Posts by Marty Dodson

Songwriters, do you think like an artist? One of the tricks to getting cuts with major artists like Blake Shelton is learning to think like they do. It’s not really all that hard, but it does take some time and effort. In essence, songwriters are mini speech writers. We are trying to put words in…

I thought we’d have a little fun today.  Here are some of the songwriting and musician jokes that circulate in the pro songwriting community.  I thought you might enjoy them and pass them along to your friends. Joke #1 What do you call a songwriter without a significant other? Answer: Homeless Joke #2 What sound…

1) I reach out to someone new to co-write. Shaking things up and bringing in new blood gives me renewed energy. 2) I listen to some of my favorite songs that I’ve written. It reminds me that I can write some really good songs and that writing them gives me satisfaction. 3) I do one…

A SongTownian writes: If I don’t like the way a song turns out with a co-writer, am I free to take the idea and write it with someone else? Mailbox Marty responds: Not really. Generally, once you write an idea with someone, you are in it for good with them. It’s considered very bad form to…

Who would want to say this? An artist is a brand. If a song doesn’t fit their brand, they aren’t going to sing it, no matter how good the song might be. If you can come up with a handful of artists that might think your song fits their brand, you are on the right…

Songwriting is a frustrating profession. The reward to hard work ratio can be very small. It’s hard to stay motivated at times when you keep hearing “No” over and over. But, I wanted to share my story in hopes that it will inspire and encourage some of you to keep chasing the dream and keep…

One of the biggest lessons I have learned in my years in the music business is that nobody wants me to succeed as much as I do. My publisher, my co-writers and my song pluggers all want me to do well. They are heavily invested in my success. But, at the end of the day,…

Here are some habits that I’ve noticed are common to highly effective and successful songwriters. The first step toward becoming a pro songwriter is learning to think like one. Here are the common habits I see in my friends who are successful songwriters. They are always on the lookout for great ideas. Their antennae are always…

Since we have a lot of new members, I wanted to share some etiquette questions that are asked frequently. These are not only SongTown etiquette guidelines, but are usually practiced by pro writers in any genre: 1) “Extra” titles thrown out in a co-write are not yours to take and write with someone else (unless…

Often, it seems like song feedback leaves people confused. In my one attempt at getting feedback early in my career, I send a song to a very prominent songwriting organization that I belonged to. The was called “It Don’t Get Better Than This” and it was about the way the “this” changed throughout a boy’s…