Some new writers make the mistake of submitting a demo even though they know the sound quality isn’t great. They assume that publishers, A&R reps and producers will take the time to imagine what the song would sound like if it had been recorded in a studio or with better-quality home recording gear.
In reality, most music industry pros are just too busy to do that. While they aren’t necessarily looking for the best studio quality in a demo, what they hear does sub- consciously influence their attitude to a song.
When they press ‘play’ and hear a poorly recorded voice/piano or voice/guitar demo, they will instantly assume you’re an amateur—and they will expect your songs to be amateurish too. Some less generous music industry execs will immediately hit the ‘stop’ button because they don’t want to waste their time on amateurs. Others (usually the decent folks who started out as aspiring songwriters just like you) may give your demo another 30-60 seconds to make an impression.
It is therefore vital to produce the best-sounding demo you can afford in order to make an impact on the listener within the first few bars—even if it means waiting a few more weeks until you’ve got enough cash to make a decent recording that will do your song justice.
Be aware, though, even expensive studio recordings don’t always produce the demo quality that you want. This is usually because the session ends up being rushed.
That’s why it’s important to plan a demo carefully and well in advance.
A few days before the session, give the musicians and singers a copy of your rough ‘demo’ demo, along with a chord chart and lyric sheet. This will give them time to learn the song before coming into the studio (and before the studio clock starts counting down the precious session time you’ve booked!).
If you can’t afford a full studio demo with drums, bass and ‘color’ instruments like electric guitars and keyboards, a stripped-down voice/piano or voice/guitar demo can still help you sell your song—provided the sound quality is good (with no pops or hiss or dropouts).
Simply adding vocal harmonies and hand claps to a single-instrument demo will help to increase the impact on the listener. It will make the production sound ‘bigger’ without having to spend your hard-earned cash on other instruments and musicians!
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