You have decided to get the AI vocal re-recorded. The next question is what you actually put in the message, and this is where most producers lose a week going back and forth.
Send these six things in the first message and you will usually get a usable take on the first pass.
The short answer
- The AI version, as a reference
- The instrumental with the vocal removed
- Key and tempo
- The lyrics as text
- One line on what the song is about
- Two artist references for the delivery
Then say what you need back and by when. That is the whole brief.
1. The AI version, as a reference
This is the one that does most of the work, and the one producers are oddly shy about sending.
Do not describe the melody in words. Send the Suno or Udio file. The singer immediately hears the exact topline, where the phrases break, how the lyrics sit against the beat and where the breaths fall. Everything you would otherwise spend three messages explaining is in the file.
Singers are not offended by this. A reference is standard practice in any session, and a generated one is simply a reference that happens to be free to make.
2. The instrumental, without the vocal
They need something to sing over. Export the track without any vocal on it, at the same length and arrangement as the reference so the two line up when they drop both into a session.
WAV is better than MP3 here, and mention if there is a count-in.
3. Key and tempo
State both explicitly rather than making the singer work them out. It takes you five seconds and it tells them straight away whether the song sits in their range, which is the first thing they need to know.
If you are unsure about the key, say so and ask. It is a normal question and better asked before recording than after.
4. The lyrics as text
Typed out, in the structure of the song, with the sections labelled: verse, pre, chorus, bridge. Generated vocals slur words, and a singer guessing at a mumbled line will confidently record the wrong one.
Mark anything you want emphasised, and flag any word whose pronunciation matters to you.
5. One line on what the song is about
Not a paragraph. One line. "It is about leaving a city you love" tells a singer more about how to deliver the second verse than any amount of technical direction.
This is the difference between a technically correct take and one with something behind it, and it costs you a sentence.
6. Two artist references for the delivery
Name two artists whose vocal delivery you want it to sit near, and say what specifically you mean: the restraint, the grit, the way they sit behind the beat. Two is enough. Five is a contradiction.
Reference the delivery rather than the voice. You are not asking anyone to impersonate.
Then state the deliverables
Say plainly what you want back, because this is what the price is based on:
- Lead vocal, dry or lightly processed, your choice
- Doubles, harmonies or ad-libs, if you want them, and where
- Format: WAV, 24-bit, matching your session sample rate
- When you need it
Unclear deliverables are the most common reason a quote comes back higher than expected, or a take comes back thinner than you wanted.
A brief you can copy
|
Hi [name], I heard your demos and your voice fits what I am making. I have a track that is finished apart from the vocal. I wrote it with an AI generator to get the topline down, and I want it re-recorded properly. Attached: the AI reference, the instrumental without vocal, and the lyrics. Key: [key]. Tempo: [bpm]. It is about [one line]. Delivery somewhere near [artist] and [artist], mostly the [restraint / grit / phrasing]. I need the lead, plus doubles on the chorus. WAV, 24-bit, 48k. Hoping for something back within [timeframe]. What would you charge for that? |
Send that to a few vocalists whose demos you liked and compare what comes back. The vocalist directory is here, and every profile has that singer's own work on it so you can listen before you write to anybody.
Free to send. You only pay when you accept a quote.
What not to send
- A full mix with the AI vocal buried in it. They need the reference and the instrumental as separate files.
- Five artist references. It reads as indecision and the take comes back hedged.
- "Just do whatever you feel." Freedom without a frame produces something you did not want, and a revision round nobody enjoys.
- Nothing about money. Ask for a price in the first message. It saves both of you a week.
After you send it: what happens next
The brief is the part you control. This is the part on the other side of it, in order, because most producers have never hired a singer this way and the not-knowing is what stops them sending the first message.
