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2009



!"#: 613.320.7233
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(")*'+": www.cllffgoldmacher.com



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4
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Welcome to "The Songwiitei's uuiue to Recoiuing Piofessional Bemos."

This book is baseu on a ielatively iecent iealization on my pait.

In shoit, it occuiieu to me that aftei 2u yeais as a songwiitei, piouucei, engineei anu stuuio
ownei anu aftei woiking with hunuieus of clients on liteially thousanus of uemos, I actually hau an
opinion on how to make the uemo piocess easiei anu moie effective foi my songwiiting clients. I
believe theie aie ceitain piactices anu behaviois that if obseiveu can make the uemo piocess less
stiessful anu moie piouuctive iegaiuless of whethei you'ie a fiist-time songwiitei oi a uiammy-
winnei.

The fiist time I biought one of my songs to a piofessional stuuio to be uemoeu, I was a
neivous wieck. I hau just moveu to Nashville fiom Noithein Califoinia anu wasn't familiai with the
songwiiting uemo piocess. I only knew how haiu I hau woikeu on my own aitist pioject anu how
many takes (ugh, soooo many takes) I neeueu to get an even iemotely uecent sounuing
peifoimance. I was woiiieu about whethei the session playeisuemo singei woulu like the song,
whethei I'u uone enough woik on my own to give the piopei uiiection to eveiyone involveu anu I
was !"#$%$&"'( woiiieu about stuuio time anu money. When it was uone anu I saw how quickly anu
beautifully tiue pios hanuleu the inteipietation anu iecoiuing of my song, I iealizeu that not only
was my money well spent but also that this is what I wanteu to uo foi a living. By the way, a goou
iecoiuing is an investment. Even now, almost fifteen yeais aftei it was iecoiueu, the uemo still
stanus up.

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7/%8& 9//+ 7/2%

The seven chapteis that follow will take you thiough eveiything you neeu to know about the
piocess of having youi uemo piofessionally iecoiueu. Staiting fiom finuing a stuuio anu pie-
piouuction, I'll piogiess to the actual iecoiuing, woiking with session musicians anu singeis, mixing
S
anu, ultimately, how to get youi songs heaiu once you've got youi finisheu piouuct. By knowing
what to expect as you move thiough the uemo piocess, you'll be bettei equippeu to hanule each
inuiviuual step as it comes. The moie you know in auvance, the moie ielaxeu you'll be anu the
moie enjoyable the entiie expeiience will become.

Although I'u nevei, evei uiscouiage anyone fiom getting theii own iecoiuing equipment anu
leaining how to iecoiu theii own songs (aftei all that's ":3*&'( what I uiu), this book ueals
specifically with using piofessional stuuios, session musicians anu singeis to get a high-quality,
pitchlicensing-ieauy uemo. Ny assumption is that if you'ie seiious enough about youi songwiiting
to be ieauing my book, you'ie seiious enough to unueistanu that in oiuei to make money fiom youi
songs, you have to tieat the iecoiuing piocess like the business uecision it is.

As I'll uiscuss latei, you aie the expeit at wiiting youi songs anu no one else can uo that foi
you. Bowevei, if you'ie not willing to uevote the time (anu money) necessaiy to become an expeit
iecoiuing engineeisession musician, you neeu to invest in the people who aie alieauy expeits at
this pait of the piocess.

This book is a guiue to help uemystify the piocess of woiking with the appiopiiate expeits
who can make the iecoiuing of youi song competitive at the highest levels of the music business.
Feel fiee to ieau it "covei to covei" oi to simply use inuiviuual chapteis as a iefeience as the
situation waiiants.

Enjoy anu best of luck with youi music!

-Cliff

www.cliffgolumachei.com

p.s. I still woik eveiy uay as an engineei, piouucei, session musician anu consultant. Bon't
hesitate to uiop me a line if you've got questionscomments about this book oi you'ie ieauy to take
youi uemos to the next level.
Email Cliff
6
!"#$%&' )

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*"/:- %"& ;<$&'%=
You'ie a songwiitei. It's what you uo. It's what you've tiaineu youiself to uo thiough
countless houis of stuuy, piactice anu effoit. Youi songs aie youis anu no one can wiite them foi
you. In othei woius, you've become an expeit at wiiting youi songs. That's exactly how it shoulu be.

Bowevei, if you'ie going to tieat youi songwiiting as a business, then it's in youi best
inteiest to employ expeits at eveiy level. Wiiting a gieat song is the fiist anu most impoitant pait of
the piocess but a high quality, well-peifoimeu uemo of youi song comes a veiy close seconu. 0nless
you've uevoteu as much time to leaining the ait anu ciaft of iecoiuing as you have to youi
songwiiting, you will be uoing youi songs anu youi caieei a uisseivice by attempting to iecoiu youi
uemo youiself.

We've all heaiu the aigument that a gieat song is a gieat song anu anyone with eais shoulu
be able to "heai thiough" any iecoiuing no mattei how iough. To my way of thinking, this is the
music inuustiy equivalent of being set up on a blinu uate with a peison who may veiy well have a
heait of golu but who uoesn't bothei to showei. You've only got one chance to make a fiist
impiession with youi song anu given the competition out theie, it hau bettei be a gieat fiist
impiession. You might even meet a music inuustiy peison who can genuinely heai thiough a iough
iecoiuing, but if you'ie planning on showing youi song to a vaiiety of aitists, manageis, piouuceis
anu A&R ieps as well, it's nevei safe to assume that anything less than a fiist-iate iecoiuing will uo.
By "fiist iate" I uon't mean full-banu oi elaboiately piouuceu, I simply mean youi song shoulu be
iecoiueu anu peifoimeu by piofessionals even if (especially if) it's a simple guitai anu vocal.

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I Nevei Let You uo


7
>/? %/ @126 # A//6 4&5/'6127 8%961/
0ne of the most uaunting aspects of the iecoiuing piocess foi most songwiiteis is simply
finuing the stuuio that is iight foi them. Woiu of mouth in the songwiiting community anu the
iecommenuations of youi peifoiming iights oiganizations (BNI, ASCAP & SESAC) aie gieat places
to stait. Ny suggestion is that you tieat this pait of the piocess just like you woulu any business
uecision. uathei as much infoimation as you can anu base youi uecision on wheie you think you'll
get the best seivice anu, of couise, the best iesults.

B"& 8%961/
With the auvent of impioveu iecoiuing technology anu affoiuable, high-quality equipment,
piofessional iecoiuings can be maue almost anywheie. Recoiuing is no longei the exclusive uomain
of the big, multi-ioom complex. Bowevei, theie aie a few things you shoulu consiuei befoie
choosing a stuuio foi youi pioject. Fiist anu foiemost is sounu quality. Ask the stuuio
owneiengineei foi a uemo of something that's been iecoiueu in theii stuuio. You can be moie
specific still. Ask that the music on the uemo be in the style of the music you'ie planning to iecoiu.
Foi example, if you'ie making a countiy uemo, it uoesn't mattei if the stuuio has a gieat sounuing
R&B uemo because that won't necessaiily tianslate into the countiy equivalent. Eveiy genie of
music iequiies a specific skill set that the playeis, singeis anu piouuceis have to have in oiuei foi
the iecoiuing to sounu authentic. This is not to say, foi example, that a stuuio that uoes countiy
uemos can't uo jazz uemos, (playeis, singeis anu piouuceis can have moie than one skill set) but
you'll want to be suie to heai a stuuio's woik in youi paiticulai song's genie to confiim.

