Songwriters – Don’t Spend A Fortune Recording Your Song! (Dennis R. Sinnott)

If you’re thinking of getting a music publisher interested in your new song with a view to an artist covering it, you should first spend time checking out the markets. This may save you a great deal of time and expense in otherwise costly recordings.

Having your song recorded at a top master studio, for example, does not guarantee that it's going to be picked up by a music publisher. The reason is obvious. Publishers assess songs on their outlet potential, i.e. on the chances of an artist covering it.

Most professional songwriters I have worked with always make it their business to know in advance the types of songs that can be marketed and those that can't. (See the section on "commercialism" in chapter one of “Masters of Songwriting”).

In my experience, it's not down to how much a recording costs. Lots of publishers have accepted songs initially recorded at home or from a live gig. That doesn't mean to say that, where presentation is concerned, you can ignore the quality of the recording. Well-written lyrics and clever guitar licks will not help much if the recording quality is bad. It's true that some publishers and producers have been able to recognise the makings of a brilliant song from an appalling recording at a noisy gig, or from strumming into a crystal microphone on a 1958 tape machine, but I wouldn't rely on it.

More songs are rejected today through bad recordings than for any other reason. Small wonder, too. If a songwriter isn't prepared to put the same effort into the recording as he had in writing the song, then his chances of success are going to be greatly reduced. It makes sense, too. After all, you wouldn't seriously expect to get a job as a bank manager if you showed up for the interview in a pair of torn jeans and a tee shirt. So, remember, presentation is important.

Having made the point about presentation I don't want you to go overboard and think you have to spend a fortune to make a good recording. Too many good writers gave up because of their fear of presentation or spent more than they could afford in expensive studios. As a songwriter you're not expected to deliver a finished master to a publisher. That's down to the artist and the producer.

Unless you can get a good deal at a recording studio, in the early stages of writing I would opt for making recordings at home, especially if you have to watch the pennies!

With so much home recording equipment on the market today, especially in the form of synthesisers, high tech and digital recording, many writers are able to produce superb demos from the basement, attic or even bedroom! These are useful for getting your ideas across, especially in instrument and voice double tracking. If you haven't got the money right now to invest in some home recording equipment, why not collaborate with other writers? There's always a way around these things. Later, after you've become more adept and start receiving healthy royalties, you can upgrade to a recording studio. Some publishers, particularly the larger ones, have their own studios and in some cases offer "studio time" to songwriters to make demos. If a publisher does offer studio time, it will undoubtedly be used as credit or an advance payment recoupable against future royalties.

From www.mastersofsongwriting.com