Posts by Marty Dodson
Is The Music Biz Trying To Keep You Out?
I can’t count the number of times songwriters have complained to me that the music business was trying to keep them out. These writers believe that the people already in the music business spend their time devising ways to prevent newcomers from breaking into the business. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact,…
Read More5 Qualities Of A Bad Songwriting Co-Writer
Bad Cowriters Through the years, I have collected a list of qualities that make someone a bad co-writer. If you want to succeed as a co-writer, don’t be this guy (or girl). Comes to the writing session unprepared. I don’t know how many times I have heard a co-writer say “I’ve been writing a lot and I’ve got nothing…
Read MoreWhat Songwriters Should Know About The Music Business
One of the biggest factors that keeps songwriters from succeeding in the music business is that they overlook the fact that it’s a business. So many times, I hear songwriters say things like “My songs are better than the ones on the radio” or “I just can’t get anyone to listen to my songs.” When…
Read MoreHow Songwriting Changed My Life
I had a few minutes alone in the quiet the other morning and I started thinking about all of the different ways songwriting has changed my life. Some of those changes are the result of being successful as a songwriter, but the biggest, most profound changes are ones that were simply the result of writing…
Read MoreSongwriters: 5 Pro Tips For Pitching Your Songs
I see LOTS of mistakes being made in regard to pitching a song. Here are some tips to increase your chances of success, to help you appear more professional, and to keep you from burning bridges: 1) Learn as much as you can about the artist you are pitching to BEFORE you pitch a song.…
Read MoreKeeping the Music in Your Music Business – Guest Blog
I started playing guitar when I was 18 years old and instantly fell in love. For a few short spring and summer months I enjoyed the pure bliss of trying to fold and stretch my clumsy fingers into chord shapes and building calluses where none had ever been. I found I had a natural instinct…
Read MoreA Day In The Life Of Teenage Singer/Songwriters
Hey! We’re Carly and Martina and we’re 15-year-old singer songwriters from Chicago. We’ve been really working on writing songs, building a fan base and more! Recently, we transferred into online schooling to finish our freshman year because keeping up with our social media presence and doing all of our music was just too much. We’ve turned…
Read MoreBurning Bridges: Songwriter Survival Tips #1-7
Mistake #1 that many songwriters make when they come to Nashville is that they leave bridges burning behind them when they head back home. Here are tips to help you leave the bridges intact so you can cross them again when you come back to town: Make appointments, don’t “drop in.” This shows respect for…
Read MoreWarning: Songwriting Is Addictive
Time after time, I see the warning signs. It takes a trained eye to spot them, but even simple statements thrown out in casual conversation can reveal that a songwriter has crossed over from social songwriting to having a real problem. Statements like these are a dead giveaway: “I think I need another guitar” “That…
Read MoreWarning Songwriters! Are Your Doing These 5 Things That Irritate Publishers
I see a number of common mistakes songwriters make that leave the smell of a burning bridge in the air as they leave a publisher’s office. If you REALLY want to tick a publisher off, try these 5 stunts. Show up unannounced. That’s disrespectful and not business-like. You wouldn’t do that with a lawyer or…
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