recording demos for singers,songwriters

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 8:07 am

Heloo,my fist post , salutations from south of spain
I would be very thankfull for any help
Im thinking about expanding my rec.studio bussines with online demo services but Im not sure how the market is now,do songwriters still record demos in studious as they used to? (home studio setups cuts down clientelle )surely even the demo purpose changed over the years ,
do actually songwriters still send their work to publishers?Industry has changed music has changed.Is it worth the time of putting up a web site and promotion for such a service?
thank you

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:14 pm

I can only speak for me.

"do songwriters still record demos in studious as they used to? " /quote

Yes, but not with the regularity that it used to be. If a high quality is required and the songwriter just cannot achieve it @ home then local recording studios will get some of that work. It could be for any kind of reason, a song gets picked up for a compilation maybe licensed for a tv show, anything that requires a level that is higher then what can be received @ home.

"do actually songwriters still send their work to publishers?" /quote

Uh, well sure. But it still works the same way with an even tighter grip, as I have come to understand it. Unsolicited work is not listened to, ever, for any reason.
There are some services, on line, that songwriters can subscribe to that can get your work listened to by partners in the business.

A songwriter may recieve offers for need of a song(s) in specific style, form, genre, etc. It is up to you to determine if your work may fit the requirement. Fees can be accessed or scheduled monthly, with per song fees per genre, incidence, per submission.

Song writing events are multiplying and are headed towards critical mass. This is an aspect of the cottage industry that songwriting has become you could also consider, starting a song writing competition.

As an add-on, do it, what can it hurt. Think globally and act locally.

As a means to support a life...not even if my life depended on it Wink

Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:16 am

Quote:

If a high quality is required and the songwriter just cannot achieve it @ home then local recording studios will get some of that work.

With the independent studio boom, the industry expects high quality demos. Listen to song demos for top 40 songs. They're nearly of album quality.

I think there are enough songwriters out there (myself included) who would be willing to pay to have a demo recorded. But then, there are plenty (myself included) who visit recording forums to figure it out themselves.

And Space is right about publishers, though I've heard tales of creative ways to get demos to publishers involving flash drives in sealed soda cans and other such things.

Most serious songwriters (myself not yet included) subscribe to tip sheets that give listings of needed songs and will generally tell if the publisher and/or record label will allow unsolicited demos. Considering the cost of tip sheets (usually about 200$ a year), those who suck are (mostly) weeded out.

Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:49 am

thank you gentlemen
hopefully there will be market
I m planning to to offer cheaper rates to get started
If it works it might be even more fun then doing masters

Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 7:47 am

It should also be noted that there are tons of songwriters out there who have neither the knowledge nor the inclination to do their own recording, or I'd be out of business. 80% of my work is singer/songwriters who come in with a guitar and some songs and we give them the full band treatment, all in-house.

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