Ray,

It always has to be just the right song. It never goes anywhere without that. And you never know what is right. That is the general problem of all the industry, it is hit and miss. Whereas if an artist is saying something, going through something, living it, etc. they are going to nail their emotion better than someone who is not. Right place, right time.
The more you know artists and the inside people, the more likely you are to have the right song. But once again, you are having to go through filters.
I just had a friend of mine over to my girlfriend's house. he is with a band who signed a deal on Warner Brothers. His main job is as a plumber. That should tell you something about the music business. These guys have a current deal, are on the Row Fax pitch lists, are doing all the right things, going to the right parties, but they are all still working day jobs. That is the music business.
He is the bass player in the band but the Band is run by two brothers who are the main writers. He cannot even get them to listen to his stuff for the band. That is reality. In my dealings with Frankie Ballard, my own artist on Warner Brothers, I have 15 songs written with him. But he is now writng with Jeffery Steele, Craig Wiseman, etc. and his songs take a back seat to what the label says is going to be on his record.
That is the deal here. Even if you have the perfect song, it has to be played for a lot of people and go through a lot of hoops. And even being part of the project or the artist themselves do not guarantee anything. This is the business of music, not the business of friends.
Everything you do is designed to cut through the competition, from the idea, the writing, who you write it with, who is on your team, the demo, the guidance, who is behind it, who it edges out in the close competition, who it edges out in the medium and long competition, who it competes with in the marketplace, what kind of reaction it gets from the first, second and third line of critiques and finally, what kind of reaction it gets with the general public. All those steps have to be crossed. So there is not one step you can scrimp on.

MAB