How do professional songwriters get their start?

[azraelswings]

I am curious, how do non-performing songwriters (Diane Warren, for example) begin their careers? After reading a few threads in which folks insist many labels dont accept unsolicited material, I'm very curious how the non-performing songwriter first manages to have a song picked up by a performing artist.

 

[joro]

I am curious, how do non-performing songwriters (Diane Warren, for example) begin their careers? After reading a few threads in which folks insist many labels dont accept unsolicited material, I'm very curious how the non-performing songwriter first manages to have a song picked up by a performing artist.

they give good head.....


yup...

I know that Carol bayer Sager married Burt Bacharach.....
that sure helped her get into the "in" crowd....

when it comes to none performing writers....
I think...
it isn't always how good of a writer you are...
it's who you know...........

more than anything else....


yup..

 

[Emusic]

Its 2fold. You will need good songs. And contacts in the business to get them out to managers. The better your songs, arrangement and mixes are - the less contacts you need.
Totally mindblowing hit material will be picked up by most music-publishing houses if they manage to get to listen to it.
But if your music is more in the mediocre class it will be a long way to travel and many doors to knock/phonecalls to take.
Just dont stop making music.

 

[bardo]

The old day's of tin pan alley are gone.
That was where Carol King and Neil Diamond and many others got their start.
They would sit aroungd all day writing tunes

 

[azraelswings]

Its 2fold. You will need good songs. And contacts in the business to get them out to managers. The better your songs, arrangement and mixes are - the less contacts you need.
Totally mindblowing hit material will be picked up by most music-publishing houses if they manage to get to listen to it.
But if your music is more in the mediocre class it will be a long way to travel and many doors to knock/phonecalls to take.
Just dont stop making music.

I'm not terribly interested in being a non-performing songwriter. I'm just curious how they get heard by the big wigs.

 

[Emusic]

I see. For me its my biggest interest; becoming an acknowledged songwriter without performing. So we have been working for some time now getting this to happen. Mostly investing in gear and humming some tunes.
Yesterday the website Wizardsongs.net became active. Not much of a website yet though.

 

[Aaron Cheney]

Start by following the rules. Three minute songs in standard song forms.
Then write some frikkin' great tunes. Without great tunes nothing else matters. If you want to run with the big dogs you have to have songs that are as good or better than what they are writing. And by "as good or better" I mean "as marketable or better". Publishers do not care about your muse or how well a song expresses your artistic vision. What they do care about can be expressed in one simple keystroke: $.
Once you are writing competitive songs (don't kid yourself here... you either are or you aren't) the next step is to have them professionaly demoed. Nothing else is good enough. Period. Publishers do not have the time to imagine what your song will sound like once it's performed by a good singer. You MUST let them hear it that way to begin with. This will cost anywhere from $300 - $800 per song.
Once you have a killer song that has been pro demoed, go buy 2005 Songwriter's Market. Read it. Start sending out demos to all appropriate publishers. Visit Nashville. Make appointments w/ any publisher that will let you in the door. Go to songwriter's meetings and rounds. Meet people. Market your song ruthlessly. If your song is marketable and catchy you will get some attention.
Last step: do it all over again, but this time make your song even better.

A

 

[mikeh]

It is so much harder than it was when I started. More and more artists want to write thier own material, people don't accept unsolicited material for fear of lawsuits and the days of the Brill building contract writers are mostly a distant historical footnote.

However, two things still hold true - a good song is a good song and perserverance pays.

If you really have the goods, and if you pay your dues (contact publishers, producers, artists, etc. etc) you can still place a song. You may have to accept plenty of corrective criticism and deal with plenty of rejects before you find someone willing to give you a shot, but it can happen. Shameless self promotion and aggressive networking are an absolute must.

I've have some "success" using the Songwriter's Market and through a Taxi membership. Success meaning getting some material placed with meager checks coming in - (I don't even imagine success on the level of a Diane Warren) However, I've suffered more rejection than the human ego should, and have compiled some pretty hefty postage/phone bills over the years - but it's part of the process.

As Aaron indicates, the days of a piano/vocal demo are long gone. You need a well produced demo, with a great vocal performance. Good demo singers can cost $100 to $200 per song (this does not include the other production costs). While you can find good singers for less, the people who can ace it in a few takes can be well worth the extra money.

The most successful local writer I know is also the most focused, dogmatic person I've ever met. He is a clever wordsmith who writes decent melodies over rather generic chord progressions - but - he is a member of every songwriter association known to man. He approaches every local band, producer and studio trying to get people to perform/record his songs. He spends his vacation every year (yeh - he still needs a day job) on a trip to Nashville (planned in advance, with appointments already made, etc).

He has had quite a few songs publish/placed/recorded and gets small checks on a consistant basis. I truly believe he will eventually get a song on a high charting recording - not because he is a "great writer" (he is a "good writer"), by mainly because he keeps at it year after year.

 

[applewormy]

great advice here....I'm a non-performing (except on my demos) songwriter/producer and I'm able to "step inside the industry door" and send my material to a few major label A&R people.

If you want to make it in this business, you first HAVE to have songs that sound like what's in the market. They're called "Hit" songs. Whether you like it or not, its what needs to be done. This is a business. If you want to write songs that sound like your personal music, that's fine, and I respect that. We all need to write quality "my" music sometimes, but it needs to sound like Britney Spears, Shania Twain, 50 Cent, etc if you want to make $ (of course there are exceptions like there is to everything, but this is generally the idea).

Since I'm young, I'm able to intern at a recording studio. It's no huge studio, but the guys know a lot of people in the entertainment biz and that's an edge I have that people in say - Rhode Island doesn't have. I say surround yourself with people in entertainment, NETWORK, become their friend, and it will get you the connections you need to connect you to the ultimate goal which is $.

Submit aggressively to publishing companies and managers and etc. But you HAVE TO MAKE SURE your songs are good like Emusic said. And maybe you will get your break someday.

David