In today’s music industry market, you can’t just be talented or simply have great songs; there are too many people like you with comparable talent.  Recording excellent, CD release-quality material is now possible at a fraction of the cost compared to just a few short years ago, and the result is; more people recording=more competition!

For each music genre, there are also certain unspoken requirements artists must fill.  E.g., in mainstream music, whether it’s pop, r&b, or latin music, the majority of Major record label executives won’t even consider signing an individual recording artist over the age of 24! Oh, they’re not going to come out and publicize this, but it’s the sad reality, folks!  Their reasoning is it takes a couple of years to get a new act going and they want to appeal to their biggest customers; the young record buyers!  In doing so, the music industry (which includes radio stations) prevents itself from being able to offer us (the consumers) the best music out there.  Haven’t you wondered why most pop music these days is so devoid of any feeling whatsoever?  There’s your answer.

That’s not to say if you’re a recording artist over 24 you absolutely don’t have a chance to make it in the music industry, or that record deals are out of reach; there are always exceptions to the rule.  But to be one of those exceptions you have to already have some type of local, regional, or national following, or simply have unbelievable talent so record labels can see dollar signs in front of their eyes with very little investment.

For many musicians, record deals are not everything to them.  Some are perfectly content making a good living locally and indeed, many make a better living than you think!  On the other hand, record deals are the goals of many musicians, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and I can understand that.  If you choose to pursue a record deal, here’s the single most important secret in today’s music market;

YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PERFORM EXCELLENT, ORIGINAL MATERIAL LIVE WITH NO NOTICEABLE MISTAKES WHEN A MUSIC INDUSTRY REP IS WATCHING, AND YOU MUST PROVE TO THEM YOU HAVE A CERTAIN, UNIQUE, SPECIAL QUALITY THAT WILL SELL CD’S.  Remember, these music industry professionals make it their business to watch other musicians, so generally, they can spot special talent from a mile away. 

Of course the trick is also to get music industry insiders to come out and watch your show or to give you a chance to perform in front of them (even if it’s in their office), but that’s a whole different story, so we’ll leave that part for a future article. 

The biggest mistake you can make is to rush into an audition if you’re not ready to blow people away.  You will usually only get one chance; most first impressions last a lifetime!

So what can you do to prepare yourself?  Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series, but in the meantime, practice, practice, practice until you can play your songs, one by one, perfectly and with feeling!

“Being original” in songwriting can mean anything from writing totally “off the wall” songs, to merely having a knack for amazing rhymes and wordplay, to having a certain cool vibe among so many other possibilities.  There are literally an infinite number of possibilities to make yourself a unique songwriter.  In other words, you can have your own “signature sound” by learning songwriting, and allowing yourself to develop naturally while searching for your unique voice.     

With a little patience and persistence, it’s fairly easy for anyone to learn songwriting basics and apply them quickly to your own original compositions.  Regardless of the songwriting genre you prefer, whether it be Pop, R&B, Dance or otherwise, once you have the basics down, at some point you’ll probably wonder “if, when, and how” you will develop your own, original style.     

To set yourself apart from the rest of the bunch it’s absolutely imperative that your songs stand out far above the rest.  It’s important to realize there are many great songwriters competing with you either locally or nationally, and that those songwriters are your direct competitors.  As a musician, I prefer to think of them as “friendly competition.” 

Songwriters who are your friendly competition hold so much valuable information in their heads and most of them are willing to share their knowledge through workshops and while networking through local and regional songwriting organizations just to name a few.  This is why it’s important to get out there and show your work and exchange tips and ideas through whatever type of worthwhile medium you can find.  The more influences and information you have, the easier it will be to find your own, unique songwriting style.

All songwriters have what I call a unique perspective of music, therefore they naturally and instinctively have their own inner music voice.  We all develop different “likes” and “dislikes“ when we first begin to hear music during our childhood years.  What happens?  Here’s what happens as your musical taste evolves; the music you know and love (likes) is absorbed into your brain and becomes an integral part of your being, whether consciously or subconsciously, and your mind filters out music you don’t like (dislikes).

