Songtek Production Services

Production Services

Songtek Productions, Inc., through our sister company, Polytone, has both a full 64 track analog studio and a complete Pro-Tools Digital Studio located in Miami, Florida. Several major albums have been produced in these top professional studios. Our studios are among the finest in the country and we have the producers to back us up with dozens of Gold and Platinum albums to their credit. We are definately for the VERY serious artist looking for the absolute finest.

We also work with some of the best studios and musicians in Nashville. We can help Songwriters find studios in Nashville or Miami who are both reputable and reasonable. We work with various studios, musicians and producers, based on the type of song, instrumentation, vocals required, we will be glad to point you in the right direction. You can also find a studio near you if they are good.

WHAT IS A WORKING DEMO?
An acceptable demo of your song on tape. For a country song you might start with what we call a working demo, this would normally include a minimum of:
Drums (can be a drum machine)
plus one or two of the following:
Lead Guitar
Rhythm Guitar
Keyboards
and
Vocalist
If you are or know a really good midi producer, that is acceptable at this level. This means no real instruments, all done on a computer/keyboard. But it must sound realistic for country. If it sound too "computerish" (I'm not sure that's a real word) it will hurt your chances. If extremely well done (not midi), a very simple demo can work as a fully produced demo for some songs. A publisher will guide you here.

WHAT DOES FULLY PRODUCED MEAN?
Once accepted/signed by a publisher, and depending on the quality of your original production, you may have to do a full demo (fully produced).
This would typically include:
Drums (real)
Lead Guitar
Bass Guitar
Steel Guitar
Rhythm Guitar
Piano or Keyboards
Plus one or two of the following (as appropriate to the song):
Fiddle
Harmonica
Squeeze Box
Horns
Plus
Vocalist (one of the most key elements in a successful song)
Harmonies (2 or 3 part as necessary)

This is what most publishers require to properly pitch your song. But unless you have gotten serious interest from publishers, major artists, or other professionals (not some studio who wants your money), we do not recommend you spend more than $100 on a song.

Many songwriters are quite capable of making their own working demos on a four track. One very popular way is a first class piano/vocal, or guitar/vocal. The key here is that with only one instrument it must be first class and the vocal perfect. But if you can do this yourself, it can save you the cost of initial demos.

Some will tell you a really great song will always shine through any demo. While this is always possible, as is winning the lotery, successful songwriters in this town, defined as those making a real living ($35,000 or more every year) at songwriting, spend $400 to $700 per demo.

WHAT DO SONGWRITER DEMOS COST?
Fully produced songwriter demos range from $225 to $450 per song. Price include studio time, a session leader, drums, bass, lead, acoustic guitar, and one or two additional instruments. (all are live musicians at these sessions - not synthesized) and demo singer. Songs can also be prepared for you to lay down your own vocals locally, but for fully produced demos - you have to be good. One master cassette tape is normally included, extra dubs, DAT's, and masters are available at extra cost.

Working songwriter demos range from $100 to $150 (studio & 2 or 3 live musicians), and Midi or synthesized demos can be done for $50 to $75. These are great as working demos while your fine-tuning your song. But they won't compete when it comes to pitch time to a major label. Remember, you are competing with major songwriters and publishers who routinely spend $400-$700 per demo. If you doubt this, ask yourself, who gets most of the cuts?

PopRock/R&B songwriter demos are often more expensive because they are usually done in California or Miami. For some reason their studios and musicians charge more. They seem to require more instrumentation, more time in the studio on vocals and mixing, and their vocalists charge more. These generally run between $350-$1000.

WHAT DO ARTIST DEMOS COST?
Artist demos are more expensive because they require higher priced studios, engineers, much much more time and attention spent on vocals, overdubs, mixing, mastering and the best musicians your money can buy (all "A" players). When you get to this point in your career you also need to invest in a good producer. Artist demos generally run between $1,000-$2,000 each, plus the cost of the producer you choose. A good producer will run $500 to $2,000 per song, a "name" producer (if you can get one) can run $20,000 to $75,000 per project (4-10 songs).

If you have any questions, contact Barbara at barbara@songtek.com or toll free at 1-888-SONGTEK (1-888-766-4835).

Songtek Publishing, Inc. (BMI)
SongTrek Publishing, Inc. (ASCAP)
4930 West 116th Ct
Westninster, CO 80031
Phone: (303) 438-9831

Click Song & Material Submission Form to submit songs or materials to our publishing company.