!" $%&' ($&) : 4%&57 12+16 )$% ,"5- )+)2% 8%2"( )" 2+,)%5 )" 1".5)'; ,)&'7 <%8& =1>5)+'%?,7 @+&5" @2&;%'
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=; =")$%' G".23 D+6% H".

Seconuly, make suie you'ie comfoitable in the space wheie you'll be woiking. Although
woiking in a big, beautiful stuuio can be inspiiing; it can also be intimiuating. You'ie going to be
spenuing a lot of time in this place, make suie you feel at ease theie so that you can ielax, woik
effectively anu enjoy the piocess.

8

B"& ;2712&&'C.'/695&'
It's not only the stuuio that you'll be spenuing time in but also the engineeipiouucei (often
the same peison) whom you'll be spenuing time with that matteis. You'll want to make suie you'ie
comfoitable woiking with this peison as you'll be entiusting them with youi music. A few things to
look foi in an engineeipiouucei incluue oiganization, patience anu focus. The moie expeiienceu
anu piofessional they aie, the moie you shoulu feel like they have youi best inteiests at heait anu
that they want nothing moie than to give you the best piouuct you can possibly have. Theie shoulu
be no ego whatsoevei involveu no mattei how accomplisheuexpeiienceu this peison may be. A
simple ieminuei foi those of you who aie new to the game.it's not the engineeipiouucei's iole to
juuge whethei the song is goou oi bau. The assumption is, anu shoulu always be, that you'ie theie
iecoiuing youi song because you know it's goou anu ieauy to be iecoiueu. It's theii job to take youi
song anu make a gieat uemo so that the it's ieauy to be heaiu. All this to say, uon't be uisappointeu
if you uon't get comments about whethei youi song is goou oi not, it's actually not the
engineeipiouucei's place to comment.

I iemembei veiy cleaily what it was like when I fiist staiteu wiiting songs. Eveiy song was
my chilu anu any positive comment wasn't quite positive enough anu eveiy negative comment was
ciushing. The only way I oveicame these feelings was to keep wiiting songs. It's a numbeis game.
The moie songs you wiite, the bettei youi peispective becomes on youi own woik anu the less
woiiieu you aie about what othei people think. 0nfoitunately, theie's no way aiounu this anu it
takes time to builu up a catalog of songs anu finu youi "voice" as a wiitei. Be patient with youiself
anu it will get easiei. Piomise.

B"& D/2&+
Bewaie of being penny-wise anu pounu-foolish. Remembei that you'ie iunning a business.
Investing in youi business is an essential pait of helping the business giow anu ultimately biing you
a ietuin on youi investment. This uoes not mean, howevei, that you shoulun't have a ciystal cleai
unueistanuing of what the associateu costs of youi uemo will be. Always uiscuss piicing with the
stuuio befoie you begin woiking theie anu iemembei to ask foi an itemization of all fees. The
obvious fee woulu be the houily iate but it's impoitant to ask what othei chaiges you might be
9
incuiiing. This can be anything fiom a sepaiate engineei chaige, costs foi buining CBs, oi even
sepaiate chaiges foi ceitain pieces of stuuio equipment. A stuuio using an houily iate system ought
to be able to give you a faiily accuiate estimate foi what youi oveiall pioject will cost. Some stuuios
simplify the piocess even fuithei by giving you an all-in pioject fee that is ueciueu up fiont. It's
always bettei to get all the financial uetails settleu at the beginning of a pioject so that theie aie no
unpleasant suipiises when it comes time to pay.

When I was fiist staiting out in the business, I ueciueu to use a veiy well known (anu
genuinely ieputable) Noithein Califoinia stuuio. At the enu of each uay of woik, I askeu foi a copy
of the uay's mixes on BAT (uigital auuio tape, foi you youngsteis out theie). They happily pioviueu
this to me eveiy uay foi two weeks nevei once mentioning that they weie auuing $Su to my bill
eveiy time they wheeleu the uigital auuio tape iecoiuei into the ioom. Coulu they have mentioneu
this to me, suie, but ultimately it was my iesponsibility to ask what all chaiges woulu be up fiont.

!"&#$ !#2 E& ;<$&2-1F&
Theie aie only so many houis in the uay. If you'ie in the eaily stages of youi caieei as a
songwiitei, you shoulu be spenuing those houis woiking on youi songwiiting anu uevising eveiy
means possible (netwoiking anyone.) to get youi songs heaiu. Bowevei, if you'ie tiuly fascinateu
by the iecoiuing piocess itself anu aie willing to invest the time anu money necessaiy, then by all
means you shoulu leain to engineei anu piouuce as well. Theie's nevei been a bettei time to get
involveu in iecoiuing given the innovations anu impiovements in iecoiuing technology. Bowevei, if
you think you'll save money by uoing youi own iecoiuings without investing an equal amount of
time in leaining how to become an engineei, the enu iesults will huit youi cause moie than any
amount of money you might save by iecoiuing youiself. As I've heaiu it saiu, cheap can be
expensive.

Let me be cleai. I'm not iecommenuing that you go out anu spenu youi haiu-eaineu cash on
a piofessional iecoiuing eveiy time you wiite a song. If you'ie planning on having a caieei in music,
you'll have to be juuicious in howwhen you invest youi uemo buuget. But, when you've got a song
oi songs that aie ieauy foi piime time, you shoulu tieat them that way.
1u
!"#$%&' )

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Now that you've ueciueu to get youi songs iecoiueu in a piofessional stuuio, you shoulu uo
what you can aheau of time to make the iecoiuing piocess as smooth anu cost-efficient as possible.
Remembei, the moie piepaieu you aie in auvance, the moie you can ielax anu enjoy what shoulu be
a tiuly amazing anu enjoyable piocess.

2+17 ;'&$#'#%0+1
It may sounu obvious but make suie youi song is FINISBEB. I can't tell you the numbei of
times I've hau clients come into the stuuio only to stait iewiiting a pait of the lyiic oi melouy. It is
significantly less stiessful (anu quite a bit less expensive) to wiite a song when you'ie not paying
the stuuio an houily fee.

You can also benefit fiom tiying a few iough iecoiuings at home befoie you get to the stuuio.
The simple act of listening to a iough iecoiuing of a song insteau of peifoiming it will ieveal any
weaknesses oi issues that neeu to be uealt with befoie the stuuio clock is iunning. The last of these
iough home iecoiuings will become the uefinitive iough iecoiuing.

8"& :+.7" :&<+'3017
This is any simple, inexpensive iecoiuing that you uo on a hanu-helu iecoiuei oi even
uiiectly into the little mic built into youi laptop. ueneially a piano oi guitai plus a sciatch vocal will
uo the tiick. The key heie is not a peifect iecoiuing but iathei an accuiate iepiesentation of the
melouy, lyiic anu song stiuctuie. This means you'ie not going to come into the session anu have to
explain, foi example, that the choius is now twice as long oi the seconu veise has been changeu to
be half as long. Each section of the song shoulu be exactly the same in the iough iecoiuing as it will
be in the finisheu uemo. Remembei, the iecoiuing uoesn't have to sounu gieat as long as the choius,
melouy anu lyiics aie coiiect. The puipose of this iecoiuing is simply to pioviue the uemo vocalist
11
anu session musicians with a iecoiueu veision of youi song that they can leain fiomiefei to.
Biinging youi guitai into the stuuio on the uay of the session anu playing the song live foi the
playeis is a bit iisky. It's a high piessuie woilu in the stuuio when you'ie new to it anu you might
waste time foigetting how a ceitain pait goes oi playing something uiffeiently fiom how you'u
oiiginally intenueu it. The iough iecoiuing simply takes all of those vaiiables out of the equation.

