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Song for Sale. Wtf do I do now?????

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Petebrennan

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« on: November 05, 2018, 04:49:19 PM »
Hi peeps. I have a song that next to my 12 year old son is one of the only 2 things I've ever been proud of in my life.
The song is far better than myself as a performer and much more marketable. How do I sell it? I've sent demos out to labels and A&R people but as I'm sure most of you will empathise with, no one looks at your demos....
The song is below

Morefrog Jones

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« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2018, 06:20:46 PM »
The simple answer is Don't bother - you probably have more chance of winning the lottery.

It does not really matter how good the song is - The industry is totally sewn up and harder to get into than the free masons.

Why not enter it into a Songwriting contest - at least then if its what people are looking for then it might stand a chance.

Not a bad song by the way... :)

cowparsleyman

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« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2018, 07:03:34 PM »
I think the song is OK, try putting it on Amazon, or SC at 50p a go, but....

How will I know your song is out there?

 you have to make a HUGE effort to let people know that it's there, and that it's any good, whether is it is up to them. there have been many songs in this forum that are really good enough to 'make it globally' but they probably never will...becaue there is nothing marketable behind it.

Don't give up, that's all too easy, think of it as applying for a job, how much effort are you willing to give it? you ain't the only one out there who has something to sell...is it everything? is it just weekends, is it just the odd hour on a week night?

The reality is unless you're on a label and with no PR person, and no strong portfolio your chances are as good as mine.

What you will find if you go down to London and actually play it to a label, is that it might only last 20 seconds.

Just suppose, a manager offers you a deal, are you prepared to do interviews, fly to japan, risk giving up you job on the back of one song, leave your family for a few weeks to try an promote it, photoshoots, lawyers scrutiinising the contract, they don't do this for pennies, studio fees, tour buses, hire of equipment, roadies, insurance, hotels for the crew, lighting, PR, Advertising, your manager will liase with a touring company and promoter to organise all this, but who will pay for it? your song and merch.

Ask yourself why do you want to do this?
Money
Fame
Recognition

Be sure you know.

Are you sure you want it? it's not all it's cracked up to be...

hope this helps

cpm
« Last Edit: November 05, 2018, 09:34:54 PM by cowparsleyman »

pompeyjazz

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« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2018, 09:02:06 PM »
It's a good enough song and you should be very proud of it. If you want to go down the whole promotion route then don't have any false illusions as you're competing with a lot of people who have a lot more resources than you and you will more than likely end up spending a lot of money getting nowhere. Sorry to be negative. Try embracing Soundcloud, leave some reviews of others songs, post to your friends on social media and ask them to share, like etc etc. Send it to BBC introducing maybe but tell them you're an 18 year old singer songwriter  :) Good luck whatever you decide to do Pete  :)

Boydie

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« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2018, 08:22:33 AM »
Hi @Petebrennan

From your original post I am reading things a bit differently from everyone else - it looks like you are wanting to sell the "song" rather than selling yourself as an artist

If this is the case then you want to looking down the "publishing" route where you pitch your songs to publishers - who then try to "place" your song with artists

(It is possible to go direct to artists, labels etc. but the normal route)

IMHO...

The "song" itself is quite nice and ticks some of the "commercial" boxes but if you are serious about pitching this song commercially I think you need to have a serious think about having a re-write and review the production

As others have said there is no "amateur league" for pitching songs - you will always be up against the best in the business

The kind of things I would suggest you look at before pitching again would be...

The intro is too long for a commercial pitch - try to get to the "meat" of the song

The lyrics are very "general" (lots of "everyone") and very self-centred (lots of "I") - I would suggest trying to re-work the lyric to focus on the LISTENER - i.e. focus on using "you" as this is much more engaging

There is lots of repetition (which is important for a commercial song) but I would say the repetition gets a bit "repetitive" - which many commercial songs avoid through clever production / arrangements that keeps things interesting but maintains the repetition

The biggest issue for me though is if you are commercially pitching you need to be 100% sure of the genre/type of artist you are pitching for

I find this song a little "generic" and it is difficult to nail a genre - there are some nice country type melodies, it has crunchy guitars but isn't quite rock, there are some "pop" touches but it is missing some of the production elements to be "top 40" etc. Etc.

My advice on WTF to do now would be...

I have been quite harsh in my comments as you are considering the commercial market so it is definitely a "cruel to be kind" approach and is purely meant to provoke you in to approaching the song in a different way

The song itself is very good and has bags of potential - so you have done the hard bit

A mantra I keep using is "good songs are written, GREAT songs are re-written"

If you are serious about pitching this here is what I would recommend you do next...

