What to do with my songs!!

[jonnyboy]

I'm a songwriter, I've got plenty of GOOD songs (pop/rock), catchy tunes, good lyrics..what can I do with them. I've had these songs for ages and finally want to do something with them...don't want to be a performer...just songwriter. Are there any websites where I can showcase the songs? Companies I should contact? Don't really know where to start...any information would be greatly appreciated...cheers!

[joro]

well....

Before you do anything man....

You need to record them....

That's where you start.

Be advised though man,
The business of music is not all glamour and Sunday brunches on the veranda...
it is a real dog eat dog kind of thing....cut-throat even...
It is not always how good the song, music, recording, performances is....
most times it's how big your tits are....how young you are...and most importantly.....who you know.

As long as you are making music for the love of music...you will be cool man.
One piece of advice.....never give money to someone who should be paying YOU....there are tons of scams and con-jobs out there...especially on the internet.

Good luck man,
Joe

[kindofblue]

I'm still a young lad and i'm being torn apart by the music industry and i'm learning quickly that the more you can do (promotion, recording, production, PR etc.) the better off you'll be. There is no excuse these days for having a bad mix, bad production or anything like that. Record companies want to see that your STRONG before they even give you the time of day. In your case, just keep writing great tunes, and get the recorded REALLY well and try to get people to love them and buy them and someday mabye you'll make da money!!!!!!!!

[jonnyboy]

thanks you guys for your advice....and yeah, I'm gonna try and get a decent recording done and search out places to showcase my songs...to be honest, money isn't a big motivator for me and certainly don't want to be a performer (not my character)...however I feel that I do want to do something with the songs I've written....I mean if nobody ever hears them you have to ask what is the point of writing in the first place!!

And just think if Lennon and Macca's songs had never been heard I think everybody would have lost something...and I'm not saying that my songs are of that calibre, but they might mean something to someone...I know that I have songs that can actually make me happy or that get me through the bad times...

There must be hundreds if not thousands of people like me with talent going to waste...I wonder if there are places on the net where songs can be showcased?? Anyone know of any??....

anyway, will persevere and firstly get a decent demo and web page made....cheers and good luck to all you songwriters out there who are as frustrated as me!!!!!...Jonny Boy!

[Mr T]

I'm a songwriter in a similar position. The only advice I could give is to remember and copyright any material that has potential before you let too many people hear it.

[mrx]

Interesting article on how it works in the 'real world.'

(http://www.gremlinuk.com/gremlin/new...h_from_emi.htm)

[Garry Sharp]

Jonny - if you don't feel you're a performer then you're not. Neither am I. No problem.

But you must, as a first priority, find somebody who can perform and who needs material. Advertise, network, go to open mics and talk to people, just hunt till you find the singer (the rest is easy, it's the singer that's the hard one). If you don't have somebody who digs your material and can convey it to an audience, be it live or recorded, you'll get nowhere. But get the right performer and you're way ahead of the game.

Well, just my 2p, but I think both of those pennies are quite big Good luck.

[philboyd studge]

Originally Posted by jonnyboy

I'm a songwriter, I've got plenty of GOOD songs (pop/rock), catchy tunes, good lyrics..what can I do with them. I've had these songs for ages and finally want to do something with them...don't want to be a performer...just songwriter. Are there any websites where I can showcase the songs? Companies I should contact? Don't really know where to start...any information would be greatly appreciated...cheers!

It's funny but by coincidence I'm looking at three royalty checks on my desk right now (light fodder from BMI and mechanical) and yet don't have a clue as to how to help you. All I can say is that there is an ocean of pop/rock songs out there and not many people fishing. I'd look for a small pond to swim around in.

The other thing is that it's a bit like the Merchant Marines; you can't be one unless you're in the union, and you can't get in the union unless you're a Merchant Marine.

[jonnyboy]

...some interesting responses, and some good ideas guys...thanks! Just a couple of points....PS..must be nice looking at those royalty cheques, man....and as I've said before, for me it's not so much the money, just the fact that you are doing something with your songs..that's great, mate..congrats. If it's not to personal, could I ask how you did it, just as a matter of interest!

