How best to approach a fairly well-known vocalist for vocals & lyrics on a debut EP?

[DJAsphodel]

Hey there!

I'm nearly done with the writing/recording of my debut EP. I intended this to be an instrumental release, but I recently decided that I would love to have vocals on these songs, but only if they were done by one specific vocalist. Otherwise I'd be happy to keep it an instrumental EP. It's sort of a case of this person having the exact voice that I think would fit the songs. I've been strongly considering reaching out to her to see if she would be interested in collaborating as a vocalist and lyricist (obviously, I would be paying her).

The vocalist in question is from a band that's kind of a rising talent in their (sort of underground) genre, and while they have a few albums out, they're still not really all that well known. She also does a lot of collaborations and session work for all sorts of projects, so she's fairly prolific.

Thing is, I've been writing music for almost 20 years, but this will be my first ever public release. I've got no audience to speak of yet, and I've been keeping this project close to my chest, so no social media presence until the songs are ready to go.

Obviously, as a total unknown, this is going to be a tough sell. But I'm very confident in these songs and I see no reason not to give it a shot. How can I best make my pitch when emailing her about the project?

[Hugh Robjohns]

If she does 'session work' as you suggest then she must be contactable, either directly or via an agent/manager, and will be open to tracking your vocals for a suitable fee. Couldn't really be simpler (although she might expect to work in a pro studio rather than a bedroom studio!).

If she only does 'collaborations' then you'll need to persuade her its worth collaborating with you.... which might be more of an uphill battle.

But it all starts the same way — by making contact and starting a dialogue, either directly or via her agent/manager.

[DJAsphodel]

That all makes sense! I appreciate your response.

Fortunately, I believe she has remote recording capabilities, so I don't think it would be necessary to have her in-studio (though I do have options if it becomes necessary to do this all in a professional studio rather than in my home studio).

She does do both session work and collaborations, and while I would prefer to hire her as a "session vocalist", I think what I would be asking for -- for her to come up with vocal melodies and lyrics -- is a step beyond that, and I don't want to be misleading with my pitch. While I do have some ideas for both and would set broad guidelines where needed, I would want her perspective and her expertise, rather than try to prescribe lyrics or melodies that don't gel with her sense of phrasing, etc. An uphill battle, as you said, but still worth going for it, I'd say.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Ah. I assumed you had already written tunes and lyrics.

Asking her to create them puts a completely different spin on things, not least legally in terms of credits and royalties etc.

But I think it still all comes down to making contact, introducing yourself and explaining your goals.

[RichardT]

Set your expectations on the low side. I have contacted the agents of various poets and musicians with a view to setting their words, or getting them to perform on something of mine.

Quite often there is simply no reply.

It's still worth a shot though, even though you're asking for a lot.

[yeroc]

Obviously, as a total unknown, this is going to be a tough sell. But I'm very confident in these songs and I see no reason not to give it a shot. How can I best make my pitch when emailing her about the project?

Don’t be a weirdo. Be a professional and clear with what you’re looking for. Ask what her day rate is, say you’re flexible with the split for credits/royalties. Send the files/songs with the request. Mention one particular song and thing you love about her work and why you think you’ll work great together. Make it explicitly and implicitly clear that you will not waste her time. Proposition a single song as a way low risk way to see if you’ll work well together. That’s way less pressure than asking her to do a whole album.

Ultimately it comes down to an interpersonal vibe and if the other artist likes your music. You never know unless you ask, take a shot. Eventually you’ll find someone who will want to collab!

[MOF]

I’m a bit confused as to why you want her to come up with melodies, it was ready for release with an instrumental top line so I understand the need for lyrics, surely she will sing what was the top line?

[James Perrett]

I'm currently working with a vocalist/lyricist who is involved with various collaborations. One thing I've noticed is that she really needs to be inspired by the music to come up with something that she wants to put her name to. Yes, she can improvise lyrics that are easily the equal of the average songwriter but that's not what she's about. She wants to create songs that she can be proud of - and sometimes that inspiration doesn't come straight away.

