About Stephen Duncan
Creative Manager for Centricity Music Publishing
Stephen Duncan was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, IA and moved to Nashville, TN to attend Belmont University. His college accolades include being the first songwriting major to graduate from Belmont and the first recipient of the ASCAP music scholarship.
His first Christian music industry position was as Creative Director for Daywind Publishing, where he signed hit songwriter, Sam Tinnesz, and garnered cuts from Natalie Grant, Newsboys, Mandisa, Hawk Nelson, Nate Sallie, Hyland and others. After Daywind he then accepted a position as the Creative Manager for Centricity Music Publishing. He manages such writers and artists such as Seth Mosley, Aaron Shust, Jason Gray, Jonny Diaz, and Unspoken just to name a few. Duncan has also toured with such artists as legendary Country Music Hall of Fame artist, Don Williams, and Christian singer/songwriters, Matthew West and Jonny Diaz. A newlywed, Stephen and his wife, Mary Elise, recently moved to Franklin, TN.
$30 per song GSC member
$50 per song non-member
NEW Listen Only Option Available for Members for Only $20
About the Publisher Online Pitch Event
Have you ever thought: “Wow I think I have a really good song. If only I could get a legitimate publisher to listen?”
Through GSC’s affordable Publisher Online Pitch service you can have your song or songs heard by a reputable publisher from wherever in the world you live and without the expensive cost of travel.
One of the most important elements of this service is that you will be connecting with a publisher, creating a relationship with this publisher and learning the pitching process professional songwriters utilize every day.
Here are the details!
- This event is open to members and non-members.
- Member pricing is $30.00 per song and non-members $50.00. (members get priority booking)
- This event is limited to 30 participants or 30 songs.
- Once you purchase the P.O.P event you will receive a confirmation that will contain your step by step instructions for logging into the webcast.
- You will need to email your song in mp3 format along with your photo (jpg format only) and lyric (Microsoft Word format only) to [email protected] by 11am the day before the event. (Please list your name and where you are from on the top of your lyric. GSC wants the publisher to connect with you.)
- Guitar vocals and keyboard vocals are acceptable. You do not have to have a full demo for this event.
- The publisher will only listen to the first verse and the chorus of your song.
- The publisher may or may not comment regarding your song. This event is not intended as a publisher evaluation service.
- This is a real publisher pitch opportunity. The publisher will either PASS on your song OR he may choose to keep your song for further consideration.
- You are encouraged to stay involved in the webinar while all songs are listened to and here is why.
- Out of respect for the other participants.
- Should the publisher choose to comment, you may learn from what he has to say.
- If a publisher takes a song, you will want to connect with that songwriter and possibly co-write with that writer.
At GSC we always want you to know the real journey of a song from the pen to the publisher. With that in mind we want you to be aware of these facts.
1. Paying to Pitch a Song: GSC wants you to know that professional songwriters do not pay to have their songs heard by a publisher. Professional songwriters have worked years at developing their songwriting craft and earning the respect of the publishing community which earns them the opportunity to have their songs heard.
2. The Demo: GSC wants you to know…If you had a publishing deal and was a staff writer for the featured publisher, this publisher would hear your songs every day in their most simple form of a guitar vocal or keyboard vocal. If you were pitching your songs to a producer, artist, manager etc then you will need fully produced and well produced demo’s for these types of pitches.
3. The Listening Process: GSC wants you to know…Often, when a publisher is listening for songs for a project or artist, they can usually tell if it is a song they would be interested in for that project in less than 30 seconds. Through the P.O.P event the publisher will be listening through the first verse and chorus in its entirety. However, in the future should you pitch a song to a publisher in their office and they turn your song off after only the first half of the first verse, we want you to know that is a normal part of the process.
4. Pitch Ready Songs: The reality is that some of your songs may not be ready for pitching to a publisher. However, there is much to be learned through the pitching process.
5. The Follow Up: If the publisher should take your song for consideration, we will be excited with you and it does happen! Below is the GSC recommended follow up process. Correct follow up is essential for success.
a. If your song is taken by the publisher you will be provided with the publishers contact email address for follow up.
b. If you do not hear from the publisher within 5 to 7 business days of them taking your song. We recommend you email the publisher, thank them for participating in the GSC POP program, thank them for their interest in your song and list the TITLE of the song as a reminder and ask if they should need anything further.
c. If you do not hear from the publisher within three weeks, make a phone call to the publisher office. You will most likely be leaving a message. If so, just leave your name, contact number and that you are following up on your song and list the title.
d. If the publisher does not return your call, do not call again. Simply send a physical thank you card, thanking them for their interest, recognizing that they are a busy industry professional and that you hope to have the opportunity to play them more songs in the future.
At GSC we know it would be disappointing to have your song taken by a publisher and then not hear from them. Unfortunately, this process is part of the song pitching process. Thoughtful and professional follow up is essential to success and is appreciated by busy, overworked publishers. They won’t forget your professionalism. Sometimes you may not hear from the publisher who took your song for months and then out of the blue, when they are ready and working on the project, you get the call. Many times I have kept a members song for over a year and then gave them a call for the just right opportunity. Songs will often be pitched over and over again for years before they land on that just right project.
