Hiring online session musicians.

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It is simply amazing what the internet makes possible.  I love writing songs, and over the last few years, I think I’ve actually gotten to the point where some of them may even have some commercial viability… if performed by the “right” artist(s).  I play guitar and can carry a tune sufficiently well to entertain a group of live music enthusiasts at a coffee house or a neighborhood pool membership night, but I’m not a trained “guitarist,” and I lack the sort of singing voice that hits people with the “wow factor” or makes them wake up the next morning and say “I’ve gotta get his music on my iPhone” or other doo dad.  Love it… hate it… curse it… praise it… the having the “right” talent on your tracks can make a big difference when trying to find an audience for the art you worked hard to create.

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I note here that there are many amazing artists for whom the process of creation is driven internally and has absolutely nothing to do with making money.  If that’s you, I salute you—from the heart.  The world would be a much better place if there were more people devoted to creating beauty, independent of any “what’s in it for me” considerations.  That said, what follows may be of little or no interest to you. 

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However, if you like the idea of maybe selling a tune from time to time, it’s in your and your music’s best interest to introduce it to the world in a way that makes the first impression an absolutely unforgettable one.  Fortunately, there are a number of resources at your disposal that will seriously increase your chances of doing so.

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Friends and family.  If you’ve found your way to this article, it’s a good bet there are lots of folks in your life who are also interested in making music. Maybe it’s friends from church or work, or perhaps your kids or their friends. Once you get over the initial awkwardness of positioning the mic, getting the volume in their headphones adjusted, doing a few practice run throughs, recording with your friends and family can be a really fun and rewarding experience. Literally every single person with whom I’ve tried this has enjoyed it and volunteered to “do it again any time!”

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Another option that only recently became available is hiring session musicians online.  This is an incredibly powerful way to get some no-kidding top shelf talent on your project without ever leaving your house.  The specific mechanics of how these services work varies a bit from one provider to the next, but the basic structure is pretty standard.  Assume I’m looking for a female vocalist to sing the lead on a song I’d like to try to shop around out there in the musical marketplace.

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First, I word search “online session musicians,” which generates hits on websites like nashvilleforhire.com/Online/SessionMusician‎  or airgigs.com/, to name just two of dozens.  Then I use the search tools they provide to find the type of talent I’m looking for, in this example, a female vocalist.  In many cases, you can narrow further by genre, price you’re willing to pay, turnaround time, number of revisions they’ll do for no additional charge, and some other options.  Then, once I’ve found a few that meet the parameters of my search, I can play clips of their recorded work to see if I’ve found the sound I’m looking for. 

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Once I find a vocalist I like, I make a selection on the website saying I’d like to hire her to do a lead vocal on my track, and I upload two sound files, one with my vocal included so she can hear what the song sounds like, and another without my vocal so she has “room to create” when she’s adding her talents to my project.  She then records her vocal on an isolated track, which she returns for me to insert back into my mix. The track she sends me is completely “clean,” so I can add effects (or not) as I chose back on my end.  If I’m happy with the file she sends, I go back onto the site and use PayPal or some other mechanism to pay her for her time and talent.  It’s astonishingly easy.

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Whether you record friends or family, or use the services of online session musicians, you should clarify your shared understanding of “who gets what” if your song eventually does end up generating income.  The online session musician providers understand the requirement to clearly establish this part of the relationship right up front and have structures in place to meet it; they’ll either provide a standard form contract you and the artist sign that basically says “this is a one-time ‘work for hire,’ for $XX dollars, and the performer gives up rights to any royalties, etc., for ever and ever” or legal sounding words that basically say that.  Or there will be some sort of disclaimer on the site that says by using the site, you agree to those terms and conditions.  If you’re recording with friends or family, you can find form contracts online that will achieve the same end result.

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As a cautionary note, it’s always a good idea to register your copyright of the sound recording before you send it “out in to the world.”  Check out The previous tab about Copyrights, https://farfromperfectbuth.wixsite.com/mysite-3/copy-of-songwriting-contests for a short description of how that process works. 

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Keep making art, and I hope this was helpful!