Just as it's easier to write a book than to sell it, it's the same with music. You compose a beautiful song, or melody, which you are sure will become popular the world over, but when you try to find someone willing to promote it, you can't. In the end, you will find that nothing is easy, that music promotion takes a lot of time and effort.
Of course, most composers want to have their work appreciated and enjoyed, but at the same time they want to make some money from it. This means that they will have to find someone to buy it, either in the form of sheet music, or in the form of videos, recordings, or internet downloads. This is the difficult part, as the public already has an enormous choice of music readily available on the internet, a lot of which is completely free.
Formerly the music promotion business was in the hands of publishers. A composer had only to submit his composition to a composer, wait for it to be evaluated, and then wait, hopefully, for a publishing contract to arrive. This, however, was a long drawn out procedure as the volume of demonstration songs received by publishers was very high, and a reply would only be forthcoming if the song interested them.
This is where contacts come in. If you know someone in the business who can put in a good word for you, then this will help getting your foot in the door. If you know no one, have no contacts, then progress is likely to be very, very slow. However, the important thing for any would-be professional composer or songwriter is to keep writing. Most of them will have at least a dozen songs making the rounds of the publishers at any one time.
Then are people and organizations which are not publishers, but act as brokers or middlemen on behalf of singers, TV producers, movie makers and so on. There will be a demand for a certain type of music, and certain type of song and these people will scout around until they find something which they think will match what is required.
A great many aspiring composers feel that contacting individual publishers is a waste of time, so they put their songs up on websites where it can be listened to by one and all free of charge. Their objective is publicity and the hope that if their performance or song is noticed by some promoter or other, it will lead to a contract. Again, this is a hit-or-miss approach, but it has the advantage of speed.
Some people prefer to cut-out the middlemen altogether, and sell their music through a website directly to consumers. In this way they can fix their own price, all of which will go into their own pockets, without any percentage going to anybody else. They can also license their songs to radio stations, in return for a fee to be paid each time the song is aired.
So it can be seen that currently there are many different ways of music promotion. If a song is good, catchy, fits the trend of the moment, then it might turn into a top hit. Any top hit will provide large sums of money to the composer, but only for a limited time. What every composer should strive for is the writing of an evergreen, a song or piece of music that never goes out of favor, and brings in a regular income for generations. However, the composer should accept that any success will likely involve a great deal of time and effort.
Of course, most composers want to have their work appreciated and enjoyed, but at the same time they want to make some money from it. This means that they will have to find someone to buy it, either in the form of sheet music, or in the form of videos, recordings, or internet downloads. This is the difficult part, as the public already has an enormous choice of music readily available on the internet, a lot of which is completely free.
Formerly the music promotion business was in the hands of publishers. A composer had only to submit his composition to a composer, wait for it to be evaluated, and then wait, hopefully, for a publishing contract to arrive. This, however, was a long drawn out procedure as the volume of demonstration songs received by publishers was very high, and a reply would only be forthcoming if the song interested them.
This is where contacts come in. If you know someone in the business who can put in a good word for you, then this will help getting your foot in the door. If you know no one, have no contacts, then progress is likely to be very, very slow. However, the important thing for any would-be professional composer or songwriter is to keep writing. Most of them will have at least a dozen songs making the rounds of the publishers at any one time.
Then are people and organizations which are not publishers, but act as brokers or middlemen on behalf of singers, TV producers, movie makers and so on. There will be a demand for a certain type of music, and certain type of song and these people will scout around until they find something which they think will match what is required.
A great many aspiring composers feel that contacting individual publishers is a waste of time, so they put their songs up on websites where it can be listened to by one and all free of charge. Their objective is publicity and the hope that if their performance or song is noticed by some promoter or other, it will lead to a contract. Again, this is a hit-or-miss approach, but it has the advantage of speed.
Some people prefer to cut-out the middlemen altogether, and sell their music through a website directly to consumers. In this way they can fix their own price, all of which will go into their own pockets, without any percentage going to anybody else. They can also license their songs to radio stations, in return for a fee to be paid each time the song is aired.
So it can be seen that currently there are many different ways of music promotion. If a song is good, catchy, fits the trend of the moment, then it might turn into a top hit. Any top hit will provide large sums of money to the composer, but only for a limited time. What every composer should strive for is the writing of an evergreen, a song or piece of music that never goes out of favor, and brings in a regular income for generations. However, the composer should accept that any success will likely involve a great deal of time and effort.
About the Author:
There are many ways to promote your music online. Using music distribution companies can help get your music on iTunes or many other music broadcasters.
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