Members Fido Posted January 11, 2004 Members Share Posted January 11, 2004 Say you're a lyricist who's ready to put your work out there for collaboration. You have two options for showing your work. Which would you choose? 1.) Musicians who've expressed an interest in finding and collaborating with a lyricist but without a guarantee their musical tastes will match yours. Or 2.) A band you discovered online (one self produced album under their belt) that has expressed no interest in collaborating with anyone but whos musical and lyrical direction is freakishly similiar to the direction your lyrics were written for. Would it be too weird to contact them out-of-the-blue and ask if they'd be interested in a collaboration? Or are "cold calls" like this used all the time?As a musician in the band, how would you react/think? (They are also overseas. Not a problem for me, though.) Your views/experiences are greatly appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Parallex Posted January 11, 2004 Members Share Posted January 11, 2004 Cold calls are not too weird. Actually, it makes me feel better when someone calls me out of the blue in regards to the band. I know all the online promotion is working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fido Posted January 13, 2004 Author Members Share Posted January 13, 2004 Paralax, So you would consider collaborating with a lyricist who contacted you online... if you really liked their lyrics? I'm not proposing anything- I saw your site and my lyrics are written for a different genre- but I do like some of Collective Soul's stuff. I'll have to check out your sound another time, though. Right now I'm on my sis's computer and she doesn't like me downloading anything. (She's not very internet savy and fears everything) But getting back to the topic, would you ever take such an offer of collaboration seriously or would you just regard them as another addition to your fan base, pay lip service to their proposal to maintain their loyalty but never actually collaborate with them? In other words, Is self promotion all that matters to you now when interacting with other artists outside your band ("How can i use this chump to increase the fanbase?") or (hypothetically) could you actually be inspired to compose music to someone else's lyrics you thought were {censored}ing phenomenal? I'd like to hear some other people's opinions on this too, if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members miles to go Posted January 14, 2004 Members Share Posted January 14, 2004 You really have nothing to loose by asking the band about a collaboration, but I wouldn't have very high expectations. In my experience, most bands that play original music do so, at least in part, because they enjoy the creative outlet. If they've already got a CD out, they probably have their writing process in place. I'm not saying they definitely won't be interested, but I think you're facing an uphill battle. Reactions vary. My band received an unsolicited email from a local singer/songwriter looking for a "backing band" for some live work. He already had material, gigs, etc. so it would basically be a hired gun arrangement. We weren't really interested so I sent a polite response declining his offer. However, our singer was pretty offended but the whole thing. I guess she felt threatened by it. -Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Parallex Posted January 21, 2004 Members Share Posted January 21, 2004 Originally posted by Fido Paralax, So you would consider collaborating with a lyricist who contacted you online... if you really liked their lyrics? I'm not proposing anything- I saw your site and my lyrics are written for a different genre- but I do like some of Collective Soul's stuff. I'll have to check out your sound another time, though. Right now I'm on my sis's computer and she doesn't like me downloading anything. (She's not very internet savy and fears everything) But getting back to the topic, would you ever take such an offer of collaboration seriously or would you just regard them as another addition to your fan base, pay lip service to their proposal to maintain their loyalty but never actually collaborate with them? In other words, Is self promotion all that matters to you now when interacting with other artists outside your band ("How can i use this chump to increase the fanbase?") or (hypothetically) could you actually be inspired to compose music to someone else's lyrics you thought were {censored}ing phenomenal? I'd like to hear some other people's opinions on this too, if possible. i'm sorry, i haven't been to the forums in awhile. we have a different singer/lyricist for the record, so we're beyond all that crappy relationships {censored}. Anyways, in response to the body of your question, it's a little bit of both of the options you presented. Obviously self promotion's going to be involved with most anything you do. But I also like collaborating with other people because it's something new. You know what the old girl syndrome is.....your girlfriend that was {censored}ing hot three years ago but is just same ol' same ol' and all the other girls look new and exciting.....yeah, it's the same way in music. I hear LOTS of other things that I would like to play or be a part of besides just my music. Collaborating brings to the table new styles of music, causes me to extend my creativity to certain wells I may not have tapped yet, and can help me create a new respect for a new type of music. I just like making music. There's a gene for it somewhere in my body, there's got to be! With me my biggest collaboration impediment at the moment would be lack of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TacoFlavoredPigeon Posted June 8, 2004 Members Share Posted June 8, 2004 Hi Fido:) I would say that Cold Calls arent a bad way to go- but keep in mind that you have to sell yourself to the caller first. One mans {censored} is another mans treasure... Who knows if anyone would even like your lyrics to begin with? Can you sing them? Do you rap? Do you play an instrument? What do you have to offer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slange316 Posted July 6, 2004 Members Share Posted July 6, 2004 Fido, Take it from somebody how has done A LOT of cold calling. It is a numbers game. The more calls you make, the more "business" you'll get. I doesn't matter what you are selling; songs, vaccumes, or insurance. Cold calling works if; 1. You like it. (I don't)2. You make tons of calls. I quit cold calling because I don't like getting cold calls. I found it hard to do something I didn't believe in. I did however do it for several years because it is a great way to build your skills in selling and dealing with people. I found other avenues to build my business after I felt I learned the proper skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fido Posted July 6, 2004 Author Members Share Posted July 6, 2004 Originally posted by slange316 Fido, Take it from somebody how has done A LOT of cold calling. It is a numbers game. The more calls you make, the more "business" you'll get. I doesn't matter what you are selling; songs, vaccumes, or insurance. Cold calling works if; 1. You like it. (I don't) 2. You make tons of calls. I quit cold calling because I don't like getting cold calls. I found it hard to do something I didn't believe in. I did however do it for several years because it is a great way to build your skills in selling and dealing with people. I found other avenues to build my business after I felt I learned the proper skills. Thanks!, slange. Will keep your advice in mind, if this band is not interested, and I have to shop my lyrics around. Still have yet to copyright my lyrics. Very Soon, Though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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