Alright, you’ve tracked down a music publisher, and you’ve finally gotten that meeting you’ve been hoping for.  But now what?  How do you make it a success?  How do you avoid blowing this opportunity?

Here are five things you should do to effectively prepare for your publisher meeting.  Good luck!

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1. Define your goal(s) for the meeting and beyond.

Do you want to write hits for other artists or for yourself as an artist?  Do you want a publishing deal or to get cowrites with the publisher’s writers?  Or both?  Are you writing for yourself or for the radio?  How can a publisher help you get where you want to go if you don’t know where that is?

2. Write down a list of questions and/or topics you want to cover.

Don’t just make a mental note- write it down.  By the way, write it down- and have it in front of you during the meeting.  When you get into it, when you get nervous or happy or frustrated or whatever, you’re likely to forget something you wanted to talk about.  Prioritize the list to make sure it’s as easy as possible to get to the important ones.  Did I mention you should write it down?

3. Choose your songs.

Decide on your songs based on which are most relevant to your goals.  If your goal is to be a hit country songwriter, but you bring in a novelty gospel song to show your range, it’s kind of a waste of time.  Bring songs that are aiming in the direction of your goals.  Order your songs in order of importance.  You might not get to them all, so play your “must-play” song first.

Burn a CD, even if you plan on playing live.  What if you break a string or a finger in the middle of your first song?  What if the publisher wants to play the song for an artist later that day?  Be prepared.  Also, have the labeling on the CD clear and professional with all your contact info on it.

Also, prepare for the fact that the publisher may not have a CD player on their computer.  (Sounds crazy, I know.)  It may be wise to have your songs and lyrics in an email folder where you can send them over from your phone right in their office.  Or to have them somewhere online where you can pull them up.  Be prepared.

4. Type your lyrics.

Make two copies of your typed lyrics- one for you (in case you get nervous and forget them in the middle of your song) and one for the publisher.  Some publishers don’t look at lyrics, but others do.  Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

And I don’t care how much you like your own handwriting- a typed lyric is more professional and makes a better impression.  Also, put all your contact info on every page of every lyric.  It doesn’t matter how awesome your song is if the publisher can’t find you later or remember who wrote it.

5. Research your publisher.

I’m not talking about hiding in the bushes outside their office.  But who is going to be sitting across the desk from you?  Have they published a hit?  Who are their current staff songwriters?

Knowing some of their cuts and writers 1) makes you look more prepared and professional 2) can spur relevant, helpful conversation (“How did you get ‘Happy In Love’ to George Urban?”).  Also, nothing is worse than badmouthing an artist, song or songwriter to your publisher and then seeing that artist’s album hanging on the publisher’s wall.  Oops.

Okay, those are 5 ways you can prepare for your publisher meeting.  You may want to bookmark this page or print it out for when the big day comes.

Next time, I’ll discuss how to handle the publisher meeting itself.  Stay tuned, you don’t want to miss it.  In the meantime…

Let me introduce you to a legit music publisher.

If you’re ready to connect with a publisher, I have a path for YOU and YOUR great song to get to a real, legit, successful music publisher.

On Thursday, March 28, I’m hosting the next round of Songwriting Pro’s “Play For A Publisher.” Our guest is Scot Sherrod of Rare Spark Media.  Scot has had his hand in a bunch of hits, but the deadline to submit your song is coming up quickly!  CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent Brent Baxter is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ruthie Collins, Ray Stevens, and more. He’s written a top 10 in Texas, a top 5 hit in the US and a #1 in Canada… so far.