Posts Tagged ‘Articles’
4 Big Ways Songwriters Network
Networking seems to be a common struggle for songwriters. Many creative types are just not very social and we tend to be introverted. That can make it hard to really build the team you need to help you get your songs heard and placed. So, here are 4 ways this introvert has overcome some of his natural tendencies…
Read MoreRecording At Home: My Demo Process On A #1 Song I Co-wrote With Darius Rucker
People often ask me if they have to do full-production demos to present songs to publishers or major artist? I do a fair amount of full demos, but I also have had about half of my major cuts from pitching home demos done on a very basic set-up on my mac laptop. The Home Studio…
Read MoreHow To Get A Songwriting Staff Writing Deal
As a pro songwriter for the last 25 years, I’ve learned there are 5 key ways I know to increase your chances of getting a songwriting staff writing deal with a publisher: Get to know music publishers organically. If there’s a publisher you are interested in and you are able, go to writer’s nights where…
Read MoreSuccess In Any Creative Business: 4 Ways To Increase Your Odds
From time to time, someone asks me “What are the odds of getting a cut?” In my mind, what they are really asking is “Is this even worth trying?” I’d like to share with you how to increase your odds of success in any creative business. I’m going to suggest here that this is the…
Read More6 Last Minute Re-Writing Questions For Songwriters
I have found that rewriting songs a week or two after I write them and running through this quick checklist helps me catch and fix many of the major flaws that can exist in a song. Print this one out and hang it in you writing (or re-writing) room to remind yourself to check these…
Read MoreThis Valentine’s Day: 5 Ways to Write Songs About Love
One of our standard pro songwriter jokes goes something like this… Bill – What are you up to today, Bob? Bob – Oh, just trying to find another rhyme for love. We joke about it because many hours in the life of a pro songwriter are spent trying to find a new way to say…
Read MoreSongwriters: Songs Can Sound Good AND Make Sense!
Can songs really sound good AND make sense? A couple of years ago, I was scheduled to co-write with a pretty well known rock band. Little did I know it would prove to be a case of sound and sense…. They wanted to write at 9 PM at a remote house they had rented for a…
Read MoreSongTown: Keeping The Craft Of Songwriting Alive
Eight years ago, fellow pro songwriter Marty Dodson and I made a pact to do all we could to keep the craft of songwriting alive. We were chatting at a local coffee shop in Nashville, Tennessee. We discussed how we’d learned early on in our careers from master songwriters who passed their knowledge and torches…
Read More5 Second Verse Lyric Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Song
There are many ways that a song can start to go wrong in the second verse. Don’t let these “song-killers” crop up in YOUR second verses! Here are 5 second verse lyric mistakes than can destroy your songs. 1) Say the same thing as the first verse in different words. You have to give the…
Read MoreHow To Get Artists To Record Your Songs: A Songwriter’s Goal Setting Worksheet
As you set your goals, be sure that each one is something that you can measure. Goals like these can be measured: One of the most important components to reaching any songwriting goal is to know exactly what you’d like to achieve. Here is my How To Get Artists To Record Your Songs goal-setting worksheet…
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