Songwriting and Marketing
I am new to the industry of songwriting and marketing. I'm creating
this page to store my notes.
Pitching Songs
 | Favorite Resources
 | Music Row -
www.musicrow.com - country
genre. |
| Songlink -
www.songlink.com - all genres and artists too. |
| Song Shop -
www.songshop.net - European
artists |
| Internet Options
|
| Billboard Magazine - may have info on
who will be recording. |
| Bandit - more to hook artists to
managers |
|
SONGQUARTERS |
|
HITQUARTERS
|
| Taxi - great for
film placement |
|
| Pitching Contacts
| www.artistpro.com - contact info for
A&R, producers, and managers. |
| www.musicregistry.com - contact info.
|
| www.notc.com - contact info,
subscription costs $365 per year. |
| www.musicrow.com - “In Charge” -
Nashville contacts. |
| Record Label websites |
|
| Song Pluggers
| You retain ownership of the song. |
| Split half of the publishing income for
a song that is cut. |
| If TV/Film, split the sync fee &
publishing income. |
| They will ask for exclusive pitching
rights for a period of time. |
| Some work for a monthly retainer fee.
(I don't like this option.) |
|
| Others
|
| Not sure about these companies.
|
| Genres
| Pop Genres -
normally artist driven. |
|
| What to Pitch
| Radio friendly songs - unless you are the artist, songs need to be
radio friendly to make it on to a CD. |
| Pitch only great songs - you can use critiquing services and other
professionals for this. Make sure you get good professional feedback on
the songs you pitch. Normally you will only be pitching a handful of
great songs.
 | The demo should focus on the vocal and the melody. |
| Vocal must sell the song with emotional conviction. |
| Vocal must stand out on a demo (more final release). Use
minimal reverb. Make sure that the instrumentation doesn't
distract from the vocal. I think this may not be the case in
some genres. |
| Have short instrumental intros and instrumental solos (if any). |
| Create a demo that is targeted to one genre if it is a full
demo. |
|
| Pitch what the artist is looking for. |
| Pitch to an artist when the are actively looking for songs.
|
| Pitch CDs
| Should only have 3 songs. If you have ballads on the CD
limit it to a max of 2. |
| Information on the CD:
The song titles
The Artist you are pitching to.
Your name
Your phone & email
"Copyright <year> by <your name>" |
|
| Pitch Strategy - focus your efforts on a handful of songs.
| Radio friendly hits. |
| The song causes a strong reaction when you play it for people. |
| Pitch what the artist is looking for. |
| Select 3 strong songs in one genre. |
| Get professional critiques on your top 3 songs. |
| Demo CD
| 3 songs - no more than 2 ballads. |
| Vocal must be on pitch and sung with an emotion. |
| Vocal & lyrics must be easily heard. |
| Use reverb very sparingly on the vocal. |
| Avoid long intros and long instrumentals. |
| Get a great vocal and instrumentation that sells the song.
Could be a guitar/vocal, piano/vocal, or a full demo. |
| Demo Package
| CD - place in a holder or case with other info in side
of a 7 ¼ x 7 ¼ CD mailers. |
| Lyrics - 12 point, title centered, verse and chorus left
aligned, have copyright info <copyright (year) by
(songwriters names)>. Place the name of the artist you
are pitching to on the lyric sheet. |
| If the CD was requested then place the words
"Requested Material" on the outside. |
| Do not include a bio or cover letter. |
| Do not include a any return envelopes or critique cards. |
| Make no more than 3 follow up phone calls. If they
don't return your call then assume a pass on the song. |
|
|
| Pitch ballads early and up-tempo songs at anytime. |
| DO NOT pitch a CD in a public place (concert, etc...). |
|
| Holds
| A verbal commitment for a specified time. Do not pitch
this song to any other projects unless you contact the person who
placed the song on hold. You may check on the hold status once
every 2-3 weeks unless you have predetermined end date. No
return call after 3 phone attempts is a sign that the song is no
longer on hold. |
| No exchange of money. |
| The song was commercial enough to get to this stage but may not
get cut on the CD. |
|
|
Sell your Songs
CD Manufacturing
| www.discmakers.com -
800-468-9353 - 8-8pm ET
| Cost Table as of 05/2007
| Retail CD |
Qty |
Each |
Total |
| CD in Jewel Case (1 page insert) |
1,000 |
1.19 |
1,190 |
| |
2,500 |
.99 |
2,475 |