Also, is it really going to be worth her while collaborating with you? How serious are you about making music? Do you have distribution and publicity organised for the recording's release? What rewards are there for her apart from the obvious financial ones?

[DJAsphodel]

I’m a bit confused as to why you want her to come up with melodies, it was ready for release with an instrumental top line so I understand the need for lyrics, surely she will sing what was the top line?

The songs are written in such a way that the instrumental top lines could accompany vocal melodies, but could also stand on their own without vocals. I wrote things so that they could work either way, though it wasn't easy to strike that balance. I realize that most instrumental albums feature a very prominent instrumental topline, but that isn't quite the case with this release. It's similar to the kind of instrumentation that her main band does, albeit not at the same level of intensity.

I'm currently working with a vocalist/lyricist who is involved with various collaborations. One thing I've noticed is that she really needs to be inspired by the music to come up with something that she wants to put her name to. Yes, she can improvise lyrics that are easily the equal of the average songwriter but that's not what she's about. She wants to create songs that she can be proud of - and sometimes that inspiration doesn't come straight away.

Also, is it really going to be worth her while collaborating with you? How serious are you about making music? Do you have distribution and publicity organised for the recording's release? What rewards are there for her apart from the obvious financial ones?

This is the big challenge for me, for sure. That said, I've been building up toward this release for years, and while I don't have extensive experience, I'd like to think I take this seriously. I've got an outline for distribution and am in conversation with a label I've been interested in. I've also been working on best ways to publicize the release down the road (reaching out to online and local publications, developing an EPK, making sure I have an online presence well in advance, etc). Thankfully, I do have experienced friends and contacts in the (local) industry that I can lean on for guidance and advice. I don't know how much of this I can have solidified before I reach out to her, but I can certainly let her know what my plans are.

As far as rewards, I'd obviously be fooling myself if I said "exposure" would be an incentive. I do have a couple of other well-known collaborators involved in this project, one of whom I believe she knows but has never worked with before. From what I understand, most of the collaborative/session work she's done before for very small acts like mine have featured other established collaborators. It's possible that this would be a valuable connection for her.

It's also possible that she doesn't like my music and she doesn't perform on the EP, which would be disappointing, but might also make things easier in the long run, haha.

[RichardT]

She could hear it as 'this unknown artist wants me to write the melodies and lyrics for their debut release' and immediately dismiss it.

As it is, it's not a good proposition for her.

You need to think of a real incentive for her, or write the melodies and lyrics yourself and engage her as a session artist, perhaps giving her the freedom to change what you've written if she wants to.

[DJAsphodel]

That's totally fair, and I'm afraid of it coming across that way.

To that point, I had a conversation with someone I know who is in this business last night, and he suggested that I could ask her whether she would prefer to write the lyrics and melodies herself, or if she would prefer I come up with lyrics and basic melody ideas as a guide. That way it becomes more of a conversation about creative input rather than me being like "do these things for me." I don't want to give the impression that I would just want her to do all that work -- I'd be willing to come up with lyrics/melodies myself, but I'd just prefer not to constrain her too much when she's already great at those things.

[Sam Spoons]

I think my first approach would be to send her some examples of your work and say you are looking for somebody to collaborate with and love her work, would that be something she might consider? Keep it simple and if she finds your stuff interesting she may say yes at which point you can get into the details, let your music do the talking.

[DJAsphodel]

I appreciate the advice!

I actually ended up finding an interview she did a while back where she said she was once approached by an established band for vocal melodies and lyrics, and she refused because she felt it was too much work and she would not be receiving the credit she deserved. Which makes total sense, and I'm glad I found that out before I made a fool of myself, haha.

I'd still like her to sing on my EP, but I will definitely come up with the vocal melodies and lyrics on my own first.