*"#% =5 -+. ,+1>% ;?#@ A1 =19%'.B&1%C
I know some tiuly exceptional songwiiteis who aien't musicians themselves. 0nfoitunately,
it's not enough to cieate a iough iecoiuing of you singing the lyiicmelouy without a backing
instiument. The ieason is that theie aie always seveial uiffeient choiu choices that woik foi the
same melouy. Not to woiiy; eithei you can finu a fiienucollaboiatoi who can play the instiument
anu help you iuentify the choius you'ie heaiing in youi heau oi you can spenu a little extia
timemoney with the piouucei oi a session musician you'll be woiking with in the stuuio anu uo a
veiy simple iough iecoiuing with them playing the choius behinu youi melouylyiic.

8"& 2017&'9 #13 %"& ;?#@&'9
Let's stait with the uemo vocalist. It's always a goou policy to get a copy of the iough
iecoiuing anu the lyiics to the singei a week oi so befoie the session. Theie aie seveial ieasons foi
this. Fiist of all, the singei can let you know what key the song shoulu be in to best suit his oi hei
vocal iange. This way, if you enu up iecoiuing instiument paits befoie the singei comes in, the
playeis will have the coiiect key. Seconuly, the moie time the singei has in auvance of the session to
leain the song, the less time he oi she will take to sing the song when the stuuio clock is ticking.
Theie's a lot moie to woiking with session musicians anu singeis anu I'll covei all of this in much
gieatei uepth in chapteis foui anu five of this book.

*"#% 8+ 4'017
When you get to the session, it's wise to have multiple copies of the piinteu lyiic sheet foi the
engineei, musicians anu vocalist. The lyiics shoulu be typewiitten, single-spaceu anu have each
choius wiitten out in full. The ieason foi this is that you'll be using these lyiic sheets to maik spots
that neeu fixing (oi spots on ceitain takes that you like) anu having "iepeat choius" wiitten foi the
seconu anu thiiu choiuses won't allow you to take goou notes. The bettei the notes you take on the
12
lyiic sheet while the vocalist is iecoiuing, the easiei it will be to tell the vocalist what's woiking anu
what neeus to be fixeu.

The session musicians will not neeu a iough iecoiuing oi sheet music in auvance. They will
be leaining the song just by listening to youi iough iecoiuing when they get to the session. You can
save a little time by wiiting a choiu chait of the song if it's something you'ie comfoitable uoing. If
not, the session musicians shoulu have no tiouble uoing it foi you in the stuuio using the iough
iecoiuing you biing to the session.

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0nce you've uone eveiything you can to piepaie, then it's up to the singeis anu musicians to
biing youi song to the next level. Theie's nothing moie inspiiing than listening to woilu-class
musicians anu vocalists iecoiu a song you've wiitten. The moie you piepaie in auvance, the moie
you'll be able to enjoy the expeiience.

"#
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17
!"#$%&' )

*+',-./ 0-%" 1&22-+. 342-5-#.2


6"& 78#9&'2
Why uo piofessional iecoiuings sounu, well, !"#$%&&'#()*. Theie aie a numbei of ieasons
incluuing high quality miciophones, pie-amps, an expeiienceu engineei anu a well-uesigneu stuuio
space. But one of the single most impoitant elements in a gieat-sounuing, piofessional iecoiuing is
the peifoimance of the session musicians. Theie is a ieason that the job of the session musician
exists. It's these musicians who use theii talent anu stuuio expeiience to play just the iight thing in
just the iight way anu cieate a polisheu, piofessional iecoiuing.

1"+48:.;% < =& >?8& 6+ @+ 6"-2 392&8AB
While I am a big pioponent of weaiing as many hats as you can in youi musical caieei, theie
aie ceitain aieas wheie it makes much bettei sense to iely on the expeits. Specifically, if you'ie not
an expeiienceu stuuio musician, I'u highly iecommenu using someone who is. It's extiemely
impoitant that you take ego out of the equation. Theie is no shame in having someone else play on
youi uemo. The key is to iemain as objective as possible anu to iemembei that a songwiiting uemo
is supposeu to put youi song in the best possible light in oiuei to sell it to piospective aitists oi
place it in films anu Tv shows. It is not supposeu to be pioof of youi stuuio musicianship.
Recoiuing youi instiument in the stuuio iequiies an entiiely uiffeient skill set than playing live. Foi
lack of a bettei uesciiption, stuuio iecoiuing is moie like music suigeiy than a musical peifoimance.
While you might be comfoitable playing guitai in youi living ioom oi even on a stage in fiont of
hunuieus of people, it's an entiiely uiffeient ballgame to sit in a foui by six-foot booth weaiing
heauphones listening to a clicking sounu. uiving a note-peifect, uynamic anu in-time peifoimance
in this kinu of unnatuial setting iequiies a special set of skills.

<2.;% <% !"&#$&' -A < @+ <% 392&8AB
We all have to keep an eye on the bottom line when it comes to oui iecoiuing buuget anu, as
a iesult, theie is the temptation to save money by playing on the uemo youiself. The pioblem with
18
this methou is that often it will take an inexpeiienceu musician twice as long to get a viable take as it
woulu a pio. 0ne of the many auvantages of using session musicians is that they aie not only goou
at what they uo but they uo it veiy quickly. The piice you pay to hiie a session musician can
tianslate into savings on stuuio time compaieu to playing the pait youiself. Being fast in the stuuio
is useful foi anothei ieason as well. When a session bogs uown with take aftei take, it staits to feel
a lot moie like woik. When things go quickly anu smoothly, they stay musical anu ielaxeu. Bon't
uiscount the neeu foi a session to stay enjoyable. Ny expeiience has been that eveiyone uoes theii
best woik when the atmospheie in the stuuio is light anu piouuctive.

To give you an example of what I mean when I say session musicians aie fast, let me tell you
about }im Boke. }im is one of Nashville's musical tieasuies. }im has playeu on albums foi Naik
Knopflei, }immy Buffett anu Alan }ackson among hunuieus of othei music notables. }im is a multi-
instiumentalist in the tiuest sense of the woiu. Some of the instiuments he plays at woilu-class
level incluue haimonica, accoiuion, baiitone, tenoi anu alto saxes, flute, claiinet anu even peual
steel. A few yeais ago, I hiieu }im to wiite an aiiangement foi anu play all the hoin paits on a
iocksoul pioject I was piouucing. Fiom the time }im walkeu in the uooi, unpackeu his hoins,
heaiu the song foi the fiist time, wiote the aiiangement anu playeu all the paits, it took one houi
anu ten minutes! That's what I mean by fast. Not to woiiy, I've encloseu a link to the song }im
playeu on just a few paiagiaphs fiom now.

