Posts by Marty Dodson
Don’t Get In The Way Of The Song
Yesterday morning was one of those “don’t get in the way” moments. Clay had posted that very morning about “Writing The Song In The Room” and I thought of that when my co-writer came in and said “My girlfriend and I just broke up and I’m writing my way through it.” This co-writer and his…
Read MoreDo You Want To Be A Successful Published Songwriter?
Today, I was sharing my songwriting journey with a group of high school students. I’ve never really told my story in quite this much detail and to such a young audience, but, in the course of trying to convey my story, I discovered a couple of things about myself. I told them about growing up…
Read MoreSongwriters: 5 Ways To Write Smarter
Here are some ways you can work smarter. If you work harder AND smarter than most people, you can be a force to be reckoned with!! 1)Write great ideas. The better your foundation, the better your song. A great idea puts you way ahead from the very beginning. When I started writing, I worked on…
Read MoreWriting Songs For Other Artists
The final mental hurdle for most writers that are chasing that first cut is a tall one. Moving from the idea of trying to write a great song to the idea that they are writing words to put in someone else’s mouth. Writing songs for other artists to sing. In essence, commercial songwriters are speechwriters…
Read MoreI Do My Songwriting Best – Putting An End To The Comparison Game
There is a lot of comparison that goes on in the songwriting world. Artists pick this song over the other song. Someone decides that song is better than this song. We all tend to compare our songs to songs on the radio. Or we go to a writer’s night and compare our work to the work of others.…
Read MoreThe Day I Was Offered $40,000 (Plus Benefits) To Quit Writing Songs
There have been many days in my writing career when I thought about quitting. The voices in my head have frequently tossed out “I’m not sure you’re good enough” or “The odds are stacked against you”. Most of those days have followed some sort of big disappointment. A hold lost. A cut that was a…
Read More5 Reasons A Publisher Will Want A Copy Of Your Song
There are a number of things that could cause a publisher to request a copy of your song. Knowing what those reasons are can up your chances of success. In my experience, these are the top five reasons publishers request to keep a copy of a song: They already have a good connection that they…
Read MoreThe Power Of Writing A Lot Of Songs
If you are trying to get a song recorded on a major artist, you are competing with pro writers who write a song almost every day. Those pros are pumping out more than 200 songs a year in many cases. The sheer volume of material they produce increases their chances of getting a cut exponentially.…
Read MoreDo Songwriters Need A Publisher?
Do songwriters need a publisher? This is a question that I get all the time. Like most things in life, there is not a one-size-fits-all answer to the question. In general, I explain it to people this way. It’s very similar to the way I would answer the question “Do I really need a mechanic to…
Read MoreSongwriter Marty Dodson’s History Of A Cut
On January 16th, 2013, I met with Mark Nesler and Josh Osborne at my publishing company at 10:30AM. The three of us had never written together before. We threw around ideas and finally found one we were all excited about. We decided on the title “Don’t Hold It Against Me”. My idea was “If you…
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