Career Songwriter

‘Publish’ is a word we often throw around without really clarifying what it means. We might say ‘I’d like to get this song published’, but really what we mean is that we’d like to get the song recorded by an artist selling records, or placed in TV or Film or other media situation. As a songwriter, if we’re ‘published’ it can mean that the songwriter has a contract with a company whose job is to market his/her songs to the people who have a need for those songs – basically artists or other companies looking to use the music for various media purposes. Or, ‘published’ can also refer to just one song, a single-song-contract between a writer and a company interested in getting that one song placed in a film or TV show, or recorded by an artist.

Being ‘published’ may seem like a goal, but it’s actually just a means to an end. Whether we’re backed by a publishing company or not, we still need to bust our butts to continue to push our own music. It is in the publisher’s interest to push our music down the various avenues they have access to, but it’s our job as the writers to manage our careers in the direction we want. Sometimes acting as our own publisher is the best decision we can make for ourselves. If we’re making connections by attending industry functions, getting to know other artists and writers in our area, and working to circulate our own music by playing clubs, house concerts, benefits, our best-friend’s brother’s son’s Bar Mitzvah, and so on, we are doing the business of a label and publisher. The end result is that our songs are out there in the mix, floating upon the ears of those who need the music we create.

When I first started, I got my songs into the hands of other songwriters by handing them a cassette tape. Back then Myspace wasn’t around, and people didn’t rely on MP3’s sent over email instead of a tangible CD or cassette. I hung out in music stores, I met anyone I could at restaurants and clubs who performed or wrote music, handing out my business card and a few tunes everywhere I went. As a result of those initial meetings, my network grew and soon I was co-writing with friends of friends, with some unsigned writers and some signed writers. My goal was to get hired at a publishing company. Since I had no direct contacts with the Faith Hills and Tim McGraws of the world, I believed I needed a publisher to bridge that sizable gap. It’s true that a publisher can get you through some doors previously unapproachable to you. But, it’s also true that with determination and creativity, and a shining personality, you can begin to connect the dots yourself. Don’t let a publishing deal or a label deal hold you back from the true goal – getting your songs to the artists who want to record them and the listeners who want to enjoy them. Assess the contacts you have and start there, building up. Even if you have practically no contacts, start by taking a course in songwriting online, or taking a few vocal or guitar lessons at your local community college. Get involved in your greater metropolitan songwriting community. Get in the mindset that you have something valuable to offer, and you’ll be amazed how those who need your gift emerge from your corner of the world.

A student of mine recently asked a question that many of us consider as we embark on a songwriting career. I’d like to share it with you, and offer some advice from my own experience. The question is:

“Is it common practice for (unknown) writers to contribute some money to the recording costs of a song? More specifically, a company wants to produce one of my songs and they are asking me for $350. I was just curious if you knew if that was something that often happens, or if that’s a bad deal.”

Let me start by saying it is common practice for all writers, known and unknown, to contribute money to the recording costs of a demo. It is not common practice for songwriters to contribute money to the recording costs on a record. There is a distinct difference between the two, so let me outline just a few of those differences.
A demo is a recording we songwriters invest in for the purpose of pitching to various artists. It is a representation of our work, like a portfolio. When I record a demo, I book session players, a day in the studio, an engineer, and each of these people is paid a fee for their work. A demo is not sold for profit, and no royalties are to be gained from my demo. When a writer is backed by a publisher or label, that writer/artist still pays for expenses such as studio time, etc. The caveat is that because it’s written into our contracts as recoupable items, services the label or publisher pays for up front but we pay for as the sale of our music brings in money, we sometimes overlook the fact that we’re still paying for the process. The label or publisher is just the investor, constantly assessing whether you as an artist or writer is a risk they are willing to take.

When you’re faced with a proposition from another company to record your songs, I encourage you to consider what that company is going to do for you. If the company only serves as a demo house, a studio with musician(s) that churn out a demo of your song for you, then that’s essentially the same as having a producer. All you’re doing is hiring out the pesky details of finding and hiring musicians, a place to record, an engineer, etc. If you’ve heard other demos from this company and you feel their sound would be a great match for your songs, then this service may be valuable for you. The trouble is that many companies out there, and individuals in the business of producing music, don’t care whether they can add anything to your music. They are simply out there to lay down some cheap tracks underneath what they view as just another songwriter without the resources to record their own music.