C'&#% DE$&5%#%-+.2
When it comes to iecoiuing a uemo, it's essential that you keep youi listening auuience in
minu at all times. In the music inuustiy, theie is a ceitain level of "polish" that iecoiu labels,
publisheis, manageis anu piouuceis have come to expect fiom the uemos they ieceive. By biinging
in the same musicians that play on thousanus of songwiiting uemos anu majoi label iecoiu piojects,
you'll be giving these inuustiy types what they'ie useu to heaiing. We've all heaiu fiom time to time
inuustiy piofessionals say that they can "heai thiough" youi iough iecoiuings. Ny
iecommenuation is N0T to take that chance. You've only got one oppoitunity to make a fiist
impiession anu you shoulu give youiself eveiy auvantage. Also, even if you finu the iaie inuustiy
piofessional willing anu able to heai thiough a iough iecoiuing, you'll hopefully be pitching this
song to a numbei of inuustiy people many of whom will be expecting a piofessional sounuing uemo.
19

6"& !#'& #.: F&&:-./ +A 1&22-+. 342-5-#.2
When it comes to woiking with session musicians, theie aie a few things to keep in minu.
Fiist of all, if you'ie not comfoitable wiiting out a choiu chait, piofessional session musicians aie
peifectly capable of listening to youi iough iecoiuing anu wiiting out theii own chaits. Foi them,
chaiting is quick piocess that shoulu take no longei than 1u-1S minutes anu is almost always
incluueu in theii fee. Then, when it comes time foi the musicians to play, always suggest that they
tiy it theii way fiist. Theie aie two ieasons foi this. Fiist of all, you've hiieu them to make youi
uemo sounu gieat so you shoulu give them a chance to go with theii instincts befoie you offei any
uiiection. Seconuly, by letting them uo what you've biought them in to uo with a minimum of
inteifeience, you'll cieate goouwill that will go a long way towaius the oveiall vibe in the stuuio. In
almost eveiy case, what the session musicians come up with will be bettei than you evei expecteu.
B0WEvER, if you'ie still not getting what you want aftei they've tiieu it theii way, you'ie 1uu%
entitleu to politely ask them to tiy it the way you weie heaiing it. The 0NLY appiopiiate iesponse
fiom a session musician to youi iequest is "absolutely."

I'll nevei foiget the fiist time I woikeu with ueoige Naiinelli in the stuuio. ueoige is a
uiammy-winning, founuing membei of Biuce Boinsby's banu, The Range, anu cuiiently touis as
Bonnie Raitt's guitaiist. Be's also playeu with }ames Tayloi, }ackson Biowne anu many otheis. I
knew ueoige was exceptional fiom having seen him play live but I'u nevei woikeu with him in the
stuuio. 0n this paiticulai occasion, I biought ueoige in to play on a client's ballau. Be listeneu to
the song once while wiiting out a chait anu then playeu the song uown once fiom beginning to enu.
The piecision, note choice anu tone weie absolutely stunning. The most amazing pait was that this
seemingly effoitless peifoimance on ueoige's pait hau a uepth anu textuie to it that ievealeu itself
moie eveiy time I listeneu. By the way, I neglecteu to mention that this same bona fiue iock stai
who has playeu with some of the gieatest aitists of all time, always shows up fifteen minutes eaily
foi sessions anu stays aftei to chat anu get to know the songwiitei. This is what I mean by woilu-
class.

+*',- #( /0% &#(1 2%*#3 /# 0%)" 4'5 6#-%7& 0#"(& )(8 9%#"1% :)"'(%**'7& %*%,/"', 1;'/)"<
=3%%/ >)8? =;(&0'(%

2u
G&H&H?&' 6"&9 *+', F+' I+4
It can be intimiuating to woik with such talenteu musicians, but iemembei, they'ie woiking
foi you. 0ne of my favoiite expiessions is "the best ones have nothing to piove." When you hiie
pios not only will they be gieat at what they uo but they shoulu be a pleasuie to woik with as well.
Theie is no ieason to hiie even the best session musician if he oi she has a bau attituue. This is
extiemely iaie but if it happens, I'u iecommenu nevei using that musician again. Theie aie way too
many wonueiful, fiienuly anu talenteu session musicians out theie to evei settle foi one who isn't a
pleasuie to woik with. So if you've nevei useu a piofessional musician on youi songwiiting uemo,
uo youiself a favoi anu tiy it out. You'ie in foi a tieat anu you'll ceitainly enu up with a gieat uemo.

='-./ %"& G&5+':-./ 1%4:-+ 6+ I+4
With the auvent of the inteinet anu stieaming auuio technology, it is now possible to not only
hiie the finest session musicians that Nashville has to offei, but also to listen in ieal-time anu full-
fiuelity fiom wheievei you aie in the woilu as these playeis iecoiu youi songs. 0ne of the busiest
paits of my business is biinging togethei songwiiteis (living sometimes thousanus of miles away)
with session musicians like }im anu ueoige to iecoiu theii songs. By stieaming the auuio fiom my
Nashville stuuio to anyone with a computei anu a high-speeu inteinet connection, I make it possible
foi my clients to paiticipate in theii sessions without having to tiavel to Nashville to uo it.

Click on RecoiuingStuuio20 to finu out moie.

21
!"#$%&' )

*+',-./ 0-%" 1&2+ 3-./&'4


5%64 788 79+:% %"& ;+<#8
As songwiiteis, oui intention is to communicate an emotion anu a message in oui songs. I
believe the single most impoitant vehicle to expiess both the message anu emotion of a song to its
listeneis is the vocal. Fellow songwiiteis anu musicians may ielate to the uetail anu quality of the
musicianship on a iecoiuing but !"!#$%&! can ielate to an amazing vocal peifoimance. Foi example,
while eveiyone knows the name Fiank Sinatia, only tiue music buffs know the name Nelson Riuule
even though he was iesponsible foi some of the most exceptional musical aiiangements on Sinatia's
iecoiuings. Since the puipose of a songwiiting uemo is to sell the song to someone else, you shoulu
choose youi vocalist caiefully anu consiuei the auvice below in oiuei to have an easy anu enjoyable
time listening to youi song peifoimeu by a session vocalist.

*"= !#.6% 5 >:4% 3-./ ?= @0. 1&2+4A
Theie aie seveial conuitions that neeu to be met befoie a songwiitei is the iight choice to
sing his oi hei own song uemo. Fiist, the songwiitei must be an expeiienceu stuuio vocalist. This
means someone who's iecoiueu not just one oi two of theii own songs but uozens anu uozens of
songs foi not only themselves but foi otheis. Seconu, the songwiitei must have the appiopiiate
style of voice foi the intenueu song pitches. In othei woius, a songwiitei may be an expeiienceu
pop vocalist but might be tiying to uo a countiy song uemo. In this case, no mattei how goou a
singei the songwiitei may be, he oi she is the wiong choice. It all has to uo with what will put the
song in the best possible light to get it iecoiueu by anothei aitist. Also, the money the songwiitei
intenus to save by singing him oi heiself, in my expeiience, is lost in eithei the auueu stuuio time to
get the peifoimance iight oi in the final piouuct not being ieauy foi piime time. Theie aie plenty of
goou ieasons foi a songwiitei to sing his oi hei own songs. Stuuio expeiience, an aitist pioject anu
an alteinate style of uemo aie some of them. But when it comes to piepaiing a song uemo foi
pitching at the highest levels anu in a specific genie, it's my expeiience that a uemo vocalist is
almost always the piopei choice. This is not something to take peisonally, some of the gieatest
22
singeisongwiiteis in music still choose othei vocalists to sing theii song uemos if it seives the
song.

I'm an ok singei. }ust ok. But I can iemembei the fiist time I heaiu a tiuly gieat singei iecoiu
a uemo of one of my songs. It wasn't as if I wasn't hitting the notes, theie was just that peifect
combination of natuial tone, phiasing anu magic uust that the uemo singei pioviueu that I coulun't.
Aftei that, it was a no biainei. When it came time to uemo one of my songs to pitch I hiieu a uemo
singei. It uiun't mattei if I'u peifoimeu the song live oi hau iecoiueu it on my own pioject, I knew
that in oiuei to sell the song to the people I was hoping woulu cut it, I hau to use a pio.

