S.T.E.P.S!
Simple Techniques Equipping Personal Success!
Getting the Cut! (S.T.E.P 2)
Written by: Sheree’ Spoltore’
This free article is part our S.T.E.P.S series.
Creating a successful career in the music industry is a process, not an overnight event. GSC is committed to helping you make progress in your process of creating and developing a successful music industry career where YOU CAN earn a living doing what you love! You don’t have to be the most talented or the best! You just have to be consistent, disciplined and apply to your gifts and talents the skills that you give to your employers every day to create income for them!
S.T.E.P.S articles are FREE and show you how at GSC we provide information, direction and motivation that is real and will help you get started no matter where you live in the world. At GSC we are all about keeping it SIMPLE, DOABLE and UNDERSTANDABLE.
S.T.E.P 2 is all about teaching you how to connect your song to an artist who would be willing to record or sing your song. This is called getting your song CUT.
You used S.T.E.P 1. You found a great co-writer or two or three great co-writers. You’ve written some great songs and you can’t wait to get them heard. NOW WHAT? Let me help you make the connection between the song and finding an artist to sing and record your song!
Many times when talking with a write,r who is just getting started in the music business, the writer is hoping and expecting to be able to get their song recorded by whoever is the latest, greatest and hottest artist on the charts.
At GSC we truly want to help you build a real career with real information and not with false hope and unreal expectations. The reality is that rarely if ever does a new, up and coming writer get their songs heard or cut by the latest, greatest and hottest artist on the chart. Usually by the time an artist is at that level they have already created their circle of people and industry relationship that they are comfortable working with and trust to bring them great songs like publishers and songwriters with a long track record of hits. Artists simply do not have the time to take a chance on the unknown songwriter. Yes, miracles do happen. Yes, the competition is great. However, YOU CAN plan and work towards success! As you develop in your songwriting crafting skills and develop industry relationships through GSC you will get the opportunity for great artists to hear your songs.
While you are growing and developing , however, YOU CAN begin learning how to pitch your songs to local artists and building an indy artist cut resume’. Can you imagine how you will feel when you are ready to sit down with a publisher regarding your music and you tell him that you have over 100 indy artists singing your songs all over the world! This indy cut resume’will let that publisher know that YOU understand his job and what he does every day! Trust me, this will get a publishers attention and he will be impressed by your efforts!
Remember those “circles” and relationships I mentioned to you earlier?? What if you were developing those relationships now with the NEXT up and coming Carrie Underwood, or Phillip Phillips, or Christina Agularia in YOUR LOCAL AREA? I am confident that songwriters in the home towns of all of the artists listed above wishes they had been co-writing with these amazing talents BEFORE they were a star so they could be in that circle!
So how do you find and connect with these indy artists to sing your songs? Here is STEP 2!
The next S.T.E.P
Sow your songs like seeds! You will reap a harvest! Extend your net in all areas, take advantage of local resources! When you connect with an up and coming artist, if they are a songwriter, you should also be co-writing with them in addition to pitching your songs to them. Grow together with these up and coming artists. Nashville, hit songwriter Kelly Lovelace connected with country music superstar Brad Paisley when they were both in college together. No one knew them! But they worked together for YEARS creating the success that they both now enjoy. Kelly currently has had 11 #1 hit songs and Brad Paisley is a country music superstar.
GSC FUN FACT: At GSC we want you creating income with your music! Would you like a $10,000 raise this year? Did you know that a licensing fee for someone to sing your song is around $90.00? ( Please go to Harryfox.com for licensing information.) Did you know that if you got 10 indy artist cuts a month you would increase your income by $10,800? Ten thousand dollars would probably pay for recording some of those songs you’ve written! YOU CAN reach this goal! There are 10 artists out there singing cover tunes who need to be singing YOUR songs!
Now let’s find where these artists are…..
Local Colleges: Who is the next American Idol, Nashville Star, X Factor, Americas Got Talent Star, The next Voice Star at your local colleges? They need to be singing YOUR songs! Post a notice on the college community boards, go speak to a class of the students, attend student music events at the college, the showcases and CONNECT with them. Have your business cards ready!
- Local High Schools: Talent is developed at younger and younger ages these days due to this generation having music portable and in their ears nearly 24 hours a day. The talent of these young artists is amazing! They need to be singing YOUR songs! Attend the high school talent shows and connect with the parents and the student after the show. Go talk with the band and choir directors and see how they might can help you make the connection with great up and coming vocalists.
- Local Vocal Coaches/Guitar Teachers – Local vocal coaches and guitar teachers are a great resource for identifying great up and coming talent! Their students need to be singing YOUR songs! Maybe they would consider using some of your songs in one of their up and coming school productions!
- Local Radio Stations: check with your local radio DJ and Programming Directors. The local radio personalities are usually judging talent contests in regional areas and can tell you who they think is the next Kenny Chesney or Jennifer Lopez. If you ask 6 different radio stations who they feel is the next up and coming male artist, female artist or duo or band in your local regional area, you will get 6 different answers. Use the internet to connect to those up and coming artists and pitch them YOUR songs!
- Local Talent Contests: Are you attending them? Are you passing out your songwriting card? Who is your favorite at the contest? They need YOUR songs!
- National Contest Auditions: American Idol, Colgate Country Showdown, Nashville Star, etc they all POST their audition schedules on line of where their auditions are going to be taking place. 6 to 8 weeks prior to auditions, send your songs into that community for up and coming artists to sing via Craigslist or the local music community publication. Talk to people AFTER they leave their audition. Most of them won’t make it and the fact that a songwriter is interested in them and wants them to sing their songs is encouraging.
- Local Clubs: talk with the club owners regarding the local and regional talent they are booking. Most of these bands and artists are singing cover tunes. Cover tunes do not get you a record deal in any genre! Ask the club owner, in their opinion who is the next “big thing. ” They need YOUR songs! ( you also need to be co-writing with these artists if they are writing.)
- Major Music Markets: Utilize the internet and internet sites such as reverb nation to identify up and coming talent in your genre of music. Example: if I were writing in the country market, I would utilize reverb nation to identify the top female, male, due and bands in the states of Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Alabaman, Mississippi, Tennessee. ReverbNation actually ranks these artists with “stars.” Connect with these artists and pitch them your songs!
- Local Recording Studios: Up and coming talent is in your local recording studio’s getting started with a career every day. These are vocalist who are recording songs for their families, friends, for projects to sell at their shows. Remember this is how ELVIS was discovered, Johnny Cash etc. Go and speak with the studio owner and the session engineer. Who is waiting in YOUR AREA to be discovered by you and YOUR songs?! J
I share YOUR passion for reaching people and making a difference! I want to make a difference for YOU. When people in your local area, surrounding towns and regional demographics think of MUSIC, I want them to think of YOU! Email me at info@globalsongwriters.com . I would love to hear how these S.T.E.P.S are working for you! YOU CAN do this!
