The 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…
Read MoreSongwriters: “Just Another Day” Can Change Your Life
On Any Given Day You Can Create A Magical Song… One of the things I love about songwriting is that I can go into work on any given day and come out with a hit song that makes hundreds of thousands of dollars. You never know when those days are going to happen. It was…
Read More4 Questions Pro Songwriters Ask While They Write
The line between pro songwriters and aspiring pro songwriters is primarily a line of thought. Pro songwriters learn to think differently as they write. That different line of thinking usually involves a series of questions that they keep asking as they write. Those questions cause the song to be more commercial than it would have…
Read MorePeople Songwriters Need To Thank
Most songwriters I know have a lot of people who have helped them get to whatever level of success they are enjoying – even if it is simply being able to write regularly. Here’s my list. I’m guessing many of you have similar lists. My mom. When I was a kid, I would sit on…
Read MoreSongwriters: How To Increase Your Chances Of Getting A Song Recorded
I posted on Facebook one day that I had “worked really hard” to get on a particular album and had failed to make it. Someone asked me to explain what I had done to “work really hard”. So, I thought I’d lay it out for you here so everyone could read it. I had heard…
Read MoreWriting Songs With Artists
Writing songs with artists is a completely different game. Writing songs with artists is a completely different game than writing songs FOR artists or simply writing with another writer to try and craft the best song possible. When you write with an artist in the room, the goal is to help that artist find their…
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