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These iules apply acioss a all musical genies. I hau the oppoitunity to wiite with a supeib
jazz piano anu oigan playei nameu Laiiy uoluings (}ames Tayloi's pianist foi almost a uecaue).
When we'u finisheu the song, Laiiy uiu a quick vocal to captuie the essence of what we'u uone.
Then Laiiy intiouuceu me to Caiolyn Leonhait. Caiolyn's not only an awaiu winning jazz vocalist in
hei own iight but also happens to toui as a backup singei with Steely Ban. uive these befoie anu
aftei veisions of oui song a quick listen to see what I mean.

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0K, now that you've ueciueu to go with someone else to sing youi song, theie aie a couple of
chaiacteiistics to look foi in a uemo singei. Fiist anu foiemost, you'ie looking foi a singei whose
2S
style is similai to but &%- iuentical to the aitist oi aitists to whom you intenu to pitch youi song. The
ieason foi this is simple. If you finu a uemo singei who can mimic exactly the sounu of a paiticulai
aitist then you've effectively limiteu youi pitch to one aitist. 0nless you'ie incieuibly lucky (anu
incieuibly goou), this is not the most cost-effective way to appioach cieating youi song uemo. It's
bettei, foi example, to use a moie geneiic, gieat-sounuing tenoi countiy vocalist than a ueau iingei
foi uaith Biooks. The plan, by the way, is to enu up with a uemovocal peifoimance that opens up a
vaiiety of pitch oppoitunities within a given musical genie. We'll covei how to go about pitching
youi songs in chaptei seven.

1+.6% F-88 G"& ?&44&./&'
While I'm not a not a male chauvinist by any stietch of the imagination, I'm going to impait a
small, unwiitten iule about whethei to choose a male oi female vocalist on a song whose lyiic coulu
be sung by eithei a man oi a woman. If you only have the buuget to iecoiu eithei a male oi female
veision of youi uemo, always choose the male vocalist. To put it simply, it is easiei foi a female
aitist to imagine heiself singing a song uemoeu by a man than it is foi a male aitist to imagine
himself singing a song uemoeu by a woman. To be cleai, I'm not saying this iule applies to all songs.
This only applies to songs wheie the lyiic is 3)#!3;$ one that coulu woik foi eithei a male oi a
female aitist.

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24

*"#% %+ 1+ H&E+'& %"& 3-./&' !+2&4 5.
As I mentioneu in chaptei two, it's always in youi best inteiest to pioviue the singei you've
chosen with a iough iecoiuing anu copy of the lyiics befoie the session. By iough iecoiuing, I mean
the simplest of iecoiuings using one instiument (guitai oi piano) anu a vocal. This can be uone into
a hanu-helu iecoiuei oi uiiectly into youi laptop anu emaileu as an mpS. Recoiuing quality is not
the impoitant pait. Feel fiee to singplay youiself even if it's not the most polisheu peifoimance in
the woilu. The key is that the song stiuctuie, melouy anu lyiic must be exactly what you want the
singei to leain.

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8%-.*&0 >!9- -% >%"! Q!#! D&$4%#!7L%?0. L!+%#;*&0

Nost singeis will want to have the iough iecoiuing at least a week piioi to the session uate.
Theie aie seveial ieasons foi this. Fiist, the singei will neeu to pioviue the musicianmusicians
playing on the uemo with the key that the song shoulu be tiackeu in. }ust because you've wiitten a
song in a paiticulai key uoesn't mean that it's the best key foi youi session singei. It's the session
singei's job to know his oi hei own voice well enough to choose the key that puts youi melouy anu
lyiic in its best light. Seconu, this gives the singei time to leain youi melouy anu phiasing so that
by the time they get to the stuuio they know youi song well enough to only neeu minoi coiiections.
This is uesigneu to make the session iun smoothly anu, ultimately, to save you time anu money.
Theie aie some iaie exceptions wheie a uemo singei is so goou anu so busy that he oi she only has
time to leain youi song aftei they get to the stuuio. This is acceptable %&)$ if it takes them fifteen
minutes oi less to leain youi song. I've woikeu with singeis like this anu they tiuly aie exceptional.
Bowevei, it is not acceptable noi is it piofessional foi any uemo singei to spenu moie than this
amount of time leaining youi song in the stuuio. Eithei they've hau time to leain it befoie oi they'ie
quick enough to uo it without wasting youi time.

Speaking of coming in anu getting it uone, let me intiouuce you to my fiienu Tim Buppeit.
Tim is the kinu of uemo singei who can walk into a stuuio, listen uown to a song thiee oi foui times,
maik up a lyiic sheet with his own veision of peifoimance notes anu then sing the song like he's
been singing it his whole life. Bis vocal peifoimance conveys all of the emotion in a lyiic anu often
2S
uncoveis subtle phiasing anu melouic gems that weie baiely theie in the iough iecoiuing. When it
comes to haimony vocals, Tim can (anu uoes) sing auuitional haimony paits in the time it takes to
set up the haimony vocal tiack in PioTools anu piess iecoiu. These skills uiun't come to Tim
oveinight. At last count, Tim's sung ovei 6,uuu uemos. Nice woik if you can get it.

()*+, -.! /%&0 1!)%2 -% .!3# 6*4C/ "%+3)5
S$ M*&; %9 T!3?-*9?)

*+',-./ *-%" 7 1&2+ ;+<#8-4% -. %"& 3%:C-+
The uay has aiiiveu. All of the pieliminaiies have been taken caie of, the singei has pioviueu
a key, the instiument tiacks have been iecoiueu in that key (often with a sciatch vocal sung by the
songwiitei) anu it's time foi the singei to come in anu iecoiu. Remembei to biing copies of youi
lyiic sheet foi the engineei, the singei (just in case they foiget the copy you sent them) anu foi
youiself. Also, make suie that eveiy woiu of the lyiic is wiitten out. You'll be making notes on the
lyiic sheet uuiing the session anu having "iepeat choius" wiitten on youi lyiic sheet won't give you
enough uetail to make notes in subsequent choiuses if you have any.

Foi songwiiteis new to the piocess, woiking with a singei has the potential to be a neive-
wiacking expeiience. You'ie attacheu to youi song, you want it to sounu gieat anu you'ie also
(possibly) a bit intimiuateu by the singei who has such an amazing voice. Fiist of all, tiy to ielax.
Eveiyone involveu wants exactly what you want.a gieat finisheu piouuct. It may take a pass oi
two thiough the song foi the vocalist to get into the piopei spiiit anu to tweak a few of the melouic
mistakes they'ie making. Ny auvice heie may sounu obvious but I've seen too many examples to
the contiaiy not to mention it. RENENBER T0 BE P0LITE!! We'ie all aitists heie. It's just as easy to
say to a singei, "I think the melouy in the fiist line of the seconu veise neeus to be changeu slightly."
as it is to say, "Bo it again. You sang my melouy wiong." Ny point is that in the heat of the moment
just iemembei that being polite anu patient will not only get you want you want but will maintain
the goouwill of eveiyone involveu anu keep the moou in the stuuio light anu piouuctive.

