How you act in a session travels faster than your music. Show up on time, and on time means fifteen minutes early. Know your lyrics cold before you walk in. Do not bring an entourage of ten people to a room built for four. The engineer, the producer, and the other writers are all deciding in the first hour whether they ever want to work with you again. Make that decision easy.
Leave your ego at the door and your phone in your pocket. Nothing kills a creative room faster than an artist scrolling while someone pours their heart into a verse. Listen to every idea fully before you judge it. The worst collaborator is the one who shoots down everything in the first five seconds. The best collaborator makes the room braver, and brave rooms make hits.
Talk about splits before the session ends, every single time. Who wrote what, who produced what, and the exact percentages. Write it down on a split sheet and get everyone to sign or at least confirm in writing the same day. Money arguments destroy more relationships than bad music ever will. A song with no paperwork is a lawsuit waiting for a hit.
Follow up after the session. Send a thank you text that night. Share the bounce when it is ready. Credit people publicly when the song drops. Artists who treat collaborators like family get invited back to every room that matters. Your reputation in sessions is your real resume in this industry.
Bring value before you ask for anything. If you want the best producer in the room to send you beats, make their life easy first. Learn names, remember details, and be the artist people text when they have an open slot. Sessions are auditions for the next session, and the artists who get called back are the ones who made the room better.
About the Author – Ruben Burgos: Ruben Burgos brings over 25 years of music expertise and more than 15 years of model guidance to the table. He is the indie major pinnacle to retaining credits for musicians and helping them navigate this wicked industry without the fuckery.