Songwriter Advisor Blog

There are many web articles and chapters in songwriting business books that have one thing in common when it comes to instruction on how and where to pitch your songs to get a music publishing deal; they say once you have your song demos ready, start making contacts and send copies of your demos out to music publishers by making sure your genre of music fits their criteria and by adhering perfectly to their submission guidelines.  They go on to say if the music publisher likes your song and is interested, they’ll contact you.  This type of advice isn’t bad, but it’s somewhat unrealistic if you’re trying to put yourself in the best position to land a music publishing deal of any kind!

The advice you’ve just read about blindly pitching your material to music publishers listed in various publications as “accepting unsolicited material” or even after getting permission through phone calls from various music publishers before sending $200.00 worth of demos to 100 different companies is what you should do ONLY AS A LAST RESORT!!!!!!

The secret to getting a real music publishing deal lies in how hard you want to work at exposing your music to the right people by relentlessly and shamelessly networking-IN PERSON!  Yep, that’s the music industry secret few people are mentioning. 

So, the same unjust and unfair scenario repeats itself over and over to very talented songwriters all over the world.  They hit a brick wall wondering why no one wants to sign them to music publishing deals.  They’re not misinformed, they’re simply not receiving all the information they need. 

Your goal when chasing any type of music publishing deal is to have the publisher or company representative  listen to your demo IN PERSON!

NOW YOU HAVE THE INFORMATION, AND HERE IT IS!!!

If you’re seriously going after a music publishing deal whether it be a single song agreement to a full-fledged exclusive (staff) songwriting deal, follow these steps:

1.  Research music publishing companies in your area no matter how small of a company you think they are.  Young companies can turn out to be a gold mine if they match your great songs with great artists who start out locally, then regionally, then nationally and/or worldwide.  Many success stories in the music business happened this way because these are simply the goals of most independent music publishers and record companies!

2.  Once you have a list of independent and major label music publishers, start calling people listed as contacts (such as A&R reps, etc.) in various music industry up-to-date resources such as The Musician’s Atlas or The Music Registry, and make real appointments so they can hear your music.  These people may be hard to contact but your efforts will pay off if you have the goods!  Remember, the music industry revolves around talent.  Believe this; the music industry is aways looking for talent and it’s your job to find out who in the company is presently trying to find that talent!!!!

3.  Once you’ve made some appointments, it’s time to hit the road with your demo packages  containing your masterpieces!  If your music industry contacts break or cancel an appointment by letting you know ahead of time (consider yourself lucky if this occurs), politely reschedule over the phone. 

If you’re standing at the reception area of a music publishing company and the receptionist tells you, “He/she is not available, just leave the demo here,” a big red flag should go up in your brain!  Don’t settle for hearing, “I’ll make sure they receive the demo, we’ll get back to you.”  Do your best to graciously decline and insist you’d rather give it to them in person, and, once again, do everything to politely reschedule.  You’ll be taken far more seriously .

4.  Once a music publisher or staff member has actually sat down to hear your demo in your presence, congratulations.  If you get a favorable response, you’ve made a contact!  One good contact can make or break you in the music business when you’re starting out.

5.  Now it’s time to use a “call to action.”  Don’t be afraid to ask the music publishing representative if they’re interested in your music.  You’ll usually get an immediate response.  If they say yes, you can start building your relationship further and more seriously by perhaps inviting them to see you perform,  or by asking them if you may submit more songs for consideration in the next three to four weeks.  This is how you build relationships in the music industry-by being straightforward and sincere.  When you feel like you’ve made some type of connection with the music publishing rep or the actual company, ask if they’re willing to offer you a music publishing deal.

If the music publishing company representative is not willing to offer any type of music publishing deal at the moment, and you have a gut feeling that they like something about you and/or your music, ask them if they can recommend another music publisher who might be interested in your music.   

If you’re right and they like your music, they’ll become worried and jealous that you’ll eventually go and find a music publishing deal somewhere else!  You’ll have incredible leverage.

6.  Repeat steps 1-5 and keep building relationships.  Be realistic.  If you build 1 solid contact every 2 months, you should have 6 of them in a year!  That may sound like it’s not enough, but chances are, each of those contacts has numerous contacts, and that’s where your networking comes in through attending industry events, workshops, parties,etc.  You’ll be well on your way to to a chance at having success! 

When you begin your song-pitching campaign, keep the following points in mind:

(a).  Remember, if you make it your job to find music publishing companies and you don’t make the mistake of trying to let them find you, your chances of success will go up dramatically.

(b).  Dress appropriately, and better yet, create a contemporary, unique image for yourself in the way you dress and carry yourself.

