Selling Out...

[Ouizel]

I'm just about to the point where I'm ready to start attempting to sell my music. I keep trying to look up information on who to talk to, where to send it, etc, but all I get is info on copyright registration, contracts, and that most A&R people won't accept unsolicited work. No listings or suggestions, nothing. (Unless, of course, I've got a spare couple hundred bucks, in which case there are several places that'll guarantee anything I want. )

 

So, then, Does anyone know where I should turn? Should I attempt to aquire an agent, or should I shop my tunes around myself (with my press kit)?

 

It seems to me that this basic info is being kept secret. No one talks about it. Either you're already "in", or nobody will even talk to you.

 

I'm a little frustrated. (In case you couldn't tell)

 

Help!!!!

 

Please!!!

 

Someone!!

 

Anyone??

[Curve Dominant]

It seems to me that this basic info is being kept secret. No one talks about it. Either you're already "in", or nobody will even talk to you.

Don't mistake "secret" for information you haven't found, or which nobody beats on your door to volunteer to you.

 

This business is a wild bull, and you have to grab it by the horns to get something from it. If you've ever seen a wild bull up close, you know that grabbing it by the horns is not something one does half-heartedly.

 

If you find that analogy extreme, my advice is: Get out now.

 

OK?

 

But...If you're still listening to me, you may want to think outside the box that it seems you are used to being in.

 

One example:

 

Find a pretty young thing (male or female or both) with a nice voice and strong delivery. Have them sing your songs. Produce recordings of that. Not demo-sounding, won't do. Make it sound like radio-ready. Not hard to do these days.

 

Still with me? Good.

 

If you can do that, you've now got something to work with. This is where it starts. Make copies of those recordings, burn MP3's, create a website, get on the phone, on the web, on a plane (or drive) to NYC, LA, London, Miami...

 

Better still, assemble a team of people who will do any or all of the above with you/for you.

 

By now, if you're still reading this, you've got knots in your stomach which can only be matched by the spots in your eyes, and your head is swimming. You just want to go lie down now.

 

Welcome to the jungle. You have to be a tiger to play this game. You have to be hungry, and go out and do it. Nothing comes to you in this game. You have to get the f&ck outta Dodge, and go get it.

 

Happy hunting!

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

Originally posted by Ouizel:

...It seems to me that this basic info is being kept secret. No one talks about it. Either you're already "in", or nobody will even talk to you.

I'm sorry, bullshit.

 

Now, you're one of probably 20 people on your block who think that they are songwriters. Just like bands and guitar players or anyone else trying to get ahead in entertainment, there are reams of info on how to do it, and the failures outnumber the successes by huge numbers.

 

Have you joined a local song writers association yet? Or the local chapter of the Nashville songwriters?

 

Taken a nightime course at the local college?

 

Bought any of the thousands of books on the subject?

 

Attended any of the semimnars?

 

Have you looked for the info on the web... there are hundreds of sites dedicated to song writers.

 

Have you joined Taxi or any other listing service?

 

Have you had any pro level demos made of your material?

 

Have you actually shown one song to anyone outside of your friends and family?

 

Have you gone to any local ad agencies and offered to write jingles?

 

Have you gone to any local publishing firms (every major city has some minor ones) and introduced yourself and dropped off some demos?

 

Have you joined the local meeting planners association, or at least visited them and offered to write custom music for their corporate and charity events?

 

Have you appeared on any of the local television telethons and charity shows/holiday show for free, just as a chance to show your music?

 

I have a good friends who wanted to write country music. She understood that to really get a shot at being a songwriter, she needed to live where the music was being recorded and marketted. (In her case, Nashville.) After years of slaving in the corporate workplace she tossed it all, talked her husband into moving to Nashville, and got a job with a publishing house. BUT: she spent years writing songs, traveling from Pittsburgh to Nashville as often as she could to promote herself, making contacts, shaking hands, learning who was who, and spending thousands upon thousands of dollars on Nashville studios for demos, hotels, gas, and banging her head against the door, year after year after year, trying to get in. She made it. Most don't.

 

In terms of "Insiders" verses "Outsiders"... who do YOU hire to do a job for you? A guy that you know, because you know his work? Or some stranger off the street? (Hint: you gotta get to know the right people.)

 

Do you remember the old Lovin' Spoonful song, "Nashville Cats"? There is a line in it that goes something like, "There are 13052 guitar pickers in Nashville. And they can pick more notes than the number of ants On a Tennessee anthill Yeah, there's thirteen hundred and fifty two Guitar cases in Nashville, And any one that unpacks his guitar could play Twice as better than I will." Same idea holds true for songwriters, in any major music marketplace. All clamoring for a little bit of work.

 

Nobody is keeping any information from you. They are practically hosing us down with it. But just like getting a job in a studio, or getting to headline Lollapaloosa, you are expected to do the work to make it happen.

 

Writing the song is the easy part. Selling it, now THAT's hard work.

 

Bill

[Ouizel]

Thanks. I needed the pep talk.

 

Eric, that didn't scare me at all. It's kinda what I expected. I guess what I'm looking for is a place to start.

 

bpark, I have scoured the internet, and I'm planning on joining Taxi as soon as I can come up with the membership fee. The rest of your post was rather helpful. I'll take it to heart, and stop whining about it and just do it.

 

I appreciate it! Thanks again!!

[Billster]

Go down to any large bookstore, and in either "music" or "business reference" there should be a book called Songwriter's Marketplace Annual 200X x being the appropriate year - don't buy last year's book on discount.

 

It is esentially a phone book with listings for who accepts unsolicited music, what they are looking for (performers, writers, singer/songwriters, theatricals, etc.), and who specifically to direct your inquiries to.

 

It also lists known contests and their deadlines, with contact info. Win a few awards to plug into your resume.

 

Like the others said, knock on any door possible - twice.

[songrytr]

It's all about the personal contact. Access is the first hurdle we all have to overcome.

 

You can only do so much from where you are regionally. You'll do a bit better if you can spend some time in the big music cities. Even better is an actual relocation to a music center.

 

Writers who get real cuts have all taken time to develop their network of friends and contacts. Once you make that personal contact you have a chance to get a real "listen."

 

TAXI is fine if you have a decent collection of good, radio-ready recordings...but once again, the most important thing you'll get from a TAXI placement is a contact and access to that contact.

 

Song contests may or may not offer the opportunity for personal contacts. A cash or equipment prize is nice, but some contests offer very real chances for winners to work directly with established writers.

 

I wish you the best in your endeavors!