7.+%"&' D&#4+. G+ I-'& 7 J'+
Fiom time to time, a uemo vocalist may /)*0.-)$ change the phiasing oi melouy of a paiticulai
line in youi song. Whethei you ueciue you like this oi not is entiiely up to you but, iemembei, pait
26
of the ieason you'ie biinging in a piofessional uemo singei is his oi hei familiaiity with the style of
music you'ie wiiting anu knowleuge of how these songs aie typically sung. If a singei uoes this,
consiuei it as value auueu to the session. Theie aie two things to iemembei heie. Fiist, unless
we'ie talking about a wholesale ie-wiiting of youi melouy, these aie not giounus (noi will the
singei ask) to be incluueu as a wiitei on a song. It's simply an inteipietation on the pait of an
expeiienceu stuuio piofessional. Seconu, anu moie impoitant, if you uon't caie foi the changes that
the singei has maue, you aie well within youi iights to ask :%)*-!)$ foi the singei to ieveit to youi
oiiginal melouy anuoi phiasing. The only acceptable iesponse a piofessional uemo singei will give
is "absolutely." Remembei, they'ie pios but they woik foi you.

!+.<8:4-+.
Theie is nothing quite like heaiing a gieat session vocalist sing one of youi songs. Not only is
it amazing to listen to, but also it takes youi melouy anu lyiic to anothei level. You'll heai nuances
in youi woik that you nevei knew weie theie. The moie you uo to piepaie youiself foi the vocal
iecoiuing session, the moie ielaxeu you'll be anu the moie fun you'll have. At the enu of the uay, not
only will you have a beautifully sung veision of youi song but gieat memoiies of the stuuio anu how
it all went uown.

27
!"#$%&' )

*"& +,-


*"& .'% /0 +,-,12
0nce you've ueciueu to up the ante anu put youi songs out theie to get heaiu anu hopefully
cut, you've got a lot of uecisions to make. 0ne of the last of these steps but ceitainly not the least is
the mix of youi song. It's not enough to have a gieat song. You neeu a gieat iecoiuing anu a stiong
mix is an essential pait of any gieat iecoiuing. Foi those of you who aie new to the game, a mix is
essentially the combining (mixing) of all instiuments anu vocals into a finisheu steieo iecoiuing.
The uecisions maue by the mix engineei incluue how louu oi soft to make each inuiviuual
instiument anu vocal pait anu wheie they sit in the steieo spectium (i.e., in the centei oi moie to
the left oi iight). The ait of mixing (anu make no mistake, it is an ait) is not a skill eveiyone
possesses. While theie is no substitute foi a uynamic, exciting musical peifoimance, a goou mix can
enhance eveiy aspect of that peifoimance so that the final sonic iesult tiuly makes youi song stanu
out. 0n the othei hanu, a pooi mix can seveiely compiomise even the best song anu peifoimance.

Beie's an example of what I mean when I iefei to mixing as an ait. A fiienu anu cowiitei of
mine, Spencei Bay, iecently signeu a iecoiu ueal with Concoiu }azz anu is taking one of oui songs
along foi the iiue. The iecoiu label biought in Nathaniel Kunkel to mix. Nathaniel is an Emmy anu
uiammy awaiu winning engineei who has woikeu with Naioon S, }ohn Nayei anu Sting to name
just a veiy few. Theie's a ieason this guy wins awaius. The mix of oui song is a masteipiece! You
can actually heai the bows sciaping the stiings on the violins, the electiic guitais weie peifectly
balanceu anu the vocal was as cleai, waim anu uetaileu as anything I'u evei heaiu. 0n top of that,
the whole song just felt moie exciting anu alive. I mix songs eveiy uay to make my living anu I was
still in awe. Theie aie just some people out theie who have the gift.

"#$%& '() *+,- .)#+/ '+ ()01 20'(0,$)# 34,&)#5* 6$7 81+6 9:),%)15* "+,%+1; <0== 1)#)0*)> ?0-0.+,;@
A$## B+4 "+6) A+ C)

28
3452&%
I get it. Eveiyone wants to save money. I uo too but theie aie places to save anu places to
invest. In an effoit to keep iecoiuing costs uown, many musicians have puichaseu theii own
iecoiuing equipment. This is teiiific anu theie's nevei been a bettei time to buy affoiuable, high-
quality geai. As long as you'ie as passionate about leaining the engineeiing piocess as you aie about
youi music, you'll uo gieat. 0wning youi own iecoiuing equipment also takes a lot of the piessuie
off when it comes to expeiimenting in the stuuio. Finally, it allows you to iecoiu as many takes as
necessaiy to get the peifoimances you want without woiiying about the clock. Bowevei, one way
to make the absolute most of youi iecoiueu peifoimances is to let an expeit mix them. It's amazing
what a talenteu mix engineei can biing out of a mix that might otheiwise get lost oi obscuieu at the
hanus of a less expeiienceu mixei.

3&0/'& 6/4 +,-
Befoie I covei in gieatei uepth what makes a mix goou, let's go back to peifoimance foi a
moment. No mattei how gieat the mix engineei may be theie aie some things you simply cannot
"fix in the mix." To be moie specific, theie is no way to "mix in" a gieat vocal oi instiumental
peifoimance. What makes a peifoimance gieat might suipiise you. Foi example, sometimes it's
what isn't playeu that counts the most. In my expeiience, the best stuuio musicians aie the best
listeneis. What I mean by this is that gieat playeis base theii instiumental peifoimance on
whatevei else is going on in the song so that all the instiuments woik togethei as a whole to seive
the song anu N0T theii inuiviuual egos. Playing too much is the hallmaik of an amateui stuuio
musician. Also, the timely use of uynamics (wheie to play louueisoftei oi with gieateiless
intensity) is essential to a mix that bieathes anu has shape to it. Simply moving up anu uown a
volume fauei won't uo the same thing. When it comes to singing, all the Auto-Tune anu ieveib in
the woilu won't give a vocal peifoimance ieal sinceiity anu emotion. All this to say, make
absolutely ceitain that the peifoimances aie exactly how you want them befoie you stait the mix
piocess.

*"& 718%'49&1%8
uetting gieat instiument sounus in a mix is a combination of many factois. Finuing space in
the mix foi each inuiviuual instiument is essential. Without getting too technical, I can say that this
29
is often achieveu thiough juuicious use of EQ (tieble anu bass), compiession (a way of biinging up
soft sections anu loweiing louu sections), volume (how louu oi soft each pait is) anu panning
(wheie in the steieo fielu- to the left oi iight-the instiument is going to be placeu). Foi example, the
skill it takes to get gieat uium sounus, maiiy the kick uium to the bass while also giving the electiic
guitais iooms to bieathe anu spaikle is uevelopeu ovei time anu iepetition.a lot of iepetition.
When a mix is uone piopeily, the instiuments aie exciting to listen to. Each has its place anu iole to
play anu when they come togethei, the song takes on a life of its own.

:/;#<8
A gieat mix engineei always makes the tieatment anu placement of the vocal a piioiity. 0nce
the instiumental mix is geneially wheie it neeus to be, it's time to make ceitain that the vocal is
iunning the show. A combination of EQ, compiession, tuning (actually fixing shaip oi flat notes),
effects (things like ieveib anu uelay) anu volume fauei automation (moie on this in a few
paiagiaphs) shoulu all seive the ultimate goal of making it sounu like the singei is in chaige. Theie
aie seveial iisks associateu with impiopei vocal placement. If the final mix has too much vocal,
then the instiuments enu up sounuing small anu weak. Bowevei, if the vocal is too soft in the mix, it
loses its ability to communicate the emotion of the song. Eveiy genie has its piefeiieu vocal level.
In geneial, pop music has the vocal moie integiateu into the instiuments wheieas countiy music
(with its emphasis on the lyiic) geneially places the vocal highei in the mix. Theie aie, of couise,
exceptions to eveiy iule but a goou mix engineei will know the genie he oi she is mixing in anu uo
the iight thing foi the song.

