Songwriting To Drum Loops: Creating The #1 Song Beautiful Mess

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One great tool every songwriter has at their disposal today songwriting with drum loops. Whether you have a computer handy, a drum controller, or a smart phone, there are amazing apps for beats that were not available even a few short years ago. Loops are a quick way to add energy and style to your…

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Writing In The Moment: How I went From Stuck On A Song Lyric To My First Major Artist Cut

Back when I was beating the streets of Nashville looking for my first cut as a songwriter, I was asked to write a theme song for a TV show about Sisters. They wanted something in the vibe of Sarah McLachlan. As luck would have it my parents had just given me my childhood piano and…

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Finding Inspiration In That Song That’s Stuck In Your Head

Pro songwriter Clay Mills shares how to turn that old classic song  you can’t stop humming for the last 2 days, into inspiration for your own classic! Check Out SongTown and get 10 free videos to level-up your songwriting.

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The Real Truth About Pitch To Publisher Events And Your Songwriting Career.

Every week I see determined hardworking songwriters flocking to pitch to publisher events to play their songs for publishers. I see whole businesses existing on this model of setting up pitch to publisher events. I’ve seen it for 25 years! While there might be some networking potential to find co-writers, etc, I have not heard of…

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Video Songwriting Lesson: Finding the Heart of Your Song

Finding The Heart & Soul Of your Music Takes Courage… And A Few Tricks! Multi #1 songwriter Clay Mills will show you how to find the “true heart of your song” and create music that matters. This video is part of a weekly lesson series for members at SongTown.

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The Darius Rucker Effect: How 2 Hours Can Change A Songwriter’s Life

ASCAP #1 Songwriter Party for Clay Mills & Darius Rucker I remember 6 years ago driving with my publisher Kurt Denny from Tennessee to Kentucky, where I was about to climb on the Hootie and the Blowfish tour bus. Kurt had arranged my first major artist co-write with rocker Darius Rucker. I was quiet the…

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How To Break Out Of Your Songwriting Rut And Feel Inspired Again

Do you feel like your melodies are dated? Are you in a creative rut? It happens to us all. We start rolling and write a bunch of songs we really love, and then one day we wake up and everything starts sounding the same. Every new idea we create seems familiar. And worse, those ideas…

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Quick Biz Tip: Songwriter Performance Royalties 101

Songwriter performance royalties account for roughly 35% of a writers/publishers income. What is a performance royalty? Simply put: A songwriter performance royalty is owed to the writers and publishers of a particular song whenever that composition is ‰broadcast‰ or performed ‰in public.‰ This includes: Airplay on terrestrial and satellite radio (Sirius, XM, etc) Plays on…

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5 Things We Bet You Didn’t Know About SongTown

1) Marty Dodson and Clay Mills wrote together years ago, but were not frequent collaborators when they started Songtown. Now, they talk multiple times a day. Every day. 2) The big question Marty and Clay wrestled with before starting Songtown was “Will people stick around if we tell them the truth?” They saw multiple Songwriting…

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SongTown Say Whaaaa? Sometimes Songwriting Can Be A Crazy Music Business!

crazy music biz

In today’s episode of sometimes songwriting can be a crazy music business… I recently got an email from a talented SongTownian who asked me if it was a good idea to sign a contract that allowed his co-writer to negotiate contracts on their song on his behalf. AND give the co-writer 100% of the publishing…

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