JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Songwriter Message Forum A Great Nashville Song Plugger

for those of you who are wanting to hire a song plugger to get your stuff heard by the biggest singers in nashville-i would reccomend Steven Sharp...he not only has a great track record of getting cuts-but he is truly one of the nicest most down to earth guys i have met in nashville........he is also a publisher....he has always treated me very well....he has an open door policy....and i am glad to reccomend him to those who are wanting a nice down to earth yet well connected guy in nashville.......if you want someone with access and not BS-he is your man..i like the guy and as a publisher he has shot down what i have sent him so far-lol......but that just tells you he is a real people person and not some full of himself jerk.....and there are folks way below his stature in this town with a whole lot more attitude....heres his link...........people sometimes ask me about things like this cause i live in nashville and have met some folks personally....so thats why i am posting this...cause i do know this guy myself.......best of luck to you....

http://www.sharpobject.com/


Tom

Tom,

Thanks a lot for posting this, the inroads are sometimes so murky. It's good to have a starting place.

Cheers to you,

Barry

most welcome Barry

nashville can definitely be a matrix-even to those who live here.

but he is the real deal and a very decent guy.....best of luck to you !

Tom

Tom:

Incredibly nice of you to post this. The site looks and works very well. I'll give Steve & Co. a try. Thanks for sharing.

Dave

MOST WELCOME AS WELL DAVE

best of luck

Tom

Thanks Tom, my main co-writer kinda got taken for a ride with one last year...no names to mention cos negative things can only come back around in a bad way, never in a good way...with your reccomendation i'm gonna check these guys out, good website...between Dale and I , we have probably have 150 songs pro demo'd ready to pitch, with another dozen or more pre-demo right now, they need a home ...thanks again...moker

very welcome Moker

you are a great songwriter and deserve the best chance for your music......hope you get some cuts......

Tom

Thanks Tom for the info. I have used some good songpluggers in the past (and some not so good), and am currently using a really great guy, but it doesn't hurt to make new contacts. I will get in touch with Steven and see how things progress. Thanks again Tom.

Marvin

hey tom, when you send to a songplugger do you have to have music, melody, and vocals on it already? or do they provide it how does that work?

you have to have the completed song Brandon

and your absolute best ready for radio version.....cant send just the lyrics or a worktape...........scam artists will look at or listen to anything-but i guarantee you the meter is running and all you are doing is wasting time and money with them.....the legit ones will not even try to plug anything they feel is substandard to major artists.....would you like to sit down with i dunno-faith hill or alan jackson-whoever and then play em 10 dogs in a row?.......they go thru songs blip blip blip-one minute or less each-unless it really grabs em.......if they even think you have no problem wasting their time then you are out the door with your head in your hands and never allowed back....so if your stuff aint wowie zowie dont even bother hiring a plugger.........they cant sell bad songs......steven is most proud of his track record in getting cuts by major artists and having access to present to the big stars........he is a nice guy-as i said.......but his reputation means more to him than more money....so dont think he will pitch songs just cause you agree to pay him.....thats a sign of a real legit plugger......best of luck to you.........

Tom

Hi Marvin

glad you have had success with some pluggers before.......if you are gonna use em then steven is the best one i know......hope you get alot of cuts.......thanks for saying hello

Tom

Hi Tom

How are you, I remember you from when I first started posting here at JPF.

So now I'm gonna ask you some questions if thats okay, cause this Aussie girl is all new to the music industry, and it frightens me a bit, the not knowing I mean.

1) Can I put my songs into as many publishers as I want?

2) If your songs are good enough, how come we have to put them to publishers, why can't they contact us, for an example, how come we don't have publishers here on JPF, cause there is heaps of talent here?

3) Wouldn't it save them time, just to jump on board here, and teach us unexperienced songwriters how it all works hah, cause to me that would be so cool, to learn and understand more about the music industry would be great, and also how publishers work. They have great home pages advertising what they do, but that still makes me nervous, cause I still don't understand it all.

4) I know from what I have learnt here on JPF that they take 50%, but what do I get for all my hard work, how much does my producer get, who is so talented, can I work a deal with them that we all give up a small percentage for charity, like Mental Health etc?

5) Am I making sense?

I'll be back later, I am a bit tired from work, I will think about what else I would like to know, when I'm not so warn out.