Then, when you begin learning about songwriting, your musical tastes and influences become splattered into your songwriting like paint to a wall!  Oh, it might be a little messy at first but as you keep working hard on your craft the mess soon appears to become an actual work of original art!   

One last, important point to remember; every musician on this planet has been influenced by another musician before them.  The key to eventually being original lies in using those influences to help guide you into new, undiscovered territory!

These days the music industry is much more competitive than ever and one of the most effective ways to set yourself apart from the rest of the pack and get noticed is to write great, original songs.  Music industry reps are always looking for “the next big thing” and this could be you if you prepare yourself!  If you prefer to be a self-contained local or regional act and sell your own CD’s through your own independent record label you’ll find it much easier to develop a loyal following if your songs are strong enough.   

If you’re not yet a songwriter, or if you don’t have a songwriter in your band, your second choice would be to find a local songwriter willing to offer you exclusive rights to performing and/or recording their songs through a contract.  Don’t just settle for second best.  Really go out there and find yourself a great songwriter or songwriters who match your style of music.  It won’t be an easy task, but it can be done-there are many excellent undiscovered songwriters out there!

While we’re on the subject; for you undiscovered songwriters out there with big dreams-you’re time is now! Put the word out that you’re a songwriter with much to offer however you can. Take out ads in your local entertainment publication and be specific about your style of music and what your goals are! Launch a website and feature your songs on it! Visit local concerts and shows, whether at clubs or larger venues, and put the word out by networking. Go prepared and look professional by offering business cards. You get the idea!

Finally, songwriters can help non-songwriting musicians by being supportive and helping them achieve their goals by writing songs that eventually fit their style, even if it takes a few songs and much trial and error. By the same token, non-songwriting musicians usually end up influencing songwriters by exposing them to a new dimension in their compositions. Helping and supporting each other is a win- win situation!

Part 1 of this series talked about how to develop lyrical chops by using The Craft of Lyric Writing by Sheila Davis, and by encouraging you to consider playing either a guitar or piano (the two most widely used instruments used in creating songs)..

In Part 2 of this series, you’ll have enough information to help you learn songwriting quickly and effectively, and you’ll definitely have a distinct advantage over the average songwriter. 

It is not necessary to play an instrument to be successful in songwriting but it does give you an advantage.  An instrument not only helps you work out melodies, harmonies, and chord structures, it naturally opens up another dimension to your songwriting altogether!  Imagine the difference between coming up with a melody and working out an arrangement in your head versus going to the piano or guitar, experimenting with the melody and/or arrangement, and hearing the song develop into something you never would have created without having an instrument! 

To learn or improve the musical aspect of your songwriting:

1.  Let’s review the two main parts of songwriting; lyrics and music.  The music part of songwriting consists of melody, harmony, and rhythm.

2.  Invest in Writing Music For Hit Songs by Jai Josefs as soon as you can!  It is by far the greatest “how to write music” book ever published for contemporary music, and it contains excellent, real-world examples of actual hits and techniques songwriters used to achieve their success!  For this book, you do need to have a guitar or piano/keyboard handy in order to follow the examples. 

In Josefs’ book, you’ll learn how to harmonize with chords in major and minor keys through a foolproof natural music formula in an easy-to-understand format, you’ll learn how to effectively give your music contrast, how to build tension and release, and how to develop melodic ideas just to name a few.

3. Continue writing your own lyrics and melodies as suggested in “Part 1,” and start experimenting with and incorporating some of the chord ideas as well as other principles learned in Josefs’ book such as using chord inversions and pedal points to create bass motion in order to give your songs whatever particular underlying flavor you desire.