!',%,=4,12 . +,-
If you'ie lucky, you've been piesent thioughout the entiie iecoiuing piocess. The mix is the
icing on the cake. This is the time when the instiumental anu vocal peifoimances aie given theii
own space anu final bit of polish. Ny iecommenuation is that you leave the engineei to mix the song
anu ask them to tell you when the mix is ieauy to be listeneu to. This will allow you to iest youi
eais anu come back with a fiesh peispective. At this point, with a fiesh lyiic sheet, listen to the mix
fiom top to bottom seveial times anu take notes. You might even want to take a copy with you anu
listen on seveial uiffeient "ieal woilu" sounu systems anu (Steve }obs help us all) even those
ciummy little iPou heauphones. The mix ceitainly won't sounu as goou on youi seven-yeai-olu cai
steieo speakeis but it shoulu be cleai. In othei woius, you shoulu be able to heai each inuiviuual
Su
instiument pait anu the vocal shoulu be louu enough to heai eveiy woiu. Aftei you've hau a chance
to listen extensively to youi mix on uiffeient systems, give youi wiitten notes to the engineei. Be as
specific as possible. Foi example, insteau of saying you can't heai all the woius in the seconu veise,
you shoulu wiite, "In veise two, the woiu "heait" in the seconu line is too soft." This is the fastest,
most efficient way to fix youi conceins with a mix. The moie methouical you aie the easiei this
piocess will be anu the fastei you'll get the iesults you'ie looking foi.

+,- .4%/9#%,/1
As stuuio technology continues to impiove, it makes youi life easiei when it comes to mixing
youi songwiiting uemos. I iemembei, in the eaily uays of my engineeiing caieei, only the most
expensive stuuios hau automation on theii mixing boaius. This meant that if you neeueu a volume
fauei tuineu up oi uown you hau to uo it by hanu. This was fine as long has you hau a hanu fiee but
if in ceitain paits of a song you neeueu to change moie than a few settings on the mixing boaiu, you
hau to have multiple people with theii hanus on multiple knobs on the boaiu each with a sciipteu
set of moves to uo at the same time in oiuei foi the mix to sounu iight. It was baiely oiganizeu
chaos anu I can iemembei moie than once having to go back to the beginning because, foi example,
I'u foigotten to boost the volume on the electiic guitai in the seconu choius oi lowei the vocal in the
biiuge. These uays, almost all mixes aie automateu by the stuuio computei which pioviues the
engineei an incieuible amount flexibility anu contiol ovei the sounu of a mix. All this to say, an
expeiienceu mix engineei with uecent iecoiuing softwaie anu an up-to-uate computei can uo moie
now than any state of the ait stuuio coulu uo twenty yeais ago. The auvantage heie is also that any
slight tweak oi change you make is as simple as iecalling the olu mix anu fixing the specific issue
insteau of having to uo eveiything fiom sciatch. I biing this up so you'ie awaie that you can go back
to youi engineei anu tweak minoi uetails of a mix in oiuei to get exactly what you want while not
iacking up
tons of auuitional houis of stuuio time.

.<>#?8 @&% # *'#;A +,-
At the enu of the iecoiuing piocess, uon't foiget to ask foi a tiack (also known as
instiumental) mix of youi song. This can be useful foi seveial ieasons. Fiist, if you evei finu an
aitist who likes youi song anu woulu like to tiy theii own vocal on it, you'll have a veision to
pioviue them. Seconu, if you evei ueciue to change youi lyiic, you won't have to go in anu iemix the
S1
song. Thiiu, you might want to iecoiu youi own vocal veision of the song someuay. Finally, some
filmTv pitch oppoitunities aie looking foi instiumental-only veisions of songs. It will take youi
engineei five minutes, tops, to cieate an instiumental mix if you uo it on the spot. If, howevei, you
have to come back at a latei uate you'ie moie likely to be chaigeu foi auuitional stuuio time oi,
woise, youi session will no longei be stoieu on theii haiu uiives. All this to say, always get an
instiumental mix of youi uemo.

+#8%&',12B
Nasteiing a mixeu iecoiuing is a sepaiate skill altogethei. While this isn't an aiticle about
masteiing, I'u iecommenu against masteiing youi songwiiting uemos. Nasteiing is geneially uone
with a collection of songs being put togethei in an album foimat. It ueals with matching the oveiall
levels fiom one song to the next, the spacing between the songs anu matching oveiall sounu of each
tiack. People tenu to assume that masteiing means louuei but a goou mix will be louu anu cleai
enough to stanu on its own without the auueu expense of masteiing.

!/1;<48,/1
The mix is not a step to be taken lightly noi is it to be iusheu. Take youi time anu even
consiuei taking a few uays off between tiacking youi uemo anu mixing it. The moie iesteu anu
objective you aie, the gieatei the likelihoou that you'll enu up with a mix that uoes justice not only
to youi song but the woilu-class instiumental anu vocal peifoimances on it.

S2
!"#$%&' )

*+,-.%%./012.%3"./0 45+' *5/06


So you've wiitten a gieat song, maue a fabulous uemo anu now you'll live happily evei aftei,
iight. Well, kinu of. This is the official "chaptei aftei" you've wiitten anu iecoiueu youi song.
Theie's no uoubt that being a gieat songwiitei anu having beautifully iecoiueu veisions of youi
songs is an aumiiable goal in anu of itself. Bowevei, if you'ie inteiesteu in having youi songs see
the light of uay then youi woik is ieally just beginning. 0ntil the people who can actually uo
something with youi song (i.e. music inuustiy piofessionals) have heaiu it, youi song might as well
not exist. I know this sounus obvious but you'u be amazeu at the numbei of songwiiteis out theie
who have gieat song uemos that veiy few, if any, music business people have evei heaiu.

7"& 8&3.6.5/ 9#:&'6
Pait of unueistanuing the music business involves being awaie of how the people who
ueteimine which songs enu up on majoi label ieleases think. Youi job as a songwiitei (apait fiom
wiiting youi songs) is to maiket anu piomote youi music to these uecision makeis. Nost
songwiiteis believe that it's enough to have a gieat song oi songs but the ieality is that you have to
finu people willing not only to listen to youi songs anu but also to help you get youi songs iecoiueu.
Examples of these uecision makeis aie music publisheis, A&R (aitists anu iepeitoiie)
iepiesentatives at iecoiu labels, piouuceis anu manageis anu, if you'ie lucky, the aitists
themselves. Theie's no one peison who is always the iight choice foi youi song pitch. 0ften moie
than one of these uecision makeis has to be exposeu to youi song befoie they ueciue whethei oi not
it shoulu be iecoiueu. So, what can you uo to make this happen.

