[Sing4me88]

Hi folks.

Looking feedback from members that are or were members of a songwriters guild like the International Songwriters Guild etc. I've been thinking of joining but I'm curious as to whether there is any actual benefit to membership of such a body. I know they say they offer legal advice, pitching opportunities and collabs but I'm not sure if there's anything in these groups that I can't 'get' from a songwriting forum/site like this.

I suppose my main drive behind joining such a body is to get a producer to add oomph to the demos Rob and I have put together. We are limited in our production skills, only have a basic home studio set up and don't have the latest software or gadgets so I'd be looking a producer on a co-write basis that could maybe lay down some keys, add some synth, loops etc. So I guess my question is would joining a guild make such a collab easier or possible and would it help in pitching to publishers, labels and artists in the long run?

Thanks

[Boydie]

This is a big “yes” and “no” answer here

I was a member of the Guild of International Songwriters and Composers (GISC) for a year

It costs £58 to join and I found this really good value

You get a quarterly "magazine" that gives you general info about songwriting and "the industry"

There are some classified ads with publishers advertising for people to send demos in so you will get some "semi-solicited" leads - however, you need to have your eyes wide open as if they have paid to advertise they are probably looking to make some money so a healthy cynasism is vital

The legal advice etc. is only useful when you need it - eg if you do get sent a contract to sign you will be able to get expert advice on it included in your £58 membership - a single consultation with a music lawyer is probably considerably more!

They also have sample forms/contracts such as collab splits etc.

You can also email in any questions at any time, which can be handy

You also get a free copyrighting service that stands up in court - ie no sending envelopes to yourself or "digital" copyrighting (which is yet to be tested in court!)

Finally there is the "song assessment" service where a record label/publisher will listen to you track and give you an honest "industry assessment"

You get a detailed "score" sheet and some generic views as to whether the song is strong enough for a commercial pitch - if you PM me with your email address I can show you some of mine

I found that this was all excellent value for £58 and it is nice to take a first step into the "industry"


When I joined I did get bombarded with requests for collaborations – some were very formal and came by post!

The fact others have also paid £58 to join does show that they have some commitment to songwriting but the guys on this forum are also all “good eggs” but you will have a wider net if collaboration is what you are after

You can also look through the collaboration register and choose people to approach for collabs – some may be up for producing

There may even be people on this forum willing to collab on production…

[CMHmusic]

thank you very useful info, looking to join myself and wanted to know he pros and cons