With global hits earning millions of dollars, why would anyone want to give away half of their money? Because, to paraphrase the old cliché, 50% of a substantial sum is better than 100% of nothing. Publishers typically retain approximately 50% of all income generated by the songs they publish. That person will likely be a music publisher. You need someone who has the ability and connections to get your song to the decision-makers-artists’ managers, producers, and A&R executives-and in some instances, directly to the artists. Now that you’ve got a great song-and a great demo-you’ll presumably want to get it to a recording artist who can generate royalties: mechanical royalties (paid for the sales of digital downloads and/or physical copies) and performance royalties (earned primarily by having your music played on the radio, Internet, and television).įew songwriters have the professional relationships and credibility required to get their songs heard by successful recording artists, and the time and energy expended pitching material is time taken away from writing.

For more information about demo recording, check out. Few music industry pros can recognize a song’s potential unless you approximate how the song is intended to sound. This article will address the steps to take if your hope is to have your song recorded by an artist other than yourself.īefore you can proceed further you’ll need a demo-and it will need to be up to the industry standard. Simply making downloads of your song available on your website or putting it on YouTube is unlikely to be effective, unless you already have a significant fan base. But if your hope is to generate sales, and interest in your live performances, you’ll need a marketing plan.

If you’re a recording artist-and your intent is to record the song for your own project-you’ve already got an outlet. (Your mother doesn’t count-unless she’s a music publisher.) Presuming the verdict is that you have indeed nailed a terrific song, pat yourself on the back.

This will require getting objective professional feedback. The first thing to do-after writing your masterpiece-is to confirm that it’s as strong as you think it is. While there’s no guaranteed formula for songwriting success, there are steps you can take to maximize your chances.

Send it on song