Posts by Marty Dodson
Songwriting Tips For Writing A Great Second Verse
Writing a great second verse is often the difference in a good song and a killer song. Here’s are my tips for leveling-up your second verses. 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…
Read MoreWho’s In Charge of Your Songwriting Destiny?
I can’t count the times that I’ve heard a songwriter blame their lack of success on the radio, publishers, a “closed circle in the music business”, A&R people who “can’t hear a hit”, bad co-writers, just plain bad luck and the list goes on and on and on. While any of those factors COULD potentially…
Read MoreSongTown Year End Message 2021
As we come to the end of 2021 we celebrate a year of SongTown successes! We are so proud of our members and all the hard work they have put in this year! We look forward to teaching, mentoring and cheering everyone on in 2022! Get a jump start on your 2022 songwriting goals with…
Read MoreCan You Teach Songwriting?
Can songwriting really be taught or do you just have to have “it”? In this episode Clay and Marty debunk the myth that songwriting can’t be taught and give examples of how they themselves have learned songwriting from mentors who have taught them and made them better songwriters. Learn more about SongTown’s MasterClasses and make…
Read MoreHandling Song Feedback Constructively
Getting feedback on your songs can sometimes be very overwhelming. Then, once you get the feedback you have the questions of “should I re-write this song, leave it as it is or just write another song completely?” In this episode Clay and Marty talk about how to handle feedback and use it to your advantage…
Read MoreAnatomy of a Sync Song
Randall Foster is Vice President of Business Development and GM of the Nashville office of a digital distribution company called Symphonic Distribution. Prior to his current role, Randall was the leader of the Creative Sync & Licensing for ole music publishing where he oversaw a vast catalog of music copyrights and intellectual property and managed…
Read MorePeople To Thank This Thanksgiving: A Songwriter’s Perspective
Being grateful and giving thanks is a discipline that I try to practice daily. From a songwriting perspective, here are some things I believe all of us creative types need to be thankful for: The Believers My mom was a huge believer in me and my music. When everyone else was telling me “no”,…
Read More10 Do’s And Don’ts For Pitching Your Songs To Music Publishers
Pitching songs (playing songs for publishers, artists or record label people in hopes of getting them to record or help you get a song recorded), is one of the areas where songwriters make the most mistakes. And, those mistakes can be costly. You don’t get too many chances to make a good impression before you…
Read MoreHow Do I Submit Songs As A Songwriter To The Music Business? (Updated- 2021)
There seems to be a lot of confusion out there over the question “As a songwriter, how do I submit songs to the music business?” The truth of the matter is that there is no one way to “submit” songs to the music business. When you simplify the “song submission” idea, there are basically three…
Read MoreWhat Keeps Songwriters from Succeeding?
Multi-hit songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson sit down to talk about what keeps songwriters from succeeding in the music business. With a combined 50+ years of songwriting and music business experience, both Marty and Clay have seen the highs and lows of the business, people come and go, and have had to reinvent themselves…
Read More