What are you you paying?

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quote:

Originally posted by tehlord What are you you paying?

Whoops, my bad I meant to put that in the original post. Unfortunately I have zero budget for this, this is my first EP and it'll be available for free online. It's simply to get the music out there. This would make a great sample for someone who needs a demo to submit for other work, or someone who just has some free time. I can't afford to pay anything. Sorry!

The kind of singer you're asking for probably doesn't need to make demos anymore.

You've placed a wanted ad for a session singer.

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Have you tried good 'ol craigslist? That's probably a much better bet than TA - we're mostly just a bunch of dudes who sit around insulting each other.

Seriously, though, I've found almost every singer that I've worked with over the past decade through craigslist. There are plenty of singers out there who will do it for free, but you'll probably have to separate the flakey wannabes from the people with the talent and drive to do it. Post an ad, be very specific about the terms and your expectations, and hope for the best.

Another option is to scout open mic nights, or even karaoke nights. You might be surprised at how many talented people are out there who would be interested in getting some recording experience and not have to do much more than learn a song and sing it.

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Lordy is right - you want a session singer for free, to sing on a track with their time and equipment, for a track that is going to be release free of charge.

Hate to be a naysayer, but good luck. you're only real chance is to get someone you know to do a favor for you or somehow magically find some talented singer who has never worked before and is looking for their first gig.

quote:

Originally posted by cryophonik Have you tried good 'ol craigslist? That's probably a much better bet than TA - we're mostly just a bunch of dudes who sit around insulting each other. Seriously, though, I've found almost every singer that I've worked with over the past decade through craigslist. There are plenty of singers out there who will do it for free, but you'll probably have to separate the flakey wannabes from the people with the talent and drive to do it. Post an ad, be very specific about the terms and your expectations, and hope for the best. Another option is to scout open mic nights, or even karaoke nights. You might be surprised at how many talented people are out there who would be interested in getting some recording experience and not have to do much more than learn a song and sing it.

Thanks! I will definitely try craigslist.

Sorry, RANN and tehlord, but I disagree with both of you guys. I've worked with dozens of talented singers (and many not-so-talented ones) over the years and have never paid any of them. We just treat it like a collaboration and make sure that the singer is getting her due recognition. You just have to know how/where to network, find those people who want to work with you, and be able to demonstrate that you can get quality results. That last point can't be understated, though - you'll have a much harder time getting a quality singer to work with you if you can't get high quality results. Oh, and don't be a creep - chicks don't dig creeps.

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quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN Lordy is right - you want a session singer for free, to sing on a track with their time and equipment, for a track that is going to be release free of charge. Hate to be a naysayer, but good luck. you're only real chance is to get someone you know to do a favor for you or somehow magically find some talented singer who has never worked before and is looking for their first gig.

I'm not looking for a professional singer. A 16 year old high schooler with a voice would do just fine. And these days anyone can get a $40 USB studio condensor from Guitar Center, cheaper from eBay. I'm just looking for someone willing to help.

quote:

Originally posted by cryophonik Sorry, RANN and tehlord, but I disagree with both of you guys. I've worked with dozens of talented singers (and many not-so-talented ones) over the years and have never paid any of them. We just treat it like a collaboration and make sure that the singer is getting her due recognition. You just have to know how/where to network, find those people who want to work with you, and be able to demonstrate that you can get quality results. That last point can't be understated, though - you'll have a much harder time getting a quality singer to work with you if you can't get high quality results. Oh, and don't be a creep - chicks don't dig creeps.

I hear you dave, but the differences are is that you have solid body of work behind you and an established name, so asking someone to work for free is taken quite easily on the understanding that you're professional about what you do and that there's a promise of future work and recognition from them working with you.

Don't get me wrong, you can find them out there, especially on craigs list but as a first timer, it's going to be difficult to find someone really talented to sing for free.

One of my composer friends was working on a pop track with a super tight budget and did the free singer/craigs list thing. They eventually found a girl who was perfect but it was like 30 auditions of girls who were just terrible and they said in the long run it would have been cheaper due to the time they lost to just pony up for a cheap session singer.

If I were you, Echelon, I would look for girls in your school. You have a pool of young girls that would probably be happy to sing on a dance track/

I can only speak from my perspective, that of insanely handsome guy that looks so damn cool that i must be someone important but even the hottest of women get butterflies because i am so intense.

karaoke is your answer. Even if you don't a great singer, there will be a bunch of insecure pop star wanna be's that perform for the attention and will do anything anywhere to get a positive reaction. Ya you see where im going. That closet, you needed to clean but never had the time, oh yeah, you fucking know it man. You just got yourself a nice neat closet. Now how do you feel ? Like a duke.

But you will find better talent at kareoki than most pop rosters. That is why Adelle pisses me off to no end. She is a kareoki singer and she looks like a hippo. This should not be allowed. There is an Adelle in every single city on the planet. Most of the times, she will be better looking.

And some business advice here, ideally, you should find an artist. Something you can sell. SOmeone you can work together more than once and make an album. Dj GuyWithSmelly{Penis featuring Christaberg Steinhorse , i mean ya thats a pretty cool name but people will buy say somthing called Lexxxy because nobody cares about a producer. So ya, just a thought.

This is one thing I think Cryo just goes about the wrong way. Maybe he has changed his ways but he puts his name before the name of someone that people care about. If you need the props. whatever but people don't understand what the fuck a producer does. EDM is the only music where producers seem to think people care more about them than the artist singing which unless it is just a one off is silly. But then again, EDM is only being sold to djs so i guess it doesnt matter but say, EDm started being sold to actual people, people hear someone sing, they assume that is the artist. Just like they assume tiesto made everything he played. Nobody will ever comprehend what a dj or producer does so stop confusing the kids.

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Last edited by Looney4Clooney on Mar-15-2012 at 23:51

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN They eventually found a girl who was perfect but it was like 30 auditions of girls who were just terrible and they said in the long run it would have been cheaper due to the time they lost to just pony up for a cheap session singer.

it is the trend now that they are starting to approach the work like voice over artists with a website with material and different styles so that people can easily go thru and no waste time.

But don't expect like a collaboration, they will expect you to have either a score or at least the melody on some instrument. If you ask them to make the melody, they will be calling their manager right away and you just lost the rights to your track. The ones that are listed are also in the union so 3 hours minimum, you can expect to pay 100-200 an hour.

This is great if you know exactly what you want. My girlfriend does this kind of stuff and can usually do everything in 1 take and they are happy to move on to the next thing.

But if you meet an amateur that can sing, well you both are benefiting and chances are , if you are decent, you will not have to pay by the hour. And karaoke really is a good place for this.

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"This is why Superman works alone." GC
old stuff from days gone by (2001-2004)
Mad For Brad's gay little contest