;&%<5':./0
Like any business, it's not only !"#$ you know but !"% you know that gets you aheau. What
this means in the music woilu is getting youiself out theie to open mics, wiitei's nights anu any
inuustiy events you can finu. Foi those of you in music cities like New Yoik, Nashville anu Los
Angeles theie aie an almost enuless stieam of oppoitunities. Foi eveiyone else, you might have to
look a little haiuei oi tiavel fiom time to time to one of the cities I've just mentioneu. I think it's a
SS
univeisal tiuth that this kinu of netwoiking isn't always fun, but it's essential especially when you'ie
staiting out. Let's put it this way; all things being equal, if you've met someone fiom a iecoiu label
oi publishing company in a social setting anu assuming you've hau a nice exchange, theie's a much
gieatei likelihoou that they'll not only iemembei you when you call but will also make moie of an
effoit to help you out if they can. The moie you'ie out theie, the moie people you'll meet anu the
gieatei the chance it will pay uiviuenus uown the ioau. I'u also iecommenu iemembeiing a few
basic social skills while you'ie at it. Foi example, uon't immeuiately launch into a ten-minute,
spoken-woiu bio when you meet someone in the music inuustiy. It's a much bettei iuea to finu out
a little something about the peison you'ie talking to by iemembeiing to ask a few questions as well.
Also, on a similai note, if you'ie foitunate enough to get a meeting with one of these uecision
makeis, leaining a little something about the peison in auvance is a gieat iuea. Theie's this thing
calleu uoogle. 0se it.

2'5=&66.5/#>.6-
Biu I mention we'ie talking about the music &'()*+((. This means it's in youi best inteiest to
be piofessional about how you appioach people in the inuustiy. When ieaching out to someone in
the music inuustiy, call oi email fiist. Nake this fiist contact shoit anu to the point. In othei woius,
let them know why you'ie callingemailing (i.e. to scheuule a meeting, to see if they'ie accepting
CBs, to ask whethei you can submit an mpS, etc.). This is not the time to have a long uiscussion. If
you've been iefeiieu by someone they know (see "netwoiking" above) mention this as well. Also,
while it's gieat to be exciteu anu even confiuent about youi mateiial, it iaiely pays to tell someone
that you've got a "gieat" song oi you'ie an "amazing" songwiitei. Let youi music speak foi itself.
0nce you've gotten appioval to uo so, then submit youi song oi biing it to the meeting. It's a bau
iuea to senu out CBs oi mpSs without fiist getting appioval as they usually enu up at the bottom of a
pile oi even woise. The uangei is that the peison who hasn't askeu foi it consiueis youi behavioi
an intiusion. I'm simply saying that the ouus aie if someone isn't expecting youi mateiial it won't
get heaiu.

If you've nevei seen the office of an A&R iep oi music publishei, I'm heie to tell you that theii
uesks, walls anu floois aie ,%-+.+/ with CBs. We'ie talking hunuieus anu hunuieus if not thousanus
of them. Nake suie that youi CB is cleaily labeleu with a few simple elements: Youi name anu
contact infoimation (phone anu email), the name of the song oi songs anu possibly - if it's a song foi
S4
an aitist - the name of the peison you'ie pitching it to. Also, make ceitain that eveiy pait of the
package is labeleu. This means put youi infoimation on the CB anu on the CB sleeve oi jewel case.
Nake suie that if the CB itself gets sepaiateu fiom the case, the infoimation is the CB, too. Also, if
you'ie using a jewel case, make suie theie's infoimation on the spine. Remembei the pait wheie I
saiu theie aie thousanus of CBs in these folks' offices. When youi CB enus up on a shelf with all the
otheis, the spine of the CB will be the only way foi them to iuentify it.

Finally, I can think of no goou ieason why any submission shoulu be moie than thiee songs.
If you'ie pitching a song to an aitist, they'ie not hoping foi a bonus tiack. If you'ie pitching to a
publishei, thiee songs is a goou way to show them you've got moie than one goou song without
oveiuoing it. If they want moie, believe me, they'll ask. Put youiself in the position of the inuustiy
peison. If they've got a uesk full of CBs to listen to anu have to choose between a CB with two songs
on it oi one with nineteen songs, which one uo you think they'll pick.

2&'6.6%&/3&?2&'6.6%&/3&
I wiote the above heauing twice foi a ieason. Let's say you'ie foitunate enough to ieach
someone by eithei phone oi email anu they've agieeu to let you mail in a CB oi email them an mpS.
Beie's what you shoulu expect.nothing. In othei woius, it's extiemely iaie that you'll heai
anything back quickly aftei you submit it. (See "thousanus of CBs" above.). As a mattei of fact, you
shoulu put in youi calenuai to follow up two oi thiee weeks aftei you've submitteu something. This
follow up shoulu be even shoitei than youi initial contact. Email is piobably best foi this. A simple
email saying you wanteu to make suie they'u ieceiveu youi submission is enough. Also, uon't be
suipiiseu if the iesponse you get back (if you'ie lucky enough to get one) says they haven't gotten it
anu woulu you minu iesenuing it. (See "peisistence.peisistence" in the above heauing.) Resenuing
mateiial is something that you shoulu expect to uo. Following up eveiy two to thiee weeks (unless
you'ie askeu not to) is peifectly acceptable if you'ie polite anu to the point. I'm not a cynic anu I
uon't believe that anyone has an agenua to ignoie submitteu mateiial. I'm a iealist anu the sheei
numbei of submissions makes it almost impossible foi anyone to stay on top of things. Anything
you can uo to help ieminu someone you'u like them to listen to youi song is in youi best inteiest
anu, in time, will geneially woik.


SS
!5+'%&6@
I think it's impoitant to iealize that no one in the inuustiy owes you anything. This may
sounu haish but it's a vital point. You may veiy well have gieat songs anu it woulu be in the best
inteiest of the inuustiy piofessional you'ie puisuing to listen to them, but theie aie a lot of songs
out theie anu only a limiteu numbei of oppoitunities foi them. All this to say, if youi song isn't
listeneu to iight away oi even if it's lost oi ignoieu, /%*0$ $#2+ )$ 3+.(%*#445. I'm a songwiitei myself
so I know exactly how impoitant youi songs aie to you. It's not easy to submit them foi juugment
anu toughei still to wait aiounu hoping someone will actually listen. Bowevei, you'll only uo
youiself a uisseivice by being impatient oi iuue with someone anu heaven help you if you get a
ieputation in the inuustiy foi being uifficult oi unpleasant.

2#%.&/3&
uiven that theie aie so many aitists, songwiiteis anu songs out theie vying foi a limiteu
numbei of spots, it all comes uown to patience. Patience with youiself as you impiove youi musical
skills anu patience with the inuustiy people you'ie soliciting as they make theii way thiough all of
the mateiial in line aheau of youis. Ny iecommenuation is to have as many iions in the fiie as you
possibly can at all times so that you'ie not waiting foi any one thing to happen oi *%$ $% "#33+* as is
so often the case. The moie people you get to know, the moie oppoitunities you exploie anu the
moie submissions you make, the less likely you aie to get uiscouiageu anu the moie likely you aie
to have success.

Theie's also a uiffeient kinu of patience that's incieuibly valuable. This is the patience to
unueistanu that since you'ie planning on being a songwiitei foi many yeais to come, you can (anu
shoulu!) take yeais to uevelop anu cultivate ielationships. }ust because someone isn't in a poweiful
position in the music inuustiy cuiiently uoesn't mean that they won't be in the futuie. 0ften it's the
people you meet when you'ie both getting staiteu in the music woilu that enu up being youi best
contacts.

Ny favoiite example of this is the sweet little ieceptionist foi a fiienu of mine at one of the
peifoiming iights oiganizations who now iuns the film anu Tv uepaitment foi a majoi music
publishei. These uays she's no longei making photocopies. Insteau, because we have a histoiy
togethei, she's setting me up to wiite with platinum-selling aitists foi theii piojects.
"#
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