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Independent Songplugger Services
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How does it work?
Songplugger are frequently asked if they will take a percentage of the publishing revenues from the cuts they get in lieu of a monthly retainer. Although songplugger trying to break into the business might perhaps work this way, most experienced pluggers do not. The reasons they don’t or can’t work this way are many. Songplugging is a business and it takes money for a plugger to invest in the equipment needed to keep up with the ever changing technology, CD blanks aren’t free, and of course a plugger has the expense of a telephone, fax, internet, and overhead of an office. Not to mention the cost of lunches, golf games, and like activities that is part of this business. If you are a songwriter who plans on staying in the songwriting business, then you have to treat it as a business and realize there are several investments you’ll be making. Good quality demos, seminars and educational opportunities, and a songplugger are all part of the investment you make in yourself. Your songs are the products, the demos are the sales tools, and the songplugger is the sales department, especially if you value your creative time. Many writers are certainly qualified to represent their own material, but the time commitment of pitching songs is enormous, therefore every writer must determine the appropriate balance of their energies. A songplugger at some time will be a good investment in your career.
Imagine what would happen when you, a songwriter, tell the electric company that you’re going to use their services now and later, when you get a song cut, you’ll pay them a percentage. Try going to the grocery store, picking out a beautiful steak with all the trimmings, and telling the manager, as you pass by the checkout, that when you get that big cut, you’ll be back with a percentage of the revenue. You’d never make it to the parking lot and even if you did, when you get home with it, the power would be off.
The bottom line ~ nothing is free, therefore, most independent songpluggers work on a contractual basis, charge a monthly retainer, and get a bonus for any cuts. It’s different for every plugger and they tend to be somewhat flexible in the arrangements they make, but for the songplugger to do his or her best job there must be some consistency to the process. At the present time there is no songpluggers union (like the musicians unions), therefore a standard retainer or bonus has been established. As more and more people try to do this on a part time basis, we may see standards for an advisory board regulate songpluggers, much the way real estate boards work. Songpluggers work hard for modest incomes. Most songpluggers we know are passionate about the music and do it for the love of the music, not for the glory of it. No one, except a few pluggers and a handful of songwriters has a clue whom ‘Pitched’ all those number one hits, nor does anyone care. A songplugger pitches other people’s songs for the love of the game, not the tens of dollars that can be made!