Paramount Music

They are a RIPOFF for songwiters..... Do business with them at the risk of your wallet.  Another one to avoid is McClure & Trowbridge.  

There are a number of companies that specialize in ripping artists and songwriters off. They are one of those sharks. They puff you up by commenting in a positive manner on the songs you send in, a few emails or letters later, they tell you the songs were selected for the "next big project" or some other such BS..... then they ask you to "invest" in your music by paying half the demo cost..... 

Wanna have fun?  Send them a piece of crap song.... see how they respond. Record it half way decently... maybe a piano/guitar vocal demo.... even make the vox a bit pitchy and words that would never work on radio.... not vulgar, but not an example of "good writing". Pick something you know would NEVER make it to a record let alone the top 10 radio tunes..... Chances are good they will "accept" your song regardless. 

A legitimate publisher will handle your song for FREE. Actually, they will pay ALL the costs of demo (if they demo it... not likely) and all the costs to copyright it and register it with your PRO for you.  As a result, your out of pocket on the song is ZERO. The publisher will deduct those overhead costs from any royalties the song earns and split the balance with you according to the contract you have. 

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, READ AND UNDERSTAND the contract and ALL it's terms before you sign it. Last thing you want is somewhere in the mouse type a clause that states you will pay for demo's or whatever. Read it carefully. 

I agree with LJB. 

Taxi is a screening service based in LA. They provide a few things... at a cost of course, for songwriters. 

1. Education and feed back. They have many resources for songwriters and actually most of them including the weekly TAXI TV shows (with live chat) are free to any and all who wish to avail themselves of these things. It's all on the TAXI web site. They have a forum as well to discuss songwriting and a peer to peer which is like our Songs forum. The focus there is mainly on the writing of the song, but some attention is, of course, given to the production quality. 

2. Viable leads to music industry current needs for music.  As a member, you can submit songs to hundreds of current listings. This varies of course on a weekly basis as opportunities close and new ones become available.  Everything from need for film & TV music to ad companies world wide needing music for commercial cues to artists needing music for upcoming projects to video game companies developing new games and needing music for them. 

IIRC first year membership is $300. Renewals are $200, and a new service, introduced a few years ago called Dispatch is available for $150 on top of basic membership. Dispatch is unique in that it is generally pretty decent opportunities but the turn around time is generally extremely short..... any where from as many as 6 days out down to..."we need this today by 5pm Pacific time" ....  submissions are $5 per song and that is mainly to keep everybody and their brother from submitting every song in their catalog to every listing on the board. 

If you're gonna  spend money to get your songs out and heard.... I would recommend TAXI. 

Oh yeah... almost forgot. Included in the membership cost is 2 free passes to the TAXI road rally in LA in November of every year. They bring in some top tier music folks to conduct classes, seminars, song screenings, and one on one mentor events. Not including all the other folks you meet there who are songwriters at all stages of their careers from beginners to the guys and gals making 6 figure incomes from songwriting.

In the time I have been a member of TAXI and using the tools they have as well as attending the events and other things .....I have seen a rapid improvement in the quality of my writing.