(c).  Don’t let rejection affect you negatively.  Virtually every major star has been rejected once or many times before they actually “made it.”  Accept constructive criticism and keep moving forward.

(d).  If you don’t live in a city with prospective music publishing companies, you’ll either have to make a trip to one of the major music hubs (In the US-Los Angeles, NY, Miami, Nashville, etc.) or use services such as Taxi to get results. 

(e).  Unless you’re a proven, successful songwriter, music publishing companies don’t generally sign songwriters to music publishing deals unless they’ve established some type of rapport or professional relationship with them.

Good luck!

Regardless of their level of songwriting experience, all songwriters eventually fall into a dry spell where they find themselves unmotivated with no inspiration to write songs.  Songwriting can be mentally exhausting, and, in its worst form, songwriters can suffer from what I call burnout drought!  Before you get to this point of “slow return” you can take some precautions to totally prevent your mind from getting stuck at the top of the ferris wheel!

The songwriters who are at most risk of burning out are ones signed to music publishing deals when they’re trying to meet their contractual yearly deadline of however many acceptable songs they’re required to submit, songwriters who hold a job while incessantly trying to write songs in their inadequate spare time, and pretty much any songwriter who works really hard on their craft without taking sufficient break time. 

You don’t have to be paranoid that your brain is going to explode, but understand songwriting can exhaust you mentally just like any activity where you’re forced to concentrate intently on what you’re doing.  The constant channeling of brain energy while trying to find an idea or even a word for the next verse can wear a songwriter down over a period of time, kind of like someone who spends hours on end producing music, engineering a song mix, or even merely sitting at a computer working on their blogs and websites.

So how do we make sure we can “jumpstart” our songwriting minds effectively?  The answer is:  by filling our positive minds with positive, healthy energy, and by separating the negativity from our negative buttons located in the part of our brains where we store frustration and helplessness! 

Next time you feel a little “run down” try these songwriting tips to help you break out of your songwriting doldrums:

1.  You are the only one who can truly analyze and find why you think you’re stuck in a rut.  Is it because you’ve been working long hours at your day or night job, and cramming what little time you have left over on your songwriting?  Are you disappointed in a few song submissions being rejected by music publishing companies to the point where you’ve lost motivation?  There are enough different reasons for songwriters to lack motivation, certainly enough to fill another ten paragraphs or so–the point is, there’s no such thing as a songwriterologist–you know, a doctor who specializes in the field of songwriting ailments, so the first step is to be honest with yourself and figure out the root of your problem.  Once you have at least an inkling of an idea of what kind of roadblock you’re facing, read step 2.

2.  Make a conscious effort to stop all songwriting efforts for at least a week–this includes studying songs while you hear them on your car radio, reading songwriting-related books, engaging in any songwriting-related conversation with your peers, commenting on songwriting blogs, etc.  Don’t even pick up or play your music instrument!  Spend time trying to clear your mind as if you’re wiping out all the unnecessary information off of an overburdened hard drive on your computer!  If you’ve already taken this type of break, move on to step 3.

3.  After a week, even if there are other big stressors in your life,  you should feel at least a little relief from stress if not a lot, and only you can tell if it’s time to reconnect with your songwriting.  You will know when you’re ready to reconnect with your craft when you start feeling that burning desire to get back into your game.  Do not proceed until you feel you are ready.  Another week of rest is not going to kill you!  

4.  Now that your hormones are begging for you to connect with your songwriting, your guitar, or your keyboard,  resist the temptation!  Instead, go out and see some live music acts for at least a night or two and just take the music in!  Listen to music on the radio as well as your favorite CD’s, and you’ll find at this point, if you’re in a relaxed enough environment, you can actually absorb the sound in your heart and soul instead of your mind.  In other words, don’t spend your time critiquing the music–it’ll drain the newfound power out of your brain–merely enjoy it!    

5.  The whole process usually takes 10-14 days.  Now you’re finally ready to reconnect.  You’ll find that songwriting and playing an instrument doesn’t seem like a chore anymore, and you’ll be full of fresh ideas springing from the inner depths of your total being!   

The benefit to your health will become obvious, your songwriting will be revitalized, and you’ll be in complete control of recognizing the warning signs and exactly how to break free from this staleness when it happens (and it will happen) in the future.

Special thanks to Ellen Moraskie, Warner/Chappell vice president, who, among so many other things, taught me how to relax my mind and just take in this thing called life when songwriting became stale and ideas were hard to come by.  This article was inspired by, and dedicated to her.   R.I.P. Mrs. Moraskie,  with love and respect,  Orlando.