It’s easy to calculate how much money a demo recording of a professional song should cost. It can vary due to the quality of the studio and the talent employed, but there are basic guidelines.

Once you’re sure your song is done, it’s time to invest in a demo that will compete with demo composers and publishers who have already released hit songs. After all, they are your competition for that all-important cut.

I think most songs can be demonstrated effectively with a four to six piece band. In rare cases, even a simple piano and voice demo will work.

It should be noted that if you’re making a recording for personal listening or with family and friends, you can get by with less instrumentation than would be advisable in a professional “pitch-ready” demo, but musical quality is never a bad idea. It may turn out better than you expect and then you always have the option to market it.

Now, you might think I’m biased, but anyone in the industry with an idea will agree with this statement: When it’s time to demo a song, use a Nashville service that employs session musicians and vocalists. of Nashville. Because? Because they are the best available.

Yes, there are talented musicians scattered all over the country, but Nashville is packed with high-quality musicians, the cream of the rest of the country, who moved to Music City specifically to play demos and master sessions. Not only are they incredibly talented upon arrival, but because of the amount of work here, they hone their skills day after day for years, something few musicians elsewhere get the chance to do. They will absolutely nail their demo.

A pianist $50-$75 per song, a singer $100-$150, plus pre-production and studio time add up to about $250-$325 for a professional quality piano/voice demo. A guitar/vocals is about the same cost because most session quality guitarists also charge $50-$75 per song.

A basic full band demo with four to six professional musicians; a professional vocalist; an engineer; a producer; plus studio costs typically run to between $650 and $850 per song.

As noted, professional singers here in Nashville charge anywhere from $75-$150 per song for lead vocals and harmony, more if extensive backing vocals are required and some singers charge as much as $250 for lead vocals and harmony. A top-notch singer, stacked backing vocals, a horn section, or anything that requires expensive talent will drive the price up to between $850 and $1,500 per song.

So more than half of the total you pay out goes directly to talent. The rest should cover the producer and engineer, who will spend many more man hours on your song than the musicians, plus studio costs and overhead.

Nashville studio rates start around $50 per hour and some of the top tier studios charge $150 or more per hour.

You should be able to get a good demo in a studio charging less than $100 an hour. If you work with a music producer or demo service, they’ll give you a flat rate for the full demo instead of hourly rates, plus either walk you through it or produce it turnkey.

You may find slightly lower prices than what I mentioned above, but the talent will almost certainly be of inferior quality. Taking shortcuts may make some sense when you’re shopping for shoes at Wal-Mart. It doesn’t make sense when you’re competing in a world-class environment like big music business, where only exceptional quality is recognized.

Yes, it’s a fair amount of money, but it’s well worth the investment and a small price to pay if your demo catches the eye of a song publisher who gets your song released with Tim McGraw or Martina McBride. A break like that will not only return thousands of times your investment, but it will change your life completely.