Thanks Tom

Michele
Aussie girl from down under

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

Hi Tom

Thanks so much for answering my questions, but it's still a little bit way over my head, I really don't understand fully, cause are you telling me the publisher makes 50% of what ever your song makes, then the singer, and the writer share the other 50%? is that correct.

Also I am pretty sure that I don't want to save the Kangaroo's, we have way to many here in Australia, causing deaths, attacking people, eating all of our farmers crops, but that is only my opinion, but as to Mental Health, even our big stars could end up going through the Mental Health system, Mental health helps people who are suicidal, ones who have witnessed trauma, depression, Bi-polar, schizophrenia, child abused victims, raped victims, and the list goes on, and a very worthy cause.

What really saddens me today, is money the only thing that matters anymore, surely our big STARS have a HEART hah, and I'm pretty sure that Faith Hill, Dolly Parton, Keith Urban, Cassie Chambers, Alan Jackson etc, that money isn't the only thing that matters. Money doesn't always bring happiness, I know it helps, but a lot of STARS cop a lot of CRAP, and don't have a normal life because they harassed all the time by MEDIA, and I am pretty sure they would just be like US! HUMAN!

When my first two songs are finished, I will be posting them here, and I will send them on to publishers, and I won't mention the word CHARITY hey, looks like I will have to give up most of my share, cause this Aussie girl here has a BIG HEART! Then I will probably start understanding how it all works hah, if someone picks up on my songs, cause they are very good, NO 1's I have no doubt, but I suppose we all dream about that hah!

Thanks for your help Tom I appreciate it very much.

Michele

I read the Sharpobjects page and it appears they are plugging their new and established songwriters well. There is no mention of new submissions or independent writers.......

Any more info on how they work? Do they listen to unsolicited material? Do they require payment per plug or just to be accepted in their catalog?

Thx

Hi Michelle. I thought I'd chime in cause I at least know the answer to this one. BMI and ASCAP etc. pay separate songwriting royalties and artist royalties. So do record companies. Tom's talking strictly about the songwriting royalties. The publisher takes 50% and gives the songwriter 50%. The artist gets the artist royalties. For example, when a CD is sold the statutory songwriting royalty is about 9¢ per song per cd. The publisher get 4.5¢ and the songwriter gets 4.5¢. If a CD sells 100,000 copies a songwriter can expect ~$4500 for one song on the CD. Of course sometimes these royalties are negotiated downward... record companies aren't obligated to pay the statutory royalty, but many do. ASCAP and BMI do pay a statutory rate for radio/public performance, but I couldn't tell you the rate.

Peace,

Ian

Hi Ian

Thanks, cool, now I understand, so they pay 50% to me, and 50% to the publisher if they use my songs for an Artist, Movie, etc hah.

For an example, if film makers used my song "Don't push my button" in there Movie, and if they paid $100,000.00 it would be split two ways, is that correct? 50/50

No harm in dreaming hah!

Michele

Hi Michele,

Something like that!

Peace,

Ian

Some Clarafications,
When you assign a song(s) to a Publisher you have to sign a Publishing Contract. The contract will spell out what rights you have. You will have to belong to the same Pro that the Publisher belongs to.

The Minimum splits for Mechanical Royalities are 50/50. Also that should be for any sync licenses issued. Sync licenses are if a song, or part of is used in a movie, or other video.
Sheet Music may be less depending what and where the sheet music is sold, etc. This will also be spelled out in the Contract.
The publisher keeps 50 percent and the other 50 percent is divided among the songwriters however they decide.

A clause should be included that the songwriter(s) receive royalities from any and all licenses issued. No exceptions. A rate, usually 50 percent should be stated.

Pro royalities are paid by the PRO directly to the songwriter if any.

The songwriter does not split his royalities with an Artist unless he agrees to it. Any agreement such as this should not be in a Publishing Contract but a seperate agreement on a case to case basis.

There is no such thing as a Standard Publishing Contract so you need to read them carefully as there can be pitfalls you don't expect.

Hi Ray

Cause this Aussie girl probably wouldn't even understand a Publishing Contract, as I'm not very bright, as to educational, how would I go about that, as to making sure that the Publisher would do the right thing by me?

Reading them CAREFULLY well I have seen legal papers before, and I totally don't understand all those Claus and stuff, way over my head, but that doesn't mean I'm dumb though, it just doesn't stick in this girls head long enough to understand it, do you know what I mean.

Thanks for your advise though, I appreciate it.