Garry, what's the weather like in good old blighty, much cooler than here is Tokyo I'm guessing (39 and 95% humidity..bit different from Blackpool)...good 2penneth worth, by the way.....however I can do the vocals myself to a reasonable standard, but you're probably right...the music needs to be heard in a 'live' situation...I'll venture forth and try and find a good frontman to showcase on a local level..and Mr T...how do you go about copyrighting a song..I've done the old 'send it to yourself job' (does this really work?..would it hold up in court!!)..anyway, is there an official channel where I can register my songs??

and final thought, I mentioned earlier about internet showcasing....does anybody know any good sites to upload songs to..I'll start the ball rolling..check out audiostreet.net you can upload 3 songs for free....any others???

cheers - jonny_boy

[Garry Sharp]

Jonny. Weather's quite good here, about 22, much nicer than Tokyo.

www.nowhereradio.com is our local favourite for hosting. You get 15MB free, so up to 5 songs depending on your MP3 compression.

Cheers

Garry

[Mr T]

how do you go about copyrighting a song..

I usually send it to myself recorded delivery.

[GreggS]

Hey Johnnyboy...I have been a songwriter for a long time with a fair amount of success over the years, I actually make a living in this stupid industry. Unless you have 1) a box of cash to self-promote 2) are willing to relocate to a "music city" (Nashville, LA, New York)...you MUST find somebody wlling to rep your stuff as virtually nobody anymore takes unsolicited demos. My suggestion to all aspiring songsmiths is to affiliate with a group that is in the song selling business and at this point I can recommend 2: Taxi & Songbrokers, both of whom do what they say they will do. On your other question, self mailing songs will hold up in court IF you never open the package once received, but registering a copyright is simple, you can download the forms from the govt copyright offic website. The most important thing to realize though is you're gonna hear "no" alot more than you hear "Yes". Good luck dude and be prepared to work your *** off.

[Toonsmith]

Go here -

www.copyright.gov

and download the PA form. The PA form is for the composition. Not the sound recording. Fill in the form and make a copy of your music in standard notation, cassette, or CD. Send in $30 with all your materials and in about three to four months you'll get your copyrights. Although your copyright actually starts the moment the Library of Congress gets it.

You can also send in like a CDs worth of material all at the same time on the same PA form, this way saving tons of money. You can send away for the SR copyright when you have the final master CD.

Hope this helps!

[Jagular]

Step 1.

Before you go spend money on demos on your songs, please get an honest critique of them from people who know what they are talking about. The streets of Nashville are paved with the money beginning songwriters have paid for demos that should never have been made. In a sense, even the legitimate demo studios make a living from the ego of songwriters who think they are better than they are. No disrespect to you. You may be GREAT. Never heard any of your stuff. But 99.9% of writers who would be asking the question you did would not be writing competitively for commercial purposes. FYI - I'm working my ass off on it and I'm not writing competitively yet either.

If you are interested I can give you some resources where you can get some good advice on your songs.

Step 2.

I agree with GreggS largely on this. Taxi can be a good resource (I don't do it because I live in Nashville and choose to spend my money here to advance my goals). However, if your songs aren't up to snuff to pitch to publishers (from step 1), Taxi is not going to help you other than the critiques you may get (which you have to pay for). If you go the publisher route, be prepared to work your ass off and spend many years building relationships with them. If you get a good one willing to listen to your songsand give you pointers, you have found a gold mine. I highly recommend a book called "Your First Cut" by Jerry Vandiver & Gracie Hollumbe. It give you a good step by step process to get there (no guarantee though). Don't be fooled. If you do all the book says, it's a hell of a lot of work and takes a long time. The average time for a writer with a cut to get the first one is 6 years from when they started. I'm sure that doesn't include the countless tens of thousands that try and never get a cut .

Those are some first steps to think about.

Good luck

[SonarSongwriter]

I am in the same boat you are, but I recently sent 9 songs out to around 20 publishers using the songwriters marketing book. I have heard back from 2 of them but nothing is happening yet. I just placed some songs on sounclick and yesterday I got 6 hits on one of my songs. This seems to be a cool place to put some ideas. The music business of today is not the same as it was 20 years ago thats for sure but I am just going to keep trying. Good luck we all need a little of that.
Mark

[Jagular]

Originally Posted by SonarSongwriter

I am in the same boat you are, but I recently sent 9 songs out to around 20 publishers using the songwriters marketing book. I have heard back from 2 of them but nothing is happening yet. I just placed some songs on sounclick and yesterday I got 6 hits on one of my songs. This seems to be a cool place to put some ideas. The music business of today is not the same as it was 20 years ago thats for sure but I am just going to keep trying. Good luck we all need a little of that.
Mark

Songwriters' Market is a great resource. Just make sure you still check out any publishers who are interested in your stuff thoroughly. I've met some interesting characters who have listed in that book. .

