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Alright fellow Taxi members, I need you guys to help me to make a decision. About 2 months ago I had a song forwarded to Warner/Chappell publishing for a listing in which it was stated that the producer of this project (ala the New Michael Bolton) would be screening the tracks, himself. Well, my dilemma is that although I'm really attracted to the idea of having one of my songs placed with a major publisher, I've gotten a offer from a regional artist to record the song. Should I try and wait a little longer in hopes of the bigger prize or go with the sure thing?

Someone else will chime in if I'm wrong but I don't see where it hurts allowing the regional artist to cut the track. If you get the call from the Taxi forward great, you've got two cuts with your song.

First major congrats on the forward to W!! Awesome!! Same for the regional artist... Must be a great song! My vote would be take the sure thing. As great as it was to get that forward, the odds of a major cut are still small when all is said and done. A lot of things have to line up like phases of the moon for it all to come together. Not being negative, just the realities of the biz... The producer could have loved it, the artist not so... the artist could like it but it doesn't make the final list for the CD, it could be recorded and not included, and so on...I disagree slightly with Bill in that if the regional artist cuts it, there could be some risk to the possible W deal. Sometimes an artist wants to be the first or only one to come out with a song and could decide not to cut it if someone else has. But I'd still say take the bird in the hand. And once again, congrats! Good luck! Casey

Just a quick FYI, sirgary.It's a REALLY BAD idea to post company names on these boards. Like...it's only one step away from being one of the rules. Please edit your post.Then, I'd say I'm not the one with enough experience to give you a square answer. But me personally...I'd stall for time. It would KILL me if I were to find out later that some guy who sold 1,214 copies of your song has prevented you from getting a cut on Kenny Chesney's next platinum album.But then, what do I know????Ted

I think (I could be wrong) but when the company is as major as this one, it's not really a problem to mention the name. It still is best not to as Ted said...

Jun 29, 2008, 4:35pm, tedsingingfox wrote:It's a REALLY BAD idea to post company names on these boards. Like...it's only one step away from being one of the rules. True but it's kind of a rule that's on a sliding scale depending on the potential problems a posting might make. Mainly it's for small music libraries, small publishers, etc, places where 100 phone calls from 'wanna be' lurkers could really cause problems for them, like if they're a small company with just a handful of employees. 100 more calls from 'wanna be'' lurkers at Warner Chapell wouldn't even register as a blip on their radar since they probably get thousands of phone calls every day. Like my "friend" that kept bugging me about placing his music in a film I'm writing music for... a big problem for me at the time but let him phone up Warner Chappell and see how far he gets. I don't know the answer to the original question but congrats on an awesome achievement.

Jun 29, 2008, 3:52pm, sirgary wrote:Alright fellow Taxi members, I need you guys to help me to make a decision. About 2 months ago I had a song forwarded to Warner/Chappell publishing for a listing in which it was stated that the producer of this project (ala the New Michael Bolton) would be screening the tracks, himself. Well, my dilemma is that although I'm really attracted to the idea of having one of my songs placed with a major publisher, I've gotten a offer from a regional artist to record the song. Should I try and wait a little longer in hopes of the bigger prize or go with the sure thing?Personally, I'd go for the sure thing. Get the cut, get the credit. If the major calls ya, you say, 'hey, wow, thanks so much for your interest. I've placed that song already... but I have another one that's very similar"

Thank you to all that replied, and I apologize for the name dropping, I'm new to the forums so I wasn't aware that this was a no-no.

Unless the deal with either the regional artist and/or the major publisher is asking for exclusive rights to cover the song, isn't it common place for multiple artists to record the same song, especially if they're in different genres?I'd find out about what each party is asking for in terms of usage rights before deciding, but my gut instinct would be to go with the sure thing.Steve

Well, I've never heard of a major artist turning down a great/potential hit song because it was recorded by a local artist but I guess it's a possibility. There are lots of instances of an artist having a big hit with a song that was previously recorded by an unknown. The thing that would probably turn the major artist off is if the song has had a lot of previous exposure. The odds of that happening with a local/regional artist are not that great. I too would go with the sure thing.