I can't count the number of times I have had songwriters tell me that the music business is "trying to keep them out" or that they can't break into the "cliques" in Nashville, LA, or wherever they are trying to break in. I'd like to give a different perspective on all...
Writing From My Other Self Here are some ideas for writing from your other self. Use these exercises to stretch your writing boundaries. 1) Write songs from the point of view of the opposite gender from time to time. Trying to write something that feels honest and real for a woman to say...
It takes a unique idea and a unique angle on that idea to get attention for your song. Here are some questions to ask yourself to see if you have a unique song idea: 1) Have I heard this before? If I'm already aware of another...
Map out an outline of the song as soon as you decide on a hook. Knowing where you are going helps you avoid saying too much before you get to the 2nd verse. Second verses are not that difficult if you have planned out what you are going to say...
As co-founders of SongTown, Clay and I have had a lot of success as writers in the country genre. Many people assume that we are "country songwriters" and that what we teach only applies to country music. This is a false assumption. (Watch "The Bad News Bears" for more info on...
I'm a big believer in positive thinking. Here are some positive thoughts for songwriters that can help keep you moving forward and help you enjoy the journey. 1) The only person I have to beat is me. If I continually work at writing a better song than I wrote yesterdat, then I...
5 Morning Songwriting Inspirations to go with your coffee! Today is a new start. Today could be the day that I write that first cut or my best song. It doesn't matter what has happened in the past. I have a clean slate today. I will make the most of it. I am...
Someone pointed out this weekend that my posts often have as much to do with life as they do with songwriting. That made me think, and I realized that it's probably because songwriting is just a reflection of life. So many of the principles we talk about in our posts...
Songwriting "rules" can stifle creativity. If you learn to communicate clearly with your songs, you have learned everything you need to know to write a great song!
We get lots of music business questions in SongTown and this is a common one, so I thought I'd answer it in a post. The business side of music is not as complicated as it seems. Here are the basics of writer/publisher deals and how money is split. There are two...