JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Song Plugger Agreememts....buyer please beware.

I'm annoyed and concerned by an outbreak of pro song pluggers that are telling my clients that LOTS of their songs are fabulous and ready to pitch...for a fee of course. (I'm not a plugger so I'm not being threatened buisness wise or anything. That's not what this is about.) The weird things is these are in fact pluggers with big track records and big cuts. But they're taking songs that I reviewed and deemed absolutely, positively not ready to be pitched, and they're raving about them and saying they're ready to be pitched 'as is' . This isn't a difference of opinion we're talking about here...these are songs which are presented to me as poorly recorded demos with pitchy vocals, and songs with humongous intros and long guitar solos. And that doesn't even touch on the songs themselves. These are songs that break many many basic songwriting guidelines. The writers themselves are saying everyone else passed on their songs too...until now...until 'this plugger, who has a GREAT reputation' told them their songs were the best thing since sliced bread.

I did some talking around town and I'm pretty sure I know what's up. First of all, some background info. You need to know that it's almost impossible to get a cut right now. You HAVE to write with the artist or the producer. ALL The artists are 'writing' their own songs, which means cowriting with Nashville's most tried and tested and successful writers. WHy? Because mechanicals dried up. CDS aren't selling because everyone steals their music now. It's easy. Ask any college kid when's the last time he paid for a download or bought a CD? THe money (or what's left of it) is in copyrights. SO, they're going where the money is...writing.

What's that look like? A major lable artist who's never written before calls the BMI songwriter of the year and says, "I have an idea about a girl who's in love with a guy. Wanna write it?" The BMI songwriter says, "hell yeah!" They get together and 'co-write" the song. Not hard to imagine how happy the BMI songwriter of the year must be about this, even if they may have done the lion's share of the work. After all, 50% of something beats 100% of nothing any day. Talk about having an edge on getting a cut on the next CD!

SO, what's this got to do with pluggers? Simple. They can't get cuts either because they're all inside jobs now. NOBODY can get cuts unless they write wit the artist. SO people are doing what they can to make a buck. Somr...and I emphasise NOT ALL...pluggers have found a way to make extra cash by entering into plugging agreements with unknown writers with songs that aren't ready for prime time. But you ask, "Won't they ruin their reputations if they pitch bad songs?" No, and here's the punchline: THEY DON'T PUT THEIR NAMES ON THE PACKAGES. THey put the WRITERS name on the package. They pitch off the tip sheet by dropping off...no sit downs obviously, and in one case they offered no documentation on their pitches unless the client spent another $800 for the 'documentation package'! WHAT????!!!! Are you KIDDING ME? A song plugger's LIVELINE is in his/her documentation. It's meticulous because it has to be; if a song gets picked up they have to be able to prove that they're the ones that got the cut! Even with extensive documentation arguments come up all the time.

So, there you have it. If you're hearing from a plugger that your stuff is 'the best stuff I've heard in a long time" and that YOU, the writer, are "the best unsigned writer I've heard in years!" (an actual quote in once case with one of my cients), I'd advise you to consider this old adage: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Concerned in Music City,

Bill Renfrew
www.writethismusic.com