Particularly in the Country music genre, it is impossible to ignore the USA as a market for songs. Also, since many more artists and songwriters in the USA have access to the Internet, the majority of contacts I receive via my Web site are from the US. So far, I have 6 songs assigned directly to US publishers, although I have others published in the UK and administered in the US by the UK company's affiliate.

Compared to the US, the UK scene with publishers seems to be more informal. It's easier here to just send off a package to a publisher without getting it returned unopened (although the larger publishers may still not listen to the tape). In general people are much less litigatious here, and there's less paranoia about songs getting ripped off or getting sued. In the UK we do not have a Copyright Agency like that in Washington, so 'poor man's copyright' is still used widely. Some of the publishers I deal with in the US insist I register the songs with Washington. This is a pain since it takes 3 -4 months as well as costing $10 per song.

I have never encountered a resistance in the US to receiving material from the UK, in fact it often seems to be welcomed. This seems odd since many songwriters consider actually being in Nashville a prerequisite to getting cuts in the Country field. Maybe this is true at the top of the market but possibly some publishers feel that they may get a fresher sound from outside Nashville. A lot of the US leads I get are via Songlink Magazine (www.songlink.com), typically artists label shopping or already signed looking for killer single tracks to launch themselves or sell an album. Very often I hear nothing back, but if they have an email address I'll often hear word back, either a rejection or saying that they will retain the material for further consideration. I generally never email sound files to publishers since this would clog up their server and probably be highly unappreciated. I do give my Web site address on correspondence so they know where they can find out more information on me if they so desire.

I suppose I've had my share of scam publishers offering deals (typically compilation CDs) in exchange for money. These are usually easy to spot for the simple reason that they ask for money.

Since I promote my material at my Web site, I sometimes get fledgling artists approaching me for songs to use. I'm always happy to let anyone use my songs, so will send out tapes to them in the US with backing tracks if required. The way I see it, they are doing me a favor by promoting my material. As a result of such contacts I have some songs due to be commercially released on CDs made for selling at gigs etc.

I've also used the Internet to co-write with people in the US/Canada. Sometimes I've set other songwriter's lyrics to music, or let them use my lyrics. Right now I'm working with an artist in Canada where we exchange midi and Real Audio files and work on the lyrics and music simultaneously. I think its good for all songwriters to do some of this kind of collaboration, since many professional songwriters involved in album projects will find that they have to work quite closely with the artist to get the style exactly right. Make sure that you agree upfront on how the rights are to be divided and who is paying for what with regards to demo costs etc.

Maybe I should say something about royalty collection for UK writers and how that works: Basically UK songwriters need to get membership of the PRS (Performing Right Society). The PRS is affiliated to BMI/ASCAP, so in theory any performance royalties collected in the US are forwarded to the UK, provided the US publisher informs BMI/ASCAP of the writer's CAE number. Mechanical royalties should be collected directly by the US publisher and the writer's share paid by the publisher. To be honest I haven't actually collected any royalties yet from the US, so can't tell you how efficiently the system works.

Good luck,

Toby Darling
email: tobydarling@hotmail.com
office: T.Darling@OPENMAIL1.UENC4.sukeplon.simis.com

www.tobydarling.com

home:
7 Merchant's Place, Upper Brook St.
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Hants, UK