craigb

Karyn
...  it's not checked by default.

Just like many of the Coffee House posts? 
 

Every CH post is checked for default...

The bane of the songwriter..... trying to find someone to sing who sounds like the next superstar but is willing to work for free....... yeah... good luck with that.  
 
In my years, the free ones can't sing,  and the ones who can, know it and cost some money.
 
That said.... there are a few websites, I didn't bookmark them unfortunately, that list singers for particular genre's and style, have samples of their music, and the prices they charge per hour/song.   For the most part, the ones I saw were around $60 on the low end to over $200 on the high end.... with most of them easily in the $80 hr/song range. 
 
Remember that to give a good "chemistry filled" performance, the singer has to learn the song.... and that takes time. They can not impart chemistry if they are reading the words from a sheet of paper.
 
Another option is to look around your local bar/club scene and find the bands or performers who are in the style you're seeking and approach them.  I found the singer to one of my songs (Come & Go... on my web site) by asking a guy I know who is a performing local musician, who I could ask to sing on a song I had written for a female vocalist. He mentioned a girl, said to contact her dad, gave me his number, and the rest is history. She charged me $25 for the vocal part. Unfortunately, all the ones I worked with in my studio are now off at college or moved to another state or have stopped singing and recording.
 
Edit:   Nashville TN is a good source of singers both male and female. And... there are a ton of studios there that cater to this very need. After you have discussed the financials and details, you send them the song, and lyrics with a rough idea of the phrasing and melody..... they record the singers and send you the waves or the finished file, depending on the deal you have. There are a bunch of studios there in Nashville all catering to the same singer/songwriter market and that means stiff competition for the work that is available. As a result, prices tend to be fairly reasonable for the quality of the work you receive in return. Remember that Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks among many other big stars all paid their rent singing on demo's and by working in that industry prior to them signing artist deals.
 
 

Yes, I got it. And from reading you'd be looking at about $150. Or, if you're willing to wait a bit...we might be able to piggy back it on another session and do it for even less. Maybe much less.

Hello Guitarhacker!


I'm not looking for "the next superstar," my expectations aren't so... Arrogant, and I want to make it clear that I don't feel entitled to free help. It's simply what my budget allows right now, and I rather strongly feel that there's no harm in asking. If there truly is no one out there willing to do this for free, then I'm fine with that. =-)
My next step is looking at the local scene, but I'm not really a go-getter type, so I wanted to try the online route first.
If going online-only results in a dead end, then I have other options, and if those other options result in a dead end, then I'll just re-write parts of the album.
No harm, no foul.

Thanks for looking into that Yorolpal, $150 is... Well, let's put it this way: that's more than I allow for my monthly food budget! Nevertheless, if the time arises before the 17th of March that you can piggyback this type of work, let me know of the price and I'll let you know if it's something I can handle!
In case you're wondering, the 17th is the final day of recording for me, after that I start mixing, mastering, and getting the album prepared for release.

As an aside, I'm not opposed to paying, I want everyone out there to know that, especially for quality work.
It's just that I can't offer much.
My apologies if I've come off on the wrong foot here!


In either case, take care!
-Hypocrita