Bob,
What is unique or different about your musical talent or your songwriting capabilities that would attract Nashville (this is the heart of the Christian market) over the thousands of wannabe songwriters that are in residence there?
This is simply a question to get you to consider your competition. It might be wise for you to ake a trip to Nashville and just drive through Music Row, or even better, walk through there. Business after business dealing with mostly people that have moved there. The town is loaded with people that want to make it in the performing and/or publishing side of the business.
This is my middle sister's self-produced CD on CD Baby:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/heatherbaysShe is not signed. She actually makes it o.k. as a studio singer for a couple of studios in Indianapolis that primarily record demo tracks for publishing companies that cater to college choir directors. So, she fits the definition of a professional on a weekly basis for her studio gigs.
She knows the Indianapolis folks in the Christian music industry (the whole long chain of 'Gaither' and Praise Gathering folks are still based there).
She can sing the sox off of most of us here on this forum as for talent and breadth of style; opera, R&B, country, gospel, CCM, you name it, Heather can sing it and give you goosebumps at the same time.
Her CD is well-done, way past 'demo' type of sound. She hired in most of the musicians, but they didn't track simultaneously. It's evidenced in a couple of the songs where they just don't have a live band 'vibe' to them at certain parts. But I think you will agree that even listening to the short snippets on CD Baby, her pipes are there. Every one of those songs could be on the radio.
She just was the guest soloist for the Anderson Symphony Orchestra's Christmas concert. Anderson is a one of Indy's big suburb-type towns, and where the Gaither folks are based.
She hasn't tried super hard to 'get signed'. However, if she did, even she would have a hard time getting signed by one of the big labels. The competition is too danged thick, and the labels are incredibly careful about how much they spend on promotion and for how many people.
The guy who produced the album, Dave Elwert, is also worth study. Not signed.
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/daveelwert2There are hundreds, thousands more like this. Have you ever visited Noisetrade.com? Thousands of self-produced albums there by folks wanting to get noticed and 'signed'.
So, while it isn't dead, it's also incredibly overpopulated with people trying to 'make it'.
However, if you were able to get to Nashville - not on a self-promotion tour, but just to see the size and breadth of your competition - it might be worth it for you to spend a week there. Head into any bar or pick from the big lists of live music venues in town - you'll almost always hear great talent, unsigned.
http://www.nowplayingnashville.com/musictonightI heard a guy at BB King's joint there back in August that was simply burning it up ala Stevie Ray Vaughan, with a bumpin band backing him up - great pipes, unsigned.
-Scott