If you write song lyrics (just the words, not the music), can you sell them to musicians or companies? How?

If you have a talent in writing words to songs, how can you explore the possibility of selling them to artists or labels? Who would you contact? How could I find out how to do this?

If you write song lyrics (just the words, not the music), can you sell them to musicians or companies? How?
I write songs too. I guess you would send them to the same places you send demo tapes. If you can sing, I would record them to a cd and then send them so they get the tempo or/and add a little instrumental or beat. Also, there are song writing contest. Some allow you to enter only the lyrics like..





http://www.songoftheyear.com/?campaign=g...





entry fee required
Reply:Hi Betty, "selling" lyrics to labels is not typical. I know of no record label that would buy lyrics. If you write lyrics that you believe are good, I suggest joining a songwriters organization Like the NSA (National Songwriters Association) or the NSAI (Nashville Songwriters of America, International) and find a collaborator.





If you and your co-writer create a song together, the next step would be to find a publisher that believes in your song enough that they sign it to a single song agreement. It is the publisher's job to find an artist to record %26amp; release the song on a CD.





As a writer, you would receive royalites from sales and from airpaly on the radio. You publisher would pay you for sales, and a performing rights society like ASCAP or BMI would pay you for airplay.





Your song is not sold in any of this, you as the writer would still own the writer's portion even though you as a new or first time writer would more than likely be expecter to assign the copyright to the publisher.





I DO NOT reccommend sending lyrics to a demo studio unless you know them very well and trust them completely. This is not because of theft, it's because many demo studios advertise "putting your lyric to music", which they do but they charge for that service. They will provide that service EVEN if the lyric isn't good. What you end up with is a song that you have paid to have demoed, that you can't do anything with. No publisher will sign it. This is one form of "song sharking".





If you join one of the songwriter's orgs I mention above, you will learn about how all of this works. Good luck,
Reply:You should be able to do so. Record studios, labels etc. You can also contact managers or agents who manage musicians. But be very carfull! This is a cut through business. People might try to steal your lyrics especially if you do not know the legislation or how the businees works. The copywirite is important among many other things. Do your research thouroughly before you committ to anything. Here is an idea which might be perfect for you since you are concerned with only the lyrics. Write the lyrics and get them published as poems, even if it is a small publication. It does not have to be successful, you just want to make sure you get the copywrite for the words. Get advice from a lawyer who specialises in these types of things because the legislation is extemely specialised and can be "tricky" and used against the artist, in this case you.


It would help if you also play an instrument and sing. Playing the giutar has helped me with my singing and vice versa. Writing lyrics, singing and playing a musical instrument complements one another. It is never to late to start any of these.


If you are doing a degree in music the University will have a course on the bussiness aspects of the music industry. So you can see that people study these types of things at University.


I came across a guitar teacher named Tom Hess (do a search for it he has a website) who did a degree in music. He teaches the guitar and also has a program to teach about the business aspects of music.


Finally you should network with other people who are musically inclined. This is very important because it will allow you to share ideas and help each other.





Good Luck.
Reply:Yes. For New Music Artists looking for labels I recommend





http://www.newmusiclabel.com
Reply:probebly . . . idk