The real purpose of any first meeting…
Is not to pitch your song and the worst thing you can do for your career is to assume that it is.
The real purpose behind that pitch meeting is to establish a relationship that will lead to a second pitch meeting. Pitching great songs is a given. Your songs had better be good. But many great songs are not picked up. That’s just the nature of the business. You can have a great song that just isn’t right for that artist or that project. You cannot take it personal. Be hopeful, expect your songs to be liked, but control your facial expressions, don’t make the prospect feel uncomfortable about being honest about your work. Most of your songs will be passed on most of the time. It’s frustrating, but you cannot take it out on another professional. It’s not their fault that your songs won’t work for their artist, you can’t expect them to force your square peg into their round hole. Be patient and show your professionalism, and maybe you’ll get a second meeting and a third.
Bare Bones
Cut out the long intro. We get that you worked really hard on the intro, but its simply not pertinent to the pitch meeting. The publisher is going to want to hear a verse and a chorus, period. Your 16 measure intro does not demonstrate your prowess in the studio it simply demonstrates that you don’t appreciate the daunting task of the publisher who has to listen to 500 songs a day. It demonstrates that you don’t respect their time. A long intro may entertain the end consumer, but it only annoys the industry professional, so lose it.
Strip It Clip It
Before a pitch meeting, strip down your song to the most basic elements, the verse and chorus with no more than a measure or two of an intro, and cue the cd or mp4 so it starts when they hit play with no blank space before the track starts. As soon as the publisher realizes your attention to this detail and your respect for their time, they instantly became willing to hear more from you in the future, even if they don’t particularly like your song, if they like you they will want to help you if they can. That is the true purpose of the pitch meeting. To get future pitch meetings. Because, whether they like your song or not, you’re going to write another one at some point in the future and you’ll be glad you have established that relationship. If they “love it” then you will be asked for a full version of the demo
