I'm writing to ask for advice in connection with an offer I have from a publisher.

I am very new to the process of marketing my songs. I am a non-performing writer who has written for 20 years or so, purely for my own enjoyment. Because I don't have the playing ability to make the songs sound the way I'd like, I have begun to commission demos of my songs (one at a time, family budget permitting).

I have never pitched them to publishers before, though some have done well in contests and the like. I recently contacted a Nashville publisher who allowed me to submit three songs. I sent them links to three of my songs, and they were interested in all of them. However, what they are offering is the following choice: (a) I sign over 100% of the publishing for the two songs (the only consideration being their ability to pitch them for me); or (b) I pay $150/month per song for them to plug the songs, and lose 50% of publishing if I get a cut. I am reluctant to sign away rights to all three, but am close to giving them a try with respect to two of the songs.

My question is, is option (a) a fairly standard offer for an unproven writer? These guys seem legit and have urged me to take my time, think about it, and get comfortable with the idea before I sign anything. They say they'll still want the songs six months from now if I want to wait. They are located on Music Row and have lots of experience in the business, and they seem professional and supportive of writers.

I am not able to get my songs in front of publishers or artists. I have a full time job and kids, and can't afford the open-ended $150/month/song commitment for plugging services. So I'm thinking of taking them up on their offer (option (a)), but just want to get some feedback from more experienced people first.

David Spence
Austin TX

[Ande Rasumussen: I tried to send this to your email address and it bounced back to me.]


[This message has been edited by dspence (edited 05-05-2006).]