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Okay. I've written 'em. How do I sell 'em?


Delmont

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Have they been fully recorded? Maybe try using Bandcamp.

Or you can go the streaming route, which is not exactly "selling" but that how a lot of music is consumed these days.

 

If you're not looking to be the featuring artist/band, then maybe try looking for a music publisher to help you.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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I think marketing needs to have the loss-leader of touring as a 1st effort. You can shake writers from the nearest tree and whole bands will tumble out with them. The audience, though, is not there. Those trees are on the endangered species list and protected. You have to visit them to see them. The labels aren't nurturing artistry anymore because they have EDM, which is a guaranteed profit base for them, where artistry has been superseded by digital fraud that can be had from salaried hacks.

 

What you might attempt is to get onto Meetup-dot-com and look for ways/venues in your area to showcase yourself and grow your presence organically.

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Next steps? Cranking them out is easy. Now what?

 

Are you strictly a writer / composer, or are you also an artist too? If you're the former, then start researching publishers. You want one who works with similar musical genres as the ones you're writing for. Each publisher will have their own submission requirements and procedures, which you should also research and follow carefully and to the letter. Some like to receive fully produced demos, others prefer basic piano / vocal or guitar / vocal demos, and will have more elaborate demos produced if they feel it necessary - possibly arranged to suit different genres and styles - especially if they think it would be a suitable song for submission to a specific artist.

 

A publisher will take a cut of the proceeds, but a percentage of something beats 100% of nothing every time, and they have the contacts and ability to potentially get your music placed and generating money for you where most writers simply don't. If they don't get it placed within a certain time frame, a decent publishing contract will stipulate that the rights revert fully to you. Make sure you have a good contract (IOW, have an entertainment attorney check it over) before you sign anything!

 

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I've been writing songs for fifty years (I wrote poetry until I was sixteen, when someone showed me how to play guitar) but have never been a composer. Can't read music, so I just write out the chords. I also play guitar and will sing when cornered.

 

Now that I'm retired, I gig once or twice a month, and gigging seems to be on the upswing. Not an artist, just a guy who writes a lot of songs and likes playing guitar.

 

About 120 of my songs are on my website below. (Leon Fullerton is my musical alter ego. Delmont is his nephew.) I'm the guy with the dobro on the press kit page.

 

When (a) the weather is warmer and (b) I sell a guitar to pay for some recording gear upgrades, I'll be adding about fifty more.

 

I've tried checking out publishers and will try it again.

 

What do you think of sending songs directly to favorite artists?

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by way of translation: Well, you may consider submitting it directly to artists. Or great music studios. Oh, and you can also write for urgent tcc services. They definitely need a good writer. [it was Portugese]

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