When the "big money drop" started at the end of the 90's, people started having to do other things to offset income. Publishers, who once employed writers, had cuts, pitched songs, paid draws, (salaries), paid for demos, etc. became "SONG PLUGGERS" or "PLACEMENT AGENCIES" or "FILM AND TELEVISION LIBRARIES." Those that had built recording studios (a lot of those during the late 80's and 90's as the costs of recording equipment started coming down and things like PRO TOOLS came online, started emphasizing the studios as opposed to pitching songs. Since even if you got cuts, you were likely not to make a dime off of them, it made sense to shift to the recording.

A main problem with this in the "pitching" world, is that these companies became known for "accepting anything" and therefore their reputations took a nosedive. Then the quality or pitchability of songs declined and it was a reinforcing circle. Now if you don't personally know artists, producers, insiders, you don't even get anything heard. And while the money all declined, the demand for radio sounding, broadcast quality recordings, increased. Now the industry standard is having demos as good as the records on the radio.

So you have to decide on your songs, what is the best for the song itself. Gary has a great suggestion in getting songs tested out in public before going through the steps of a recording. And you have to look at it as your own "business card." How much do you believe in your own writing, your own songs, your own abilities? That should guide you into what you spend. And if you can't afford to spend what you have to, you need to look to other methods.

Personally, I think every songwriter needs to be building relationships. And those should include relationships with musicians, people that own their own recording equipment, artists on their way up. Having a local hero sing one of your songs is much better than having one sitting on a computer somewhere. You just have to look at all this in a broader context of self expression.

MAB