Hi Everett, I have never paid an aritst for recording or production. As MAB said, if the artist doesn't have the $ to invest in their own career, they aren't worth working with. My job as a songwriter is to write the best I can and get a high quality demo done and then pitch, pitch pitch. This is all I pay for. BUT, working directly with the artists, I can skip the demo expense. I love that.

https://donnadutchessmusic.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/#!/donnadutchesssongwriter
https://www.youtube.com/user/dutchessdnn