JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Industry Message Forum Neal James

Does anyone know anything about a Neal James out of Nashville? I've been to the guy's website and based on what I've seen, I'm not getting the feeling that he's done much in the past ten years. He is selling himself as a producer, but his web site doesn't have good up to date info on him. I am a little concerned about a family member who is thinking about doing some business with him. Are there any good sites to check on people in the industry? Thanks.

Welcome to JPF
Check back often. someone here may know of this person
In the mean time I found this

http://data.middletennessee.bbb.org/commonreport.html?bid=17945

I believe his name has come up somewhere before. If you are hiring him as a producer to perhaps produce a CD you should ask him in person for some references to check out.

What exactly is your family member using him for? You may be able to look up independent producers in Nashville by doing a Google Search to do some comparing.

The family member is a singer/song writer. Not quite certain how his name came across Mr. James's desk, but all of a sudden he is sending this guy a demo and for starts, around 7k. It was the large sum of money that got my attention. I know my brother in law is a big boy and makes his own decisions, but I thought it might be a good thing if I could throw him a line before he drowns himself.

Whoa, wait a minute.
Clarify that please.
Who is sending who 7k (I assume that means $7,000?)

I hope it is Mr. James that is sending 7K to the singer/songwriter and not the other way around

Drowning ain't the word for it. It is called being eaten by a man eating Shark.

Hi Mary,

If your BIL is sending 7K to this guy to produce a demo..that is outrageous. Mike Dunbar can do one for under $300. Mike Caro (Substudio) for not a lot more than that. Both are top quality guys.

Checked on Neal James online. He certainly appears to be knowledgeable. http://www.nealjames.com But even folks who have accomplished a lot in their lives can still rip folks off. It would be important to know what Mr. James has promised to do for your BIL.

Bobbie

He's produced a demo already himself. This guy is supposedly making a radio quality prdouction of four of his songs to send out to record companies. I've been to the guy's web site as well. But if you notice, there really isn't too much that is current and the rest is rather vague. I appreciate the feedback.

Mary
I cannot tell you or your BIL what to do But I would caution you to have him slow down.

I do not know anything about this person and He may be perfectly Legit and will do great things for your BIL. But.....
It is unusual for a legitimate company to ask the artist for money.

Publishers pay for demos, or radio ready recordings, not the artist.
There are song pluggers that you can pay to shop your songs but I would be very careful. Ask Him who he has placed this year.
It is a common saying in this biz. If they are asking you for money, Run away. Run Away as fast as you can.

If he has good songs and they are marketable the publisher or record label will pay him. Not the other way around.

There are many sharks in this business that prey on unsuspecting songwriters.

What experience does your Brother in Law have? How old is he? where does he live? How did Mr. James get his music?

My BIL has been playing and writing for some time now, but he's never done anything professionally. How his music came to James's attention, I have no idea. He lives in FL, so he isn't even in Nashville. I'll pass on the info. As you said, he needs to put the brakes on and do a bit more investigating.
I wish he could have gotten this feedback earlier. This board has a wealth of information. Thanks again.

For $7000.00 he could put a self produced CD on the market, maybe not equal in quality of a major release, but respectful.

Been there, done it, bought the T-Shirt with what little was left in my bank account! This is actually a {semi} legitamite practice that goes on in Nashville where {semi}reputable people under the guise of this this thing called Form 13 bring in {at least in MY case} bona-fide 1st rate session players to play on a 4 song demo{in MY case of my own songs} to shop {allegedly} to the majors. I'd advise that he run the other way immediately!

P.S, As for how it came to the person in question's attention... Again in MY case, I submitted to an indie label in Nashville that accepted unsolicited material. Welcome to the music biz kid!

MaryC, Mr. Neal James is an incredible producer. I used him as a producer for a project of mine and I was very satisfied. Your BIL will be in good hands.

June I checked your profile, and it's blank, and you're a 1 time poster. Sounds a little suspicious...Can you elaborate about your experience with Mr.James?

Bob:
I'm new at this sort of thing but can you direct me to the profile part? I'll gladly fill it out. I honestly didn't see it.
Thanks. I'm a first timer.

Profile is at the top of the page under MY STUFF in the Blue bar

Oh!
Welcome to JPF
The Nicest, friendliest bunch of songwriters on the internet
But Cautious

Also June

Could you tell us if you paid Mr. James any Money for his services and more importantly; What did he do for you, what successes have you had as a result of his work?
Give us a link to whatever you have.

Sorry to sound suspicious but you would not be the first person to log in brand new and the first thing you did was go to a post about someone we were checking out and give them a rave review. It does seem a little coincidental don't you think?

After talking to my BIL, he told me that he thoroughly checked out Mr. James and feels he is providing an honest service. I apparently misunderstood what services were being provided as well as the cost. Sorry for any confusion. Thanks for all the feedback and info.

Thanks for the update Mary.
Keep us posted. If this turns out well some folks here may be interested.

Bill:
You sound like a nice person. I actually found this site accidentally while looking for Mr. James' website. I had lost contact with him a few years back and just wanted to see what he was doing and to with him a Merry Christmas. I met him at an industry conference where he was the speaker. Myself and several others got to play him some of our song demo'. He liked mine and kept it. Later we go together and decided that he would produce me. I had already recorded some of those low cost demos but my husband and I felt that I should do it up right. So I did. I did a session in Nashville and a session in Florida. Mr. James played my recordings for people in the music industry and we got a couple of companies interested. We went to NY for a meeting with a label and we also went to CA for a meeting with another label. I didn't like NY or NY didn't like me but anyway the CA company seemed excited. We got back home and Mr. James called to say that the CA company wanted to hear more material. We went back into the studio and recorded more. We sent those off to CA and about a month later Mr. James calls saying that they wanted to meet with me again. This time they were paying. My husband at the time was starting to think we were wasting our time so he refused to go. Mr. James and I met up in CA and the next day we went to the label meeting. Most of the people in the company office seemed to know Mr. James pretty well and this meeting went great and I came back with a letter stating that they were interested in signing me. The last day that I was there I got a call at the hotel saying that my father had died in and automobile accident. So the excitement was hampered greatly. A couple of weeks after I got back I found out really why my husband at the time didn't want to go back to CA. I found out that I wasn't the only woman in his life and I was destroyed. I talked to Mr. James and he tried to keep buying me time with the label until I could get straightened out. I eventually had a breakdown. All was not lost though. Through all of this I found myself walking closer with God who saw me through it all. Later God and I got me back together, I got heavily involved with my church. I'm now married to a wonderful Christian man and have two children. My record deal offer was 6 years, 2 children and 28 pounds ago. I really wanted to be a pop star but another path was chosen for me. Contemporary Christian music is not out of the question though. Sorry for the rambling. Sometimes I just have the need to testify. Anyway back to your question, I did pay Mr. James for his services and he did not come cheap but it was money well spent. I had recorded cheap demos prior and got no results at all. Bill I'm not big on these type of things. As a matter of fact this is my first time to ever participate. I was just answering someones question about someone I once knew. Merry Christmas!

June, thanks for the candor and honesty. We run across some dubious people on these boards, so we're a little defensive.
If you were satisfied with the sevrvices provided then more power to ya! Good luck with all your endeavors.

June
Thank you for coming back and for your honest reply.
As I see it Mr James is a Producer, possibly a manager. He does not sound like a Publisher. That is where I sometimes get confused when we don't get the details.
If he did what he promised and you were satisfied I guess that is all that matters.

Sorry to hear of your misfortunes. It sounds like you are in a much better place now.
Have a very Merry Christmas and I hope the New Year brings wonderful things for you.