4. Pick out a favorite song and find the chord progression used either by buying sheet music or by visiting one of many websites which provide free chords and tabs for educational purposes such as Ultimate-Guitar.com. With your song in hand it’s time to try to determine in which key the songs is written. Without actual sheet music to see the key signature this can be difficult but here’s a useful tip; to find the key listen for the chord that sounds as if it has completely resolved and is at rest in the song. This chord will usually (not always) be found at the end of the chorus if it’s a verse-chorus type song, or the end of the verse in a verse-verse-verse type song.

5. Once you determine the key use the following chord formula built on the tonic note of the key:

I – IIm – IIIm – IV – V – VIm – VIImb5 (e.g., in the key of G, the tonic note would be G, and the basic chord formula would be):

G – Am – Bm – C – D – Em – F#mb5

6. Play these chords in succession and hear how they move up the scale. Notice how they sound similar to the single note scale in the same key, i.e., (single notes) G. A, B, C, D, E, F#

Using the above formula you now have seven chords you can use in any key to harmonize your songs!

So, the music industry secret is right here!  Yes there are other good songwriting books out there and some being written as we speak, but by using these two proven books, The Craft of Lyric Writing and Writing Music For Hit Songs as your songwriting reference books, you’ll have the most solid foundation to build your songwriting upon, just like many pro songwriters!  By the way, there’s enough study material in these books to last you months to years, and you’ll find yourself referring to and reviewing these books throughout your songwriting career!   

1.  Good music production equipment has sharply decreased in price to the point where it’s conceivable for a songwriter to learn music production and consistently create hits in their homes in certain genres like Dance music.   Many industry pros believe the price of quality recording equipment will keep falling  as the technology gets better.

2.   It rarely makes sense these days to give away (US)1000.00 on a three-song demo when you can invest that money into creating a pretty darn good little home recording studio and eventually record it yourself.

3.   No one has a better idea of how a song should sound than the actual songwriter, and music production gives you the leeway to experiment and get the most out of your song.

Most independent artists are actually recording their CD’s in their home studios to save on costs and because many swear they love the artistic freedom they have that’s impossible to achieve in a “time-is-money,” constricted major studio.  The result is usually a more dynamic CD in terms of performance even though the sound quality is slightly inferior.   Even then, after a CD is mastered, only a highly-trained sound engineer, music producer, or other industry pro can sometimes tell the difference in the slight quality loss. 

Even major label producers and engineers record some tracks in their home studios and they save the more important tracks such as vocals and other live instruments for the studio work.  This cuts down on costs tremendously when you figure they’re recording at (US)250. to 500. an hour!

So why not give it a shot?

Music production is something you can learn rather quickly but it does take some time to master.  At the very least, you can probably start recording quality vocal/piano or guitar tracks in a few days once you apply the right information.

Songwriters can make a great living through many avenues.  You can be successful at songwriting in a variety of ways, and everyone’s definition of success varies.  For example, there are many local performing songwriters who are not only content playing in small clubs, they’re actually making a good living selling their merchandise at their shows and through their web sites.   

Okay, so you’ve prepared yourself by developing your talent, but have you concentrated on your appearance and the professional image you want to convey?  Do you carry yourself respectably when meeting up with music industry people?  Music publishing and record label representatives are always looking for talented people, and once they verify you have talent and that you’re most likely the “real deal,” they try to find out who you are as a person.

The moment you engage in a meeting with a music industry representative you’re being “sized up.” Once you’ve made a favorable, lasting impression with your talent, personality and appearance, they want to really dig deep and find out the one thing equally as important as your talent; how committed you are to being successful for their company’s benefit.  The reality is – no one’s in the music business to lose money, and if you’re trying to get signed to a deal with a successful company you better believe they’re thinking about what’s in it for them!

There are many sacrifices we all make in our daily lives and songwriting, by its very nature, requires sacrificing a bit of your family life because of the amount of time you spend writing songs, improving your craft , performing your songs in public, and pitching your songs to the music industry.  This can take a toll on your personal and family life even if you’re prepared but you can minimize this by communicating realistic goals to your partner and/or family members.  

