Sending a song to the studio before it's ready can waste both time and money. A polished, well-prepared song not only records more smoothly—it also gives you a finished demo you'll be proud to pitch.
by SongwriterDemoService Staff | August, 9, 2025.
This checklist captures some of the main points of our more in-depth, downloadable PDF guide and will help you decide whether your song is ready to be recorded as a demo.
↓📁 Is Your Song Ready to Demo | (PDF 193.52 KB)
Before you spend money on a demo, get expert feedback from a trusted source. A professional critique can identify weaknesses in your lyrics, melody, or structure that you may not notice yourself.
Something as simple as singing your melody and lyrics into a recorder, such as your phone, will suffice for critique purposes. If you can play guitar or piano, accompanying yourself as you sing the melody—that's ideal. It doesn't need to be perfect—it just needs to present your lyrics and melody clearly.
Not for a critique. Professionals are listening for the song itself, not the singer. Just make sure the melody is clear enough to evaluate.
If you can't sing or play an instrument, try to find someone who can, then make a recording with your phone. It doesn't need to be polished—just clear. If you only have the lyrics, that's enough to submit for critique. Most often, it is the lyrics of a song that require the most professional polish.
Get opinions from songwriting friends. However, because they know you and may not want to hurt your feelings, they may be not as objective as a professional would.
See if there are any local songwriting organizations or groups in your area that you can attend and/or join, such as NSAI. You can usually participate in one or two workshops for free. This way, you can get feedback from other songwriters.
If you can play an instrument and perform your songs live, get out and play at writers' nights, open mics, or other functions, and test your songs on an audience. If you can sing, but can't play, get a friend to play while you sing. If you don't sing or play, perhaps a friend can perform your song for you. Observe which songs of yours evoke the strongest positive reactions from your audiences. If your song isn't getting a response from the audience, chances are it may not be ready to record.
Hearing from several professionals gives you a better perspective. If more than one person points out the same issue, it's likely something worth fixing.
Update your song, applying the recommendations you were given, then get fresh feedback to confirm that the changes strengthened it. At this point, you may ask the professional directly if they believe your song is ready to demo.
The first step is to decide what type of demo you will need and which instruments will bring out the most in your song.
If so, a piano-vocal or guitar-vocal demo may be sufficient to showcase the song's quality.
Up-tempo or rhythm-driven songs often need a full band to deliver the intended energy and impact.
If the answer is no, then record any style of demo that will make you happy.
However, if you want to pitch your song to other artists for recording, ensure that your demo showcases the song in a style and arrangement that fits the artist or genre.
Then, consider the following...
Be aware that you are competing with professionals who are also trying to get their songs to the artist, and they are likely bringing in demos that sound like finished, radio-ready album tracks.
Most artists (and their teams) want to hear a fully realized version of a song before considering it for recording.
Are you hoping to get a publishing deal as a songwriter? Consider that publishers hear hundreds of songs, and first impressions count. Your demo should sound pitch-ready from the first second.
If you can only afford a guitar-vocal or piano-vocal demo now, that's fine—we can record it in a way that makes upgrading easy later.
We'll structure the recording so that additional instruments (such as drums, bass, or electric guitar) can be added later, saving you money* because you've already recorded a strong base track and vocal.
(*Please note that when you upgrade a guitar or piano and vocal demo to a band demo, or a basic band demo to radio-ready, you will incur an additional expense for studio time, as you will also need to remix the entire song, as the equalization and levels of existing instruments may need to change to blend well with the new additions.)
A little preparation now can mean a lot more success later. Whether you need a simple guitar-vocal or piano-vocal demo, a full band demo, a radio-ready demo, or a step-by-step upgrade plan, we'll ensure your demo captures your song's full potential.
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