Hi, can someone explain what do music publishing companies do? and the difference from record labels.
If I am a pop songwriter who specialize only in composing, do I need to find music publishing or record labels a&r's ?
Thanks
In very simplified terms, a publisher does this for a songwriter: finds users for songs, issues licenses, collects money for writer, and sometimes hooks you up with other writers. Record companies are more about the promotion and distribution and A&R for the recording artist's career. BUT......I think you can find a foot in the door either way.....if an A&R loves your song, then great. Same thing with a publisher. And the line is so blurred now. for example Dr. Luke is producer/songwriter/musician/publisher.....and he has his own label.
The one common denominator is they both can force an artist to sing a song, like with Ke$ha----- sorry, couldn't resist that :-D
Thanks george, well, i think start to understand, but the blurred line makes it a little confusing.
what would you suggest to me to do if i want biggest musicians to listen my melodies?
I wish I knew the answer to that too, lol!! :D One good lesson for me.....Dr. luke has said that alot of times in his early days when he'd get appointments with music biz people to play his tracks, they'd barely listen, be on their Blackberries etc and he had to physically reach over and turn up the volume on their CD players!!!!
Seriously though, I've found there are some people in the music biz you can get appointments with to play your stuff in person...not everybody, of course, but some that can actually help. Especially at the performing rights societies that every country has (in U.S., ASCAP and BMI). The other thing I've found recently is, say you read on a blog about a new recording artist in Sweden or something....if you snoop around you can find out their contact info (management or A&R). I did this last summer, and got a song considered as the singer and her manager liked it, but it was up to her producer, and they finally passed on it. But it showed me that it could easily go the other way, and this was all through the internet........
maybe i didnt understand you, the Luke example is when he had the luck to meet A&R's .
Did you mean generally , to work hard?
Sorry , strangely i saw only the first paragraph of your comment.
How ASCAP and BMI can help?
and how do i find this blog?
Oh, I added the second paragraph a couple minutes later :-) ASCAP and BMI have writer representatives who will meet with new writers and listen at their offices. (YOu have to call up, ask who the writer reps are for your type of music, and be persistent to get an appointment. It's MUCH easier to get an appointment at BMI...ASCAP almost impossible unless you're already a published writer. That's what I found, anyway. Just to show you how important they can be, it was a writer rep at BMI who sent Dr. Luke Ke$ha's first demo tape: Ke$ha's mother had gotten the demo to the rep at BMI.
I didn;t mean any particular blog, but Swedish Stereo Blogspot is good......or this site!!! (Cheiron Songwriters) So many people post songs on here for new recording artists........check 'em out and see if they might be good for your stuff :-)
Quote from: royeei on February 14, 2013, 03:42:11 AM
maybe i didnt understand you, the Luke example is when he had the luck to meet A&R's .
Did you mean generally , to work hard?
Yes, work hard of course, but I don't think it was luck that got him to meet them..........he had to hustle like everybody else to get those appointments ;-)
Thanks George, you have helped me, but i think i want to ask few more questions, so i will do it tomorrow, i need to go to sleep :), if it is OK with you.
Thanks
Hi there,
i wanted to contribute something too. My personal experience is that its going to get
much easier to get help of the A&R people once you gained some sort of trust.
When I got my first 3-4 bigger cuts for artists I was much easier be heard and also somehow
the A&R's liked songs from me that they rejected months ago just because I had something
on the map. Some kind of psychology.
And also I would just only send 1 or 2 songs to A&R's but do it regularly so they won't get overstrained but see that
you actually work hard for your career and want to improve on your skills.
Quote from: georg_e on February 13, 2013, 08:14:11 PM
In very simplified terms, a publisher does this for a songwriter: finds users for songs, issues licenses, collects money for writer, and sometimes hooks you up with other writers. Record companies are more about the promotion and distribution and A&R for the recording artist's career. BUT......I think you can find a foot in the door either way.....if an A&R loves your song, then great. Same thing with a publisher. And the line is so blurred now. for example Dr. Luke is producer/songwriter/musician/publisher.....and he has his own label.