1 - decide what genre/artist you want to aim for - be 100% clear - feel free to post here for opinions as I can hear this going going in a few directions

2 - listen to a gazillion commercially successful songs in this genre and pick out the style of lyrics, melodies, arrangements, production touches that make the song specific to this genre - and then copy it. To make this happen you may need to collaborate with a "producer" or someone with experience writing in this genre

3 - re-write the song and re-record & produce it so it sounds EXACTLY like a song in this genre

4 - get feedback from the forum and be prepared to re-write and re-record

5 - pay for a professional industry critique using a reputable service (and be aware of potential scams)

6 - take on board the feedback and re-write and record it

7 - pay for another pro critique

8 rinse and repeat 6 & 7 until the feedback is "wow, this is an amazing song"

I would say if you have a single song you want to push than this is the quickest and cheapest route to succes - and even if you have a "wow" song there are no guarantees you will break through so this is where paid for pitching services come in to play - but I would not consider these until you have a great song as you will be wasting time and money

I don't mean to be harsh but for commercial pitching I think this is the best advice for WTF do you do now

To check out my music please visit:

http://soundcloud.com/boydiemusic

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BoydieMusic

EveWilliams

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« Reply #5 on: November 08, 2018, 11:39:37 PM »
How you sell it really depends what you want it to be used for... you could sign it up to a sync service and see if it gets placed ( I love www.resonantmusiclicensing.com) or pitch it on Tracks and Fields or Songtradr.

In don't know where you're based, but Nottinghill Music have an industry networking event in the Tileyard Complex, King's Cross on the last Thursday of every month. A publisher is more likely to open your email and listen to your track if they have an idea who you are, so attending these events is crucial to making connections and selling songs. That's how I got my first publishing deal.Well, it was a big part of it. Look outbfir conferences near you. Resonate Scotland and Generator in the north of England are great outfits.

If you are aiming for a recording contract rather than a publishing deal, the Nottinghill night is still worth it but a label will want to hear a catalogue of songs and see evidence of an engaged fan base. You would also need to be gigging a lot.

For publishing deals, the Music Publishers Association Online site let's you search via genre and type of publisher and it tells you which publishers are accepting submissions so you don't end up wasting time emailing those who aren't: www.mpaonline.org

I have sold songs via LinkedIn. Basically, I posted in Songwriting and music industry groups on there, added contacts and ended up doing commissioned work. I'm also currently writimg for a documentary maker I met on Facebook so network like crazy online, even though in person conferences are the best you can still achieve a lot online.

Hope some of this is helpful. Btw is that your son beside you in the video? He's a star!

EveWilliams

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« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2018, 11:55:29 PM »
By the way I have worked in A&R at a music publishers and I listened to dozens of songs a week in that capacity. I don't agree with a previous poster on the extent of revision the song needs. The lyrics could do with a few more story details, perhaps, to make the song a little more unique but the melody and hooks are there. If you had sent this to me while I worked there, I would have offered you a contract on it with only some slight tweaking in terms of lyrics and mastering. I am not saying this to be nice but I only because I feel you need tomknow you're onto something. It may not be a final,productbyet but It's a strong one in terms of the song and the vocal.

If  I were you, I would get cowriting now. That is one of the best ways to advance a writing career. Chris Difford of Squeeze runs some great songwriting camps in Glastonbury but they are a bit pricey... Tileyard Publishers also run songcamps. I'm trying to get a few going in Northern Ireland. My old stomping ground, Bath Spa Uni, ran a songwriting festival every summer but I fear it may be on a hiatus. You can also join Nashville Songwriters Association International for a monthly fee of 25 USD and find cool people to write with. It has a UK chapter that meet in London. Cowtiting helps you to refine your own craft and learn from others, broaden your network and make industry in roads.

Btw think of sending this track to Lochlann Green of KA Radio (show called From Texas and Beyond) because he will love it. Celtic Music Radio in Glasgow also play a lot of similar stuff. Try emailing Danny Matheson there... He's a lovely guy.

EveWilliams

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« Reply #7 on: November 09, 2018, 12:20:33 AM »
**Edited by Boydie**

Hi @EveWilliams

You clearly have a wealth of experience that would enrich this community greatly but I do not allow any advertising on this site unless previously discussed and agreed with me

I will send you a PM to explain and I am sure we can sort something out but to ensure consistency, and to be fair to other paid advertisers, I must enforce this policy
« Last Edit: November 09, 2018, 08:01:32 AM by Boydie »

Musicbusinesslauncher

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« Reply #8 on: November 23, 2018, 07:54:15 PM »
**Edited by Boydie - please contact me to advertise on this forum**
« Last Edit: November 24, 2018, 09:19:36 AM by Boydie »