I am sorry to say that this is a classic manipulation of your desire for success
It is not dodgy, and not necessarily immoral as they may genuinely believe they can help you
HOWEVER, this is the classic case of them looking to make cash now
It is exactly the same as the classic "model" scenario where young girls get stopped in the street by "model agencies" that tell them they are beautiful, ask if they have ever thought of becoming a model, charge them hundreds (and hundreds and hundreds) of pounds for a photoshoot, portfolio, promise of "touting" etc.
The truth is they are looking to make money from you for producing the demo - I would take the whole "hawking it around" bit with a huge pinch of salt
If they are a publisher that wants (and believes) in your song they will work with you to push it
The key question for you is to strip away the excitement and ask yourself do you really NEED a better demo
Perhaps it is worth posting the song here for review and we can give you an honest opinion on the production and commercial viability of the track - at least this would give you some feel for whether they are just flattering you to make a quick buck
Sorry if this sounds at all harsh but this does have all the hallmarks of playing on your desire for success - the flattery followed by the hint they can push the track - followed by the "and it will only cost you..."
Thanks for the comments. BIB is what I want to focus on,because there does seem to be a little industry developing (or already developed,but just transforming) that takes advantage of a desire for success,as you so eloquently put it.
Ironically since all this is happening within a week of sending the cd (I have received 2 emails from the company),that is WAY too quick--I`m lucky if I get a response to any of my 10+ emails sent out,that`s why I`ve got a uh,
feeling I need to at least think before handing over cash.
The thing is,imo, one of the two songs I sent does have potential and is,though not let down by the production,it needs a more appropriate pop production,which is what this company say they can deliver. These aren`t one of those guys from some old band from the 60s promising this and that. They have good pop success. I`ll upload it as you advise,but I`m pretty certain this isn`t atrocious by any means and they`re buttering me up. I think I need a beter demo,but who doesn`t think that? They say it can`t be presented to labels and artists in its current form,which I guess can be said of any recording (mine was Pro-tools,live bass and guitar, with drum plug-ins at a professional studio)
The second thing is; in this business you need contacts,and as I say in my second post,this is no backstreet
company with a PO box and no web-page,the guy emailing me is a name,with a great track record (though the heyday of that was a while back
. I don`t want to name names precisely because this would be a great contact,and I know he`s signed up at least at another songwriters` forum I visit (sic).
I`m going to hopefully get feedback from other companies and then use that as leverage to get this company
to forget the upfront cost coming from myself alone,and only `costs` coming when they take it from roylalties they are so confident my song can get.
I received an --I think copy and paste--email from them today advising that if I am interested they`ll drop me an email with some song-links showing their production skills.
I`m betting these are their old (ish) hits,or recent no expense spared LA productions they have some loose connection with and very different from their `demo` service recordings.