Michele

hi Colin

i told steven i gave him a plug on this board....i told him its a worldwide songwriters forum....he said thanks-i do so appreciate that....so if he wasnt ready for the floodgates to be opened before-he better be now-lol....as far as how steven works i cant speak for him....just drop a line asking specific questions-a brochure-whatever they have...i am not trying to be rude-i just cant speak for them......he is well connected-has alot of success-and is as i said a very nice guy..........best of luck!

Tom

most welcome MICHELE

i obviously just shotgunned out some things and the others went into more specifics....this is the MUSIC BUSINESS-and you have to impress these folks as being focused and professional.....some times the publishers will want to check out your myspace page....it should look professional and focused on music...the song is the main thing of course....but if i go to a page and see someone who has submitted to me bragging about how drunk they got last night or when i was 10 i almost died in a car wreck but i survived and now i am a singer or songwriter.....well obviously music row only cares about fame and fortune......you have to impress them as someone who can help bring more fame and fortune to them.....they frankly dont care about anything else as far as as personal or social agendas......after 5 oclock-so to speak-they can do their own thing....but when listening to song submissions-all they care about is the song itself.....best of luck to you....you are a sweet wonderful gal...

Tom

regarding songwriter support

obviously everyone involved in music-on music row or elsewhere is a human compassionate person.......its just that they have to put business first-then they can do good works with the proceeeds.......ASCAP for example has a member support assitance fund for members needing emergency financial assistance........its called MUSIC CARES...and nashville singers are always doing charity concerts and donating guitars or signing them.......so i addressed some things in broad generalities.....but again its a business-you gotta sell the product....if you focus on the music as a writer then you can deal with contracts offered or other things later on.....right now for example-i am not worried about the taxes on song royalties-thats premature.......i am trying to figure out what would be a hit song.....and nobody in nashville is really sure...they have been right sometimes and wrong sometimes.....nobody in nashville/la or nyc thought a white guy from a trailer park outside detroit would make it to the top in rap music......but eminem proved them wrong.......so anything is possible folks-GO FOR IT!

best of luck

Tom

This is a great thread, Tom! So informative! I read everything you said but still have a question. You said:



...so what's the difference then, in using a song plugger over contacting a publisher? Are most song pluggers also publishers like Steven Sharp? Thanks for all the great info!

Kristi

excellant question Kristi

heres what a plugger is and does as defined by a plugger himself...i dont know this agency-but they do offer a good description of what pluggers offer.........

http://www.trioproductions.com/songplugging.htm

best of luck in your songwriting!

Tom

heres a interview TAXI did with a plugger


hopefully between these two sources i found-you can get a good overall view of a songpluggers world

http://www.taxi.com/faq/ar/bloch.html


Tom

Hi Tom

Thanks so much for your help, I do get what your saying. Before I post my next songs up, I will re-do my myspace, & soundclick, pages up, so they are more professional, now that I am getting into sending my songs to publishers. I will probably have to pay someone to do it for me, but it will be worth it, as I have tried to change my myspace, with no success, so I will definitely work on it. Maybe Paul might give me a hand.

Cool, I'm learning every day about the Music Business, and I will start to be professional about it. I'm hooked!

Michele

Tom, what is the usual charge a plugger charges??? Do you know? Just wondering. thanks glyn

All publishers do plugging, how else would they get cuts. The big dogs have several staff writers they are going to pitch first. Giving them a draw creates that relationship where they are in business together. That's why it is so hard for us to break in, they are already paying their staff writers to produce songs that will generate royalties to offset the draw. Pluggers, the good many of them have spun off from major publishers and are charging a fee for a service they used to be paid by the publisher to perform. The ones like Steven here have combined both businesses, plugging for independant writers like us, and pitching for staff writers on their publishing side. It creates another revenue stream and opens up the possibility of that great song, that big hit song, walking through their door from a source other than their staff. They all want that big song, they would rather have it from their staff, but they ain't gonna turn it away if Tom happens to be the writer.

The book, The Songwriter's Market, is not impressed with song pluggers and sort of advises against them, FWIW.

