Often times as creative individuals we move from project to
project never really getting the full potential out of a piece of
work. This is especially true with musicians. Jumping from
project to project, group to group, even genre to genre. Now all of this is
ok and often times necessary to keep you moving successfully
through the industries terrain. However, I’m guessing that
there is hidden gold that each and everyone of you have from
one of those past projects that may of never made it to your
album or didn’t quite fit your genre or personal band aesthetic.
These are the songs that you, your label, or producers deemed
not good enough or not marketable. So then how are you to
cash in on these records if they have been deemed not good
enough? My friends, publishing is the answer. Many televison
shows, movies, etc. are looking for indie records just like yours
everyday. With tight budgets and little focus actually being on
the music itself, even tracks recorded well on 8 tracks have made
there way to the screen. Not only will you increase your revenue,
you’ll also increase your exposure. As well as added some series
bench marks to put on your resume.
So if you’ve got some old tracks laying around or even some
newer ones that you are actively pushing you may want to go
the publishing route. There are many groups and organizations
that you can join for songwriters that will keep you in the loop
of what’s being looked for. There is also another less work intensive
way of going about finding leads which is a company called Taxi
(www.taxi.com). They have thousands of leads given from top
companies, producers, labels, publisher, etc. each year for just
about any genre you can think of. They are all former/current
A&R people and offer feedback for your submissions to help you
along as a songwriter and/or composer. Its $250-300/year to
join and I believe $5 per submission to avoid people submitting
for every lead (spamming their system). Plus you’ll get to attend
their annual Road Rally and come face to face with industry
executives and top songwriters to get their expertise.
Publishing may be your ticket into the big leagues, as many other
in the past have entered through this means. Give it a try, that is
unless the idea of extra money for little work sounds bad to you.
Until next time, Get out there and Manifest Your Career Success!
Tags: music publishing, song publishing