The one common denominator is they both can force an artist to sing a song, like with Ke$ha----- sorry, couldn't resist that :-D
haha, it still makes me laugh that they forced her to sing!
Hi George,
-If you said that it is easy to set a meeting at BMI, so the common sense says that it very possible to send demos for first impression, is it true?
-can you tell more about the writer representative? How many people work in this role?
- where can I find in this site songs that people upload? Is it sporadic?
- Do you know which organization ( BMI,ASCAP, etc) Kristian Lundin belongs to ?
Quote from: royeei on February 15, 2013, 02:57:27 AM
Hi George,
-If you said that it is easy to set a meeting at BMI, so the common sense says that it very possible to send demos for first impression, is it true?
-can you tell more about the writer representative? How many people work in this role?
- where can I find in this site songs that people upload? Is it sporadic?
- Do you know which organization ( BMI,ASCAP, etc) Kristian Lundin belongs to ?
Hi Royeei,
About BMI....didn't mean to say it's easy....just that ASCAP is very difficult to get appointments for new writers. It's actually not easy even at BMI......you have to really be persistent. YOu could call one of their offices and ask about the names of writer reps. There's about four or five of 'em in the NY office where I live. It's not really their main job to work with new writers, they are busy with their established ones already, but they will do it. But they wont take demos just sent in, that wont work, you have to go in person. On this site, under the "New Songs" section.........don't know about Kristian Lundin, but prob someone else on here does :-)
Good luck!!!
in the "new songs" is it not new songs of Cheiron writers"?
Have you experienced a meeting with some songwriters representative?
Quote from: royeei on February 15, 2013, 06:36:33 PM
in the "new songs" is it not new songs of Cheiron writers"?
Have you experienced a meeting with some songwriters representative?
Sorry, I meant "Other Music". Yes, I have, at BMI three times. (Two different reps).
can you write few words on how long it took you to get the meeting? and about the meeting itself ( what was going on in the room,how long, was it coast money, etc)?
Quote from: royeei on February 15, 2013, 08:13:14 PM
can you write few words on how long it took you to get the meeting? and about the meeting itself ( what was going on in the room,how long, was it coast money, etc)?
Hey Royeei,
Took a LONG time to get each meeting....like pulling teeth. But each one lasted @ half hour, played my stuff, and I had a specific goal, which was to get him to hook me up with a producer to write with. (Not a specific producer, just someone he might think would work well with me). This was going great, he had some ideas, promised me we'd get it together, until when I followed up later about it.........he had left BMI, without any forwarding info. grrrrrrr :-( Weirdly enough, now a few years later he's in LA , kinda in the Dr. Luke clique (he's Becky G's manager).
But no, there's absolutely NO money involved!!
For the rest, if you decide to do it, I'd say just research them and call them and see how it goes. Hope I've helped a little
:-)
Thanks,
One last thing, do you know if I should try with SESAC and PRS as well?
Do you have any experience with MySpace?
Quote from: royeei on February 16, 2013, 12:48:11 AM
Thanks,
One last thing, do you know if I should try with SESAC and PRS as well?
Do you have any experience with MySpace?
SESAC you have to actually apply to join -- they won't see you otherwise. Don't know anything about PRS, and MySpace......................DEAD, lol :-D
Quote from: Dominik on February 14, 2013, 09:25:35 AM
When I got my first 3-4 bigger cuts for artists I was much easier be heard and also somehow
the A&R's liked songs from me that they rejected months ago just because I had something
on the map. Some kind of psychology.
This is really where it's at. Probably because music is so subjective, trend sensitive and what's hot changes all the time. A lot of the time this leaves the publisher's A&R without much of a clue. And it is easy to get your mind clouded by big industry names, even if the song/production is not that great...