Get a Song Produced

This is the first post of what I hope to become a series to sit alongside my Artist Development & Marketing articles series.

The Proposal

(sadly doesn’t include Sandra Bullock)

I am offering my Record Producer Services to one Act to produce one (1) Song (or Instrumental) from Demo to completion, incl. Mixed & Mastered.

My carded rate for this is $500 but if you have what I am looking for I will provide the service in return for a few things from you (which don’t include money). You will:

• Do all the things that I request in the development of your Song from the initial Demo you send to final Release.
• Make a regular Video Diary of what you have done and how it has impacted you.
• Agree to have the process written up on my website, YouTube, Facebook etc.

What Do I Have to Do To Apply?

Thanks for asking. Application is kinda simple.

Actually, it isn’t. That is a bald-faced lie. None of this will be a simple, flower-sniffing, skip through the woods with fairies to lighten our steps. It’s gonna be hard work. And sometimes even painful work. Not because either of us should want it this way, but because if it was any other way we wouldn’t have done it right. If it was all so easy, everyone would be making killer records every day of the week.

What I need from you is an application. But before you rush off applying, I really want you to be smart about it and increase your chances of success by doing the smart thing and researching me. My hint is that you might start on the link above.

Then you might want to do some reading in my Tutorials. We are going to be working hard together so understanding my style and hot buttons is a great plan.

Be assured I will be doing the same for you when you send your stuff over.

Genre is not a deciding factor in this. I don’t really care what genre you work in. I am looking for Story. A track that says something about life, our humanity… That doesn’t mean you have to be writing Trad Country; if you can move me with your chorus of farting frogs, I could be in. (please don’t send me joke songs, it is extremely unlikely that I will pick you up).

I want to see who you are as an Artist (or Act) so an Introduction, Bio and Three (3) contender Songs is standard. I may choose a completely different song I find in your Catalog when I research you, but three songs will do for now.

If you are at all unsure how to present yourself well and haven’t already found it, this article tells you everything you need: Making The Pitch

Also before you fill in the form please read the rules below (everything has rules, if you are too cool for rules then please don’t apply as this isn’t the thing for you):

(this is my general form so some Q may not be what you expect, please understand and show me how you can act with dignity)

UPDATE: the cutoff time came and went. I got one (1) entry. Sadly it was of such poor quality & strange manners that it was never in consideration. I got a few Likes on social media yet none of those people took action. So what exactly did they like? I directly asked a fellow to submit and he flat our declined saying he wasn’t good enough – um. I tried is about all I can say.

THE RULES

1. Entries close 10th March 2019 (Brisbane Australia time). Entries must be in before this date to be considered. The decision will be made as quickly as I can considering the material received. You may ask questions on this page in the Comments but attempts to bribe or otherwise sway me personally will not be looked upon favorably.
2. This is a Formal & Professional Agreement so you agree to carry yourself in an appropriate manner in all eventualities. Bad manners will not be tolerated. Woah, scary! No, not really. This is the way to think on this: if Mr. Sony just signed you and put you in the studio, you’d know that you had a job to do or Mr. Sony would lose interest really fast and take his bat & ball away. Treat me the way you would Mr. Sony (even if he hurt your feelings) and we will be good.
3. This is a Contra Agreement. You will fulfill your obligations. Like above, this works if we all do as we say we will. Cash not being involved doesn’t make it any less of a business agreement. If you renege, go silent, behave poorly, refuse to provide materials requested etc. it will be considered a breach of contract in which case I will not return you any outstanding work.
4. What you The Artist get in return from me The Record Producer is the experience of having One (1) Song (or Instrumental) developed from Demo to Releasable state. You also get the final Song in Mixed & Mastered Wave & mp3 format suitable for digital distribution. I make no promises on the chart success of this song as that is beyond anyone’s control. If you work hard though, we should have something we are both proud of.
5. You must be the owner of any & all work in your Song. This means that you must have the full rights to play, record & release this song. If it is a Band work it is assumed that all band members have agreed to this contract. I do not want to be writing your parts for you. I will suggest, and you will make it work in your piece. This leaves you as sole Composer unless we agree otherwise.
6. Your Original Demo will NOT be the final released Song at all. This means that you need to be willing & able to make any & all changes to material from musical parts & vocals to recordings. This means that pre-made music beds (or Beats) are not suitable for this. I will expect you to be able to play/sing/record/deliver any musical changes required. If you can do this at home already that is best for you. I assume you have this sorted already as I am not offering any studio services.
7. As the Record Producer in this situation, I will give you directions on what I want done in developing your Song. Some of that may be a challenge I know. You may ask me why, or even suggest an alternate option. Bottom line though is that you have signed on to follow my lead so this is what I expect you to do to the best of your ability in every instance. If that idea galls you then I wish you all the best right now.
8. Your Video Diary (or an agreed alternative) is a key part of this project. You agree to make & deliver your Diary whenever requested. This will normally only be a few minutes of you recording yourself explaining what we have just done and how it impacted you. Was it easy, hard, painful, joyful..? It won’t be about technique but your feelings in the situation. This is exactly the same format as any Reality Show. To do this you will probably only need a reasonably modern Smart Phone with a decent camera and a quiet room to speak in. I will handle editing for the article series.
9. All Activities will be carried out over the internet so you need reliable access to good internet and of course your studio facilities. Mostly we will talk using Facebook Messenger Text Chat (and maybe some video chat but I prefer text mostly). Files will be sent via a 3rd party service like DropBox. I will not accept email without express permission. If you have a Band, I will deal with one person for most activities.
10. Time is of the essence in this Project. It is hard to say how long this will take but it should not take very long at all – a month or so absolute tops. I hope to post a progress article weekly with what we have done & achieved. If you cannot commit a lot of time, need to go on holiday, a bender, or any other sort of thing, then please don’t apply.
11. You agree that your Activities, Song & Related Material will be published online by me (Benedict Roff-Marsh) on any & all of my public platforms like this Website, YouTube, Facebook etc. You Agree to this now and in the future. This also includes if you submit for this Project but are declined as I may well make a post or two on contenders and what I liked and didn’t like. All mention of you will generally carry links to your website or similar.
12. All entries & submissions for this Project are to be made ONLY via the Form above. Entries that are incomplete, or poorly presented may be dismissed immediately.
13. All decisions made in this Project including the choice of Artist & Song are mine and final. This means: not up for debate. If the chosen Artist decides not to proceed, I may at my discretion pass the offer to another contender or close the Project entirely.
14. Submitting the form above to apply for this Song Production Project means that you have read, understood & agreed to these rules.

I look forward to your submission. And even more so to making this series of articles alongside your Song.