Glyn, i can tell you from experience there is a big range...anywhere from $200 per song per year to $6000 annually for your whole catalog...the lesser expensive ones can have a hundred writers they are working with, the more expensive ones are generally more focused and keep the # of writers they have agreements with to around a dozen or so. What hasn't been mentioned here, and is a big piece of the puzzle to me is back catalogs. All those hit writers there who have written hits and gotten many cuts, alot of them have hundreds of songs demo'd ready to go, that's their back catalog. They make agreements with pluggers that hey i'll put you on retainer, i dunno pick a figure $2000 a year to do some pitching/plugging from my back catalog, they might have 3 or 4 of the best pluggers with a portion of their back catalog. Those are the types of things that stack the deck against us a little more. Here ya got a guy or gal who has a string of hits, that has a team that's out there hunting for the next one. And often it's the little guys like us that feed them until that next one comes along. That said , i ain't givin' up hope that i'll become that hit writer...i'm just playing the game fully informed.

p.s.- when i mention whole catalog, i mean they are only gonna go to your top 2 or 3 dozen songs

hi Glyn/Colin

i have no idea what pluggers charge .....i havent used one myself and i dont expect i will......nothing against them.....i guess folks from out of town might need em more then me...i greatly respect SONGWRITERS MARKET-thats pretty much my bible........however some folks are not good at the process of pitching their stuff once its written.......or they just plain wanna leave that to someone they can hire.......i myself am a pretty energetic guy-and i am 4 blocks from music row.....so my stuff gets heard-it aint for lack of trying on my part.....you notice that i started the post with-IF YOU WANT TO HIRE A PLUGGER......thats a question each writer has to decide for themselves........i thank you very much for your post on this thread.........best of luck in your writing and pitching

Tom

Hi Tom! -
Thank you so much for sharing this information. Much appreciated. I will definitely being looking more closely and hopefully getting some tunes out!
Thanks again
All the Best
Joanne

Thanks Tom for a great topic.
I did send of 5 of my songs to Steven Sharp and he has asked me to phone him on Monday as they would very much like to speak to me.

We will see what happens from thereonin.

Anyway thanks again

God Bless Roy

Hello guys,

I think I can provide a little insight on here. Steven Sharp is my song plugger and I am considered on staff there. They have a very helpful staff, knowlegable, and good at helping people get co-writes, provide an office on the Row and are very hard working when we are all trying to get songs out there.

Steven is from the record side of the business, having been a radio promotions man (the people who get the records played on the radio) and was instrumental in the careers of Alan Jackson. Diamond Rio, Wynonna Judd, and many others. His contacts in the industry are extensive and he has worked it from all angles.

His pitching business came about 7 years ago as an extension of his brother Randy, hit songs with Restless Heart, and many others. His niece, Mia, is a co-writer and best friend of Bonnie Rait. Randy and Mia are based in Los Angeles and Steven Represents them in Nashville. In addition to myself he represents hit writer and artist Micheal Peterson, and several others in the professional ranks.

Through Steven, I have been able to bring several writers to him one of which has just signed a major publishing deal. So he is effective and works very hard.

To answer some of your questions.
When working with a plugger, you have to provide ready to pitch demos, the same quality of things on the radio, which is what every writer is having to do. This is the modern age.
Steven does listen to more simpler demos for his writers in order to give them direction on what they need or if they should do a full demo or move on. The higher the pitch, the better the demo has to be because it is in higher competition.

A song plugger is not the same as a publisher. If anything, you could look at a song plugger as a "reverse publisher" With a publisher, sometimes they pay a salary or draw (in this day and age almost none do this any more without very strong writers. There were 1400 of these 7 years ago. There are 310 now.) They also sometimes (again now not always) involved with paying for demos. All of this are "Loans" against future earnings. If a song earns nothing, there is nothing to pay back the loans. I have known of writers to have a number one song and make nothing due to having to pay back years of draws.

A song plugger is a fee for service. You pay a monthly or other arrangement (somethings are negotiable) fee, for services, offices, etc. in return they pitch the songs you provide if they find them compatible to what artists they are pitching to. Since pitching is so competitive they only pitch the best songs and so you are also in competition with the other writers at the company. Hiring a song plugger does not guarantee you a pitch. It is up to you to turn in competitive material. It only allows you access to that pluggers contacts.

Steven also has a system that there is a percentage of a writer's share that is paid toward the cut. Depending on the level of the writer, songs, quality of demos, etc. this can be negotiable. A more in demand writer is going to get a better deal. Unknowns have to take what they can get.

Natalie, a publisher gives you "access to the industry." Publishers, song pluggers, etc. have built careers getting to know people as they rise in their career. It is normal for these people to pay $250,000 a year in offices, salaries, staff, insurance, taxes, fees, to be in the game. So it costs to even get in. Cost of doing business.

