I once sat in the personal studio of a songwriter who had successfully sold a Grammy Award winning song to a major artist.  He was pretty well set financially due to this single accomplishment.

He shared some of the strategies that are employed to pull this off. 

Your Target Market

The first thing is actually writing a song with someone particular in mind.  Or it may mean digging through your archives to find a gem who you think would be perfect for someone specific.

Secondly you have to look at their album jackets to see who handles the management and production.

A little research will probably get you some names and contact info. 

Remember this: sometimes that bitchy secretary can turn out to be your BEST friend.  Learn to create rapport with the little people first and enlist their HELP.  Ask their advice as to the BEST way to approach this.

But not to worry! – these management folks are LOOKING for the next great hit for their artist.  And who knows: they might just discover YOU in the process.

The idea here is to go straight to the people who directly interact with the artist you want to hear your material.

If they fall in love with your idea, you are way ahead of the game.

 

Emailing Artist Management

If you get an email address: make it TO THE POINT.   Have an (honest) subject line that will get them to open the email.  Explain in 1-2 sentences why they NEED to open your MP3 link.  Make sure you leave obvious ways for them to contact you if they are interested. 

If you have legal representation give that contact info as well.  It may also be advisable to include a legal disclaimer of confidentiality in any email pitching original material for sale.  Talk to your attorney!

 

Big Names Honesty Issues

Sometimes success has a way of making certain folks think they can get away with anything.  

I heard of a writer who personally pitched a song to a BIG country star.  They were not friends or anything prior to this introduction.

This well-known artist figured he would just write his own version of the concept and take all the credit and income.

Fortunately the writer had taken the necessary steps to protect himself and was paid every dime: and then some.

Don't be desperate and cut corners in the big leagues – your moment will come. 

This is also a BIG issue for those who pitch script-material for TV and Film.  One very well known Hollywood company routinely uses submissions almost in their entirety – and gives no credit or income to the original author.

 

Legal Issues

If you are going this route it would probably be a wise idea to start with a qualified music industry attorney who can protect your interests.  Even $350 for an hour of advice on how to effectively protect your self is a small expense considering what you could make…  or lose – if your song was stolen. 

We recommend getting a referral from someone who has used this attorney personally. 

Watch Out:  It's common practice to ask unleveraged writers to sign a work-for-hire agreement.  In this case the buyer will have the RIGHT to put someone else's name on the work and you will likely lose all rights to future royalties.

 

Selling Songs for TV and Film

Get a hold of The Hollywood Reporter. This is where calls are often made for musical material to be used in TV and Film. 

As in the above examples.  Be sure to obtain qualified legal advice – BEFORE jumping into the big leagues.

 

Intellectual Property

Remember this!  Songs are properties just like real estate.  The rental price of a song is called a Royalty.  (Kind of like those folks wearing the crowns in Europe.)

The ownership of a song can be sold or transferred just like any other piece of property. 

Note: The word "Real" in Real Estate, is a really just an old spelling of the word "Royal".   

In songwriting: the originator ( creator ) of a piece may establish ownership of it by registering a copyright with the Federal Government.  The cost of registration is $45 at the time of this writing.  

Visit the U.S. Copyright Office to get the necessary forms and instructions. 

The application for an individual writer is pretty straightforward and they recently started offering online registration for only $35. 

Note: Two or more names may be put on a copyright registration as co-writers with the main writer.  This establishes their mutual rights to the song.  It is also wise for co-writers to create a written agreement among themselves which records the details of any verbal covenants.

 

Publishing is the business of purchasing the ownership rights to songs * and * collecting rental fees for the USE of those songs.

There are two major kinds of rentals ( or Royalties ) for a song. 

 

A. Mechanical Royalties.

These are the fees an artist pays for each copy of a recorded song whose rights belong to someone else.  Even if you simply cover an instrumental version of someone else's music, you must pay the publisher a mechanical royalty fee for each copy you sell. 

Under the compulsory license procedures, you need not ask the music publisher's permission to make the recording or negotiate a license fee. Instead, you merely inform the publisher of the recording and pay a license fee set by law.

As of Jan 30, 2008 the rate per physical copy of a song is 9.1 cents.

You can get a clear step-by-step guide to taking care of this duty by visiting cdBaby.net.

 

B. Performance Royalties. 

These are the fees that Radio Stations and Nightclubs pay for the right to play copyrighted music to the public for a profit.  Performance Rights Organizations such as ASCAP and BMI handle the collection and disbursement of performance royalty revenue.

For an excellent break down of how this income is collected, calculated and disbursed.  Please visit How Stuff Works.

 

Collecting Royalties for Your Own Music 

Once you have copyrighted your material, IF you intend to COLLECT royalties for its use, you might want to research and find a dedicated Publishing Management Service to handle the details. 

The other option is to become an expert your self by tapping into a ready-to-go business plan for Running Your Own Publishing Company.