Songwriting can be a wonderfully, beautifully frustrating pursuit. But it can be especially maddening if your singular goal is something outside of your control. So, let's say your one obsession is a Bruno Mars cut. There are several reasons that you are going to likely spend the rest of your...
A Songwriting Degree... Several years ago, I attended my son's freshman orientation at Belmont University. He was headed into the Music Business program. During the parent's session, one mother raised her hand and asked (In all seriousness) "So, if my daughter gets a songwriting degree from Belmont, she is pretty...
I'm a very goal oriented person. I need to see the end goal so that I can figure out how to get there. I like to break down my big goals into bite sized pieces and check things off my list. There are so many elements of getting a song recorded...
Almost all of the people I write with are trying to get their songs recorded and make a living by doing so. It is easy to get so caught up in the pursuit of something commercial that I lose sight of the reasons I started writing songs in the first...
I've been a professional songwriter for more than 20 years. In that time, I've learned a lot by making lots of mistakes. Here are some tips that can help you learn to write better songs WITHOUT making the same mistakes I made. Write From Your Heart - Edit With Your Head If...
The heart of SongTown is helping you write YOUR best song. At the end of the day, that's all any mentor or guide can do for you. I can connect you with many of the top people in the business, but if you don't have a GREAT song,...
Are you a REAL songwriter? I can't count the number of times someone has said to me "I'm a songwriter - well not a REAL songwriter because I haven't had any cuts." Believe me; I felt the same way early in my career. Have you felt like you needed to...
I believe that it’s never too late to be what you might have been. I was in my mid thirties when I started trying to write professionally. A friend of mine just landed a starring role (Her first) in a movie with some HUGE actors at age 49. I...
Verb tenses changing, or going back and forth in a weird way. This is one of the mistakes I see most often when critiquing song lyrics. Switching between past, present and future can really mess your lyric up if you are not super clear about what is going on. Let someone...
One of the reasons Clay and I started SongTown was to help people learn how the songwriting business works and immunize themselves from being ripped off. So, I want to give you some advice that can help save you hundreds and maybe even hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you heed...