Posts by Clay Mills
Why A Hit Songwriter Had To Learn To Eat Humble Pie!
After writing my first hit song I thought I had arrived but songwriter humble pie wasn’t far behind… About 13 years ago, when my son was eight, I was fortunate enough to have a new single on radio. I had moved to Nashville at 32, and eight years later, it was finally paying off with…
Read MoreHow To Turn Everyday Conversations Into Great Songs Using The Talk-Sing Melody Method
Early in my songwriting career, I was driving to a co-writing session with Hall of Fame songwriter Rory Bourke. Traffic was extremely slow that day. I rushed into the writing room and frantically said, “I’m so sorry that I’m late.” Immediately, Rory sang what I had just said: “I’m so sorry … that I’m ……
Read MoreAttitude and Outlook Are Everything When Considering Good Versus Bad Contemporary Music
“Today’s music sucks. The stuff artists are putting out is bad music—and it all sounds the same!!” We hear it all the time from songwriters, I used to say it myself. But the truth is, changing your attitude and outlook on contemporary music can actually help you write better songs. Not long ago at Bongo Java…
Read MoreSongwriter Inspiration For Those Days Of Doubt
Songwriters… When you have those days of doubt and wonder why you are chasing your dream, I offer you this bit of songwriter inspiration…. I wasn’t exactly young that day I realized I wanted to be a full-time songwriter. I knew no professional songwriters. Also, I was in my mid thirties and had little…
Read MoreHall of Fame Songwriter Byron Hill
Marty sits down with Hall of Fame Songwriter Byron Hill who has penned hits such as “Fool Hearted Memory” George Strait, “Nothing On But The Radio” Gary Allan, “Born Country” Alabama and many more! Byron shares his journey through the music business as well as tips and advice for aspiring songwriters! If you are looking…
Read MoreRecording At Home: My Demo Process On A #1 Song I Co-wrote With Darius Rucker
People often ask me if they have to do full-production demos to present songs to publishers or major artist? I do a fair amount of full demos, but I also have had about half of my major cuts from pitching home demos done on a very basic set-up on my mac laptop. The Home Studio…
Read MoreMistakes Lyric Writers Make
Can songs sound good AND make sense? Hit Songwriters Marty and Clay sit down to talk about the common mistakes they see lyric writers make and share lyrics hacks that you can apply to your own songs to instantly make your songs better! Write better songs faster! Clay & Marty’s 10-day video series will help…
Read MoreSongTown: Keeping The Craft Of Songwriting Alive
Eight years ago, fellow pro songwriter Marty Dodson and I made a pact to do all we could to keep the craft of songwriting alive. We were chatting at a local coffee shop in Nashville, Tennessee. We discussed how we’d learned early on in our careers from master songwriters who passed their knowledge and torches…
Read MoreMistakes Melody Writers Make
Writing an impactful, memorable melody can be the difference between writing a good song and a GREAT song! Hit Songwriters Marty and Clay sit down to talk about the common mistakes they hear melody writers make and share some melody hacks that you can apply to your own songs to instantly make them better! Write…
Read MoreQuick Song Biz Tip: Songwriting Mechanical Royalties 101
What Are Songwriting Mechanical Royalties? Every time a song you’ve written is manufactured (CD, Vinyl, etc) or downloaded on a digital music retail site, or streamed through services like Spotify; songwriting mechanical royalties are paid to you. Mechanical rates are set by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal as part of the Copyright Act of 1976. The…
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