COUNTRY NOTES

The NSAI bulletin for the Los Angeles area Workshop

May-June 2001

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Demos

By Craig Lackey

When it comes to pitching songs to publishers, one of the most common questions is what kind
of demo should be submitted? There is no simple answer to this question. Here is one opinion on
this very subjective topic:

If you have no prior relationship with a publisher, then send the best demo your budget allows.
Even if a publisher says work tapes are OK, and claims to have "good ears", you often only get one
shot at opening a door.  Don't let an amateur sounding demo block your progress.

If you have an established relationship with a publisher or a known track record as a hit writer,
then you can get away with presenting your songs with a quality sounding guitar/vocal or piano/vocal
demo.

Once you have reached the point with a particular publisher where they know your work and
believe in you as a writer, then it's appropriate to ask if they would listen to your work tapes to give
feedback.  What's good about that is if the publisher likes the song, they may sign it to a single song
contract.  Then the publisher typically pays for the demo.

In the meantime, I recommend using resources like NSAI to get feed back on work tapes. Make sure
your song is really ready.  When you have 4 - 6 songs that you truly believe in, then go for the highest
quality demo you can.

Don't forget to make use of NSAI's free critique service and opportunities like Vince Melamed's
(our Adopt-a-Shop pro) offer to provide feedback on songs from our workshop.

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May_June '01 Workshop Schedule

Workshop Location
Unless otherwise noted, workshops are held from 4-7p.m. at Musician's Institute, 1655 McCadden Place, just off Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood. Admission is free for NSAI members, $10 for non-members. For more information, call Craig Lackey at (310)319-9454 or email Seth Jackson at webmaster.hitmeister@mindspring.com.
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NSAI LOS ANGELES WORKSHOP VOLUNTEERS

EDITOR:
Seth Jackson

WORKSHOP COORDINATORS:
Seth Jackson
Craig Lackey

EVENT COORDINATOR:
Cathy Carlson

TO GET INVOLVED:
send email to craiglack@aol.com

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