Here we go again. Jim, you know we don't think "all roads lead to Nashville." That is only one part of it but since most music is now self contained, totally written by the artist or the aritst's inner circle, (a trend started in the 60's with the Beatles) there is very little hope of getting a song even heard any more outside of some film, television, the very long shot rock or pop pitches. Nashville and country is one of the last vestiges where there are outside writers. But that is dissapearing as downloading has taken so much money out of the industry.

Songs don't have to be co-written. But relationships have to be built. And having others writing on songs, sharing the costs on demos, helping in pitches, bringing in people to their respective careers which in turn effect your career is essential. Write a song by yourself, and you only have you to pitch it. In this day and age there are just no single entities in any career. You need the publishers, artists, record labels, and having them as a part of it helps.

They have their own interests and songs, artists, etc. so everybody you need are direct competition to what you have. And it is the relationship business. You meet people constantly who you like, get along with and most of the time, that interaction leads to co-writing which intensifies both the quality of songs and the nature of relationships.

All those "gatekeepers" that everyone talks about, were once people on the outside too. They all worked their way in by being a part of something bigger than themselves. Those relationships led to one form of success or another which put them in the position to be a "gatekeeper."

Everything is just one more step. Writing a great song that knocks people out is the biggest thing. Having it written with someone who might be a great artist on the ground floor of his or her career, is another step. Having people who are interested in the artist and the song and refer it to others are another step. Having a great representation on the song that eliminates every excuse from "if we had a great demo of this we could pitch it" to "this needs to be on a web site, or a video done, but we have to get a great recording of it" to "This is an artist we are working with and one of the songs he is recording but it is not a complete demo' and having to play that for money people who are investing in a company that will keep that company afloat to get things out there but are all laywers and accountants and couldn't hear a hit song if it fell on them from the sky, is another part.

Writing a lot of songs with a lot of people, having dozens of pluggers, producers, agents, record promoters, artists, know your work and trust that you will be writing great things, and are writing and interacting with people they know and trust and have made money from , is all part of it.

There just isn't one step. There are hundreds. You are upping the level of your odds at each time. and it is about being flexible and taking advantage of every step as economically as you can.

Ray, if you have backing music tracks for your demos, you have what they are looking for in film and television libraries. They need backing music without vocals for scenes, underlays, technical applications.And they are on a tight time restraint, so there is no time to re-record something. So if you have a great demo you can have one version with vocals for pitching, one with music for film or television.

As far as letting an artist use tracks, I have no problem with it because it is another pitch on the song. I have 2 songs signed at Sony music now because the artist I was working with last year, Frankie Ballard, sang to two of my tracks on my songs. He was signed to a writing deal there and now an artist deal with Warner Brothers and has his first single coming out in May. The companies are interested in everything he has written and recorded and two of my songs are subsequently there because he recorded them for his first CD that I did with him. And one of the songs of mine has been pitched to other artists on that label.

Another writer I work with just signed a major publishing deal with Taylor Swift's company (told you a lot of people benefit from that girl) and several of the demos I did with her, including two songs that we wrote with a current artist signed over there, are involved in her deal. Those artists, the duo Steel Magnolia, are at number 15 on the charts this week. My client has the second single that is already on top of the I tunes charts.

So nothing HAS to be done. You don't have to co-write. You don't have to do good demos. You don't have to spend money, time or anything.It can work in a variety of different ways.
Everett got a song on the Today show, a very famous TV show here. Big Jim has built a career playing music, and does fine where he is. Ray, you have your publishing contacts that you use and work fine for you. I am not really talking to any of you.

My concern on any and all of these posts, are that people who might be newcomers, people that might have been spending money unwisely, chasing dead ends, hitting roadblocks, see a broad variety of thoughts and experiences. Each person has to decide on what to do on their own benefits, and it helps when you hear from other people who might have already made some mistakes that you can avoid.

I talk Nashville because that is where I live and work. I talk about modern country music because the format has expanded and with all it's challenges is a pretty cool place to be involved in. I talk about demos, co-writing and the process of publishers, pluggers, artists, etc. because it is what I know and have been involved with and where most writers who participate in things like this end up trying to either come to or find a way into. And for everybody that might have their own processes, there is a Polly Hagar, Bob Cushing, Magne or others that might be trying their hands at writing, recording, dealing with other countries, or doing a writer's night that I have been involved with for a long time.

There are no rules. Just some strong suggestions. Mine is one perspective, not the end all. I have an opinion backed up by practical experience. Some of those work. Some don't. I just want to keep people from wasting a lot of time and money on things that other's have failed in. To me, that is what being a part of a community like this is about. Helping your friends be the best they can be.

MAB