Looking for "Dido-like" singer to put first recorded poetry into a modern song format

[Jim Braum]

My colleagues and are looking for a "Dido-like" singer to help us bring a unique concept to reality. We wish to put human civilization's first recorded poetry (from the Epic of Gilgamesh) into a modern song format, which has, to our knowledge, never been attempted before. The singer who signs onto this "Siduri's advice" project would be a trail-blazing artist, whether the song is actually a popular hit or not. She would be giving a voice to a profound 4,000 year old philosophical Carpe diem pro-family philosophy; seizing and living each day to the fullest and protecting one's family are popular philosophical concepts that should help us in marketing this song. We have a substantial degree of flexibility to negotiate a very compelling single song recording contract.

 

Our ultimate goal is to get this "Siduri's advice" song commercial release through the standard music distribution channels across both National and (hopefully, eventually) International markets, but as a critical first step we would want to put together a high quality mp3 (essentially a "demo tape") that we could use to promote our song across the large and well established music distributors. Producing this high quality demo tape is the critical first step for this project and what we hope one of the singers from Harmony Central will help us with. We can leverage many legal, marketing, literary and other resources to promote this "Siduri's advice" song and we have investors very interested in promoting this song if it starts to gain traction in the popular music charts.

 

My colleagues and I already have a network in place to heavily promote the song in a targeted manner, but we need a singer to record the actual song and provide us with a working iTunes link for marketing purposes. Our job will be to use our multi-format platform (social media, targeted advertising, a best selling book and a network of targeted websites) combined with press releases and strategic partnerships to promote this song. We will also be reaching out and promoting "Siduri's advice" across other platforms. We have an Oregon-based award winning videographer interested in converting this putative "Siduri's Advice" song into a music video and promoting it.

 

Regarding money and royalties. Our agreement, should we identify the right singer, would be an equal partnership for producing (the singer) and marketing (us) Siduri's advice. This agreement will be for one song only and not affect the singer's other contractual agreements or ownership of her previous or future music in any way. All royalties for "Siduri's advice" would be shared 50:50 between us. Also, we will pay the singer $1,000 for producing this song. Also, if the song takes off and she is invited to travel to interviews etc we will cover all of her travel and accommodation expenses and provide her with a $250 a day "per diem"; such as for travel to radio and television interviews and events. We anticipate that if we can generate sufficient traction through our targeted online marketing efforts that the royalty-based return, while difficult to predict, could be a significant source of income if the song is a hit. We will do everything in our power to make this song a hit!

 

The only time commitment for the singer will be in producing this one song, uploading it to iTunes as a 99 cent song and providing us with a working iTunes link and mp3 for marketing purposes. If the artist can generate a high quality song for under the $1,000 we will be paying her as the song's producer, then she could just keep the rest. If she has the equipment and expertise in-house, she could just keep the whole $1,000. This represents the minimum financial return for her involvement , which we would hope would be significantly larger from her 50% royalty payments if this song becomes a hit.

 

In summary, we need a "Dido-like" singer to generate a high quality song for promotion across our multi format distribution platform, which includes multiple targeted websites as well as a best-selling book.

 

The current draft of the lyrics are detailed below, but these should just be considered a draft that can be modified however the singer sees fit. Please forward this message to singers that might be interested in participating in this project.

 

Sincerely,

Jim Braum,

Vice President of Operations,

Siduri's Advice Archival Initiative (SAAI)

 

 

 

SONG: "Siduri's Advice"

Lyrics: Jim Braum

Looking for singer and melody...

 

 

(Chorus)

Whither are you wandering?

Life you seek you will never find.

Carpe diem should be your offering,

dance and sing all joy combined.

 

Protect family and protect your place,

look at your child hold their hand again.

Let your wife delight in your embrace,

these things alone are the concern of men.

 

 

(Verse 1)

He who saw into the Deep,

he who saw Uruk's foundation.

He who was trusted to keep,

secret wisdoms that bring us elation.

 

Gilgamesh saw into the Deep,

Gilgamesh saw Uruk's foundation.

Gilgamesh was trusted to keep,

defend justice for all people in his nation.

 

 

(Chorus)

Whither are you wandering?

Life you seek you will never find.

Carpe diem should be your offering,

dance and sing all joy combined.

 

Protect family and protect your place,

look at your child hold their hand again.

Let your wife delight in your embrace,

these things alone are the concern of men.

 

 

(Verse 2)

He who built the walls of Uruk,

he who built the temple of Eanna.

He who used great ovens to cook,

protect his people and seek Nirvana.

 

Take the stairway of a bygone era,

see the flood at our world's foundation.

As Siduri's wisdom draws ever nearer,

defend justice for all people in our nation.

 

 

(Chorus)

Whither are you wandering?

Life you seek you will never find.

Carpe diem should be your offering,

dance and sing all joy combined.

 

Protect family and protect your place,

look at your child hold their hand again.

Let your wife delight in your embrace,

these things alone are the concern of men.

 

 

(Verse 3)

In one square mile city buildings sit,

in one square mile date groves stretch to afar.

In one square mile clay from a pit,

the last half mile is a temple to Ishtar.

 

 

Within this three and half square mile city,

lays a cedar box with a bronze clasp.

Lift the tablets of lapis lazuli,

read the Epic reach secrets that we grasp.

 

 

(Final chorus)

Whither are you wandering?

Life you seek you will never find.

Carpe diem should be your offering,

dance and sing all joy combined.

Protect family and protect your place,

look at your child hold their hand again.

 

Let your wife delight in your embrace,

these things alone are the concern of men.

These things alone are the concern of men.

These things alone are the concern of men.

[ido1957]

Sounds like a very fair deal for the right singer - get this in writing to protect everyone's interest.

[Jim Braum]

Sounds like a very fair deal for the right singer - get this in writing to protect everyone's interest.

Yes' date=' we will include all of the aforementioned stipulations/specifics in the contract. Interested artists should contact me directly at [email']jimbraumcos@gmail.com[/email]