Posts by Marty Dodson

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…

The difference between a pro songwriter and a person who just writes for their own enjoyment is a difference in thinking. Those two types of writers are coming at writing from vastly different perspectives. Here are the primary differences in thinking that enable pros to get songs recorded: 1) Pros realize that they are writing…

It seems like almost every week, a new site pops up offering songwriters something amazing! “Get your songs in front of Nashville producers!” “We want to help you get cuts!” “Learn to write HIT songs in 10 minutes!” The shark hype goes on and on. The truth is…if these people could get YOU cuts, they…

Based on my experience, here are things hit songwriters never say. If you find yourself saying them, you might ponder on that for a moment. “My songs are better than the ones on the radio”. We know that if our songs really ARE better than the ones on the radio, then they WILL be on…