Publishing deal...want one? how?

Ok, I'll play... until such time someone who knows a bit more about all this comes along (JK?)

Not sure if you're looking for a deal in Oz, or elsewhere? What do you want from one?

You can join some online services that supposedly will push your music towards the right people for a moderate fee. Hmmm.

In the UK there is the Music Publishers Association - they have a list of companies that will accept unsolicited material, and their site may answer some of your questions.

Haven't tried anything myself yet, as demo's need to be top notch (despite what people may say) and mine aren't there yet, but yours are so no probs there.  

Music Publisher Association 

All the best mate.

You already have songs ... offer them to distributors don't think Australia wide think world wide.
The composer don't have to be the performer.

Think about to change the collecting society.
I think the US system is very unfair to composers.

The question is if you get air plays - in the end of the day.
Everything else wont give you a single cent.

Thanks Bob

cheers

Wiz

An interesting story regarding publishing that happened to me sometime back in the '90s. As an electrician, I got a call from my boss for a power outage late on a Friday afternoon. I decided to go as I had no other plans, was recently divorced and had no other life, LOL. I wasn't given a name, only an address. I arrived at the Mansion in Greenwich, CT about five O'clock in the afternoon and was escorted by staff to the basement where the electrical panels were located. Not finding anything obvious, I requested to be shown where the problem was occurring. They led me through a finished part of the basement where I was able to see many gold records hung on the wall in the billiard room. Damn, whose house am I in???
Brought upstairs into a media closet where all the audio equipment for the house was located and where the problem existed. The house was a flurry of activity as preparations for a large party were underway. The owner came over and thanked me for coming out so late on a Friday afternoon and told me to let him know if I needed anything. I did not recognize him. I spent about a half hour doing my thing, found and repaired the issue and asked to see the owner so I could let him know things were AOK. A member of the staff brought me into another part of the house and announced: " Mr. Jameson, the electrician is finished and wants to inform you of the issue". Mr. Jameson ( turned out it was Bob Jameson sp?? president of RCA records, and I'm in his house! Talk about a foot in the door! ) came over, shook my hand, handed me his card and went on and on about " Thank you, you saved the day, how can a president of a record company have a party without any music? What can I do for you? Anything you need? ( joking of course ) a new car?, a girlfriend, dinner, what do you need? wink, wink".
OK, is this happening? Hmmm, how to respond? Be polite, don't act star-struck....Keep it together.
"Well Sir, Mr. Jameson, so nice to meet you. It was my pleasure helping you today. If you wouldn't mind, I'd be honored if you might find the time to listen to some of my songs at some point......"
"Really?" he replied, "you're a musician, a writer?" At this point he was all smiles. Then he asked " WHO'S YOU'RE PUBLISHER? "
My world went dark.
"WTF is a publisher?" I said to myself. What do I say??? "Um, I don't have one at the moment" Immediately Mr. Jameson's demeanor changed. "Look, I have to get back to my party. Thanks for coming by" and he left the room. Did I really just hear that door slam? Did I really just blow it big time??
Driving home, I passed over a bridge on I95 and, looking over the edge, the thought crossed my mind, if only for a second, that I should pull over and jump off.
I still have his card somewhere, as a reminder.

Think of it this way, if I'm a recording artist, why should I record your song when I could record my own?

Usually the artist and their manager are looking for a very specific kind of song that will help with a specific opportunity they see.

The artist's manager is who pitches songs to the artist. Obviously the artist's friends and band members also get a shot.

People who the manager trusts to not waste their time are who get called in to pitch songs. In most cases these are music publishers and pluggers who have previously impressed the manager.

Publishers are looking for songwriters who can quickly write great songs to order. This often as not means teams of songwriters so location counts big-time.

A publisher's other writers and PRO representatives are typically who turn publishers on to new writers. They'll also talk to anybody having a hit record credit but are really looking for breadth and depth because they are always looking for a certain very specific kind of song at any given moment.

This is absolutely the crux of the issue right now...and the biggest problem. When everyone was making money in the industry, there was a somewhat noble understanding that "best song wins." Hey - it was best for everyone. But now that mechanical royalties are at 30 year lows, there is a trend to keep the revenue in-house. Quality/Song-be-damned. Now - that's not to say that some artists aren't talented writers...there certainly are some great ones. But the fall of the record sale along with the "Taylor Swift Effect" (as I call it) has all but killed the chances for outside songs to get cut. Taylor Swift - regardless of people's opinions - is a talented songwriter. Her penchant for melody is pretty incredible. Now, if you are an artist, you're thinking, "well hell, look at Taylor Swift, if she can do it so can I..." And in the panicked money grabbing state of the music economy, the publishers and labels want that too. It's another revenue stream. Sign an artist to your publishing company, your label and then take half or more of their merchandising on the road - it's much less of a risk to recoup if it fails. Why would Sony/Universal/WB/EMI/etc give away publishing revenue when the song doesn't matter?

