Your most successful published song, how much did you make?

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jokerone

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I new to this, and I’m just wondering how well some of you have done over the years and how you went about it?

My goal would be to create a demo song and either sell it or allow it to be used and retain the copyright too it in some manner while letting a publishing house let someone else perform it. I have NO desire to perform at all. I’m only interested in the recognition and/or money, not the fame.. :D

I know it’s a very competitive field but was wondering if its like Major League baseball that for every Albert Pujols theirs one million guys striking out at the city park baseball field? ;)

Thanks in advance.
 
jokerone said:
I know it’s a very competitive field but was wondering if its like Major League baseball that for every Albert Pujols theirs one million guys striking out at the city park baseball field? ;)
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Yes. Take heart though. For every Albert Pujols there are also 10,000 guys making a living at it coaching high school teams, warming the bench in the majors, carrying water bottles, etc.

It's going to be really hard to get any kind of recognition or publicity for your music without performing it. How are you going to get anyone to listen to it otherwise?

You might be able to get some attention by selling/leasing your songs to local bands. Then as they gain recognition, your songwriting will too. The thing there is that you'll want to write your contracts really carefully so that you don't get screwed over. (Also, try not to screw over the bands either. :D )
 
i'm still getting royalty checks for a song i recorded in 1992. only about $500/year but having a publishing company allows me to write off my gear and tech purchases. ;)
 
jokerone said:
... I’m only interested in the recognition and/or money ...
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I would say do something else with your time. There have been people motivated by recognition and money but products stemming from that are always 100% crap.

You don't have a chance against people who are doing it for passion.

Do something else, you're wasting your time if your not doing it for passion.
 
dintymoore said:
I would say do something else with your time. There have been people motivated by recognition and money but products stemming from that are always 100% crap.

You don't have a chance against people who are doing it for passion.

Do something else, you're wasting your time if your not doing it for passion.
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totly disagree. who gives a crap what you're doing it for? if you can write a song that people will pay you for, go for it. chances are you won't be able to do that, but if you can, more power to ya. :p
 
ez_willis said:
totly disagree. who gives a crap what you're doing it for? if you can write a song that people will pay you for, go for it. chances are you won't be able to do that, but if you can, more power to ya. :p
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I absolutely agree - take the money and run, that's what I'd do! :)

My point is more from your comment "chances are you won't be able to do that" and that's the truth... I don't think you have much chance if your efforts aren't rooted in passion, in having fun, making people get off, stuff like that. But "only interested in the recognition and/or money"... :(

EZ I'd take a guess that the song you're getting the royalties from, that you did it initially for fun and that the money came after that. From your posts you come off as a person that is fun and creative - not a recognition and/or money type.
 
dintymoore said:
You don't have a chance against people who are doing it for passion.
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Hmmm, tell that to Gene Simmons, who readily admits he got into rock-and-roll to 1) get laid constantly 2) be filthy stinking rich.

I assure you, he's not the only major success who did it for reasons other than "passion". Gene just had the balls to admit it openly.

---

Question for you - what is the difference between you and Michael Dell, aside that he ows a huge computer giant and you don't?

If you answered "drive" you would be pretty close. If you answered "nothing" you would be correct.

The only limitations you have in life are the ones you set for yourself. Remember, there is no box.
 
dintymoore said:
EZ I'd take a guess that the song you're getting the royalties from, that you did it initially for fun and that the money came after that. From your posts you come off as a person that is fun and creative - not a recognition and/or money type.
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i used to be all about musical integrity, when i had a record deal and didn't work between the ages of 20-25. after 15 years in the workforce, i feel differently. :D

HOWEVER, i still write and record a LOT and have no intention of doing anything other than finishing the songs, so......
 
It depends on the person's definition of success. Truthfully I would not want Gene Simmons' version of success, I like mine better! :)

I remember Larry King once said that he didn't know anyone who was at the top of their field who wasn't doing it basically for themselves.

I have been very, very lucky in that I have been able to do pretty good putting passion ahead of money. It's all a matter of what type of life do you want to create for yourself.
 
dintymoore said:
It depends on the person's definition of success. Truthfully I would not want Gene Simmons' version of success, I like mine better! :)
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Fair enough.

However, our society measures success by wallet thickness, and nothing else.

Oh, and big tits.

But seriously, read my other comments. They are true. There is no box.
 
I also kind of roll my eyes when Gene Simmons says all that shit about chicks and money etc...

Ya I think he liked the party, but my guess is that if you went back in time to when Kiss started that they were passionate about the music and actually did put that first.

