Here is an explanation of the songwriting process, from songwriter to release of the recording: It starts with a complete song, meaning both words and music. If you write just lyrics, you will need to find a co-writer to compose the music for you. Next, you must have a demonstration recording, or "demo", so music executives can hear how your song sounds. If you are a musician, you may be able to make the recording yourself. If not, you will have to hire musicians. After the song is completed, you should register the copyright with the Library Of Congress in Washington, DC. Now you are ready to market your song to music publishers. The music publisher will attempt to secure a record deal. Once the CD is released by the record company, you will hopefully start to make some money. Let’s now take each step in detail: CO-WRITING We hear from many lyricists, and many do not write music. I am often asked if I know of anyone who will buy just the lyrics. The answer is no. A song has to be complete, meaning having both words and music. Empire Music Co. works with lyric writers. Many have gotten published by using our co-writing service. See our Songwriter News section for some of our recent successes. We are proud of the writers we work with! Email your lyrics to jstone3216@yahoo.com for a free evaluation. DEMOS Many writers we work with are of professional quality and do a fine job making their own demonstration recordings, or "demos". But if for any reason you do not think you can do it well, this is another service provided by Empire. We can turn your rough idea into a professional recording. Many of our recordings have resulted in writers getting publishing and record deals. Our demos have even gotten played on radio stations worldwide. COPYRIGHT After the song is complete, and before you market it, you should register the copyright with the Library of Congress. There is some misinformation going around about copyrights. Some say you can protect your material by putting it in an envelope and mailing it to yourself by registered mail. This is false. I question the integrity and knowledge of anyone who passes this myth around. Do it right, or you may lose all rights to your own song. For information on how to register your song, go to the Copyright Office website: http://www.copyright.gov Empire also provides a service that will register the copyright of your song for you. See our Copyright Registration Service page. MUSIC PUBLISHING AND RECORD DEALS After your song is written, recorded and copyrighted, you are ready to market it to music publishers. Empire provides our writers with a list of publishers looking for new songs. We will even do all the marketing, if the writer desires. See our Song Marketing Service page. LET’S REVIEW 1. It starts with a complete song, both words and music. Write the complete song yourself, or get a co-writer to help. 2. You need a high quality demo recording to pitch your song to music publishers. If you can’t do it yourself, again use a demo company with a good track record of getting real results. 3. Register the Copyright to your song. 4. Market your song to music publishers. For more information about the music business, I suggest you go to your public library. You will find many books written by people who have experience in songwriting, music publishing and recording. Unfortunately, the Internet is not a good source of accurate information about songwriting and the music business. There are many songwriting chat rooms, online clubs and forum sites on the Internet, but they are dominated by amateurs who don't know what they are talking about. Questions? email: jstone3216@yahoo.com © 2011 Empire Music Company