The reason they don't come here is two fold. First, they have no time to go through song after song after song to find something they need. They are besiged by material all day long every day. An average publisher/plugger reviews around 500 songs a week from existing catalogue, constant influx of songs from staff writers and people they know, their own work, those of people they produce and record (remember most artists are writers also) so there is simply no phisical way to do it.

The second is that as nice and wonderful as most people on these pages and others are,their songs are generally not at the caliber of what is being pitched. If you are no where near the marketplace, and are isolated by contacts, space, regions, you simply don't know what is out there. You are having to go by what you hear on the radio, see on television, which was written and recorded sometimes years ago.

Having song pluggers and publishers are important in this way as well. They have their finger on the pulse of the industry. WE often hear songs or artists that most people won't hear for another two years. One of the artists I worked with last year, Frankie Ballard, is currently one of the hottest up coming artists on Warner Brothers record. Everyone is trying to pitch to him. Yet, he has most of all the material he is going to record already. Some of those songs I have written with him. So very few people even have access to him.

It is about money. It is incredibly expensive to put major label product out there. It is an average of 2 million dollars now to launch a new artist. So when you are spending that kind of money to find material, develop the artist, money to record with, live on, promote their work, get them into the market place, advertising in magazines, television, videos, it is amazingly expensive. And on each label there will be ten-twelve new acts released and only two of those will make enough money to be retained by the record company. The millions spent on the other 8 will simply be thrown away.

So yes, it is about money. Lots of it. It is why most artists now are building their own local, regional followings, selling product themselves and building fan base, long before a record label even looks at them. That is about money. Can't play the game without it. And you are competing with sporting events, computers, video games and other types of music for the public's attention and dollars. If it can't pay for itself, it can't exist past a small cadre of friends or fans.

So publishers and pluggers play the part of agents, or go betweens with the songwriter and the industry.

I encourage all of you to check out Stephen and other pluggers. There are many good ones. But also remember, that you are up against the artists themselves and the biggest writers on earth with a great deal invested in the success. So if you are going to play this game you better understand what the game is and where you stack up before you start spending a lot of money or going in directions. Again, this is NOT a mail in business. You have to invest a lot, time, trips, cash.

Might as well expect it.

MAB

Marc, do pluggers like this work with less than commercial markets, for example a niche' independant label? Are they going after only the commercial big bucks?

thats just so great Roy

congrats on getting interest in your songs from his company.......best of luck.............keep us posted on this development.........

Tom

Ben,

They work every angle availible. There is the mainstream, that makes the big money. But there are daily requests from outside artists, other markets, development deals, there is never anything you turn down. Of course, you also have the film and television market, cable, instructional training films, television opportunities like public access, independent films, and there is ALWAYS some friend that is doing something and needs JUST THAT PERFECT SONG RIGHT NOW!!

The point of all of this is always having undeniable songs that are recorded well. You never know what is needed and to be honest, the people who listen for artists, labels, producers, etc. never quite know what they are looking for. Sometimes it comes down to having everything you need but just waiting for that "perfect song to replace something you already have." You just never know.

But even with great publishers, song pluggers, "best friends" etc. that is still no guarantee. It is not uncommon to have members of a hit artist's band who are writers on their own respect, to not be able to get their own material on their own projects. I remember a party I was at a few years back that Joe Don, the guitar player for Rascal Flatts, was complaining that he could not even get material submitted for their own band. It takes quite a bit of success to get that. You have to earn every thing and you do that by record sales.

It also happens that even the producers don't have total sway. I recall a friend of mine, producer Doug Johnson, had a song he had written a few years back and tried to cut it on some of his artists. They kept turning it down. He finally produced an album on a former hit artist, Randy Travis, who was switching from country to Christian music. He pitched the song for Randy and he turned it down a couple of times before he cut it. They finally cut it and it was Randy's first number one in about 8 years. It was called "Three Wooden Crosses."

You can never tell in this business what is going to happen. That is why you never put all your eggs in one basket, ever expect too much, and never give up. You face each day writing song, continuing your journey, getting out of your own way and enjoying the ride. That may be all you get.

MAB

Song pluggers are paid in about three ways.

Monthly retainer. Usually around anywhere from $350 a month to as much as $1800 a month.

Percentage: A percentage on what a song earns when it makes money.

A combination of both.

There are variations and nothing is standard. They might do a song by song deal, a total catalogue deal, a trial period.

