It’s a question that so many songwriters that are just starting out will ask themselves: “Should I sell my music or give it away for free?” You may be thinking, why would you give it away?! If you want to make music your career, then you need to make music make you money! But maybe there’s another side to this argument. When reality and passion have their say, you may find your goals of a success have a new twist.

As a result of recording and producing literally hundreds of demos, I’ve learned that it is always better to “Prepare and Prevent” than to “Repair and Repent.” Here are a few steps you can take to help make your demo recording experience more successful. In this post we will discuss song preparation, rough recordings, session musicians, and getting the most out of your demo production process.

These days, it seems the length of music releases is getting shorter. Or is it getting longer? When is a song considered “rough” and when is it meant to represent a moment in history for your band? You might be able to give your project a creative name, or keep it self-titled, but that doesn’t tell us what the project IS. Is it a single, demo, an EP, a full-lenth album, or is it something else? Here’s a breakdown of the common names for music releases. This should help you figure out which format best fits your style and current situation.