Posts by Clay Mills
In The Writer’s Room with Thompson Square
The hit country music duo, Thompson Square, stops by the SongTown on SongTown Podcast to talk about their career, songwriting, and then perform a stellar song in-studio from Shawna’s new solo project. Kiefer and Shawna’s journey will inspire you and entertain you! Clay & Marty’s 10-day video series: This video series will help you level-up…
Read MoreWriting Up: How The Pros Approach Songwriting
Clay Mills and Marty Dodson share one of the biggest mistakes aspiring songwriters make. What is “Writing Up” and why will it keep you from achieving your goals in the songwriting biz.. The SongTown on Songwriting podcast is not “tips and tricks” for songwriters. It’s real-world techniques used by top pros day in and day…
Read MoreWhy Publishers Can’t Save Songwriters (2024)
In this episode “Why Publishers Can’t Save Songwriters (2024)”, we delve into the roles of music publishers and the reality of how they impact songwriters. Join multi #1 songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson as they share valuable insights and pro songwriter tips to help you navigate the business of hit songwriting. This is a…
Read MoreKyle Daniel: Rising Star in Roots Rock Takes Off
Today’s episode of SongTown on Songwriting features an exclusive interview with rising star Kyle Daniel, a talented artist/songwriter making waves in the roots rock and country scenes. Kyle visits the SongTown Studios and shares his amazing journey down a rocky indie road to his new major label album release Kentucky Gold on SnakeFarm records… he’s…
Read MoreSongwriters: Job One Is To “Be That Guy”
The Horse & Writer Retreat A number of years back I got an invite from one of my favorite country songwriters, Skip Ewing, to go out to Wyoming and share my knowledge of songwriting at a camp for a week. The event was called Horse & Writer. We rode horses during the morning and worked on the craft of…
Read MoreSongwriters: Don’t Blow Your Set-up Line!
The set-up line is the line just before the title or hook of your song. It is probably the most under-valued yet crucial lyrical line of most songs. Yet, I am constantly reminded in my mentoring sessions of how few writers are aware of this element of a song. Here’s an example of a verse from “The Song…
Read MoreUnlocking Your Songwriting Superpower (Pro Tips)
Marty and Clay outline the pro songwriter strategy for finding your songwriting superpower and leveraging it to reach your big songwriting goals. Clay & Marty’s 10-day video series: This video series will help you level-up your songs and finish them faster. CLICK HERE to begin! SongTown Press Books: Mastering Melody Writing : Check It Out The Songwriter’s Guide…
Read MoreCreating Perfect Opening Song Lines: Lyrics That Are Musical
Often when we talk about key elements of a song, you’ll hear people talk opening song lines. They’ll say things like, that’s where you grab the listener’s attention, and that’s where you set the scene of the song. Or maybe if you don’t do it right, you’re going to lose the listener at the very…
Read MoreDon’t Let Your Next Song Critique Drive You Crazy
After receiving different song critiques of the same song from two different people, I often hear an aspiring writer complain that the critiques contradict each other. For example: the first person critiquing the song likes the second verse, but not the first; the second person, however, likes the first verse, but not the second. Usually, the…
Read MoreWhy Good Songs Fail: Character Flaws
In the latest episode of “Why Good Songs Fail,” pro songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson explain a common mistake that kills potentially good songs. Do your songs suffer from character flaws? Let’s fix that! Clay & Marty’s 10-day video series: This video series will help you level-up your songs and finish them faster. CLICK HERE to…
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