year contract with the Insider Network to promote my music to radio and film. In hopes of helping future songwriters from having the same experience I have had, I'm posting my diary for others to read. Understand that I am only posting the facts from emails and phone calls received, and that this is only my personal experience, and does not speak for other clients of the Insider Network or Leah Ross. I am not recommending anyone to not sign, or to sign, with them. You must make your own informed decision based on what you find through your research. My Diary of the 1-year contract with The Insider Network November 2009 – November 2010 November 14 - My first contact was from Randy M. Below is the actual text from the email I received. I removed the names of the songs, as well as the address I was to send my demos to. Hi!!
My name is Randy M.... and I work in the A&R Dept at The Music
Insider Network out of Nashville, TN. We are a promotions and
booking company for talented musicians, vocalists, and songwriters
such as you. I stumbled upon your website and listened to the
featured songs on the site I was extremely impressed with the
material. I especially loved the songs "xxxxxxxx" and xxxxxxxx." I
feel that you are extremely talented and I was equally awed with
your style, the quality of the writing, overall production and
performance. Since this was the first interest I had gotten about my music posted on my website, I was pumped. I did a quick search on the web, and found this same ‘form’ email on two other websites, using the exact same wording. Understandably I was cautious, but still contacted them to see what this was all about. Within a day I received a call from Leah Ross, the head of the Insider Network. She certainly made it sound promising, and sent a contract. On the phone, she promised monthly updates on the radio play my songs were getting, placement in the NE and SE areas and Canada, as well as possible worship leading and concert opportunities. Originally she said her yearly fee was $2500, but said she would cut it to $1500 up front, but i negotiated $500 for each of the first 3 months, and signed the contract. November 14 - sent first of three $500 payments via PayPal. November 17 - emailed signed contract. November 30 - 5 singles registered with BDS. email from Leah confirming. side note: registering with BDS is as simple as sending them an email, they reply with a login, and you upload the songs. Don't pay anyone to do this for you! December 3 - sent second of three $500 payments via PayPal. January 4, 2010 - email stating that song "I Am Yours" will be in rotation with CSN. The programming director is a friend of hers. She said this was a 'bonus' for me, and not part of the contract. February 4 - received first radio play update in Excel since signing in November, 2009. 13 radio stations were contacted (listed on the sheet), 6 of which said they would add a single to rotation. Others said to check back in two weeks. From the dates they put in the file, all contact with these stations was done between January 28 and February 3, just days before the update was emailed. There is nothing to indicate anything was done before these dates. Also, the name at the top of the sheet was someone else's, and not mine. February 5 - sent last of three $500 payments via PayPal. March 4 - email from Leah saying she will in touch next week, as she just got back from the National Religious Broadcasters Convention. Side note: this convention is in Nashville, TN, where she lives. March 16 - phone message saying the 2nd monthly update for radio play would be emailed in a few days. also that there was an opportunity to pitch my songs to Tate Publishing in April (nothing ever mentioned again). Nothing received. March 31 - email stating I would get next radio play update on April 1. Nothing received on April 1. April 6 - received radio play update promised 3 weeks ago. Again, Excel spreadsheet had another person's name and info at the top. When I asked Leah about this in an previous conversation, she said it was no big deal and that my standards were too high because I thought this error was unprofessional. Regarding the update, only 7 new stations were listed, 2 of which said they would add a single into rotation. Note: contact info listed showed that calls were made in March & April. I suspect all the work was done days before sending this out. May 5 - phone message saying the next update (would be the 3rd out of 6 months) would be emailed that Friday (May 7th). Also, that there was exciting news about one of the stations playing my songs. May 7th came and went. Nothing received. June 7 - A 2nd month has passed, and still no update, which was promised a month ago. It is now 2 months since I've received my "monthly" radio play update. There is not evidence that anything has been done on my behalf since I made the final payment back in February, which is the last time i received an update. July 6 - Three months after the last radio update (2 in 8 months) i received an email. she "again apologized that it has been quite a while since she has corresponded with me about my progress" (3 months). her update in this email was: 1) still playing my song on her friend's station (CSN, not part of the contract, a 'bonus' as she called it), 2) opportunity to record a commercial for her friend's station, and 3) opportunity to advertise in a magazine with possible CD review. still no radio updates as she promised i would receive 'monthly'. perhaps she is too embarrassed to call knowing she hasn't provided anything since the last payment back in February. September 7 - Nothing, no calls, no emails, no monthly update, nothing. Coming up on 10 months into the contract, and the only thing to show for it is 2 small radio updates (see above back in February). Since we're coming up on 10 months into the 1-year contract, I finally called and got her machine. The answering message no longer mentions the "Insider Network", only "Smokeless for Jesus". Her message says she will return call within 24 hours. September 8 - I called again, and was immediately put over to voicemail. I kept calling. She answered 15 minutes later. It wasn't a productive or pleasant conversation. When i pressed her about her progress and what she had done, she told me repeatedly that she wasn't accountable to anyone but God. I then