Turning No Idea Into A Hit Idea – The Story Behind Darius Rucker’s Single “I Got Nothing”
“I’ve got nothing to write a song about today.” I remember standing outside Darius Rucker’s tour bus saying these words over the phone to a friend. She had just asked me what I was going to write with Darius that day. Here I was outside Chicago, having flown there to meet up with the tour,…
Read MoreWhat Is A Staff Songwriter?
There are many misconceptions about what it means to be a “staff songwriter.” So, I thought I’d make an attempt at clearing that up. In layman’s terms, a staff songwriter has signed an exclusive agreement giving a publisher some portion of every song they write. (During the term of the agreement.) So, if a songwriter…
Read MoreSetting Yourself Up To Fail As A Songwriter
Putting a specific time limit on your songwriting success just might set you up for failure. Hit Songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson talk real about the music business and the different factors that come into play to “make it” in the music business. Write better songs faster! Clay & Marty’s 10-day video series will…
Read More5 Song Collaboration Errors To Avoid While Songwriting – Or Dating!
Co-Writing songs is a lot like dating. It takes work to find and develop good co-writing relationships. And, not every date is going to work out. So, you keep kissing frogs until you find a prince, metaphorically speaking. If you treat songwriting relationships like REAL relationships, you can avoid some of these mistakes that I’ve…
Read More5 Songwriting Lessons From Master Yoda
Want to become a Master “Songwriting” Yoda? Here are my top 5 tips! 1.Believe As creative people, we tend to be self-doubters. It’s what drives us to look inward, to constantly question life around us, and, if channeled properly, will drive us to write great songs. It’s perfectly natural to struggle with believing in ourselves…
Read MoreHall of Fame Songwriter Kent Blazy
Hall of Fame Songwriter Kent Blazy joins hit songwriter Marty Dodson on the SongTown on Songwriting Podcast to talk about his journey in songwriting, his newest Album and gives advice to all who are pursuing songwriting as a career. Blazy has a total of seven number one hits which include several singles for Garth Brooks…
Read MoreSongwriting Success Was Just Around The Corner: How Could We Have Known?
I remember sitting in my small, cramped writing studio in Nashville 10+ years ago chasing this crazy dream of songwriting… One day I was co-writing with my two best friends and co-writers, Sonny LeMaire and Shane Minor. We’d been writing together for two years, mostly because we loved hanging out with each other and creating…
Read MoreThe Out-Of-Town Songwriter: Getting A Major Artist Cut If You Don’t Live In Nashville, NYC, or LA
The number one question that fills our email inbox is “How do I get a song cut by a major artist if I’m an out-of-town songwriter?” “I don’t live in a big music city” is the challenge. This strikes at the very core of why Marty Dodson and I created this virtual SongTown of kindred…
Read MoreMind Your Own Business
If you are a songwriter you must know and understand the business side of songwriting if you want to be successful. Hit Songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson talk about mechanical licenses, record keeping, negotiating deals with artists and your co-writers, and how to take charge of your own songwriting business in this do-it-yourself world.…
Read MoreWhat Do You Do If You Catch a Publisher?
Are you a songwriter dying to get a publishing deal? It might not be as magical as you think! Hit Songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson talk about working with a publisher, their first publishing deals as well as the pros and cons of publishing deals and what to look for when negotiating deals. Write…
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