Tag Archives: Demo Singing

Do Business Like A Pro, Know The Row

If you don’t communicate well in these areas, you’re wasting your songwriting money!

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As songwriters, we know the value of communication.  We write our songs to communicate some specific truth or emotion.  If our songs don’t communicate, our songs don’t resonate.

But did you know that songwriters have to communicate well in some other areas if we hope to get cuts and make it in the music biz?____________________

To BE a pro, you need to THINK like a pro, and this FREE ebook will help transform your thinking, your songwriting, and your success.  Get it today!

Click Here For The Book

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You must communicate well with your cowriters.

If you sit down to cowrite with another songwriter, communication is key.  If you bring in an idea, you want to share your vision of the song with your cowriter in a way that is clear and compelling.  Otherwise, you may end up kinda writing two songs at once – you’re trying to write the song in your head, and your cowriter is trying to write the song he thinks is in your head.  That’s frustrating and unproductive.  You’ll either have to “reset” to get on the same page and start over (wasted time), or your song will be a muddy mess (wasted idea).

You must communicate well with your musicians.

If you want to go into the studio with any hope of coming out with a killer demo or record, you have to be able to communicate well with the musicians.  What’s the vibe of the song?  Are there changes from the work tape you want them to make?  What if you hear a cool guitar rhythm thing in your head in the middle of the session – can you explain it to the guitar player?  At the very least, can you sit down with the band leader and explain things to him so he can “translate” it for his guys?

I’ll be honest.  I’m not good at speaking musician.  So I make sure my cowriter can, and I make sure he or she is in the studio with me.  So that’s one way to get around this hurdle- finding a cowriter who can communicate with musicians.

You must communicate well with your demo singer.

If you or your cowriter don’t sing your demo (and it might be a big mistake to sing your own demo- read more about that HERE), you’ll need a demo singer.  Demo singers won’t turn bad songs into great songs, but they can sure help great songs sound great.

But if the vocal doesn’t turn out well, it can make a great song sound “blah.”  Do you micromanage your singer from the very first pass so he or she locks up and never just “feels it?”  Or do you give them zero feedback because you don’t really know what you want- or you’re scared of sounding stupid? (I feel your pain, brother.)

Not knowing how to communicate with your demo singer is costly – in a few ways.  First of all, it’ll take longer to get the vocal the way you want it.  That means you’ll pay more for studio time.  But sometimes the vocal never quite gets right, and it’ll hurt the quality of your demo.  A “blah” demo can waste $700 to $900.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t have that kind of money to flush down the toilet.

So, what’s the solution?

Knowledge, really.  If you know how to communicate with your demo singer, you and the singer can both be more comfortable, confident, and productive in the studio.  And your demo will sound a lot better.  I want you to have that knowledge, so I’m hooking you up with one of the top demo singers on Music Row for an exclusive private online event.

On Tuesday, February 28, I’m hosting a live, online videoconference with top Nashville demo singer, Matt Dame.  If you want to ask your questions and learn from one of the top singers in the game… if you want to learn how to get the best performance possible from a demo singer (or how not to screw up a demo vocal) this is your chance! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY.  Oh, and there are only a few spots available (so we can keep things personal and “face to face,”) so don’t wait- check it out now!

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 and a #1 in Canada… so far.

Do Business Like A Pro, Know The Row

Do Labels And Producers ONLY Want To Hear Fully-Produced Demos?

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So, you finally did it!  You have an opportunity to pitch a song to a label or producer for one of their artists.  Awesome!

You’re excited, pumping your fists in the air and wondering how many bottles of champagne you can fit on a yacht, when all of a sudden, it hits you…

“Should I play a full demo, a guitar/vocal, or a work tape?”

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To BE a pro, you need to THINK like a pro, and this FREE ebook will help transform your thinking, your songwriting, and your success.  Get it today!