I think Gene says all that shit because it's his stock promo answer and it polishes the image of a rock and roller who only cares about sex and drugs and that's his packaging.
 
thanks

When I said I wasn’t interested in performing, I meant it as “The idea of being a rock star” doesn’t appeal to me.

I love the idea of writing a song that others enjoy. I just don’t want to be the one signing/playing it. Plus nobody wants to see me on stage. I’m too old and fat..

I’ve heard many old famous rock stars admit the reason they started playing guitar was to get chicks. I’m sure there is more to it than that, but that’s what they claim.

I watched a lengthy documentary on the 1849 Gold rush in California. I learned for the most part, the people who made the real money didn’t mine gold, they made it selling things to the gold miners.

This was also the same thing for the internet dot bomb “gold rush” of ten years ago. With the exception of ebay, amazon, etc. most website companies died. Plenty of people making a living from those companies, but the ones who got rich weren’t people creating the next yahoo, it was companies like Cisco systems, Oracle, Microsoft, and others selling equipment and tools to those internet companies.

The good news is creating music is a lot of fun even if you don’t make any money.

I was just wondering how many people here actually navigated their way into some sort of paying royalty deal. (non performing). And if so, how you went about it, and what style of music was it (rock, hiphop, gospel, etc.)

The bad news for me is, The music I like with some exceptions, went out of style about 1986. I can’t in a style of music I don’t care for because I couldn’t tell you if it sounds good. I can only write music I like.

Thanks.
 
ez_willis said:
i'm still getting royalty checks for a song i recorded in 1992. only about $500/year but having a publishing company allows me to write off my gear and tech purchases. ;)
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Ive been looking into starting an ascap publishing company lately, but need to clarify a few things, can you give me some details?
 
kidkage said:
Ive been looking into starting an ascap publishing company lately, but need to clarify a few things, can you give me some details?
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absolutely. in fact, i'll tell EXACTLY how to do it. get a record deal. the lawyers, managers, and agents will take it from there.
 
jokerone said:
I’ve heard many old famous rock stars admit the reason they started playing guitar was to get chicks. I’m sure there is more to it than that, but that’s what they claim.
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i started plaaying guitar because i thoguht it was cool, and my phycalagist told me that if i pertend im something long enuff i will become it.
so i pretended i was a cool guitar player, until it was true! <lies can become truth>

peace

after thought: Now i play because i got things i want to say to the world... and for fun, and the feeling of being one with something, jaming in like a living thing, for the time it exists.
 
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Tremaine said:
i started plaaying guitar because i thoguht it was cool, and my phycalagist told me that if i pertend im something long enuff i will become it.
so i pretended i was a cool guitar player, until it was true! <lies can become truth>

peace

after thought: Now i play because i got things i want to say to the world... and for fun, and the feeling of being one with something, jaming in like a living thing, for the time it exists.
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I got into music, because like every good little teenager, I wanted to be a rockstar and make a million dollars.

Then I realized that writing songs was really fun.

Then I realized the whole rockstar thing was an unlikely joke.

Then I realized that I REALLY like writing songs.

Now I just want to make music and share the joy my songs bring me with others. If only I didn't have to hold down a &#(* day job to feed myself!

If and when I ever become hugely successful, I could probably say that I got into it to make money. However, the honest answer would be that all the real work I've done on music has been out of passion. Yeah, the inspiration to start was for money, but these days it's more of an afterthought.
 
ez_willis said:
absolutely. in fact, i'll tell EXACTLY how to do it. get a record deal. the lawyers, managers, and agents will take it from there.
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surprisingly enough no one has ever said that to me. all i've ever got is the "release your own music man. record deals are outdated. if you want a record deal dont do this." stuff everyone else says:D
 
ez_willis said:
absolutely. in fact, i'll tell EXACTLY how to do it. get a record deal. the lawyers, managers, and agents will take it from there.
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well actually my wording was messed up. i know how to do it. im just not sure what classifies as a published work.:laughings:
 
"get a record deal"

WTF is that?

Just "get" one. Go to Kmart and pick one up... :(

Those days are gone. We are approaching what you might call a paradigm shift and what worked before will no longer work. The days of dreaming that some "record company" will discover you... snap out of it!

There's tons of opportunities nowadays but they aren't the ones from the 80's like "get a record deal".

I only know one guy who "got a record deal" in the last 5 years. A guy I used to work with got a record deal from Motown and his song has been in the Billboard top 5 this last year. But that's very, very uncommon.

Another one of my buddies makes $80K a year off of royalties, but he's ultra famous and good luck trying to duplicate what he's done.

For most people, there will be no record deal and we need to carve our own path.
 
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