Interesting idea.

You ask a key question in there that begs an answer.

"I suspect it has commercial value for a publisher like Hal Leonard but I don't know why they haven't made it yet"

Perhaps they haven't made it because they don't see a market for it that would allow them to make a profit let alone break even. To them it's a dollar and cents decision. They are interested in making money.

The genre is "Western Swing Artists of the 40's and 50's"....

The number of people who appreciate Western Swing is a fairly small group of folks in the musical scheme of things....the number of those who are musicians is a smaller subset of that larger group. Most of them probably already know these songs and how to play them. The number of musicians who actually need or want a fake book would be even smaller.

I'm not saying it isn't a good idea but understand the market for the product you are trying to put together.

My suggestion to you is as follows.

Put the book together. Make it as good as you can. Get it totally finished. Covers, artwork, music tracks, etc..... get it all done 100%. What do I mean by get it 100%? Simple.... finish the project and go to a place like Staples or Office Depot and use their professional services to actually PRINT THE BOOK on quality paper with full color printing and a 4 color cover stock glossy cover. They can assist you in creating the prototype book with the CD or DVD. The CD also needs to be done to a professional standard. Essentially, you want the exact product the publisher will be selling....and you need to be able to hand it to them and have them be impressed with it. All they need to do is replicate what they have in their hands and market it. This might cost you a couple hundred dollars to do but the finished product in the publisher's hands will beat an obviously home made concept that needs professional care to get it ready. You must market it to the publisher. You should plan to produce about 30 to 50 packages since you will be visiting several publishers and they would want several copes each.


Copyright laws do not apply to something that no one else will see while you are working on it in private with or without a team helping you. Confidentiality is crucial. I have worked on music with other folks who were writing for a specific purpose and non-disclosure was paramount.

Once you get the book together, make some appointments with music publishers who might be interested in such a book. It will be hard to get them to let you in the door. When you go to see them, be sure you have done ALL the work. Essentially, it's a finished product and all they need to do is decide if they will invest the money to print/reproduce it and market it for you. If they do, THEY will handle the copyright clearance issues for you. That is their job anyway.

The work you put into it is your side of the risk..... the money they invest in copyright, printing, and marketing is their side of the risk.

I would not expect to see this sell like a Beatles fake book but it might sell enough to make it worthwhile but the entire success depends on the marketing clout of the publisher to get it into the stores and into the hands of it's target audience.

You will need to have a totally finished project. Dot all the "i's" and have all the "t's" crossed before you contact the publisher. They will not be interested if they have to put any effort into it.

Nothing good or worthwhile is ever really easy. It takes work and determination.

Be prepared to answer some hard questions.
Why would anyone want this book?
Aren't there already individual books for these artists?
How many copies do you think it will sell?
To whom and at what cost?

Be prepared to hear "No thanks... we're not interested" a lot.

But before I close.... going back to your question..... you said you suspect.... not a good idea to "suspect" or guess. You should KNOW before you spend much time working on this unless it's just for you and nothing else matters. (labor of love) Make some phone calls and talk to publishers and some musicians in this genre. Ask them what they think and take it with a grain of salt. Then, after having gathered the facts and doing research, you will know, or at least have a better idea. The more people you speak with now, the more accurate your decisions can be in the future. So don't talk to 3 people and make a decision based on that unless one of those is a publisher and says he has been dying to get a book like that and is willing to send you a cash-able advance check for the book.

That's my 2 cents


Last edited by Guitarhacker; 10/08/13 05:18 AM.
You can find my music at:
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Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.