Request for advice re promotion of an original song

Acousticado · #1 09-10-2016, 03:17 PM

I have written a fun novelty song about a particular sport for which no theme song has ever been done. I have played it for a number of people involved in the sport, some connected to the U.S. National Association. They love the song and are encouraging me to do something with it, at least to present it to the association executive. In case anything comes of this, I recorded a basic version and just completed the online registration with the Library of Congress Copyright Office as a sound recording with lyric.

I'm not sure what to do about this, if anything, in terms of any potential to earn some income from it. Perhaps it could gain some popularity among the 200,000+ players in the U.S. and Canada, but not much beyond that. I expect to soon be asked to play the song live at a function in SW Florida. Perhaps the song would be made available for play/download at the national association website.

So, I'd appreciate thoughts on whether I should just make the song available for free, play it for free when/where asked OR, should I charge for it and if so, how, under what circumstances (live vs. recording), how much to charge? I really have no idea what best to do. If the best thing to do is just throw it out there for free, I'd be ok with that if it's the right thing.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Rudy4 · #2 09-10-2016, 03:36 PM

My first suggestion would be to throw it out for free.

My second suggestion is to not listen to my opinion, as I come to the perspective of "music marketing" from a very odd angle.

It boils down to the concept of music not really being a commodity which should be marketed, but rather a participatory activity that was based on solo or community performance before the advent of a way of capturing and controlling it. The marketing machine really only came about as a result of the mechanical means to record and distribute music, and you see the problem that results from the lack of control due to easy reproduction and file sharing.

The other problem is if someone happens to want to sue over plagiarism. If there's any consecutive 3 notes that can be compared to another's works then you can have a legal problem, and patents, copyrights, and trademarks are no guarantee that you win a court challenge.

I'm not trying to be a naysayer, but it's just an opinion, possibly worth thinking about.

muscmp · #3 09-10-2016, 04:09 PM

i've never heard any sports theme songs, but, i wish you good luck. there are at least a million people thinking that they can sell a song. i hope you do. one in a million.

play music!

Acousticado · #4 09-10-2016, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muscmp

i've never heard any sports theme songs, but, i wish you good luck. there are at least a million people thinking that they can sell a song. i hope you do. one in a million.

play music!

One comes to mind...a very popular sports theme song, at least in Canada, is "The Hockey Song" by Stompin' Tom Connors written many years ago. It's still very popular today. Another, though not a novelty song is John Fogerty's "Centerfield".

gfsark · #5 09-14-2016, 08:12 AM

"Take me out to the ballgame, take me out to the park...etc." How many times have you heard that one?

I rather doubt that there's much money to be had in promoting a lessor known sport through music...but I'd love to hear some decent songs about my two favorite sports, badminton and table tennis (ping-pong). These sports are wildly popular in Asia but need some marketing to the US. Baseball's a total bore, imho, but "at the old ballgame" is quite the crowd pleaser and everyone sings the "and it's one, two, three strikes you're out..."

I would approach the association that promotes these particular sports. These are probably non-profits staffed by volunteers. Also the owners of clubs that host there respective sport. Also volunteer to play at one of their respective tournaments and see if the audience likes the music. There are 4 or so private badminton clubs in Southern California, for example. No money, buy you might get heard. Have fun.

Acousticado · #6 09-17-2016, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gfsark

"Take me out to the ballgame, take me out to the park...etc." How many times have you heard that one?

I rather doubt that there's much money to be had in promoting a lessor known sport through music...but I'd love to hear some decent songs about my two favorite sports, badminton and table tennis (ping-pong). These sports are wildly popular in Asia but need some marketing to the US. Baseball's a total bore, imho, but "at the old ballgame" is quite the crowd pleaser and everyone sings the "and it's one, two, three strikes you're out..."

I would approach the association that promotes these particular sports. These are probably non-profits staffed by volunteers. Also the owners of clubs that host there respective sport. Also volunteer to play at one of their respective tournaments and see if the audience likes the music. There are 4 or so private badminton clubs in Southern California, for example. No money, buy you might get heard. Have fun.

gfsark, I'm not going to say right now what sport my novelty song is about, but with your reference to badminton and table tennis, you are certainly in the ballpark...err, court.

You and Rudy are most likely right that there really isn't any money to be made from a song about a fringe sport, so once I record it properly, it's perhaps best to just throw it out there with no expectation. It's just for fun anyhow. I'm sure I'll approach the association...they can pay for the video to go with it.

Maybe I'll have some t-shirts made-up with the primary catch phrase of the song and make $ from sales.

Thanks for the feedback, and also to those who have taken the time to read about it.

Rudy4 · #7 09-18-2016, 05:54 PM

Didn't mean to discourage you, Tom. Wtiting a topical tune is always problematic, as you also need to strike while the iron's hot.

Some songs almost write themselves, and I had good local reaction to a tune I wrote entitled "Bernie Madoff With The Money Blues". If you can strike a chord with your intended audience it's a good thing, even if only temporarily popular.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor, no matter how much success you meet.

gfsark · #8 09-20-2016, 01:48 PM

And when you're ready to put it out into the world, post it on the Play section of AGF. Love to hear it.

Yamaha Man · #9 09-20-2016, 02:19 PM

deleted..........

MikeBmusic · #10 09-28-2016, 07:41 AM

If you register your song on BMI (its free for songwriters), then you can report each time you play it live into their database and get royalties on it.

Besides Tunecore, there is CDBaby (one time fee to have your song available for download on their site and on iTunes and other sites). You can also set up a free Bandcamp site and offer the song for download there at a price you set.