SONGWRITING FOR FUN & PROFIT

by Alex Walsh

The past few workshops here at the musicians union have focused on songwriting and demo tape production. This article will try to sum up this information for everyone who did not get a chance to attend. Here is a basic outline of the process:

1. Write the song.
2. Record a work tape.
3. Arrange the song.
4. Record demo(s).
5. Record a radio ready master (if you’re selling yourself as an artist).
6. Pitch the song.

Write The Song/Record A Work Tape

There are great resources available to help you hone your craft. Just go to Yahoo, do a search on “Songwriting”, and see what comes up. Check out Musesmuse.com and Lyricist.com. The Craft And Business Of Songwriting by John Braheny is a wonderful book. The Craft Of Lyric Writing by Sheila Davis is also highly recommended. These can be found in your local bookstore or library. The West Coast Songwriters, www.westcoastsongwriters.org, is a very active group you can join. I went to their conference this year and it was great!

The purpose of the Work Tape is to show people you might be working with a complete version of the song. Voice and guitar/piano are all that is needed. A very simple $30 cassette recorder will do the trick.

Arrange The Song/ Record The Demo(s)

Once you have written your song, there are a few ways you can approach the demo process. A well written song can be pitched in multiple genres. For example, the same song can be recorded as a contemporary Pop song, a Country song, or an Americana song. Pitching multiple versions will increase the chances of your song getting picked up. Demo studio prices vary, but in general, you can expect to pay between $300–$1,000 per demo (too many variables to explain the price range). You can take your work tape and a lyric sheet into one of these studios, tell them what genre you want it recorded in, and they will do it.

Or you can do it yourself. The bottom line is you want it to sound as professional as possible. Many songwriters invest in a home project studio to work out arrangement ideas. Home equipment is very powerful and relatively inexpensive these days.

Computers and Music, San Francisco, (415) 666-9944, computersandmusic.com is a wonderful store for checking out this equipment.

Also try Guitar Center..

Many people use a combination of project studio and recording studio, going back and forth between the two. Finding a professional studio with compatible gear to your home studio can save you lots of money on expensive studio time.

Record A Radio Ready Master

These days, Artists need to show up with radio ready master recordings to be considered by record companies (of course, there are always exceptions). If you are self-producing your own unique sound, you can easily spend $2,000 per song on a master quality production. So do your experimenting in the project studio, and know exactly what you are doing before you invest, because the result should be perfect.

Pitch The Song

Start with the Northern California Songwriters Association. They have events monthly and a yearly conference that is well attended by publishers. Go on-line. Check out Taxi.com. Check out the 2002 Songwriter’s Market, a great book. Read the books listed above. Try to get local bands to play your songs — who knows what can happen? Invest as much time learning about the business as you do in your songwriting and you can go very very far.

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