| |
5,000 |
.88 |
4,400 |
| CD in a Jacket |
1,000 |
.99 |
$990 |
| |
2,500 |
.90 |
$2,250 |
| |
5,000 |
.71 |
$3,500 |
| Design by DiscMakers |
$390 |
|
|
| Slimline Jewel Case |
200 |
.16 |
|
| Clear Poly Sleeves |
1,200 |
.06 |
|
| CD Blank 52x (Ultra Quality) |
100 |
.35 |
|
| (Note: Add 6cents if printable) |
1200 |
.28 |
|
| |
|
|
|
| CD in a Slimline Case |
1,000 |
.81 |
810 |
| * CD: 1,000-.49; 2,500-.45, 5,000 .42 |
2,500 |
.77 |
1,925 |
| * Case: 1,000-.32, 5,000-.28 |
5,000 |
.70 |
3,500 |
| |
|
|
|
| CD in a Paper Sleeve |
1,000 |
.57 |
570 |
| * CD: 1,000-.49; 2,500-.45, 5,000 .42 |
2,500 |
.53 |
1,325 |
| * Case: 1,000-.8, 5,000-.6 |
5,000 |
.48 |
2,400 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Description
| Ready for Retail: CD in Jewel Case (1 page Insert)
| Replicated CD with 3-color-on-disc printing. |
| Case: Jewel (Black, White, or Clear). |
| 1 page insert (full color) |
| Tray (full color) w/black & white inside |
| UPC Bar code |
|
| Ready for Retail: CD in a Jacket
| Case: Full-color on sturdy board with high-gloss UV
coating |
| CD: Replicated with 3-color-on-disc printing. |
| Assembly and poly wrap |
| UPC Bar code |
|
|
|
| Staples Office Supply - 05/2007 - do it yourself on a small scale
| Description ($Price/$If Sale) |
Qty |
Each |
Total |
|
If Sale
Each |
If Sale
Total |
| CD in a slimline - no insert. |
100 |
1.10 |
110 |
|
.78 |
78 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| * 100 Pack CDs Memorex $40/$25 |
|
.40 |
40 |
|
.25 |
25 |
| * 100 Labels Memorex $20/$15 |
|
.20 |
20 |
|
.15 |
15 |
| * 100 Slimline Jewel case $30/$18 |
|
.30 |
30 |
|
.18 |
18 |
| * Ink |
|
.15 |
15 |
|
.15 |
15 |
| * Shrink wrap |
|
.05 |
5 |
|
.05 |
5 |
| |
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You may want to consider the following:
Labor: Burn CDs, apply label, assemble, shrink wrap, package.
Purchase: CD Duplicator, Shrink Warp machine, artwork for
the CD label. |
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| Note: Burn to a CD-RW disc at 4x speed.
Then make copies of this disc to CD-Rs at the highest rate your
hardware & CDs are rated at. This way your CD should play
in all CD players (especially in cars and/or older CD players). |
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| Note: I need to check these companies out
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Independent Singer/Songwriters
Pitching Songs to TV & Film
| Great for independent songwriters. |
| Own the publishing rights. |
| Own the demo recording. |
| Do not use union musicians or singers. If you do, then you will
need to pay additional moneys to the musicians/singers to upgrade the demo
to a master scale. |
| Use master recordings that you own the rights to. |
| Usually there is no exclusive license or use. You can reuse the
song as much as you want. |
Internet Sites
Books
| “This Business Of Music” by Sidney Shemel and William Krasilovsky
(Billboard Publications, Revised Edition) |
| “The Art of Music Licensing” by Al Kohn and Bob Kohn (Prentice-Hall Law
and Business, 1992).
|
Steps for a Beginner
| Write 20 or more songs
| Read Jason Blume's book on song writing ( 6 Steps to Songwriting Success
) |
| Write ~ 20 songs (some fast & slow) |
| Create a work demo of the songs on CD. (Piano/Guitar & Voice
is OK. Make sure the words can be clearly understood.) |
| Join a Songwriters association in your area and/or NSAI |
|
| Song Demos - Get 3 to 6 songs Ready-to-Pitch.
| Have songs critiqued until you have 3-6 songs Ready-To-Pitch.
|
|
| Pitch Demos to Publishers
| Fully Published demo vs Work Demo. |
| The Songwriter's Market - use this book to pitch your CD demo to
publishers. |
| ??? - Pitch sheet (Row Fax), put out by Music Row Magazine in
Nashville. |
| Network to try and meet with publishers. |
|
| Working on the next steps ... <under construction> .... |
Networking in Nashville
| Try to find publishers by hanging out where they hang out.
| NSAI - office |
| Bluebird Cafe |
| Douglas Corner Cafe |
| Broken Spoke - songwriters. |
|
Getting your songs heard
| www.broadjam.com
www.garageband.com
www.soundclick.com
www.myspace.com
www.sonicgarden.com
www.artistopia.com
www.songramp.com
www.songcritic.com
www.purevolume.com
www.songwritersdirectory.com
www.artistblast.com
www.ampcast.com
www.dmusic.com
www.getplayed.com |
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