Hi Michele

great to hear from you......in answer to your questions

1.you can submit to as many publishers as you want....publishers Can CONTACT YOU if they hear a song they like....on here or your myspace page.....but generally speaking you gotta contact them.......walmart does not solicit suppliers-suppliers have to submit their products to walmart-be approved and then are charged shelf fees just to be on a walmart shelf..........publishers get 50% cause they do the administration and song tracking of the song............for instance i have three songs in a hollywood music licensing catalog......music directors go there looking for songs they can license/use for their projects.......

2. publishers present songs they like to singers/labels..

faith hill or alan jackson arent going to meet 200 different songwriters......publishers and pluggers present the 10 or 20 best songs they have to them at a pre arranged meeting at BMI or wherever..the singers run thru em blip blip blip........the average song gets 45 seconds-to one minutee before they shake their heads..if a song holds the singer the whole length then the singers take a copy or accept a mp3 with lyrics-for futher consideration.and that aint the end of the gauntlet.....they might submit 200 songs to their decision committees...and out of that the final 10 make it to the cd......the best one is for release as a single on the radio hoping to sell the whole cd AT THE STORE.......course they can also do single tracks sales with ITUNES or whoever........you can learn about the whole process of songwriting and submission in a $25 book called SONGWRITERS MARKET 2008........when i get any inside tips or info or advice to share i always post it.......if anyone is looking for this or that in particular.....and also what they dont want........they dont want songs about 9/11 or iraq....theres an example of something i pass on .......your producer gets whatever you agree to pay him....the publishers 50% is not generally negotiable and thats just what the deal is.....a big star can get a better deal-but not unknown writer........they dont want to do any charity deals for save the kangaroos or whatever-no offense to you my aussie friend.......charity cd's are SEPERATE endevors in themselves.......stars can donate songs to a SAVE THE KANGAROOS CD-but thats a charity thing...........generally the publisher and singer want$$$$$$ and a top ten hit....DO NOT tell a publisher you want to donate 10% to save the kangaroos WHEN YOU SUBMIT A SONG... they will immediately think its junk cause your motivation was to save the kangaroos and not write a song worthy of a chance on radio......i pass on bit and pieces of advice about nashville or publishers or whoever/whatever-as i learn em myself.......theres ALOT OF FOLKS CHARGING FOR SEMINARS-OR SECETS OR HOW TO DO THIS OR THAT....the dream factory in nashville probaly makes as much as the singers and songwriters........they mostly sell to out of towners or the ones who get off the bus with more money than brains.....in my years in nashville i have not paid one dime to anyone but producers/singers and the post office/cd duplication services.......i go to free seminars at BMI in nashville....i dont go to the paid ones.....and theres many nashville JPF members who know alot more than me......mike dunbar/bobbie gallup/etc etc.........i am not the ultimate expert on nashville or music BY FAR...........i have been klutzing my way through all this for years since i got here.......the main thing i can claim any credit for at all-is having the guts to come here at 52 with no connections and jump right into the belly of the beast with just a fork and a flashlight....who wins remains to be seen....but i have outlasted many a young whippersnapper that got back on the bus or whatever-after 6 months....Nashville/NY/LA are all brand names in the music business.............these are where its at pretty much...........the publishers/labels/singers/songwriters.....i would try to have some nashville connection if i were you..............a co writer-or producer or singer.....name dropping on a request to submit or a cd doesnt hurt......produced in nashville by mike dunbar-sung by nashville singer heather cowles.......co writer tom yeager WILL NOT help you at all cause i am pretty much the most widely unknown person in nashville..........i can pitch songs to music row-but living 4 blocks away doesnt mean they will like em......its a business-not a social club.......your song is either gonna put money in their pocket or take it out.......music row folks wanna keep their jobs and the singers want to beat one another in the charts...........and that doesnt happen doing favors for friends......hope i have been of some help.....your chance is as good as mine....if a hit song comes from austrailia then it beats out what isnt a hit song from 4 blocks away......feel free to ask more questions.....i try to be helpful when i can

Tom