Click Here For The Book

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Like so many questions in the music biz, there’s no one right answer.  Personally, I’ve gotten cuts in a few different ways.  “Monday Morning Church” (Alan Jackson) and “Every Head Bowed” (Randy Travis) were pitched with full demos.  “Last Night Last” was written with Lady Antebellum, and they demoed it themselves before they cut it.  “Crickets” was pitched as a guitar/vocal for Joe Nichols.  And “When Your Lips Are So Close” was a cowrite with the artist, Gord Bamford, and cut from the work tape.

So, apparently, your songs don’t HAVE to be demoed to get cut.  But, honestly…

A great demo gives your song a better chance to get cut.

“Well, any producer or A&R rep worth anything should be able to hear a great song even if it’s not demoed!”  I agree.  But it isn’t that simple.

First of all, your song may not even get to the A&R or producer.

What if an intern or low-level A&R person listens to the “other” songs (the ones that don’t come in from already-established writers or publishers), and your song ends up on their desk?  Can THAT person hear your hit song through a work tape or simple guitar/vocal?  Maybe.  Maybe not.

Don’t forget to consider the competition.

You’re not the only songwriter trying to land on an album, ya know.  The producer or A&R rep will be listening to hundreds if not thousands of other songs by a bunch of other songwriters – and many of those demos will sound amazing.  That’s your competition.

Pros don’t pitch from hissy cassette tapes these days.

If your song doesn’t sound, at the very least, clean and easy to listen to, the producer / A&R will probably immediately assume you’re a newbie.  Then your song has to be even better to get out of the hole that your recording put it in.

A poor recording puts your pitch at a disadvantage.

At the end of the day, you want your songs to sound professional and competitive.  That may mean full production with a killer demo singer.  Or it may mean guitar, some loops, and a good cowriter vocal.

Maybe you want to start demoing a few songs, or maybe you want to take your demos to the next level.  If so, I have a cool event coming up.

On Tuesday, February 28, I’m hosting a live, online videoconference with top Nashville demo singer, Matt Dame.  If you want to ask your questions and learn from one of the top singers in the game… if you want to learn how to get the best performance possible from a demo singer (or how not to screw up a demo vocal) this is your chance! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY.  Oh, and there are only a few spots available (so we can keep things personal and “face to face,”) so don’t wait- check it out now!

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 and a #1 in Canada… so far.

Do Business Like A Pro, Know The Row

The guitar/vocal that changed the sound of Music Row

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The song wasn’t that good. I mean, it was alright. I’ve heard worse. Heck, I’ve written worse. But this guitar/vocal set in motion a chain of events that literally changed the sound of Music Row for over a decade now.

It was probably 2002 or 2003, and I was sitting in a small upstairs writing room at Famous Music, then on 16th Avenue in the heart of Nashville’s Music Row. Across from me? Hit songwriter, Bob Regan. Were we writing a song? Heck, no! I hadn’t earned that privilege yet. No, Bob was giving me some of his time as a favor to our mutual friend, Laura McLeod (thanks, Laura Lou). Bob was listening to a few of my songs and giving me some feedback.

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To BE a pro, you need to THINK like a pro, and

this FREE ebook will help transform your thinking, your songwriting, and your success.  Get it today!

Click Here For The Book

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About three songs in, I played the guitar/vocal of a song I’d written back in Arkansas with a buddy of mine.  Like I mentioned before, the song wasn’t that great.  I was still a fairly green writer, and it was one of the first songs my friend had ever written.  And the production was simple- just my cowriter playing and singing into a mic.  (Recorded at my friend, Darian Stibling’s Blue Chair Recording Studio in Austin, Arkansas.)

Bob looked up about halfway through the song and asked me, “who’s singing this?”  I told him, and his response was, “does he look like an artist?”

My friend, the singer?  Matt Dame.

Matt was still living in Little Rock, Arkansas at the time, but Bob started bringing Matt to Nashville to sing demos for him.  That was all the foot-in-the-door that Matt needed.  His name popped up more and more as people would hear one of Bob’s demos and would want to know the singer’s name.  Word got around, and Matt got more and more work.  Soon, his talent, work ethic and personality opened enough doors that he was able to make the move to Nashville.

Since then, Matt has become one of the top male “go-to” demo singers in Nashville.  He has literally changed the sound of Music Row, as his voice comes out of speakers all over the place every day.

