Need Some Feedback on new song "just say it"

[14yearoldkid]

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yeah u guys give some great advice!!! i want to try to get into a small indie label if i can but i have another question... i want to copyright my music so it stays safe with me... how can i copyright all of my songs without paying too much money but to be as safe as possible i want to do this before i start sending out demos... please help! thanks

 

[DavidK]

yeah u guys give some great advice!!! i want to try to get into a small indie label if i can but i have another question... i want to copyright my music so it stays safe with me... how can i copyright all of my songs without paying too much money but to be as safe as possible i want to do this before i start sending out demos... please help! thanks

Get them copyrighted You basically send a lead sheet ( Lyrics and chords) to the Copyright office in DC, along with a check and a form. It's expensive, I forget how much but like 70 bucks a song I think?

i want to try to get into a small indie label if i can

Do you perform? If the answer is "No". dont be concerned with a label, they wont be interested. Labels want customers, and they expect YOU to give them customers. To make back their money, you have to sell THOUSANDS of CDs. Its a bitch to sell ONE, trust me They will expect YOU to do shows, sell CDs after the shows, and send them MOST of the money. Thats how it works.

They may also want to get YOU to pay for stuff. Mastering, artwork, whatever. It can run into thousands of dollars. If a label even looks at you ( the odds are tough to beat), keep in mind that is is a BUSINESS. They are dealing with MONEY, and they wont throw it around.

Bottom line: you have to have a show and a built up clientele first.

 

[14yearoldkid]

yeah

hey man yesss i love to perform i just havent done it yet... i peformed with my school band in the Expo 2004 worlds fair in japan! it was sick! i just dont know where to start to start playing live shows.. keeping in mind it is just me... would a club book me if its just me with a guitar? or they want a full band? i dont know where too look

 

[bigbubba]

To answer your question, I was in Atlanta last week and they had a guy playing stuff live. He had a laptop with all the accompanying music and he was standing in front of a keyboard rack. He was doing covers songs of famous songs and playing the keys while singing. The rest was on the laptop thru the PA system.

It was annoying 'coz we couldn't talk but for a live performance it was pretty good.

 

[Greg_L]

To answer your question, I was in Atlanta last week and they had a guy playing stuff live. He had a laptop with all the accompanying music and he was standing in front of a keyboard rack. He was doing covers songs of famous songs and playing the keys while singing. The rest was on the laptop thru the PA system.

It was annoying 'coz we couldn't talk but for a live performance it was pretty good.

I've seen lots of guys do stuff like that. Cheesy as hell, but if you're a one-man-band, theres no other way around it.

Kid, your music is soft, sweet, polite, and non-threatening. Surely you can find some type of coffee house or quiet pub/restaurant type place to play with just your acoustic guitar (please tune it first) and a mic. Good luck.

 

[warble2]

For info on copyrights:
http://www.copyright.gov/

If you have a CD with you songs, you can use Form SR which is available as a PDF from the copyright Website above. Under the Nature of Authorship section, you can state what you are the owner of: sound recordings, music, lyrics, etc. Filing this form costs $45. No need to create lead sheets.

The forms can be found here:
http://www.copyright.gov/forms/

A resource for indie music, try the Indie Bible:
http://www.amazon.com/Indie-Bible-7..._bbs_sr_1/103-4443702-4916624?ie=UTF8&s=books

Personally, I would build up your engineering knowledge and skill, save up for some decent gear (doesn't necessarily have to be high-end), and really work at the production quality of your music. I'm not really interested in being tied to a record label myself, but did have those dreams not long ago. I actually went to Nashville back in the mid 90's when I wrote and recorded Christian pop music, and called the major Christian labels from a payphone! One label said "sure, stop in and drop your demo tape off". I sped over there like bullet, walked through the door, and dropped my tape in a bin by the receptionists desk. A month later, I received a photocopied form letter letting me know that they were not accepting unsolicited artists at that time. But hey, I did it. This wasn't indie level, but I don't recall knowing much about the indies at that time, so I reached for the stars.

Now I focus on writing the best music I can, production quality, and do all my own recording. I saved, and spent quite a bit money on gear (you don't have to spend thousands necessarily, but I started budget and have worked my way up), and have learned how to use it all over the past few years. I'm not worried about getting on board with a label right now, I'm ready to get a new CD done and start playing local coffee houses, whatever to get it out there. The Internet has become a wonderful tool for selling music as well - either CD's all wrapped up and bar coded to be sold at CD Baby, Amazon, etc. or digital downloads.

Good luck to you! Follow your dreams, but don't have expectations from the industry. Plan on working your butt off.

 

[warble2]

Almost forgot...your tune.

I listened and I like the writing. The guitar does sound out of tune to me, but the playing is fairly decent. I wouldn't focus on sending what you've written and recorded to an indie label, I'd focus on doing better recordings and the production a little more.

Keep up the work!

 

[Greg_L]

For info on copyrights:
http://www.copyright.gov/

If you have a CD with you songs, you can use Form SR which is available as a PDF from the copyright Website above. Under the Nature of Authorship section, you can state what you are the owner of: sound recordings, music, lyrics, etc. Filing this form costs $45. No need to create lead sheets.

The forms can be found here:
http://www.copyright.gov/forms/

A resource for indie music, try the Indie Bible:
http://www.amazon.com/Indie-Bible-7..._bbs_sr_1/103-4443702-4916624?ie=UTF8&s=books

Personally, I would build up your engineering knowledge and skill, save up for some decent gear (doesn't necessarily have to be high-end), and really work at the production quality of your music. I'm not really interested in being tied to a record label myself, but did have those dreams not long ago. I actually went to Nashville back in the mid 90's when I wrote and recorded Christian pop music, and called the major Christian labels from a payphone! One label said "sure, stop in and drop your demo tape off". I sped over there like bullet, walked through the door, and dropped my tape in a bin by the receptionists desk. A month later, I received a photocopied form letter letting me know that they were not accepting unsolicited artists at that time. But hey, I did it. This wasn't indie level, but I don't recall knowing much about the indies at that time, so I reached for the stars.

Now I focus on writing the best music I can, production quality, and do all my own recording. I saved, and spent quite a bit money on gear (you don't have to spend thousands necessarily, but I started budget and have worked my way up), and have learned how to use it all over the past few years. I'm not worried about getting on board with a label right now, I'm ready to get a new CD done and start playing local coffee houses, whatever to get it out there. The Internet has become a wonderful tool for selling music as well - either CD's all wrapped up and bar coded to be sold at CD Baby, Amazon, etc. or digital downloads.

Good luck to you! Follow your dreams, but don't have expectations from the industry. Plan on working your butt off.

I agree with all of this. These days, technology allows all of us hacks in here to turn out some really good stuff. A regular joe with a computer, intermediate knowledge of recording, and some decent equipment can turn out stuff in his home-studio that BLOWS AWAY the 4-track cassette junk many people used just 10 years ago for not too much more money. Promoters, club owners, and label people know this, so handing any one of them a shoddy demo is shooting yourself in the foot. Not only that, but your stuff has to try to compete with commercial professionally mastered stuff. The general public doesnt get dynamic range and tracking levels. They just know how LOUD CD's are. So, your stuff needs to be the best you can get it. Get out one of your favorite CD's, and listen to it closely. Besides the obvious loudness, what does it have that your tracks don't? Listen to the seperation of the instruments. listen to how effects are used and where. Listen to the clarity of everything. Being an amateur with minimal equipment you can't do much about the loudness, but you can do something about everything else. Thats what you need to shoot for. Just my 2 cents.