JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Songwriter Message Forum Demo studios info requested

The tier system is not unique to Nashville. It was developed to make demos more affordable to songwriters and publishers while charging the "fat cat" record companies a wage that reflected the "obscene" profits they made off the backs of the working musician. It was developed at a time when very few independent artists were able to sell records due to the cost of production and distribution. It was developed at a time when it was unheard of that a songwriter would sell their songs one at a time as downloads.

Very few producers take advantage of the tier system. For one reason, most producers are not union producers. They deal with musicians who get paid a flat fee per song, rather than an hourly wage. Those musicians are not going to lower their price just so a songwriter gets a better deal. Here in Nashville, the usual per song price is $50 per musician per song. That means five musicians run $250 a song, over that you are paying for the studio and producer. Often the producer is the studio owner and one of the musicians. Many times the producer/musician will overdub, for example, a producer/steel player might throw in dobro, electric, or acoustic guitar...a producer/keyboard player might also play electric bass along with the tracks (both are real world examples). So if you are paying $500 a song, then the producer is getting at least half of that, which is fair. They do the "extra" work, pay for the studio, get the gig, make the calls, etc. Some producers will sign a "work for hire" agreement. Some will get their musicians to sign a "work for hire" agreement.

A union producer pays by the hour. On a full master session in Nashville (a session that allows unlimited sales of the product...the type a major label or major independent artist would use) the musicians get paid approximately $135 an hour for a three hour session. Rather than counting songs, a three hour session is limited to 15 minutes of recorded music.

A union limited pressing session, the kind the average indie artist or label would get, allows 10,000 units sold (that's cds, downloads, 45's, whatever). The musicians get paid approximately $75 an hour for a three hour session. This session is limited to 15 minutes of recorded music (four or five songs). This comes out to about $50 a song. A union limited pressing session costs about the same as a non union session, sometimes more, sometimes less.

A union demo session, meant for "demos" (which means "demonstration recordings") that are not to be sold at all, pays the musicians approximately $60 an hour for a three hour session. Now, here's the rub...there is no limit to the recorded minutes or the number of songs. So realistically, it is possible to get as many as six songs in one hour, which brings the cost down to $10 per song. A LOT less than $50 per song.

Most musicians don't care how many songs they cut, they'd rather spend their time playing music instead of hearing the producer talking about it (or so they tell me...all the time ).

So the tiered system works out well for the songwriter or publisher who is looking to get a good product at a decent price. And, it is very good for entry level songwriters who are looking for a very good price...if they can find a studio that will use it. Mostly, it is publishing companies who use the demo scale session, usually either smaller publishing companies or larger ones who have their own studios. Most studios who record demos for independent songwriters, or songwriters without publishers, do not use the demo rate. That's why I've structured the Demo Derby. I offer what I call the "Demo Derby" to JPF members only. We started doing them in connection with Bobbie Gallup's Pineyfest, which is, alas, no more. How it works, I put together a team of experienced, credentialed musicians who work fast in the studio, and we blaze through the recordings. The pre-production work I do, charting and arranging the songs, makes the sessions go very quickly. We've done over 40 songs in two days. You can hear samples of what we accomplished, as well as a video of the Demo Derby itself (thanks to Tom Shea and Justice), on my website. Other than the Demo Derby, I've quit doing any other demo work. All my other recording work is for full masters or limited pressing masters. I'll be doing another Demo Derby early next year and will post info once a date is picked. Demo Derby demos can be upgraded to masters, Joanne Lurgio has recently done just that for her upcoming cd release "Nothing Remains the Same."

So the name "demo" really only applies to a recording which will not be sold. In my opinion, the demo is only useful to a songwriter who is interested in pitching songs to publishers and artists. I feel that the paid download for a songwriter is overrated. There are very few songwriters who make any kind of real money...anything more than a hundred downloads a year. That's not worth the $300 or more (or much more) that they pay for a recording. I record my own songs, that I've written, for free and I don't offer paid downloads. Now, for a singer or artist, that's another story.

When you get recordings made, if you want to sell downloads or licensing, make sure you get "work for hire" contracts from your producer/studio and all the musicians and singers on the project; either that or make sure there has been a union contract with them. If your receipt or contract says "demo" on it, even if you are not working with a union studio, there may be a legal problem if you sell it without a "work for hire" agreement. I know of a songwriter who got demos made with a demo singers voice, then had cds made to sell. The demo singer was under a development contract with a major label and could not have masters released, so she stopped the songwriter from selling any cds...after he had paid for them. Get those "work for hire" agreements and contracts.

Be sure to get backtracks of the recording...those are tracks without the lead vocal...that way if you want to change lyrics, "tweak" the melody, or just change singers, you won't have to pay for a new session.

Most importantly, beware of the biggest mistake folks make when getting recordings made: don't have demos or masters made until you and/or your songs are ready. Consult your team (You DO have a team, don't you? If not do a search here for "teams" and figure out how to put one together), post your songs/lyrics here and get peer critiques, pay for critiques (use pro critiquers who are working in your genre of music), read as much as you can about the business. This advice applies to singers, bands, and artists as well as songwriters.

Second biggest mistake...you are paying a studio/producer to make good demos...not to tell you how good you or your song is, and not to publish your songs. Beware of the studio/publisher who contacts you about your song on a website or that you just had registered with the Library of Congress. They're probably not really interested in publishing or cowriting. They just want you to pay for the recording. And, if they tell you they want cowriting and publishing on a song lyric that THEY CONTACTED YOU about, then they want to write and own the music so they can use the same music over and over again, charging other songwriters for a demo that was paid for years ago, just changing lead vocals. Get "work for hire" agreements when getting music put to your lyrics, or, much better, find cowriters who aren't looking to get paid by you. Check with your team and get their approval before working such a deal. Even then, don't say I didn't warn you Many sales are made with flattery. Say, you look nice in that new car...you look just like Brad Pitt! And you sound like Carrie Underwood! And your song is a hit! (someone write that song before I do LOL).

Music is emotional, business is rational. The music business feels it is rational.

All the Best,
Mike