A little info on songwriting and recording from, Chapter 7 of my book entitled "From Movie City to Music City USA"

From Movie City to Music City USA

75Chapter SevenSongwriting & Recording

I have written 30 songs, and recorded five of the songs that I

have written on my album entitled “Non Stop Flight,” in fact, that is

the name of the title track on my CD. Track number two is entitled

“She Wants Me to Stay, Stay Gone” written by Ronnie Dunn of the

country duo Brooks and Dunn, and it was co-written by Dean Dillon

who has written songs for George StraitGeorge Strait. Track number four entitled “I

Will” was written by Leslie Satcher who is on the Warner Label or at

least she was when I recorded my album, as artists do tend to either get

dumped by their labels or just simply leave them due to professional

and or creative differences or leave because they are sick and tired of

the label ripping them off, okay moving right along.

I really enjoyed recording my CD in Nashville, but again let’s

not jump too far ahead. I have written tidbits, or what you may

consider unfinished songs, or as they refer to songs in the industry,

material. I did not start writing complete finished lyrics until around

1998. I recorded the first three songs on my CD in 1999, then two

more in 2000. The final five songs on my album were recorded in

2001. In December 2001, my CD, "Non Stop Flight" was released on

the internet distribution site, “The Orchard.” You can google my

name, Randall Rutledge, or Non Stop Flight, CD and find it all over

the internet available to purchase. Am I making money from it? No

I’m not, not even one red cent. Oops, I’m getting ahead of myself,

aren’t I?

Okay, back on track to songwriting. If you write a song how

do you get it out there? How do you get it published? How do you get

it recorded by an established artist? How do you get it in a movie, or

TV show? Well the answers to all of these questions are like

everything else in the entertainment industry, Catch 22. I will tell you

the process to all of the above. Okay answer to question one. If you

write a song how do you get it out there? The first thing you have toRandall Rutledge

76do is get a demonstration recording of your song, which in the industry

is simply called a "demo." It had better be more than a garage band

recording. The days of recording the way Buddy Holly did in his

garage, on what I believe was a four-track, and getting picked up are

long gone. Then again it doesn’t matter how professionally your demo

is recorded, in today’s time you’ll be very lucky to even get in the door

with a major record label or publisher.

What is a publisher? In the music industry, a publisher is a

person or company affiliated with the same songwriters rights

organization as the writers it signs, they evaluate songs for commercial

potential, and try to find artists to record their clients’ songs.

Publishers find other uses such as TV or film for their client's songs,

collect income generated by the songs, and protect the songs against

copyright infringement. In short, that’s what a music publisher is

suppose to do.

Just starting out, can you send your material to any publisher?

The answer is no. You can try, but chances are that your demo will

never be listened to for consideration in being published and if you’re

lucky it will be sent back to you with “does not accept unsolicited

material” stamped on your envelope. More times than not, your

materials are thrown in the trash and you’ll never hear from them.

How do I get a publisher, you ask? Well, here’s where Catch

22 comes in. The first thing you should do is contact the publisher by

mail or phone and ask their permission to submit your material for

their consideration in possibly publishing your song or songs. If they

do give you permission to send it to them the next thing you need to do

is ask them about their submission policy. Do they want one song,

three songs, or more on a demo? Do they prefer it sent on tape, CD, or

DAT? Also, before you contact a publisher make sure that they do in

fact publish the style of music that you write i.e., country, blues, hip

hop, etc. If you write hip hop and submit your tape to a publisher that

only publishes country music, they can’t help you. Make sure the

publisher you seek and the style of music that you write match,

otherwise you’re wasting your time, postage, and demo submission,

From Movie City to Music City USA77

not to mention wasting the publisher's time, which is a big no, no.

Now let’s say that you send your demo to the publisher and

bingo they want to offer you a publishing contract. Should you sign it?

Not until you understand everything within the contract. I strongly

advise that you have an Entertainment Attorney look over the contract

before you sign on the dotted line. There is no such thing as a standard

publishing contract as each contract varies from publisher to publisher.

