Is This Song Good Enough For A Publisher?

[nutunes]

Hi AllI'm one half of a song writing duo based in the UK. We have (in our opinion) a few good pop tunes, one of which can be found below. If anyone can spare 5 minutes to have a listen & give a little feeback, that would be really appreciated. There are 2 versions of Chasing Love Songs, one with full vocals & the other is just the music & backing vox.Basically I suppose I'm asking, Are the songs that we are writing strong enough to get publishers interested ?We are not performers - just song writers & would like to see our songs recorded by a major artist.Many thanks for listeningKind regardsPhilChasing Love Songs (full vocal)http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplaye ... 65156&q=hi Chasing Love Songs (just backing vocals)http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplaye ... 65252&q=hi

[serge]

Hi Phil !I can't speak for publishers indeed but the song is good.Cute melody line. Nice bridge. Chorus is excellent. The hook line is strong and catchy.Imho though all components are written perfectly you'll need to think of the song structure and maybe change it . Too much verses in the begining and after the bridge ... it makes a song listening a little dull.But again the music material itself is really good.Listening to it I can imagine Kylie Minogue performing it.RegardsSerge / Private Beat

[matto]

Phil,it's a really good song, great singer, overall a nice arrangement and production.IMHO the lyric is not unique enough and well-crafted enough to impress the big publishers. I like the "don't go chasing love songs" idea, but none of the rest of the lyric lives up to that line's promise. The verse melody is a bit too repetitive (or there are too many verses) and the chorus is good but ultimately a bit of a let-down. It's not the big musical pay-off you'd expect (or I would I, guess I should say ).The next thing you should ask yourself is who would record a song like this...it has an classic R&B vibe to it...perhaps it would work as neo soul...but most of the neo soul artists write their own material. Remember, whether a publisher will be interested in your song depends to a significant degree on whether they think there's a market for it.So I would say, I don't think a large publisher would be interested in signing this song to pitch to major artists.However, the song might work as a pitch to tv or film publishers, particularly since the recording/production/performance is of a high quality. This is where a song like this would stand a pretty good chance at making you some money...of course it won't be the kind of money you'd make from a hit record.matto

[nutunes]

Thanks for the comments guysWe know our lyrics are not the strongest around as we tend to concentrate on the melody first then kind of worry about the words later. I suppose (right or wrong) we have a "disposeable" approach to our method. i.e. the songs are in no way meant to be lyrically brilliant but just simple enough for anyone to follow.A new song came out of the studio last week. This one is completely different, A guitar based rock / pop song with attitude, maybe the lyrics still need work but the melody seems to flow...http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplaye ... 0&q=hiOnce againMany thanksPhil

[Casey H]

Hey I like this a lot! Very well performed and produced, great female attitude vocal. I think it would be a really good film/TV pitch. I don't really believe in pitching songs to publishers (artist placement, that is) for rock/pop much anyway. Most artists in this genre record their own.Very cool stuff Casey

[nutunes]

A TV/Film pitch is something we've never considered, can anyone give some sound figures on the kind of $ to be made via this route?Also, if a song is "branded" to a TV/Film is there less or more chance of an artist wanting to perfom/record it ?Thanks in advancePhil

[nomiyah]

Quote: Also, if a song is "branded" to a TV/Film is there less or more chance of an artist wanting to perfom/record it ?I'm not speaking from experience, but I did ask this question at my One-On-One Session at the ASCAP Convention in April. My meeting was with Pamela Oland Phillips (www.pamoland.com).I asked her if I got a film/tv deal for a song, would it hurt it's chance to be recorded by an artist. Her advice was that if I got a deal for a song to take it, that nobody knows what the life of a song will be.Nomi

[Casey H]

Quote:A TV/Film pitch is something we've never considered, can anyone give some sound figures on the kind of $ to be made via this route?Also, if a song is "branded" to a TV/Film is there less or more chance of an artist wanting to perform/record it ?Thanks in advancePhilPhilRegarding the money, a lot has been written about this on this message board. although it may be geared a bit to how things work in the US. I suggest you plow through this thread:http://taxi.proboards27.com/index.cgi?b ... page=1Look especially for posts by matto who spent a lot of time addressing the subject.As far as the "branded" thing, it's hard to predict. Many film/TV placements are non-exclusive and you keep your publishing. That means you still are free to pitch the song elsewhere. Also, many placements are very subtle background uses and most likely would not deter an artist from recording the song. If you were lucky enough to write the theme song for a major commercial or TV show, well of course that would be different (But would you care? LOL )As a rock pure-songwriter, I came to the realization that the only real market was film and TV. Rarely does a new act record a song from an outside writer, let alone an unknown one. I think in pop in happens more, but your songs have to be so outstanding AND you have to perform the miracle of getting the right person to listen.A lot of us started out with the dream of having artists sing our songs. We can keep the dream but while we are dreaming go after some film/TV placements. In my own humble opinion, you have to do this because you love it. Only a handful of us will be able to make a living in music or even make some decent money. If the money comes, all the better!! I'm not being negative, I'm just steering people (especially non-performer/pure-songwriters) to where I think the best opportunities are. Warm regards, Casey

[matto]

Quote:[As a rock pure-songwriter, I came to the realization that the only real market was film and TV. Rarely does a new act record a song from an outside writer, let alone an unknown one. I think in pop in happens more, but your songs have to be so outstanding AND you have to perform the miracle of getting the right person to listen.A lot of us started out with the dream of having artists sing our songs. We can keep the dream but while we are dreaming go after some film/TV placements. Just to add to what Casey said, for an artist to consider recording an unknown writer's song, that song better be spectacular, and particularly the lyric has to be amazing and unique. You wouldn't necessarily know this from listening to the radio , but for unknown writers the bar is set very very high.I think if you are stronger musically than lyrically and, on top of that, can produce music to a professional level in your own (home) studio, you should definitely consider the film/tv market.I make my living writing/producing music now because I was smart enough to concentrate on my biggest strengths (and to join Taxi ). I haven't given up on having a hit song on the radio yet, but the film/tv market has proven to be an "easier" way to achieve the goal of making a living, and my credits from that field give me more credibility as a songwriter in general.matto

[nomiyah]

Well said, Matt