"Songwriter's Market" is available in bookstores or Amazon.com. In it are a long list of music publishers with descriptions of what kinds of music they are looking for, formats they want, contact names. e-mail addresses, mailing addresses, etc.

I have used this information to successfully obtain publishing contracts on 6 of my original songs. Some of the contracts have been so bad (one sided) that I chose not to sign, but some have been quite decent. One of my songs was signed to Transition Music in Hollywood. They are trying to find a movie or TV show to place my song in.

You must be persistent. Send out at least 100 inquiries along with samples of your work and be prepared for 99 rejections (or no response at all). Keep sending your material out to music publishers and, if it has any worth at all, someone might eventually pick it up and give it a try.

Self publishing is great, but it doesn't solve the problem of nobody ever hearing your songs. Prepare high quality demos, with full instrumentation and harmony. Present your songs in their best possible light. Make your demos sound like a master recording from the best studio in the world and you might have a chance to have someone listen to more than the first few seconds.

Good luck,
Mike