Six Things Songwriters Can Do When Their Songs Are Finished (Pt. 2)
Welcome back to several more things songwriters can do when their songs are finished…
3. Schedule A Demo
Speaking of bringing your song to the next level, it’s time to decide if your song is worth a further investment of your time and financial resources. If we’re honest with ourselves as songwriters, we have to admit that not every song we write is demo-worthy. However, if you believe that this particular song is genuinely ready for prime time, then you have to create a professional demo of the song so that you can present it to the music industry at large and be taken seriously. This is not the time to hope that music business professionals will be able to “hear through” your rough recording. Instead, I’d recommend investing the money on a professional studio recording using a trained demo singer and at least one session musician. If you’re prepared to spend the necessary time and effort learning to sing, play and record your own songs at the highest level, then by all means do this yourself. But, given the number of hours in the day, if you have to choose, I’d consider spending your time working on your songwriting and pitching your songs and leave the recording to the folks that do it all day, every day. 
4. Catalog Your Mixes
Once you’re the proud owner of a great-sounding, professionally recorded demo of your song, you’ll need to make sure you’ve got easy access to it. This way, when an opportunity presents itself, you’ll know exactly where to go and what to look for. I can’t think of anything more depressing than an artist, label or publisher asking for a copy of your song and you not being able to find it. To that end, I’d ask the demo studio for high resolution .wav file mixes of your demo with and without vocals (instrumental versions of your songs are always great to have). Then, I’d learn how to use iTunes to not only convert your .wav files to mp3 for easier emailing but also to embed the necessary metadata (song title, contact info, etc.) directly into the mp3. This can be a bit daunting at first but, remember, if you’re hoping to make money from your songwriting, then you’re running a business and knowing how to prepare your product is all part of it.