pressed her to be accountable to the contract and promises she made to me. Again, she said she is only accountable to God. So i asked for a quick update on where things were. She wouldn't give it to me, said she could in 2 days. Asked for a quick, 30 second synopsis. Again, nothing, just put me off until later. I suspect she is buying time and working hard to pull something together for her call later this week? Did finally get her to say she would call me in two days with a complete update. I have no reason to expect she'll provide an update. September 9 - Today is the day she gave me her word that she would call with a complete update. Said she would call before 2:00 p.m. EST. (later that afternoon) Finally called at 3:00 p.m. she had no update, but said they decided to offer me a partial refund to end the relationship. said she would let me know how much and when i would receive the refund by the end of the month. October 14 - No contact by the end of the month (September), as promised. now two weeks beyond that deadline, so i called and left messages asking when i would receive the refund. October 18 - Four days later i got an email stating they would send a partial refund (for 1/2 of my investment). though their policy is that refunds take 6 months to process and return. she did say she would try to expedite the process. we'll see when April 2011 comes and if i have a refund in hand. January 17, 2011 - It has now been 3 months since the promise i would receive a refund. Since Leah said she would try and expedite the 6 month refund policy, I emailed asking for an update. January 19 - Email from Leah stating she would let me know by the end of the month (January) when I can expect to receive the refund. She also said their phone numbers have changed, so I should not call her. I plan to email February 1st. February 1 - Leah promised she would let me know me know "by the end of the month (January)". Since she didn't let me know, i emailed asking for the update. March 10 - Still no reply from Leah. However, I did receive an email from another gentleman stating he has had the same experience with the Insider Network, and that he is also waiting for the promised "50% refund". March 17 - It has now been 5 months since the promise i would receive the refund. Leah promised the refund within 6 months. i sent an email asking for an update. I'm thinking if the refund is not received, i will file a report with the Better Business Bureau of Nashville, TN as well as post my experience on related forums and discussion boards to inform others before they do business with the Insider Network. March 20 - Received a reply from Leah Ross. She originally promised a refund within 6 months (email 10/18/10), which meant I would receive it in mid-April. Now the refund will not be sent until September (a year later). What more is there to say...? September 11 - Well, here we are. September 2011. The month that Leah promised i'd receive the refund (the 2nd time, the first was a promise for the refund in April). Still no word. i'll give her a few more days then start trying to contact her. September 18 - Emailed asking when i can expect the refund. No response yet. September 21 - Received an interesting email from a gentleman in the tea business. He was approached by someone a while back named Leah Ross, and he wanted to hear my story before he did any business with her, so he called me back in April to see if it was the 'same' Leah Ross. Anyway, he emailed today saying that Leah Ross is actually Joy Njuguna from the Royal Tea of Kenya company (based in New York City)! He suspects she's been using the music "front" to help getting in to the US from Kenya. It sounds as if she is financing her tea business with the money from her music business (which would be the money that she hasn't returned to a number of individuals, including myself). October 2 - No response to multiple emails sent. No refund received as she promised multiple times. At this point i'll look into reporting her to the Better Business Bureau in the Nashville, TN area (although she may no longer reside there). I may also contact the Royal Teas of Kenya company. If you have a similar story, please let me know. Maybe 'together' we can make something happen and hold this woman accountable. October 3 - Finally, an actual email response from Leah. Again apologizing for not sending the refund (promised over 1 year ago). Her excuse this time was "not having the money". Although she has since started the Royal Tea of Kenya company (http://royalteaofkenya.com/) based out of New York City, NY. i wonder if her partners in this new venture are aware of how she handled her 'music' business in Nashville? Anyway, she said she hopes to send the refund in November. It's really becoming laughable at her attempts to put off holding herself accountable to her promises. Hopefully there will be more to report next month? Later that day... i replied to her email, saying i wasn't surprised she hadn't kept her word. Also to say that i've always held those professing to be Christian to a higher standard, and that we should always be careful not to bring shame to our Savior Jesus Christ by our actions with others. Even later that day... received an email from PayPal stating that Leah had made a payment toward the money owed. Maybe she has been convicted and is addressing her lack of accountability and will now be responsible to pay her debts. She said next payment will be in NOV. November 22 - Maybe things have changed. Another payment was made toward the balance. to be continued..... ALMOST FINAL THOUGHTS / WHAT HAVE I LEARNED : looking back, there are a few things i would do differently from the beginning. i'll do my best to post them here over time, as they come to me. i want to learn from every experience, especially the bad ones, so i can be better prepared in the future.
LAST THOUGHTS... again, this is what happened in my experience with the Insider Network & Leah Ross. your experience may be totally different, and i pray that it is (or will be). as they say, your mileage may vary. but with any contract, i urge you to get a professional to review it and make sure it's fair and says what was promised. if you would like to discuss this more with me, feel free to contact me through my site. good luck!
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