Let's make some money! Quit our day jobs!
Lee
The first thing you should do is get in contact with your disrtict office of a performing rights society. ASCAP or BMI, the tow largest performing rights societies in America will send you an enrollment kit in which you can become a member. This is generally free, unless you want to create your own publishing company. The fee for creating a publishing company was less than $200.00 the last time I checked. Anyway, fill out the paperwork and start "clearing" all of the songs you have written. Both ASCAP and BMI offer clinics on writing and selling your songs - TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE.
While you are waiting for the membership agreement to get to you, go to the Library of Congress' websight and download the PDF file for a form SR.
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/forms/formsr.pdf This will prove ownership of the song or songs. Again there is a fee for this but it is per disk or tape not song, so load up the CD or Tape with as many songs as posible. They do not need to be full blown productions, just a simple melody with vocals on top of it. DO NOT! send a CD to yourself and think that you are covered. It is a wivestale that this protects you 100%.
The next thing you should do is pick up a copy of "The Recording Industry Sourcebook." This is single handedly the most valuable resource anyone involved in the recording industry can have. It lists almost every record company, producer, engineer, recording studio, equipment rental, music publisher, engineer/producer management, artist management, ect.
Start looking at the CD's of the artist's you would think would be interested in your songs. Who are the Labels, A&R, and music publishers (FamousMusic, RoxanneMusicASACP,SonyMusicPublishing?) Find their numbers in the sourcebook. All of them will say that they do not accept unsolicited materials. What this means is have someone else call as your "manager," (you wife (with her maiden name) you best friend) and ask to send in a demo of a new song for NSYNC or the Backstreet Boys or whoever that individual represents. 9 out of 10 time they will tell you to go ahead and send it. Make sure that your "managers" name and phone number are on the CD, the case, the letter, anything you send.
Lastly, start calling about 3 weeks to a month after you send it to see what they thought.
I hope this gets you started. Good luck, and keep writing hits.
j