So, what’s the lesson here?

Matt has undeniable talent when it comes to singing. But he’s also worked hard to hone his craft.  He’s not a “lazy” singer.  Also, he took that boring 350-mile drive from Little Rock to Nashville time after time to sing demos.  That was time away from family and time he could’ve spent doing other things (like watching the Razorbacks play).

He put in the hours, and he put in the miles.

And he used his people skills.  He’s a great, great singer, but there’s not an ounce of ego on him.  He’s a great hang.  He’s professional, but also fun to work with.

Talent.  Hard work.  People skills.

Do you bring those qualities to each show, studio session and songwriting appointment?  If you do, you never know what might happen.  You might be the next one to change the sound of Music Row.

What about you?  Do you use demo singers, or do you usually sing them yourself?  How have those choices worked for you?  Have you used Matt? If so, what’d you think?  I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Maybe you’re considering hiring a demo singer, but you aren’t sure how the whole process works.  Maybe your demo singers have disappointed you in the past, and you want to know how to get the best performances from them in the future.  Maybe you want to become a demo singer yourself, but you’re unsure how to pursue it.  Well, if any of that sounds like you, I have a cool opportunity coming up for ya!

On Tuesday, February 28, I’m hosting a live, online videoconference with top Nashville demo singer, Matt Dame.  If you want to ask your questions and learn from one of the top singers in the game, this is your chance! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY.  Oh, and there are only a few spots available (so we can keep things personal and “face to face,” so don’t wait- check it out now!

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 and a #1 in Canada… so far.

Do Business Like A Pro, Know The Row

You might be ruining your demos by making this one mistake!

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Are you ruining your demo without even knowing it?

Every day, amateur and pro songwriters spend thousands and thousands of dollars and hours demoing songs in the hopes of getting it recorded by a major artist.  Many times, the amateurs and pros will both use the same studios, hire the same musicians, and both end up with quality musical tracks.

But amateur songwriters often make a killer mistake that the pros don’t.

The pros usually hire a professional demo singer while the amateur (too often) sings his or her own demo vocal.  The pro knows to put away his pride- and the microphone- and do what’s best for the song.

The pro knows it’s a lot cooler to say “my song got cut” than it is to say “I sang on the demo.”

The pro also knows that a great vocal is worth the investment.  She doesn’t get hung up on the extra $100-$250 for a singer- because she knows that a bad or mediocre vocal can ruin a demo she’s already spent $500 to $700 on.

A great demo singer can be expensive – but not as expensive as a wasted demo.

Yes, some songwriters love great voices and are definitely good enough to sing their own demos.  But sometimes even a GREAT voice isn’t the RIGHT voice.

For example, you may have a beautiful, sweet Allison Krauss voice (lucky you).  But what if you’re demoing a Carrie Underwood power ballad or a Miranda Lambert Texas roadhouse rocker?  Well, your voice- as good as it is- isn’t the right one to sell those demos.  You’ll want to hire the right demo singer if you want your song to stand a fighting chance of getting cut.

I’m not telling you to NEVER sing your own demos.

(Unless you’re me.  If you’re me, never NEVER sing anything!)  What I want you to get from this post is a wakeup call to stop and honestly consider what is best for your song.

What about you?  Do you use demo singers, or do you usually sing them yourself?  How have those choices worked for you?  I’d love to hear from you in the comments!  Also… is there anyone you can recommend as a demo singer?

Maybe you’re considering hiring a demo singer, but you aren’t sure how the whole process works.  Maybe your demo singers have disappointed you in the past, and you want to know how to get the best performances from them in the future.  Maybe you want to become a demo singer yourself, but you’re unsure how to pursue it.  Well, if any of that sounds like you, I have a cool opportunity coming up for ya!

On Tuesday, February 28, I’m hosting a live, online videoconference with top Nashville demo singer, Matt Dame.  If you want to ask your questions and learn from one of the top singers in the game, this is your chance! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY.  Oh, and there are only a few spots available (so we can keep things personal and “face to face,” so don’t wait- check it out now!

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 and a #1 in Canada… so far.