The bottom line is this:

No matter how you define songwriting success at it applies to you, you will have the best chance  at being successful if you are totally committed to songwriting.  Successful songwriters don’t reach their goals by working on their songwriting “here and there” when they get a chance.  Even if they have a time-consuming day job, they develop routines that enable them to work consistently on their music and they use their time wisely.

This is a fact;  The vast majority of successful songwriters live and breathe songwriting.  

The advice you’ve just read about blindly pitching your material to music publishers listed in various publications as “accepting unsolicited material” or even after getting permission through phone calls from various music publishers before sending $200.00 worth of demos to 100 different companies is what you should do ONLY AS A LAST RESORT!!!!!!

The secret to getting a real music publishing deal lies in how hard you want to work at exposing your music to the right people by relentlessly and shamelessly networking-IN PERSON!  Yep, that’s the music industry secret few people are mentioning. 

So, the same unjust and unfair scenario repeats itself over and over to very talented songwriters all over the world.  They hit a brick wall wondering why no one wants to sign them to music publishing deals.  They’re not misinformed, they’re simply not receiving all the information they need. 

Your goal when chasing any type of music publishing deal is to have the publisher or company representative  listen to your demo IN PERSON!

NOW YOU HAVE THE INFORMATION, AND HERE IT IS!!!

If you’re seriously going after a music publishing deal whether it be a single song agreement to a full-fledged exclusive (staff) songwriting deal, follow these steps:

1.  Research music publishing companies in your area no matter how small of a company you think they are.  Young companies can turn out to be a gold mine if they match your great songs with great artists who start out locally, then regionally, then nationally and/or worldwide.  Many success stories in the music business happened this way because these are simply the goals of most independent music publishers and record companies!

2.  Once you have a list of independent and major label music publishers, start calling people listed as contacts (such as A&R reps, etc.) in various music industry up-to-date resources such as The Musician’s Atlas or The Music Registry, and make real appointments so they can hear your music.  These people may be hard to contact but your efforts will pay off if you have the goods!  Remember, the music industry revolves around talent.  Believe this; the music industry is aways looking for talent and it’s your job to find out who in the company is presently trying to find that talent!!!!

3.  Once you’ve made some appointments, it’s time to hit the road with your demo packages  containing your masterpieces!  If your music industry contacts break or cancel an appointment by letting you know ahead of time (consider yourself lucky if this occurs), politely reschedule over the phone. 

If you’re standing at the reception area of a music publishing company and the receptionist tells you, “He/she is not available, just leave the demo here,” a big red flag should go up in your brain!  Don’t settle for hearing, “I’ll make sure they receive the demo, we’ll get back to you.”  Do your best to graciously decline and insist you’d rather give it to them in person, and, once again, do everything to politely reschedule.  You’ll be taken far more seriously .

4.  Once a music publisher or staff member has actually sat down to hear your demo in your presence, congratulations.  If you get a favorable response, you’ve made a contact!  One good contact can make or break you in the music business when you’re starting out.

5.  Now it’s time to use a “call to action.”  Don’t be afraid to ask the music publishing representative if they’re interested in your music.  You’ll usually get an immediate response.  If they say yes, you can start building your relationship further and more seriously by perhaps inviting them to see you perform,  or by asking them if you may submit more songs for consideration in the next three to four weeks.  This is how you build relationships in the music industry-by being straightforward and sincere.  When you feel like you’ve made some type of connection with the music publishing rep or the actual company, ask if they’re willing to offer you a music publishing deal.

If the music publishing company representative is not willing to offer any type of music publishing deal at the moment, and you have a gut feeling that they like something about you and/or your music, ask them if they can recommend another music publisher who might be interested in your music.   

If you’re right and they like your music, they’ll become worried and jealous that you’ll eventually go and find a music publishing deal somewhere else!  You’ll have incredible leverage.

