The single biggest factor in getting a custom song you love is the brief. A clear brief saves time, prevents misunderstandings, and gets you closer to the right result on the first attempt. The good news: a great brief does not require any musical knowledge — just clarity about what you want and why. This guide walks through what to include. When you are ready, you can send it through the Contact page.

1. The purpose and occasion

Start with what the song is for. Is it a personal gift, a wedding, a memorial, a brand campaign, an artist release, or a children’s song? The purpose shapes everything that follows. Be specific about the moment it will be used in — a first dance and a social-media advert call for very different songs.

2. The feeling you want

Describe the emotion in plain words: warm, joyful, nostalgic, powerful, calming, bittersweet. You do not need musical terms. If you can name the feeling you want a listener to have, a producer can translate that into tempo, key, and arrangement decisions.

3. Reference tracks

Two or three reference songs are worth a thousand words. They do not have to be songs you want copied — they are a shared vocabulary. Note what specifically you like about each one: the mood, the vocal style, the production, or just the energy. References quickly align expectations.

4. The story and details

For personal and custom songs, real details are gold. Names, places, dates, shared memories, inside phrases, and the relationship between the people involved all make the song feel specific and true. Share the story you want the song to tell, and flag any details that absolutely must be included — or avoided.

5. Language and length

Specify the language (or mix of languages) and any preference for length. A full radio-length song, a short version for video, and a looping background piece are different deliverables. If the song needs to fit a specific video or moment, note the timing.

6. Practical details

Finally, include the practical information:

• Deadline: when you need it, including any hard dates like an event.
• Usage: personal, public release, commercial, or broadcast — this affects rights and licensing.
• Budget range: even a rough range helps scope the project realistically.
• Deliverables: the final master, and whether you need any alternate versions.

What happens next

With a clear brief in hand, the project moves into writing, production, mixing, and mastering — the workflow described in the article on turning an idea into a finished song. You do not need to get the brief perfect; a good conversation fills in the gaps. The aim is simply to start with enough clarity that the first version is already close.

A simple brief template

If you want a starting point, answer these prompts in a few sentences each and you will have a brief that is more than enough to begin:

• What is the song for? The occasion and how it will be used.
• What should it feel like? Two or three feeling words.
• References: two or three songs and what you like about them.
• The story: the people, details, and any must-include lines.
• Language and length.
• Deadline, usage, and rough budget.

That is it — no musical terms required.

Common mistakes to avoid

Two things tend to slow custom projects down. The first is being too vague (“just make it nice”), which leaves every decision open and risks a result that misses the mark. The second is being over-prescriptive about technical details while forgetting to explain the feeling, which can produce a song that ticks boxes but has no heart. The sweet spot is clear about emotion and purpose, and flexible about how that gets achieved.

Ready to begin? Review the options on the Services page, then send your brief through the Contact page and describe the song you have in mind.