Jul 29, 2010, 06:25 PM
Hello,
My name is Marc-Alan Barnette.I teach songwriting and practical application to the music business in Nashville. Most of the services are legit and some do have different focuses. Song U, is more of a songwriter’s education service, as are things like NSAI, and others, myself included. TAXI is the best known and operates primarily on the West Coast in film and television.
With all of them,there are benefits and negatives. In this day and age, where downloading is rampant and openings for songs to actually make money,the “inside cut” rules the day. This is where the artist, their producer, friends, lables, major and independent publishers are really about the only one’s that actually have a realistic opportunity at pitching songs. The rest take a very outside shot,and these services all provide various degrees of that. anything that encourages you to co-write, meet other writers and primarily seek out new and up coming artists, thereby getting in on the “ground floor” gives you the best shot at pitching songs. Make the artists a part of that song from the beginning are really the key and if you look at any artist out there, look at who wrote their songs. Most likely it is them themselves or the people they knew at the beginning of their careers.
The Internet provides us all with opportunities to find artists before they break it big. Using sites like You Tube and My Space as a forum for “scouting artists” are a much better way to get to know artists early in their careers. You might find the next Taylor Swift and Justin Beiber.
Good luck in all you do.
MAB
