www.JohnBraheny.com - Marketing Your Songs

HOME - JOHN BRAHENY - JOHN'S BOOK - SONGWRITING CRAFT - SONGWRITING BUSINESS - MARKETING YOUR SONGS
WRITING FOR FILM & TV - SONGWRITER RESOURCES - INTERVIEWS WITH SUCCESSFUL SONGWRITERS
THE LOS ANGELES SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE - SITE MAP

	Pitching Songs in L.A.
	Marketing Your Songs PEACE AND GOOD WILL SONGS...DONATE THEM? GETTING HEARD IN A "NO UNSOLICITED MATERIAL" WORLD TEN WAYS TO GET YOUR SONGS RECORDED DEMOS: QUALITY ISSUES PITCHING SONGS IN L.A. PRESENTING YOUR DEMO CASTING CONTESTS MARKETING YOUR LYRICS			By John Braheny What can you expect when you knock on doors in LA? Nothing. You only, figuratively speaking, knock on doors in L.A.. The industry is so spread out that you'll run out of gas before you get your first rejection. Some succeed in getting in-person appointments. Your odds are better if you're from out of town, will only be only in town for a few days, come off very professionally and set up appointments at least a couple of weeks ahead of time. Most of the time, however, you'll be asked to send or drop off a tape. Drop it off if you can, just to make the human connection. But first, get permission to submit the tape because most companies have policies against accepting unsolicited material for both legal reasons and knowing that most unsolicited submissions are a waste of their time. To get permission, call or fax with the best reasons someone would want to listen. Faxes will give you a better opportunity to get your pitch right. You may not get much time on that first call. After your pitch, ask for permission to submit. Always have the name of the person you're submitting to, determine if there is a code that needs to be placed on the package, then get them the tape immediately. If you're not ready to do that yet, don't call. What kind of material are they looking for? On the song side, almost everything, though not so much country, since there's only a limited amount of country production going on out here. There are publishers, however, who have country branches or reciprocal agreements with Nashville publishers to pitch each others songs. Primarily hip-hop, R&B/pop since the pop market is dominated by black artists or black styled white artists, a great many of whom rely on outside songs. Obviously the charts are also full of artists in the Morrisette, Hootie, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails styles of pop and alternative genres but they're predominantly self-contained and rarely look outside for songs. Publishers in LA need access to a variety of material, including that of self-contained writer/artists and bands to service the film and television industries. I got a call when I was a publisher from a music supervisor for Mexican Ranchero music for a film. We just said "Sure, we've got it," made about a dozen calls from our database of writers, and got the songs. But those were songs I never would have signed, "just in case." So, even though publishers will sign songs they feel are potential hits in the popular genres, they need access to virtually all styles. What kind of artists are hot now and what might they look to sign? For quite a while now, everyone was looking for an "alternative" band. Now that alternative is mainstream, nobody quite knows what the term means anymore. Labels dropped lots of those acts from their rosters because they didn't recoup their costs. But we have to remember that historically more than 80% of acts of any style don't recoup and alternative bands are just what they'd signed lots of. Nobody ever knows for sure. There are always individual artists or bands with unique sounds, great songs and marketable images that someone will gamble on, particularly if they've test marketed themselves by selling records on their own. Publishers will also do publishing/artist development deals. Is there a lot of co-writing going on? Who sets it up? Publishers or writers? Yes, there is a lot of co-writing for both artistic and career strategy reasons. Writing with the producer of an artist or writing with the artist are situations often set up by publishers with their staff writers but are also the result of writers networking and personal relationships. Staff writers may actually be signed based on their already existing access to production projects. Many collaborations in the urban genre are based on someone who can create and produce great contemporary tracks (By contemporary I mean this week.) working with a lyricist or composer/lyricist. This is because, in successful urban dance oriented music, great tracks are at least as important as melody and lyric. Networking with other writers. Because the music scenes are spread out in LA, writers make use of organizations and their events to network with other writers and industry pros. The Recording Academy LA Chapter symposiums (310-392-3777 ), ASCAP (323-883-1000 ) and BMI (310-659-9109 ) showcases, LA Music Network events (818-769-6095), monthly dinner panels of the CCC (California Copyright Conference, 818-848-6783) and lunch panels of the AIMP (Association of independent Music Publishers, 818-848-6783). The most important networking resource for songwriters is SGA (Songwriters Guild of America) (323-462-1108) which now incorporates the membership and services of NAS (National Academy of Songwriters, and the Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase (LASS). There is also a healthy club scene with lots of open mikes and scheduled live showcases. (see Li'l Hanks Guide For Songwriters. It features performers' reviews of local clubs.) Demos Publishers like to hear well produced, master quality demos for immediate access to film and TV projects which often have quick turnaround times for licensing songs and masters. You should be aware of the production values of the genre you're writing in and produce the demo accordingly. If it's a style that needs rhythm and energy make sure it's in the demo. A pop ballad can be done with keyboard and vocal if you're selling melody and lyric but both have to move you emotionally. There are great demo singers in LA. Use them. Sequenced production works in urban and pop and dance, not in roots rock or country. Advice for writers moving to LA. Get a day job, network at night, write all the time, study the music business and get ready for a long haul. An earlier version of this article first appeared in American Songwriter Magazine. (Excellent. I highly recommend you subscribe.)