Song Promotion •
Advice For Those Promoting
For The First Time

By Jim Liddane

Promoting your songs for the first time? Despite what you may read, there are no "magic bullets" - no secret methods. Most promotion is hit or miss, and what impresses one outlet may have the opposite effect on the next. But here are some tried and trusted guidelines! Make sure that the demo recording is as good as you can make it Nowadays, many demos are as good as masters, and some are better! If your song is as good as you think it is, do not spoil it with a bad demo. Having said that, a good demo will not make a bad song a hit, but it can incline a publisher to ask for more material, if you sound like a serious player. And do not show your ignorance by sending a cassette tape! Doing that is a dead giveaway that you lost contact with the real world around 1986. On the other hand, do not be too adventurous. MP3 CDs for example, do not play in all CD machines, so for the time being anyway, stick to the common-or-garden music CD. If the demo lets the song down, do not waste your money sending it. Plenty of top-quality demos still get rejected, so there is little hope for a below-standard demo. But remember, in the end, the song is what really matters - not the demo. Don't expect to get the demo back To you, it is a work of art. To the music executive, it is just another demo, and he may (or may not) bother to return it. Sad though it may seem, your work was unsolicited so the company has no obligation to listen to it, or to return it. Keep everything looking fresh Make sure that the demo itself looks new, and that the label is clean. Make sure that the lyric sheet is a new copy. No publisher is going to want to see a song that looks as though it was written five years ago, and has been rejected by every other publisher since. In this respect, if you are a member of the International Songwriters Association, you will have received CD labels, cassette labels, letterheadings etc., printed with your name, address and contact information. Use these. Make sure that your letter looks professional It should be sent on printed letterheading which should be neat and well-printed. If the letterheading is printed, you may - if you cannot use a computer - write the letter. If the letterheading is not printed, the letter should definitely be typed. In the letter, be very brief Keep it simple, like a professional songwriter would. Just say that you are sending the song (state title) for their consideration, and leave it at that. If you have a particular singer in mind, by all means say that the song would suit that singer. If you are not happy with the song or the demo, do not announce this.There is no point in prejudicing them against the song before they've heard it. Anyway, a professional songwriter would not be apologising, he would be making a better demo, or constructing a better song. If you have other songs online on your own website, mention this briefly Even if he cannot use the actual song you sent, he might well click on to hear some more if the first demo is reasonably interesting. However, even though some publishers say they will go to a website to hear material, in our experience very few actually do unless you have made a real impression on them. And as for sending in no CD at all, but instead writing a letter asking the publisher to go to a website to hear your work - our experience is rhat you are unlikely to get any response to such requests. Use a new light-weight Jiffy or Arofol bag Size four is best. Affix a good-quality (if possible, printed) label on the front. Address it to the A & R Department of the company, unless you have already got a contact name, and make sure that your own name and address are printed clearly on the rear. Enclose a second smaller Jiffy or Arofol bag Size three is best, with your own name and address on it. Put sufficient stamps on this to allow for return postage but do not expect to get it back. But do it anyway, as who knows - they might return it. Even a negative reply lets to know that they are a company who does accept unsolicited material. If promoting overseas, enclose a bank note If you hope to get the demo back, enclose a bank note of the country in question to prepay return postage. You can generally obtain foreign bank notes at most large banks. IRC's, which are recommended by postal services for prepaying foreign postage, are generally useless. However, do remember - most companies do not bother to return material they did not request in the first place, and in any event, return postage may amount to more than the CD is worth. Set up a Promotion File for the song ISA supplies a Promotion File Sheet to its members, which can be got from the Members Site. On the Promotion File, write in the details of the song in the box at the top, and when you are going to post the packet, complete the Parcel Post receipt. The Post Office will stamp this, thus giving you a Certificate of Posting in the unlikely event of a copyright dispute ever arising. If responding to a tip If you are responding to a tip, read carefully exactly what the company is looking for - style of song, type of demo etc. They will get only a few packages with exactly what they requested, and those demos will get listened to. They will get hundreds of packages with everything but what they requested. They'll get dumped. When will you hear back? Usually, if you are going to hear, you will get a reply from a company within 60 days. Not all firms are prompt, and most may never reply, nor return your demo. There is absolutely nothing you or anybody else can do about this. Abusing people about your missing CD will achieve nothing apart from ensuring that they will definitely throw your next one in the bin. It is annoying to lose a demo, but it is a fact of life. If you don't like the rules - don't get in the game. Once you've posted it - forget it Immediately the song is in the post, start work on the next one. Most successful writers have a dozen or so songs on the circuit at any one time. Do not wait around for a reply, and do NOT chase the submission up. It looks amateurish - and you are not an amateur - are you? So what could happen next? A number of reactions are possible. (a) You may get no reply at all, in which case, knock that firm off your list of potential publishers. They may have a closed door policy - they may be simply inefficient. (b) You may get the parcel returned marked "unsolicited". This is unusual in the UK (but not in the USA). Just knock that firm off your list of potential publishers and notify the ISA. (c) You may get a rejection slip, in which case, check to see if there is a contact name given on it. The next time you send a song to that firm, use the contact name. (d) You may get a letter returning the CD, but requesting more material. There is no hurry about doing this - believe it or not, they won't be sitting there on tenterhooks waiting for your reply! Write back telling them when you will be sending in your next song and when you have something ready, photocopy the letter they sent you, and send it with your new demo. Do not - repeat, do not send in something inferior simply because you are in a hurry. You'll blow your contact for good. (e) You may get a contract in the post, or an offer of one. Contact your lawyer, or the ISA, to have it vetted. Songwriting is a business - nothing more, nothing less. If your package looks professional and sounds professional, you are in with a chance - but that is all. If it looks amateurish and sounds amateurish, you might as well put your money on a healthy horse. The ISA has been there since 1967, and in our experience, writers who persevere, eventually get at least a contract offer. It is literally, 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration. Join The ISA Free For A Month Would you like to join the International Songwriters Association free of charge for a month? Click below to learn more Already An ISA Member? A member already? On your registered PC? Log-in here to the Members' Site ISA • International Songwriters Association (1967) Ltd PO Box 46 • Limerick City • Ireland • Tel 061-228837 • Fax 061-2288379 ISA Website  http://www.songwriter.co.uk • Editorial E-Mail  jliddane@songwriter.iol.ie International Songwriters Association Limited Registered In Dublin, Ireland • Company Number 38917 Registered Address • High Chaperal, Raheen Heights, Limerick City, Ireland Postal Address • PO Box 46, Limerick City, Ireland