The best contract in the industry is composed by the SGA

(Songwriters Guild of America). It is considered the best publishing

contract a writer can sign as it has the greatest number of built in

protections for the songwriter. In order to use the guilds contract, you

must be a member. Their web site is www. Songwriters.Com so check

out their website for contact information, etc. Here are some basic

points in their contract.

1.

When you receive a contract covering just one

composition, you should make sure the phrases “employment

for hire” and “exclusive writer agreement” are not included.

Also, there should be no options for future songs.

2.

If you previously signed

publishing contracts, you should be affiliated with ASCAP,

BMI, or SESAC. All performance royalties must be received

directly by you from your performing rights organization and

this should be written in to your contract.

3.

The contract should include a provision that

if the publisher does not secure a release of a commercial

sound recording within a specified time (one year, two years,

etc.) then you can terminate the contract.

4.

If the contract includes a

provision that the publisher can change the title, lyrics, or

music, this clause should be amended that only with your

consent can such changes be made.

785.

You should receive fifty percent (50%)

of all publishers income on all licenses issued. If the publishers

prints or sells their own sheet music, your royalty should be

ten percent (10%) of the wholesale selling price. The royalty

should not be stated in the contract as a flat rate ($.05, $.07,

etc,).

6.

Ideally, demos and all other expenses

of publications should be paid 100% by the publisher, the only

allowable fee is for the Harry Fox Agency collection fee. The

writer pays one half of the amount charged to the publisher for

mechanical rights. The current rate charged by The Harry Fox

Agency is 9.1 cents per cut for songs under five minutes, and

$1.75 per minute for songs over five minutes.

7.

Once the song is

recorded, you are entitled to receive royalty statements at least

once every six months. In addition, an audit provision with no

time restriction should be included in every contract.

8.

The publisher should make sure that you

receive proper credit on all uses of the composition.

9.

In order to avoid large legal fees in case of a

dispute with your publisher, the contract should include an

arbitration clause.

10.

Any use not specifically covered by the

contract should be retained by the writer to be negotiated as it

comes up.

Those are the ten basic points that every publishing contract

should include prior to being signed and accepted by the writer.

Although the Songwriters Guild of America has the best and

most fair contract geared toward the writer, try to get a publisher to

sign it. Most publishers want you to sign their contract so they can rip

From Movie City to Music City USA79

you off legally once you sign on the dotted line. If a publisher has no

intent of ripping you off and are honest, their own contract would

contain these points. I doubt you’ll find it, you might, but I think not.

If they won't enter into a publishing agreement with you by signing the

Songwriters Guild of America contract, provided you’re a member of

the Songwriters Guild of America, then I would not sign with that

publisher, period.

Before I move forward about how artists get signed, let’s talk a

little about the rip offs in the music industry. The first rip off that we

will talk about is known in the industry as a "song shark." A song

shark is a person that preys on beginners that know nothing about the

music industry. They expect you to pay up-front monies as they are

not concerned about future royalties. Here are some of the things that

you shouldn’t do and should avoid.

1. Never pay to have your music reviewed.

2. Never pay to have your song published.

3. Avoid paying a fee to have a publisher make a demo of your

songs.

4. No record company should ask you to make or pay for a demo.

5. Never pay to have your lyrics or poems set to music.

6. Avoid CD compilation deals where a record company asks you

to pay a fee.

7. Read all contracts carefully before signing.

8. Don’t pay a company to pair you with a collaborator.

9. Don’t sell your songs outright.

10. If you are asked by a record company or other music industryRandall Rutledge

80company to pay expenses up-front, be careful.

11. Before participating in a songwriting contest, read all the rules

carefully.

12. Verify any situation about an individual or company if you

have any doubts at all.

The bottom line is never paying any up-front money to a record

company or publisher as a legitimate record company or publisher

would never ask you for any up-front money. They will receive

money via sales, licensing, etc.

If this interest you, and you would like to read the book in it's entirity, then it is available to purchase from the following websites: www.randallrutledge.com, www.amazon.com, www.bn.com , www.tower.com, www.booksamillion.com However if you want a signed copy of my book you must order it from my website www.randallrutledge.com I also would like some feedback on this article, so please feel free to leave comments about this report thanks to all who read it.