Submissions open
Track One
Produced sessions and A&R for emerging artists.
Savage Music is funding three fully produced songs. Send us a live take of something unreleased you're building on, plus a release that shows us who you are. If you're selected, you'll spend a day in a Nashville room with a professional producer and hands-on A&R, and the finished master comes back to you once it's mixed and mastered.
A producer, not a prize
You and your producer make the record together in the room, building the song to whatever it calls for. Mixed and mastered to release standard.
Real A&R, not feedback
Our A&R team picks who comes in, helps choose the song, and stays involved through the session. A working relationship, not a critique service.
Where it goes after
The master goes to Savage Music Publishing and in front of our label partners for consideration, with editorial support behind it. A road to market, not a one-off song.
Artists who write
their own songs
Solo artists and bands, any genre. We're looking for a point of view and a song worth building, not a finished product and not a demo pitch.
Submit if you are
- A solo artist or band performing original material
- Writing your own songs, alone or with co-writers
- Sitting on something unreleased you believe in
- Able to get to Nashville on the session date
Not a fit if
- You're pitching a song for another artist to record
- The song is a cover or contains uncleared samples
- The song is committed under an existing deal
- Your co-writers haven't agreed to submit it
Two links. Two jobs.
Live take
Play us something unreleased, on camera. A phone on a stand is all it takes. We're not judging the footage, we're watching you perform. Raw beats polished, and the song doesn't need to be finished.
Artist proof
One existing release or finished recording. This is how we hear who you are: your voice, your writing, your instincts at full strength. It can be years old. It will not be the song we produce.
Share hosted links only, nothing to upload. One of each, not a catalog. And the live take isn't necessarily the song you'll cut: if you're selected, A&R works with you before the session to land on what goes in the room.
Who you'd be working with
Producers
You'll work alongside a producer chosen by our A&R team for your project specifically, matched to what your song needs rather than assigned at random. Credits across the bench include:
A&R
Scott Graves, Director of A&R at Savage Music, leads Track One. His credits include Cage The Elephant, Shakira, Josh Ritter, and Langhorne Slim.
A&R chooses who comes in, works with you on song selection, sits in on pre-production, and stays in the room through the session.
It's also why we ask for a live take rather than a demo. A&R needs to see an artist perform, not just hear a recording.
Submission to session
Submit
Record your live take first and get it hosted somewhere. Then two links and a few questions.
We watch
Every live take gets watched by a person. Nothing is auto-filtered.
Shortlist
A&R goes deeper on a shortlist and digs into your released work.
Selection
Three artists selected, plus two alternates.
Agreement
Selected artists get the full agreement to review and sign. Nothing is booked until it's signed, and you can decline.
Pre-production
A&R and your producer work with you to choose the song and set direction before the day.
Session
Your day in Nashville. You and your producer cut the song.
Delivery
Mixed, mastered, and sent to you as a finished release-ready master.
What you agree to now
Submitting commits you to the facts below: that your songs are yours and they're clear. Everything about ownership and what happens after is in the full agreement, which you only see and sign if you're selected.
Ownership, producer credit, and what happens to the master after the session are covered in full in the agreement, which selected artists review and sign before anything is booked. None of it is decided by submitting.
Send us your live take
Before you ask
Does it cost anything?
No. Entry is free and there's nothing to buy at any stage. If you're selected, Savage Music funds the session.
Do I keep my song?
Submitting gives us no rights to anything you send. Ownership of the song and the recording we make together is covered in the full agreement, which you review and sign only if you are selected, before anything is booked. You are free to decline it.
Does the song need to be finished?
No. Bring an idea worth building. Writing happens in the room, and plenty of great songs get finished there once the vibe is set.
Does the video need to look good?
No. A phone on a stand is fine, and a room with bad acoustics is fine. We're watching you play, not watching a music video. Raw is better than polished.
Who are the producers?
Producers are selected by A&R once artists are chosen, matched to the project. You'll meet yours in pre-production.
What genres are you looking for?
All of them. We're matching artists to producers, not filling quotas.
Can I submit more than one song?
One artist proof and one live take per artist. Multiple entries won't improve your odds.
Do I need a following?
No. We ask for links because they help us know you, not because we're counting.
