Hello guys,

I know it gets pretty tiring of me always giving the "Nashville perspective" and I admit that is where I live and work. But Nashville is just about the only place left where people can have material listened to for commercial exploitation.Most other places have long since turned into totally inside communities. You might as well save your money.

But the real deal is that it takes "Flipping the desk." In the technological day and age that we live in, there is no longer "Can anyone hear through this song." The reason is the competition is so heavy and there are so many filters. Even if you were to get a song to a producer who can "hear through it" you would have to have a really good demo, because he is going to have to play it for virtually dozens of other people for their opinions long before it is recorded. And most of them can't hear through it.

I recently attended a TAXI event here in Nashville where this same question always comes up. The panel was as exasperated as we always get when we hear it because it is the equivalant of saying "I really don't want to do the same things you all have to do so why can't I get my songs cut?" It frankly gets insulting. One member of the panel played a demo on a current Rascal Flatts cut. It was a piano vocal. But the piano was so crisp and clear and played so perfectly, the vocal soared so much and the entire song just ripped everybody's head off. Oh yes, and the song was tremedously well written by a writer that had previously had three number ones. There is always that.

Everybody thinks people that move to Nashville and get writing deals have unlimited funds for demos or some secret door they go through to pitch songs. They don't. they have to find ways. One of the whole things about co-writing is sharing demo costs. And every publisher has a limited budget on demos so they are only going to demo about 10 out of 100 that are presented to them by writers, friends of friends, oustside songs, etc. So writers write about ten songs for every one they turn in to even be considered worthy. They may write "Zillions" of songs but only turn in a very few.And even fewer of those are actually demoed.

When you factor in that over half of those songs recorded are written with the artist, and those songs are from people the artist got to town with,went through the hardships and losses in the beginning, and these people often were the ones who supported that artist, co-writer, producer, label person, at the first of THEIR career, there is a LOT more incentive to take that song, promote that song, perform that song live, get opinions on the song from a million directions, not to say the least invest money in that song.

So if you are unknown, you are up against not only better written songs, but also more technilogically proficent songs and songs that have personal attachments to them.

Yeah, you better have a great demo.

MAB