Good luck!!! Yes we do all need that too. But the harder you work, the luckier you get!!!

[Jack Russell]

Originally Posted by philboyd studge

...it's a bit like the Merchant Marines; you can't be one unless you're in the union, and you can't get in the union unless you're a Merchant Marine.

Well, be honest though: to join the 'Merchant Marine' didn't you at some point along the way have a special connection? How else do people make it into the Club? I can't believe that all they (those in the "Union") do is listen to 100 demo tapes and then choose the winner completely on merits alone. So, can you really say that you have no idea how you got your royalty checks?

Just thought it would be worth asking...

[radiorickm]

one of the things you can do is check out a website www.taxi.com

they have connection to the biz and post a newsletter every week or so of what they are looking for.

they have had some success.

it is well worth your while to sign up there

[futurestar]

Some free places to upload your songs:
www.soundclick.com
www.broadjam.com
www.songramp.com

IMO, don't bother shopping your material yourself to publishers. The are very few artists looking for songs, compared to the number of established writers pitching. If you really want to go that route, join www.taxi.com or www.songcatalog.com (if you think your material would be suitable for pitching to film, and tv).

Even better though, (and it's been mentioned already), look for a young talented undiscovered singer and try to write for them, or with them. I went to a seminar a while back with hit songwriter Jim Vallance on the panel. He said point blank, he's never pitched a song to a publisher to get placed with an artist. He discovered and helped develop artists like Brian Adams, and usually wrote songs WITH them, not FOR them. Other writers have different success stories of course, but either way ... it's a tough road. (Even harder than getting an artist deal as far as I'm concerned).

[jonnyboy]

thanks for the advice guys...and am at the moment trying to put together a demo of decent quality and get a homepage set up (of course will post link when ready, for those way too honest critiques!!) ...

I'm also gonna post a definitive list of all the websites that 'us' songwriters can use to upload our music as a resource reference for other aspiring songwriters... (basically the sites that were in these replies)....has anybody had any success on taxi?? does anybody know if it's good for people not living in the US? And is it worth the 300 dollars (well, i suppose it is if someone signs you!!)...just thought i'd ask before I spent my hard earned readies!!!

yeah, futurestar, I've heard of Jim Vallance...smart guy....must have been an interesting seminar?..thanks for the sites...radiorick..any info about above questions? Jagular..thanks for the info, mate...will you critique my songs? ...and yeah, would apprecite those resources you mentioned....cheers! Gregg.S...you got a www for that songbrokers (I'm assuming that's the name of a website?)..Garry, thanks for the link..will check it out..am in the UK now doing some recording....wettest august on record..bloody typical!!!!!

cheers - jonnyboy

[glynb]

Originally Posted by jonnyboy

I'm a songwriter, I've got plenty of GOOD songs (pop/rock), catchy tunes, good lyrics..what can I do with them. I've had these songs for ages and finally want to do something with them...don't want to be a performer...just songwriter. Are there any websites where I can showcase the songs? Companies I should contact? Don't really know where to start...any information would be greatly appreciated...cheers!

Take a step back from these other good suggestions...

What do YOU want to do with your songs? You know you don't want to get up on stage and perform them right? OK that's one thing ruled out.

Do you want people to hear them?

Do you want other artists to record them for fun?

Do you want other artists to record them and pay you lots of money?

Do you want to just let people hear your recordings for free?

Do you want to let people hear your recordings and pay you?

Do you want to put out a CD, but not play live to promote it?

Answer some of these questions for yourself. Ruling things out, cutting down the things you don't want to do, listing what you'd like to do with your songs.

There's a world of difference between posting a few songs on a site for fun so people can listen and trying to be a pro song writer supplying songs to recording artists, and a lot of variations in between.

Do some long hard thinking, that's the STARTING point.