How to Know If Your Song Is Ready to Pitch

Ready for what?

The first question is the destination, because it changes what counts.

• Sync. The recording itself is what gets licensed, so the master has to be finished. The lyric usually needs to state a feeling plainly enough to sit under a scene, and the ownership has to be simple to clear.
• A pitch to another artist. The song matters more than the master, but the demo still has to sound close enough to a record that someone can picture the artist on it. Fit with that particular artist tends to decide it.
• Your own release. You have the most freedom here. The test is whether it represents you and holds up beside the artists your listeners already play.

The writing

People who listen to songs for a living generally decide fast. That is not a rule so much as a consequence of how many songs they hear. A few things are worth checking honestly:

• How long until something happens. A long intro is a common reason a pitch gets skipped before the song has had a chance.
• Whether the idea is clear. If you had to describe the song in one sentence, could you, and would a stranger give the same sentence after one listen?
• Whether the chorus lifts. Melodically, rhythmically, or in the lyric. The sections should feel different from each other.
• Whether every line earns its place. Second verses are where songs most often coast.

The recording

For sync, your track is likely to be heard right next to commercially released music. A strong song with a rough vocal or a thin mix often loses to a decent song that sounds finished. It does not need an expensive production, but it does need to sound intentional and complete.

For an artist pitch the bar is a little different. The demo is a sketch of a record, and the vocal in particular should make the melody and the lyric easy to hear.

The paperwork

This is the part that gets skipped, and for sync it matters as much as the music. A song can be good and still be unusable if nobody can clear it quickly.

• Splits agreed in writing with every co-writer, and a way to reach each of them.
• A clear answer on who owns the master. If a producer or a label has a claim, you need to know before you pitch.
• No uncleared samples. That includes vocal chops and loops with unclear licences.
• An instrumental version. Commonly asked for, because dialogue has to sit over the music.
• Registration with your performing rights organization, so royalties have somewhere to go.
• Files that are labelled properly, with writer names and contact details easy to find.

The detail on splits and registration is covered in songwriter splits and royalties, explained.

Signs it probably is not ready yet

• You find yourself explaining the song before you play it.
• You are planning to say "it is just a demo" when you send it.
• You cannot name the kind of show, scene, or artist it is for.
• A co-writer has not signed off on the splits.
• There is a part you skip past when you play it for people.

None of these mean the song is bad. They usually mean there is one more pass to do, and it is cheaper to do it before the pitch than after.

When to stop polishing

The opposite problem is just as common. Some writers hold a song for a year chasing a mix note nobody else would hear. Past a certain point, changes stop making a song more competitive and only make it different.

A workable approach is to get one outside opinion you trust, fix what it turns up, and send the song. The next song you write will usually teach you more than a tenth revision of this one, and sync in particular tends to reward writers who keep finishing songs.

Common questions

How do I know if my song is good enough for sync?

Compare it honestly with music that has recently been placed in the kind of show or ad you are aiming at. If the recording holds up next to those tracks, the lyric states a clear feeling, and you can clear both the song and the master quickly, it is in the conversation. If you are not sure, an outside opinion from someone with sync experience is usually the fastest way to find out.

Does my song need to be mixed and mastered before I pitch it?

For sync, generally yes, because the recording you send is the thing that would be licensed and it will be heard beside finished commercial releases. For a pitch to another artist, a strong demo is commonly enough, as long as the vocal and the arrangement make the song easy to hear.

Do I need an instrumental version?

For sync it is strongly worth having. Music often runs under dialogue, and an instrumental is one of the most common things a library, agent, or supervisor asks for. Bouncing one when you finish the mix is far easier than recreating it later.

How many songs should I have before I start pitching?

There is no fixed number. One strong, finished, cleared song can be pitched. That said, libraries and sync agents are usually more interested in a writer with a small body of consistent work than in a single track, so a handful of finished songs in a clear lane tends to open more doors.

Can I pitch a song that has a sample in it?

Only if the sample is fully cleared and you can show it. An uncleared sample is one of the quickest ways for a placement to fall through, because nobody licensing the track wants the risk. Royalty-free loop libraries are a separate matter, and it is worth reading their licence terms before relying on them.

Can someone just tell me whether my song is ready?

Someone with relevant experience can tell you whether it is competitive and what is most likely holding it back. Nobody can promise it will be placed or cut, because that depends on timing and on what a specific project needs. Tyler Shamy offers written feedback on individual songs for exactly this question.