Some practical advice from producer, Bobbi Tammaro. We received this as an email and asked for his permission to repost on our site. Indie Spirit Magazine does not endorse any specific producers – or artists for that matter. We are sharing what Bobbi wrote because he is proven in the industry, his advice is sound and we respect Bobbi because of what he says he will NOT produce. His points are key points for what you should look for in a producer.
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Getting your songs PLACED and EARNING ROYALTIES
Tip 1: Quantity & Quality – Placements can often come down to the Producer that can create many quality songs to submit. If you can overwhelm clients, labels, and music licensing companies with a strong number of quality music then your chances of getting placements go up significantly. Now, this may sound easy enough….just make a lot of songs right? No! Make sure you understand that in today’s environment you need to do your research and understand who you are going to pitching your songs too. Create what they need, not what you like! And create a lot of it. Never submit B level product, always present your best work. This is your representation, and it’s gotta count.
My Response – This is one area that separates me from every other music demo studio. As a chart topping/award winning HIT songwriter/producer and #1 selling recording artist, I refuse to put my name on anything that is “B” level or sub-standard. This is why I’m very selective with the lyrics and songs that you present to me. If I feel they could be better (lyrically, melody, verse, chorus, etc) than I will simply be honest and tell you. I won’t just put a beat to them and get them out the door like a demo studio would. Instead, I will HELP you re-write them to make them succeed in today’s very competitive music industry. I even then take it a step further and I actually pitch your songs directly to my music industry contacts. So I know they are heard by the decision maker not some subjective “screening committee” that is responsible for “forwarding” your songs.
My Response – This is why I also created my website http://www.musicforlicensing.com/ . It’s a great compliment and very valuable addition to my other music production websites. It is a simple, visually appealing, and easy to navigate website that helps Music Publishers, Record Labels, Recording Artists, Television Supervisors, & Film Makers find songs to license. It also features the pictures, names, and location of YOU THE SONGWRITERS that I work with. So far my results and success rate in getting songwriters signed publishing deals, royalties, & placements speaks for itself!
Tip 3: Diversify your songs – If you make only 1 style of music it greatly limits who you can place your songs with. Musical styles change all the time. You’ve got EDM, Hip Hop, Trap, RnB Soul, Pop, Smooth, Adult Contemporary, and everything in between that are hitting the charts now. Your job as a music creator is to make hits, but that doesn’t mean that you only make hits in the styles of music that you like, respect, or prefer. YOU HAVE TO BE DIVERSE! Take a listen to your catalog of music, and take an inventory, if you have too much of one style, then you need to diversify.
My Response – I couldn’t agree more!!! I feel this is one of my greatest strengths as a songwriter & music producer. I learned early on in my career about this and I continue to stress this to every one of you when we talk and work on your projects. As recording artist I topped the charts in Smooth Jazz and also produced work with and produce other award winning artists. As a songwriter I’ve had hit songs and television/film placements in Pop, RnB, Adult Contemporary, Latin, and Soul. I continue to work with wide variety of INDY ARTISTS, as well as, signed “Big Name” recording artists and music publishers.
What I won’t produce…. It’s simple…. Anything that is degrading, vulgar, not classy, or simply something that doesn’t move my soul and my passion of creating music. This is usually the case with lyrics of hard-core Rap and hard-core Metal.. If you have lyrics that say things like “Killing Cops/Degrading Women/Shooting Guns, Doing Drugs, etc” … then it’s a guarantee that I will never produce your song for any price!!!
I hope this was usefull to you and I encourage you to YouTUBE and Google me “FUNKEE BOY”. Check my chart credits, television placements, music videos, concert performances, etc. Always know “who” is producing your songs and if you can’t easily find their credits then move on… Remember, you get what you pay for… and our track record and success rate speaks for itself..
Happy Holidays,
Bobbi “Funkee Boy”
ps-To discuss your music project, call me…
My direct phone number until April 2014 is 321-401-4580 Eastern Time USA 10am-7pm