Recording Studio

The Business End of Songwriting

Spending your days writing songs might be your dream job, but if it really is a job, you’re going to have to put your guitar down once in a while and deal with the business end of songwriting. But all the words we associate with songwriting business — royalties, copyright, splits, points, etc. — can be […]

Music Festival

Making Long Term Plans For Your Songwriting Career

How far into the future do you think about your songwriting? Where do you want to be and what do you want to be doing in a year’s time? It’s definitely worth thinking about, because if you’ve got no specific plan, it means that anything that happens with your songwriting will come down to random […]

Music Studio Sound Board

Getting a Handle On the Business of Songwriting

Like starting the songwriting process by working out the chords first? There are benefits and dangers. Read “Writing a Song From a Chord Progression” to get this process working properly for you. If you read my blog regularly you know that I deal mainly with the structure of songwriting. I think of songwriting in the popular genres […]

Guitarist - songwriter on stage

Your Future in the Songwriting World: What’s Your Plan?

The world of songwriting — in fact, the world of music in general — often rewards dreamers. The hope that you’ll be a big name in the business someday almost seems to be a prerequisite to actually becoming a big name. When you think about it, hoping and wishing is probably an important stage for most […]

Frustrated songwriter

Why The Rolling Stone List (or Any List) Doesn’t Really Matter

I’ve been reading all sorts of commentary, both civil and uncivil, about the latest incarnation of the Rolling Stones list of the 500 Best Songs of All Time, released this month. Predictably, most people have something negative to say about it all. If you’re one of the ones who takes issue with which songs are […]

songwriting in isolation

Isolation is a Two-Edged Sword For Songwriters

We’ve all come through an extraordinary time. The pandemic has completely changed the world for those in the music industry, especially for those who count on live audiences in a public venue. If you’re a member of a band, it’s meant that you had to immediately change what you do and how you do it. […]