6.  Repeat steps 1-5 and keep building relationships.  Be realistic.  If you build 1 solid contact every 2 months, you should have 6 of them in a year!  That may sound like it’s not enough, but chances are, each of those contacts has numerous contacts, and that’s where your networking comes in through attending industry events, workshops, parties,etc.  You’ll be well on your way to to a chance at having success! 

When you begin your song-pitching campaign, keep the following points in mind:

(a).  Remember, if you make it your job to find music publishing companies and you don’t make the mistake of trying to let them find you, your chances of success will go up dramatically.

(b).  Dress appropriately, and better yet, create a contemporary, unique image for yourself in the way you dress and carry yourself.

(c).  Don’t let rejection affect you negatively.  Virtually every major star has been rejected once or many times before they actually “made it.”  Accept constructive criticism and keep moving forward.

(d).  If you don’t live in a city with prospective music publishing companies, you’ll either have to make a trip to one of the major music hubs (In the US-Los Angeles, NY, Miami, Nashville, etc.) or use services such as Taxi to get results. 

(e).  Unless you’re a proven, successful songwriter, music publishing companies don’t generally sign songwriters to music publishing deals unless they’ve established some type of rapport or professional relationship with them.

Good luck!

It’s a mistake to try to tackle songwriting without any basic songwriting knowledge.  It’s kinda’ like blindly walking into a snowstorm hoping you’ll eventually survive and come out the other end, still alive.  Well, maybe not that drastic, but you do need to know what you’re doing and facing so you can have the best chance at continually improving.  You can accomplish this by studying the basics of your songwriting craft and eventually knowing how to gauge your work as well as other songwriters’ work for your improvement. 

It’s true, in pop music, virtually anyone can pull a hit out of a hat but I guarantee you the majority of those one-hit wonders with no training had a tough time placing a second song.  I don’t know anyone in this music industry who’s wanted to be here-today-gone-tomorrow!       

For those of you who’d like to but are unsure about whether or not you can become good songwriters, believe it! Songwriting is a little part natural talent and a whole lot of craft through uncomplicated training. It’s more about getting out there and just doing it than wondering why it is that you’ll never have the talent to blow people away like John Mayer.  How do you know if you haven’t tried?

The training I’m talking about is through websites and blogs like this one or the ones listed in this blog’s footer (see Network Links below). All you have to know is what to look for. There’s plenty of information on how to write songs out there so I’m going to give you the keywords to get started.

To start quickly learning, aside from “songwriting,” “write songs,”, “how to write songs,”, and “songwriting help,” these are the terms and songwriting principles you can type into your web browser:

1. song hook
2. song verse
3. song chorus
4. guitar chords
5. piano chords
6. song bridge
7. song forms
8. rhythm
9. harmony
10. melody
11. how to write lyrics
12. Prechorus
13. rhyming

For example: I took the first entry “song hook,” typed it into the google browser and the first entry was Hook (music) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  This entry pretty much explained the whole concept of what a “song hook” is.

Take each term and read as many website entries as possible and before long you’ll have a pretty good understanding of basic songwriting principles.  Little by little, you’ll see how the pieces of the puzzle start coming together.

Remember, these keywords are merely a starting point and should definitely get you going in the right direction.

Learning the craft of songwriting is very much about gathering information bits at a time, applying it immediately whether you sing or play an instrument, and figuring out where and how you can progressively make improvements. It is conceivable for a newbie songwriter to be creating pretty darn good songs within a year of songwriting training.  As far as writings for Beyonce, I don’t know, maybe that’s a longshot (not impossible).  Hey, does anyone have connections with Beyonce out there?!!!!

Songwriting is one of the few positions in the music industry not limited by age–you can literally write a successful song at any age.  There are plenty of youngsters with gold records by the time they’re 17!  There  are many “over 40″ songwriters starting out and making a great living through their songwriting.  These are usually, but not always, musicians who never ventured into the songwriting aspect of music, musicians who’ve played an instrument and merely dabbled in writing a song or two without ever exposing their work, or simply people who finally decided to chase their dream of learning the craft of songwriting and “giving it a shot.”

