Music Business

One of the biggest mistakes I see rising songwriters make is pitching songs improperly.  So, I wanted to give you some guidelines to help YOU pitch songs wisely and to not be that guy/girl that burns bridges by pitching the wrong way.  Here are some things to consider when pitching. Follow instructions carefully. If they…

I can’t count the number of times songwriters have complained to me that the music business was trying to keep them out. These writers believe that the people already in the music business spend their time devising ways to prevent newcomers from breaking into the business.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact,…

One of the biggest factors that keeps songwriters from succeeding in the music business is that they overlook the fact that it’s a business. So many times, I hear songwriters say things like “My songs are better than the ones on the radio” or “I just can’t get anyone to listen to my songs.” When…

I see LOTS of mistakes being made in regard to pitching a song. Here are some tips to increase your chances of success, to help you appear more professional, and to keep you from burning bridges: 1) Learn as much as you can about the artist you are pitching to BEFORE you pitch a song.…

I see a number of common mistakes songwriters make that leave the smell of a burning bridge in the air as they leave a publisher’s office. If you REALLY want to tick a publisher off, try these 5 stunts. Show up unannounced. That’s disrespectful and not business-like. You wouldn’t do that with a lawyer or…

Songwriter performance royalties account for roughly 35% of a writers/publishers income. What is a performance royalty? Simply put: A songwriter performance royalty is owed to the writers and publishers of a particular song whenever that composition is ‰broadcast‰ or performed ‰in public.‰ This includes: Airplay on terrestrial and satellite radio (Sirius, XM, etc) Plays on…

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…

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,…

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…

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…