JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Mentor Questions Forum 10 Most Common Questions?

(1) How do I get a publishing deal?
(2) How can I find a co-writer?
(3) When should I do a demo of one of my songs?
(4) Should I copyright all of my songs?
(5) How do I get paid royalties?
(6) Do I need to join a PRO (Performance Rights Organization)?
(7) Where can I learn about proper lyric/song structure?
(8) How much does a decent demo cost?
(9) Which organizations, such as TAXI, SongU, NSAI, etc. are most helpful for a newbie?
(10) Are songwriting contests really as good as they claim to be?

Al

How do I get a copyright?
Is it safe to post my song here?

Is the quality of my demo good enough?

How long of a song is too long?

I just started writing songs, it is a hobbie right now but I may want to persue it as a possible career or professional avenue. Where should I go to learn as much as possible before I make any moves

How long should my intro be?

How do I package my demo before sending to a publishing co and how should I follow up and with what tools?

Where can I find a good example of a good song pitch package?

IS MY SONG A G O O D SONG ? What makes a good quality song.. as far as for what category or genre or audience you are trying to reach.

I can't read music, do I need to pay alot of money to have someone help me?

Where do I get my song copyrighted and can u teach me any tips on how to get my money's worth (Wash D.C.) to file? - meaning.. do as a collection per say.. rather than song by song.

o Would you listen to my songs?
o Has anybody ever heard of Paramount Group?


Joe

o I've just started writing songs, are they any good ?
o How do I "Make it" in the music biz ?
o I'm paranoid about people stealing my songs, do I need an attorney ?
o How do I submit my works to a publisher, and which one ?

Where can I get my songs critiqued and reviewed for a reasonable price?

Where can I get demos made? How much should I spend? How good do they need to be?

How do I record my songs properly?

I just made a quick survey of the questions on the first five pages of this forum. Here's the way it looks.

1. Legal Questions. Mostly questions about copyrights, followed by specific contract questions.

2. Specific Businesses. Folks want to know about specific publishers, record labels, and studios. Quite often, the questioner wants a publisher, but the publisher wants to record the questioner's demos (Joe got it there). Also some questions about specific pluggers.

3. How to copyright songs.

4 and 5. This is a tie. How to pitch songs. How to get recordings ready for a cd or mp3.

5 and 6. Another tie. Questions about performance and questions about creating promo material.

7. Questions about improving writing (funny, if this were the number one question, most of the other questions would answer themselves.)

8. Questions about PROs, how they work, who are they, which is best.

9. Taxi.

10. A tie again, NSAI and how to find booking agents.

1: How do I get a publisher, label/artist to listen to my original music? And, how do I prepare/package my demo?

2: I was contacted by email by someone “in the business” who heard my music and wants me to sign a publishing/promotion deal. I constantly hear about people being scammed like this. How do I know if it’s legitimate?

3: Should I copyright my songs? If so, how do I do that?

4: Is there any real benefit to joining an organization such as Taxi or NSAI?

5: I write mostly country music. Nashville insiders say that I have to stick to their guidelines and formulas if I expect to have a major publisher seriously consider my music. But, so much of what I hear on the radio frequently violates many of those rules. Can someone intelligently explain that to me? It seems so contradictory!

6: When I feel my song is good enough to invest money in a demo; should I do a full scale production? Or, is a vocal with just guitar or piano backing adequate?

7: Is it really safe to post my songs on the numerous Internet sites that offer that service? Can’t someone just steal it or make a similar derivative work from it?

8: I’m a great lyricist/musician. But, I do not play an instrument/write lyrics. How do I go about collaborating with someone on the Internet? And, is it difficult?

9: Mom and Aunt Betty think my songs are great! But, how can I get a real and honest critique of my songs?

10: How much should a good demo/critique cost me?

11: I am very serious about my music. I’m pretty darned good! But, I want to be even better…professional quality work. What resources are available to take my skills to the next level?

12: I can’t convince a publisher or label to listen to my music. It really is great, though! Are there any other avenues to get my music heard by someone in the business?

13: Should I join a Performance Rights Organization (PRO), such as ASCAP, BMI or SESAC? And what, exactly, can they do for me?

14: I write some pretty darned good songs. But, I am not a performer. How do I get paid for my songs if a performing artist records them or plays them publicly?

15: I see dozens of songwriting contests all over the place. Are they legitimate, for the most part? And, has anyone ever achieved professional success by winning one?

16: I hear lots of really nice sounding songs on the Internet that people say they have recorded at home. Sounds complicated! How do I go about doing that?

17: Can I be my own publisher? If so, how do I do that?

18: I write/compose mostly country music. I’ve heard it said that you have to live in Nashville if you have any hope of succeeding in country music? Is that true?

19: How do I make an MP3 music file; and how do I upload it to the hosting site?

20: Is there really much money to be made as a songwriter or composer, rather than a performer?