For the indie songwriter, all the other stuff in this book applies. You need a social me-
dia presence; a site; a press kit; media list and contacts and all the rest. The only differ-
ence is that your spin will be a little different. One of the biggest differences is making a
demo. Bands and solo artists can make their own with their own equipment or by renting
some studio time. Songwriters need someone to perform their master works. If you’re
also a player with a wee bit of confidence, you might be able to create your own demo. If
you don’t have the playing ability to match your stellar lyric or don’t have the right equip-
ment, you’re going to need to hire a pro or at least some musical friends. The latter is pre-
ferred, if they’re good and can do justice to your song and have the right equipment. It
will be less expensive in the not-to-long run and you can likely work out a barter deal.
You both get demos for your promotional efforts.
A Word About Copyright
Once you have a demo and you’re pleased as punch with the production, before you
do anything else, have your work copyrighted to protect yourself. I know it’s hard to be-
lieve, but there are some unsavory and unscrupulous people out there more than willing
to steal your hard work. Copyrighting your lyrics and/or complete songs is fairly painless,
but will cost you a few bucks. On the up side, you can copyright several works under one
submission. Here’s how it works.
[
- Visit http://www.copyright.gov. Be sure to read the “About Copyright” section so you can
become familiar with how the process works. - Pull out your credit or debit card. Registering a copyright will set you back roughly $35
USD.