5 Things Hit Songwriters Never Say
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…
Read MoreSongTown Say Whaaaa? Sometimes Songwriting Can Be A Crazy Music Business!
In today’s episode of sometimes songwriting can be a crazy music business… I recently got an email from a talented SongTownian who asked me if it was a good idea to sign a contract that allowed his co-writer to negotiate contracts on their song on his behalf. AND give the co-writer 100% of the publishing…
Read MoreA Songwriter’s Reality
I am a realist. I don’t spend much time worrying about or even thinking about things I don’t like or can’t change about my reality. Several weeks ago, my oldest daughter got married. I can’t count the people that asked me if I was “OK” or if I was “going to make it”. Here are…
Read MoreThe Songwriter’s Single Song Contract – A Cautionary Tale
When I was first starting on my commercial songwriting journey, I was dying for someone – ANYONE – to like my songs. One day I got the call that a publisher was interested in one of my songs. Not just “A” publisher. It was actually a very well-known publisher. Not one of the big majors,…
Read MoreCo-Writing Etiquette For Songwriters
Recently, we’ve had several people write me concerning issues with co-writers. So, I thought I’d remind everyone of a few co-writing etiquette “Do’s and Don’ts”. Co-writing a song with someone enters you into a business relationship with them. Once that song is done, the two (or three, or five) of you have created a legal…
Read MoreDon’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 More