I have been a regular user of MUSIC XRAY since its foundation (as a matter of fact I was already a customer of its forefather, Platinum Blue, which commercialised the first Xrays); although it offers a number of other services the main benefit is that Music Xray acts as middle-man between independent musicians and the industry, mostly A&R and labels but also placement specialists or radios.
Even if your song does not get picked, it is still worth investing money (some applications are free, some not, in any case Music Xray take a fee of 4 USD on all of them) to get professional feedback on your craft.
Here is an example of feedback I just received from Jonathan McMillan who works at a (undisclosed) London rock label:
"Hi, thanks for sending over your song. Unfortunately this isn't the kind of song we're looking to release. However, there's some really nice bits to this tune, and there's clearly a lot of talent here. I think it's important that you work on the arrangement of the song and decide really what it is you are looking to accomplish with it. I would really take a second look at the panning which is going on throughout and if you feel it's really important to you then I would suggest toning it down somewhat as it feels quite uncomfortable to listen to.Great bass work anyway but like I said, decide on the direction your going for and focus on it, you can't please everyone, a non commercial funk tune is better than a funk tune which struggles to try and be commercial. All the best guys".
Clearly not all reviewers take the time to give such details (they are more often from the "thanks but no thanks" school of feedback) but when you get this kind of input, it is very useful.
Also through the service I proposed NO EASY WAY a few days ago as a new song for ADAM LAMBERT. Although it did not get picked (I still think he could have made something quite interesting out of it), I got this nice message from KYRA LAROCK, the A&R in charge of that particular ad:
"Thanks for the submission. Great song. Adam Lambert's team is actually looking for a pure dance song, believe it or not. This is not quite dance enough. If you have anything else more along those lines, please do attach to this submission. Thanks!"
Well, I might need to unearth these old dance tracks I started a few years ago !