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A couple of listings for country songs (for artists to re-cut) have this line:
"Demo quality needs to be competitive with songs being pitched on Music Row."

I assume that means the recordings and performances should be high quality - pro-sounding vocals, at least, but does that mean:
1) piano/vocal or guitar/vocal would suffice?
2) Bass, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar. lead vocal, BG vocal would work
3) Full band with pedal steel, mandolin, etc...
4) Should I concern myself with the exact parts of the instruments - for instance - the strumming/picking pattern for guitars, instrumental melodies or countermelodies, solos, etc.

FYI, I have a pretty straightforward ballad - was thinking of going with #2, but was wondering if #1 might be enough. Or maybe a full production is necessary to get attention.

Thanks
Jack

It would mean that the sound quality and the performances MUST be top-notch.

Though, "Demo quality needs to be competitive with songs being pitched on Music Row." sorta leads one to the fully produced demo... Any of those approaches should work if the songwriting is top-bar and the performances are top-bar.

Regards
Russell Landwehr

Russell Landwehr wrote:It would mean that the sound quality and the performances MUST be top-notch.
Though, "Demo quality needs to be competitive with songs being pitched on Music Row." sorta leads one to the fully produced demo... Any of those approaches should work if the songwriting is top-bar and the performances are top-bar.
Regards
Russell Landwehr

(note: see "The Bar's Too High" post in the Lyric Lovers board! )
http://forums.taxi.com/topic130953.html

Imo the best approach when creating demos to compete with Music Row demos: If the song is great and can be conveyed with a great guitar/vocal or piano/vocal performance then go with that. If, however, you feel the song has to have a more produced sound, you should have professionals do it right with a full production.

A home demo with a great performance but with dated production or anything that doesn't sound "radio ready" will not fair well against the pros that do it day in and day out.

I imagine it's the same in any major music center but I know from personal experience the Music Row standard is so unbelievably high because they have some of the greatest musicians and engineers and equipment on the planet. The A&R staff, publishers, producers have some of the most spoiled ears on the planet!