We all make everything up as we go along.

MAB

It reminds me of that old Lefty Frizell song, IF YOU'VE GOT THE MONEY, I'VE THE TIME. Ha, ha.

I need a song plugger, I've been doing it myself too long. My Publisher, if he still is my Publisher, called me yesterday. He got a letter notifying him that someone is invoking a compuslory license for two songs he has Publishing on.

Hey, things are looking up. Never quit!

Ray,

Congratulations. Reminds me of the big difference of publishers and pluggers. Publishers are co-owners of the song. Pluggers are not. They are fee for service.

MAB

Thanks Marc.

That may just put me out of the game.

God Bless Roy

Roy,

Not nessasarily. Pluggers do different things depending on what the situation is. Almost everyone in Nashville have certain songs or writers they have an affinity for and help along. You never know what is going to happen.

If someone asks you for money, find out what they are talking about doing. Find out what the deal is. It happens that some people might pitch songs for free if they believe in the song. Not very often but it does happen. Depends on the song and the writer's personality.

You always check things out. Follow leads. You never know where something will lead and you can always say "No." If you don't have the money, you don't have the money.

For my opinion, people who are trying to do this focus on too many of the wrong, "cart before the horse" issues. They worry about copyrights on songs that are really not worth copyrighting. They don't know the market they are trying to get into so bring totally inappropriate songs to that market. They hire song pluggers without really knowing them, what they do or what they are up against.

Getting songs out there is a very difficult thing. Artists are writing their own songs now. It is against their personal interest to take outside material. So that material better be amazing!

So that is where it all starts. Make sure what you write, record and present is amazing first. Let the rest take care of itself.

MAB

Thanks Marc for your enlitening words.

I will keep an open mind and see where it goes.

I do feel that some hear my songs and think because they may be too long or they lack great hooks etc that they are wrong for the market. Others seem to go wow.
I guess at the end of the day it's a rocky path to who knows where hehe.


Thanks again

God Bless Roy

Roy,

Having not heard your songs I couldn't tell. If they are too long or don't have dynamic hooks you will have to change that to blend in to a market. If you are not willing to do that, probably no song plugger will be what you need. But music is more about adaptation that change so this might push you to refine your craft.
Last week I was on a 7 day cruise with about 40 songwriters from Texas, Arkansas, etc. Many of them feel that nothing that can't be said in two verses,can't be said better in three, four or five. What you find as you are around more music, through writer's nights, open mics, being in the public eye, is that the longer songs that are not yours cause you to lose attention very quickly. Your mind tends to wander and often you can't remember even what the song is about.

Songwriters often tend to have "say too much Itus" in that they feel if they shorten or tighten their song, they are "selling out" when in actuallity you bring more people into what you do. Being able to say "More with less" is the hallmark of great writers. People that can encapuslate great thoughts and memorable lines, and have people remember the hooks, the melodies after the song is over in a very short space are far ahead of the game, and find themselves moving in better circles.
Those that don't tend to stay in the same circles.

So, as I said, I don't know what the context of your dealings with Steven are. he might be interested in some differences in writing styles and finding out what you are about and who you are, but as it gets into practical application of the music industry and growth as an artist or writer, there are certain things that don't change. And the ability to say something convincing, entertaining and have an impact, is harder to do as people's attention span get shorter.

So "Less is more."

MAB

Thanks Marc.. I will bear all that you said in my mind

God Bless Roy

Thank you for this information. I went to the sharp object site. I am looking for song plugging without submission fees. I am unemployed. Do you know what they charge if they accept the challenge? There was no mention of the cost if accepted, however there was no submission fee. This post really did make my day seem more profitable and I thank you.
Please visit ViCindy Songplugging group
Cindy's Facebook

Cindy,

If you go back up, I explained a lot of how song pluggers work. There is no set way, but most people end up paying between $350 a month sometimes up to $1500. It costs a lot of money to be in this business. When you have to do demos, employ people to represent you, trips to build catalogue, co-writing trips, etc. It can be very expensive.
Average publishers spend around $250,000 a year just to stay in the game. So hiring a song plugger can be a delicate business. It is not always about money, if someone believes in your music, they might work different deals. but since it is so hard to get music even heard, much less recorded and sold, with so much being influenced by illeagal downloading from the public, it all comes down to great songs and being able to get them into the pipeline. Access is what costs so much. And we all pay it. Whether directly or indirectly.

MAB