If the individual or company boasts the ability to get your music into the hands of industry professionals, then there are a few questions you should ask. First, ask them to provide you with the contact information of the people they will forward your music to. Without being able to follow up with the folks who supposedly listened to your music, you not only have no way of knowing if they actually did listen, but you also have no way of forming a relationship with these people if they did listen and like your music. Rarely will a music professional such as a producer, publisher, music supervisor, label exec, etc., track you down about your music – even if they liked it. You can imagine the incredible volume of music these people have to listen to each day, and so the key is to keep yourself as visible as possible so that when opportunities do arise, you are there to remind that person your music would be perfect for those opportunities.

Another important consideration when farming your songs out to be produced by others is the ownership of the master. Demand that you own the master. The production house is simply work for hire, and you are paying them to function as a producer, organizing the bits and pieces of the recording process. There should be no lingering fees such as royalties if the song is placed in a film/TV or on someone else’s record.

The bottom line comes down to relationship. If you believe after a continued relationship with a point person at the company who wishes to record your song, that the song will be demoed with care, then go for it. Typical demo costs depend on the process, whether live musicians were used, a facility was rented, etc. You’re paying for the time and resources of those involved, and so you can estimate the value fairly accurately by taking into account the process in which your song is demoed.

In all cases, I encourage you to keep building your network of musical contacts. Find friends who have the equipment to record. Start with a basic guitar/vocal or piano/vocal and get a sense for the areas in which your songs need to improve before sinking serious money into a full-fledged demo. My final advice is, if a point person at a company is not willing to invest more than the 3.5 hrs it may take to record your song, then you may be disappointed in the results. Build relationships that pave the way for your music to evolve and flourish.

It’s 5 o’clock and you’ve just merged into the flow of freeway traffic after a long days work. You reach for your MP3 player, only to realize you’ve left it on your desk and will somehow have to survive the evening without it. So you flip on the radio hoping to find some musical retreat for the ride home. As the latest hits from the most talked about artists float on the radio waves, you find yourself coming up against the same old questions, “why do artists record bad songs?” and “why does the radio play them?” Those questions are soon followed by thoughts like “if I could only get so-and-so to hear my song, I know she’d love it and put it on her next record.”

As commercially viable songwriters and artists, it behooves us to know the current sounds catching the ears and pocketbooks of millions of music lovers. However, with the changing landscape of the music industry and radio no longer the gate-keeper of success, our view of the business is not limited to the empty-calorie happy meals we’re fed from top-40. We have access to a rich, all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of original music with just the click of a button and a credit card.

With so many avenues to discover new artists and talented songwriters, why then do we still complain about multi-platinum artists releasing aluminum sounds? The answer, I think, varies as widely as the experiences and perspectives of those who give them. For songwriters, the key may revolve somewhere around our ability to weather the industry, network, and hone our craft.

It’s no secret that the music industry is a people business. Who we know plays a great deal into the opportunities that come our way. We may have all the skills and personality necessary to write Beyonce’s next hit, but without access to her circles, we can rationally write off the likelihood of getting on her next record. This may sound unfair, but consider it from a business point of view.

Let’s say you’re eating your Wheaties one morning, and as you stare at the box you come up with a great new idea for their marketing campaign. So you decide to call up the people at General Mills and introduce yourself. When the 1-800 number on the back of the box doesn’t pan out, you try to leave a few messages with the 22-yr.-old temp in the customer service department. But the fact is, without a referral it doesn’t matter how good your ideas are. The creative team has its own agenda and hand-picked staff of brain-stormers who have proven their reliability and worth over years of service.

So how do we get into the circles of writers and artists who are making the music that sells? We network. We go to shows. We attend music festivals and conventions. We become a member of our local songwriting groups. We create and sustain an online presence. We hand out samples of our music. We co-write with anyone who believes in our ideas, and above all, we persist against all odds.