Maybe this is really just the way it is in Country these days...but turn on the radio...look at the charts. I would say that at any one time the top 20 songs are 90% artist written. That's not to say some of them aren't good - like I said, some artists are also talented writers...but some aren't. With the advent of our current media culture - and popular culture, the SONG is not as important. In fact, I would venture to guess it's not in the top two. And that's SAD. Maybe that's changing with artists like Chris Stapleton and...well, ok, Chris Stapleton. While I love some of the guys like Radner Foster, Jason Isbell, the list goes on...I wonder how many albums the Americana album of the Year sold last year? 150k? Maaaaybe? And the question is, Why? Why are people over 35 not buying albums? Why is there not a stronger adult contemporary market? Why do people that like more mature music not buying music? Do they not know how to get it? Are they not being served? Is the new music still not achieving a quality level that's more interesting than the Eagles, Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, 80's music etc? There has to a market for it, right? Look at Adele. John Legend, etc.

I read an article several years ago that Nashville has lost 80% of its published songwriters. And that was several years ago. Publishers are more likely to sign someone that has access to an artist than someone that has songwriting ability (e.g. The artist's college roommate or drinking buddy) And can you blame them? If you're Universal and you sign Luke Bryan's buddy, they might write a song together that Luke is more likely to put on his album than not...that could be worth half a million dollars...it goes to number one and they get a plaque on the wall celebrating "Mud Pit Love." Awesome.

So - do you want a publishing deal? Hmmm. The answer is "it depends." Are you wanting them to get your songs cut by major artists? If not, why would you give your publishing away? If you do want that, you have to make sure they are doing their job. It's great to get paid an advance. It sucks to turn around three years later and realize you don't own a single song you've written for the last three years. I've been lucky to have co-pub in the last few deals I've had, but all my biggest songs came when I had given away 100% of my publishing. And that is just the way it is with major publishers here in Nashville. You will not participate in ownership if you don't have a track record coming in. Take it or leave it. They look at it like they are taking the risk paying you an advance and if nothing gets cut they're out of that money. But if you score big, they take the money in (if it's on the radio you make lots in performance royalties too of course). But all of that is a complicated mess that I will be glad to get into again if anyone is interested.

My suggestion to you would be this: make relationships with publishers. Ask if you can bring/send them songs occasionally. Maybe offer the possibility of a single song agreement. Standard practice there is you split the publishing (mechanical) royalties IF they get it cut...and they don't pay you anything. I think that's a fair trade and will have their interest in you. But you have to have a champion at these places. Someone who gives a damn for whatever reason - they like your songs, they love your long blonde locks (wiz), you give them cocaine - whatever. At the end of the day this business is ALL about relationships.

I'm sure some would say that's a cynical view, but I feel like that's the unvarnished truth.

Thank you everyone for your replies....

Its clear that I am extremely naive in this area, in fact I am a complete dumbass.... 8).. thanks for not treating me like one....

What do I want? great question.

Honestly.....

I would like to get some of the music I make here, being used in TV and film.

I really don't want to move .... I have no illusions about becoming a "star".

My life is great the way it is now.... It would be nice if some of the songs I make here.. ended up being used in film and or TV.

So I guess a publishing deal is NOT what I want.

Is a service like "TAXI' something that would be suitable....? Has anyone here done the Taxi thing?

I was a member of Sonic Bids for a while years ago, it was cool in that the Engineer Producer Jack Douglas, had some really lovely things to say about songs I submitted to him.. but I never got anywhere....

I was considering joining Taxi for a year and seeing how it goes....

thanks again for the advice

Cheers

Wiz

Pump Audio       do the film / tv thing ...

Madison Avenue took over local radio in the '80s. It's all been downhill since then.

Wiz, what did you decide to do with this?
You guys that are writers - do you self-publish or do you have a publisher?
How do you set up a self-publishing situation?
Again, in this day & age - is it necessary? Worth it? Simply to protect your copyright or to shop your songs?
Specific publishers for specific genres?