Demoing is critical. I tell every burgeoning songwriter to learn to be a producer of great demos. Once again, this is a process - but every songwriter knows somebody with a recording studio. Hang out, learn the vernacular, learn to read and talk about charts, learn about effects, eq, compression, reverb, etc. so you can speak articulately in a studio environment.

Back in the '80s I used to drool over the Fairlight - for just a mere $150K you could have a digital workstation with 8 tracks of 16 bit digital recording. Now, you can put together a home studio of similar quality for three grand or less. There are thousands of options, but it's worth the investment for a number of reasons. First, because you'll learn on the job how to produce. Second, because you'll be in complete control of which songs get demoed. Third, because as you develop your engineering and production chops, you can barter with talented players, programmers and singers - give them time in your studio in exchange for a guitar part or a vocal, or visa versa.

I made the demo for My List in the attic of my house on an 8-track hard disc recorder. It didn't cost a penny, and the song has grossed over 2 million bucks. If I hadn't made the investment in my home studio and taken the initiative to spend the several days it took to demo the song, I never would have had a number one.

The production style depends on the song itself. While I always think that something unusual and extra creative can make a demo stand out from the pack, many songs just cry out for that Top-40 radio mainstream treatment. You either want your demo to sound like it wants to be programmed every 20 minutes by Clear Channel, or you want it to have a certain quirky charm that pricks up jaded industry ears. (The danger with "quirky" is that some of these people have no imagination as to how the song might be produced any other way.) But, for me, throwing in an unusual instrument or background vocal or structural idea (when appropriate) is always more appealing and fulfilling and makes me want to listen to it. If you have your own home studio, you can experiment with different instrumentation and mixes.

Bottom line is if you have a strong enough desire to make great demos, you'll find a way to do it. For me, waiting for a publisher to demo my songs would be unacceptable.
As much as possible, I need to be in control of which songs get demoed and how the demos sound.

And BTW, there is a whole chapter in my book on The Demo.

Hope that's helpful.

Rand Bishop
songwriter/producer/author Makin'Stuff Up - secrets of songcraft and survival in the music-biz
www.makinstuffup.net

Rand Bishop
Songwriter/producer/author