The Hold - A hold can be very confusing. Generally speaking, a hold is simply a verbal agreement that the publisher grants to someone connected to the artist's project. The general understanding is that the publisher agrees not to pitch the song to anyone else. This gives the person who put the song on hold time to determine whether or not the artist is interested in recording this song. No money is exchanged but rather, it is a good faith agreement.
Some songs are on hold for a few days, some for several months.
Often the publisher will request a time limit on the hold so the song is not tied up in limbo for a long period of time. Sometimes hundreds of songs are put on hold for an album that ultimately will end up with only 10 songs on it. Other times only a handful of songs are put on hold. Most professional songwriters are pleased but not overly excited when their songs go on hold since, unfortunately, they often don't get recorded. He said he was going in to the studio the following week and was going to record 3-4 songs.