When I signed my first publishing deal with Major Bob Music, I thought, “This is great! I can just sit in my writer’s room, write every day, and let our three songpluggers pitch my songs and get ‘em cut.” This was a big mistake.
Wanna know why? Read on below.
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My mistake didn’t have to do with my songpluggers. Scot, Mike, and Jesse were all smart, hardworking guys who wanted me to succeed. Those guys worked busted their backsides for all of their writers. It was a mistake because I spent the first couple years of that deal missing out on the benefits of pitching my own songs.
Here are ten benefits of pitching your own songs.
1. Your odds improve.
It’s HARD to get cuts, so you want all hands on deck. Simply put, the more songs of yours that are getting pitched, the better the chance of the right song hitting the right ears at the right time.
2. Your back catalog stays active.
When you leave a publishing deal, it’s natural for your pluggers to back-burner your old songs and focus on their current writers and their newest songs. Pitching your own songs helps keep your best old songs in circulation.
3. You hear your songs more honestly.
Sitting across the desk from a producer or A&R rep makes you hear your songs differently. Little flaws which you might’ve ignored before become more obvious, especially if they pass on the song. Over time, this kind of listening makes your “flaw-detector” more sensitive when you’re writing.
4. You demo songs more wisely.
On a related note, the experience and feedback you get from pitching helps you demo only your best-chance songs. Your flaw-detector is more sensitive, and you ask yourself important questions like, “Do I ever pitch this type of song? Does this type of song ever get kept or cut? Is this song going to replace one of the songs I’m currently pitching? Am I excited about playing this song for so-and-so?”
5. Nobody knows your catalog better than you do.
Sometimes, a song may sit around for years before the right pitch comes along. A plugger probably won’t remember it if it’s not in the regular pitching rotation. But you might. For example, when I heard that comedy legend, Ray Stevens, was doing a political album, I dusted off an old, never-before-pitched song called “Fly Over Country,” which had reverted back to me from my Major Bob deal. I pitched it myself, and Ray cut it.
6. It builds your personal brand.
An A&R rep may hear five of your songs in a day from five different sources. That’s great, but they might never know those are YOUR songs. They might associate the songs with your cowriters or the publishers who brought them. If it’s YOU in the room, though, the rep hears several of your songs in a row and get to put your face to the name on the CD. And you get to do the same, which is handy if you see them out at an industry function. Oh,and you hopefully get them to like you as a person, which never hurts.
7. It can lead to cowrites.
When an A&R or producer associates your amazing songs with you- an amazing person – and you happen to be in the room with them… they might just decide to hook you up for a cowrite with another writer they dig or (even better) one of their artists. It’s a beautiful thing.
8. You get the inside scoop.
The A&R/producer can tell you what they need, and you can ask followup questions. That may bring to mind another song from your catalog (from any publisher you’ve had) which you can play right then or send later. And this info won’t have the chance of getting mis-relayed or not relayed at all to you by your plugger.
9. Your songs are the focus of the pitch meeting.
Your plugger goes into meetings representing several writers, all of whom are really good. So while you might land a couple of songs in the meeting, there are others that won’t be yours. But in your meetings, you’re on all the songs. More pitches, more chances to win.
10. You develop your own contacts.
What happens if your songplugger gets hit by a bus? Or if you lose your publishing deal? If you’re only relying on your plugger’s contacts and don’t have any of your own, your songs aren’t gonna get heard as often. I’ve been between deals, and it felt good knowing (and not just hoping) that my songs were still getting pitched.
So, there you go. My top ten reasons songwriters should pitch their own songs. But, like I said in point #1, I’m an all-hands-on-deck kind of guy. So I like working with publishers when it makes sense. If you’re interesting in working with a publisher, too, I have a great opportunity coming up.
Songwriting Pro’s next “Play For A Publisher” event is coming right up, and our guest is Joe Dan Cornett, Creative Director of Daywind Music Publishing & Billy Blue Publishing! Joe Dan works in the Country, Southern Gospel, Bluegrass and CCM/Worship markets. If YOU have the songs, HE knows what to do with them! Play for a publisher. Get his professional feedback. Make a connection. Overcome your fear.
CLICK HERE TO GET ALL THE DETAILS AND SEND IN YOUR SONG!
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 5 hit in the US, a #1 Single of the Year in Canada & a top 10 in Texas… so far. He also co-hosts a 5-star podcast, “The C.L.I.M.B.” on iTunes, Stitcher & HERE.