Some of the most successful and most fulfilled writers and artists are those who invest as much in others as they do in themselves. Focusing on advancing our own careers while also benefiting the careers of our peers is a plan structured for success. The bigger the circle of writers and artists we’re involved in, the more likely we are to be discovered. By bringing our art into local circles and creating something notable in our communities, we can start a movement as powerful as the grunge scene of Seattle, the singer-songwriter scene of Atlanta, or the dance scene of Miami. Discounting the significance of the fans and peers around us is as dead as the idea that a major label contract is the only way to reach millions of listeners.

Who we know is such an important aspect of the industry that it even overshadows talent and skill. When we hear a major-label release on the radio, what we’re hearing is networking in action. Imagine for a moment you are J-Lo, Paris, or Christine. Between touring, public appearances, and keeping up your great skin and hair, you’ve got to find time to write and record. On your 5-hour layover in NYC, you sit down to write a melody and some lyrics over a track already laid down by the producer and other names your label has paired you up with. Your first instinct will probably not be, ‘Hey, why don’t we check out some unfamiliar artists online and see if they’d want to fly in to co-write with us?’
No, you’ve got your team of proven hit-makers, and you’d like your next record to reliably find success. Furthermore, you enjoy that you’re able to work with a team who listens to and incorporates your artistic vision into the record. Finally, after breaking even on the first few records of your contract, you’ve realized that there’s money in publishing. Artists stand to gain a significant piece of the pie with their hands in the writing of the record.

The fact of the matter is that many producers and artists strive to write and record their own material rather than lose the writer and publisher share by recording outside material - even if that outside material is right for the record. Even as I wince at that statement I have to admit I’m guilty of the same. As an artist with the desire to both express myself and enjoy the financial rewards, I also prefer to write and record my own material.

Another perspective I’ve had to recognize is that I am an educated listener with educated tastes. My neighbor, much to my constant frustration, is not. While she pulls into her driveway with the latest Britney Spears single pumping out open windows, I’m painfully aware of the chasm that separates us on our musical vistas. What I think is drivel, she bounces to like Christmas morning. What I think is well-crafted and layered with depth, she finds complicated and boring.

Interestingly, my neighbor and I differ on another point. She works in the film industry, and much the way I feel about ‘consumer music’ she feels about ‘consumer film.’ Personally, I can’t get enough of Bruce Willis blowing up a power station while single-handedly saving the world from certain destruction. Set me in front of a serious art film that’s star-studded and a shoe-in for best picture, and I’ll be asleep as fast as you can say Grammy. After all, I don’t always want to think. I just want to be entertained.

Acknowledgment of my own consumerism makes it easier to understand why some people don’t gravitate towards deep lyrics, or jazz for that matter. A chef can’t imagine how fast food still exists with the knowledge of how to prepare simple and tasty meals. An electronics buff can’t understand why anyone would settle for the equivalent of a boom-box when pristine sound is available from Manley Labs. So the question may be, why does the lowest common denominator of what we value still exist? Because someone still buys it.

As musicians, we can easily sink into the sludge of cynicism. After all, how can we compete with the money and power of the commercial industry? Why do we continue to try to improve our craft when in the end, it seems to be all about our ability to market ourselves? Because we’re crafts-people. Because we’re the heartbeat of humanity. Because we have something to say, and without us, music-lovers all over the world would be left with a vacant shell void of expression. I’ve never met a songwriter who didn’t experience moments of defeat, cycles of abundance and drought. My own experience has taught me that unless I create for the pleasure of creating, my art soon loses its soul.

So next time your favorite diva belts out another rendition of ‘Baby Baby, you know I love you’, take heart. With belief in your music, a little talent and lots of persistence, you can get your songs heard. Most importantly, set your sights on forming relationships that last. If you’re a songwriter, write. If you’re an artist, perform. Do what you do as often as you can. In this industry of music, no two writers follow the same path to success. We all need to choose the way that will bring us the kind of lifestyle, relationships, and fulfillment we desire.