Nashville Songs "On Hold"

[evanmcgill]

Could someone please explain to me how the "on hold" thing works in Nashville and how it's different from other genres? Much appreciated!

[dotted8]

Kevin, when a song is pitched for a particular artist and they (A&R at the label, producer, etc) are interested in possibly using the song on an upcoming project, they will tell the songs publisher who is pitching the song that they would like to put the song on hold. The label is asking the publisher not to pitch that song to anyone else (it's basically an unwritten rule and generally accepted practice) until they get back with the publisher after running the song by everyone who needs to be in the decision process regarding the songs that the artist will cut. As Jason Blume states in his book (see info below), there's a big difference between someone wanting to hold onto a song for a further listen and actually putting it on hold for an artist.

Being on hold does not mean that the artist will be cutting it, just that they are interested in possibly cutting it. If they cut it great! If they decide against it, they will release it from hold. There is no specific time period for a hold; it could be upwards of a year but usually less. Some people may make reference to a hard hold or a soft hold; basically asking if the label feels pretty confident that the song will get cut (hard) or if they just want to run it by the artist, manager, producer for consideration to see if they like it and can sing it (soft.)

A good book you may want to consider getting is "The Business of Songwriting" by Jason Blume published by Billboard Books. Jason is a Taxi supporter and is usually at the Road Rally's putting on classes.

I hope this answers your question and if this is already info you knew, I apologize...

[evanmcgill]

Is there some sort of contract put into place at this point? Also (this may be a dumb question), what if you don't have a publisher at this point?

[dotted8]

There usually are not any contracts with a hold. As for a publisher, you can act as your own publisher. If you're getting a request for a hold without a publisher in the mix now, you're doing great because it's usually very difficult to do on your own, especially as an outsider (and that isn't meant in a derogatory way.)

I see you are an ascap member; why don't you register as a publisher with them too, it doesn't cost anything. I also noticed that you are located in Atlanta. You might want to consider joining the Nashville Songwriter's Assoc. Intl (NSAI) being that you are only a four hour drive from Nashville. That is a great organization to learn a lot about songwriting, the business of songwriting and how things kind of operate in N-ville.

[evanmcgill]

Thanks for your wealth of knowledge. I'm fairly new to the game. Just trying to learn as much as possible. I will for sure get that book, and register for ASCAP as a publisher and NSAI. These are things I've been putting off

Thanks again!

[dotted8]

Yeah, the business side of it is another animal unto itself... Good luck, Evan!