Aspiring songwriters are always posing the question, “How do I get started in songwriting?” and “Can I make any money at it?”  Successful songwriters, along with successful music producers, are the real, consistent money-makers in the music industry.  Think about it.  Very few major label recording artists actually succeed, and many come and go, but proven songwriters and music producers are always called upon to provide their services!

Now, I’m certainly not trying to discourage you performing artists from trying to get a record deal, but if you do, make sure you hang on to as much of your music publishing as possible—that is—learn to write your own songs, and accept outside material only when you really believe in a song, not merely to fill up space.  There are just too many great songwriters out there to settle for mediocre songs.

To make a career out of songwriting, understand you have to wear many different hats.  First and foremost, you have to develop songwriting skills—and yes—I assure you, this can be learned.  Some songwriters are extremely naturally-talented, but even those select few learn the craft of songwriting somewhere along the way to maximize their talent.  With proper training, anyone can learn how to write songs as long as they put forth great effort.  Songwriters, also, at least initially, have to have a little business sense and learn how to market their songs by researching who needs what, and by getting out there and networking with people in the music industry.   

You can’t get into songwriting thinking, “Well I’m going to write this great song for artist X, be discovered, and become rich overnight!”  Although overnight success stories can happen, these are few and far between, and many have originated from somebody already being “connected.”  In other words, in the real world—chances are high that nobody’s going to find you.  On the contrary, you need to go out and find them, and show them how talented you are!  This is mainly how rags to riches stories develop–you’ve got to sell yourself and have the songs to prove it!

In an upcoming series titled “How To Build A Songwriting Career From Scratch” I’ll give you a step-by-step blueprint to give you the absolute best chance at becoming a successful songwriter.  Stay tuned.

Singer-songwriters sometimes lose focus on filling or expanding their repertoire with well-written, well-arranged, completed songs. If you’re looking to get signed to any type of music deal or just gain exposure for yourself or your band, it’s important to be able to sing your best material from beginning to end at a moment’s notice upon request, either on stage, at a social gathering, or even at a big fiesta–you never know who’s out there listening!

Many singer-songwriters easily gain exposure for their music through impromptu performances in front of someone who knows a friend of a friend of a cousin of an industry insider or executive. Those who aren’t prepared to play their music on request lose out on a bigger chance than they think. Of course, being signed on the spot may not happen, but you can gain a lot of interest from someone connected in the music industry and use that networking to open doors for opportunities.

So make sure you take your acoustic guitar or keyboard setup the next time you attend your best friend’s sister’s barbecue, just in case someone says, “Hey dude, you play music, why don’t you go get your guitar?” Your reply should be, “Why not? I’ll be right back.”.

Then sing and play to your heart’s content, go easy on the wings and ribs, and wow them with these songwriting tips.

The following practice regimen is for singer-songwriters performing with a solo instrument but works just as well as with groups and bands:

1. Make a list of your absolute best songs. If you only have three songs that’s okay, as long as they’re killer songs and they showcase your talent.

2. Once you’ve made the list, take one song at a time, play them from beginning to end and figure out what you can improve in each song. To stay focused and organized, it’s a good idea to write down notes and/or record your performance with some type of portable recorder, or even your home studio setup.

3. When you’re satisfied with one song from start to finish (this could take an hour to several days), move on to the next one. The point is–arrange your songs well and practice each one until you’re satisfied that you’ve gotten the best out of each song.

Remember, as a singer-songwriter, your competition is fierce! Only the best of the best have a chance at making it big or simply developing a fan base in their hometown. Even if you’re super-talented make sure you’re ready to execute great performances at the drop of a hat–people will remember you long enough for you to capitalize on their interest.