Music

Your Songwriting Career – Taking the Small Steps

Posted on by IJ

© I.Woloshen

One question I get all the time from new songwriters is…”I want to be a hit songwriter (singer, star, etc.) What do I do?” Man! That’s always a HUGE question!

If you decided to climb Mount Everest, would you go there without any plans, without any other thought, and just start climbing? Probably not! But the equivalent of that in songwriting/performing happens ALL THE TIME!! I just met a songwriter who, as an adult, decided to write some songs for the first time, and immediately after getting them demoed went straight to Nashville! It’s admirable, of course, that someone would have SUCH determination so early, but he definitely learned a few things from that experience. Was it a waste of his time? Certainly not, but he realized how far he had to go before he was ready to pitch his songs.

If you’re a hot-blooded songwriter, you have little time or patience for all of the rest of it, all you feel is the fire in your belly to write. You have to spend as much time as you can getting those gems out, but at some point you might start considering how you’re going to get the rest of the world to hear them. Rather than take this from the perspective of an artist or performing songwriter, let’s just consider the songwriter.

There are several ways to get your songs heard. One is to go to an open mic, where you can have the opportunity to play to an audience that doesn’t have a vested interest in you 🙂 Open mics can often be found in the “what’s happening” section of your daily newspaper. Sometimes pubs or bars or even coffeehouse-type venues will hold these events on slow nights just to get something happening. Folk clubs are another place where you might find the opportunity to play. Do some research and find an open mic venue in your area. This might be a HUGE step for some of you, so another “first step” to take is to join a songwriter’s group of some kind.

You can be really grass-roots about it and put up a notice in a local music store looking for other songwriters who might like to get together once in awhile to listen to each others songs. Or you might also consider joining an organization such as NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Assoc. International) or SAC (Songwriters Assoc. of Canada) or any other organization in your area or country, where you will find a good support system and the opportunity to meet and play with other songwriters and even people in the music business. These organizations will go a long way to help educate you and to give you lots of information on the business of music.

An excellent source of information on the music industry is a book called “Songwriters Market” which comes out every year with a fresh crop of names and addresses of publishers, agents, record labels, and lots of useful articles on the subject of songwriting and the music business. Go to your local library or book store and look for a copy. It can also be ordered online from several places…one of my favourites is the Muse’s Muse book ordering page. There are also some excellent books there on the subject of songwriting. I don’t read songwriting books too much, but most of my songwriting pals swear by them…some that are frequently mentioned are “The Craft & Business of Songwriting” by John Braheny, “Tunesmith” by Jimmy Webb, and “Writing Better Lyrics” by Pat Pattison. All can be ordered from the Muse’s Muse.

What is the point of doing all of these things? Why not go straight to a publisher and start pitching your songs? It amazes me how many people start mailing tapes off to publishers BEFORE THEY’RE READY! That’s the point…are your songs ready? You might think they’re perfect (which of course they ARE 🙂 but remember who your competition is! Every great songwriter with a hundred hits already under her/his belt who is still actively pitching their songs…that’s your competition! Can your songs stand up to that?

It’s REALLY important to expose your songs to other people in order to get an understanding of how they stand up. I don’t mean your family, either 🙂 Other songwriters can and will help you with feedback, the organizations I mentioned above will do the same. Don’t jump the gun, take those small steps and you’ll start to build your confidence in your songwriting as you go.

This next point is a sticky one. So let’s say you feel like you have a song or two that you’ve spent a lot of time crafting and it’s ready to be demoed. Do it yourself? Well, before you do, consider a few things. If you’re not a great singer, don’t really know how to use the equipment and have no idea how to create arrangements, you could spend the next 10 years learning…or you could try to find a studio close to you that could do it for you. I know, I know…you’re a do-it-yourself kind of person and how else are you going to learn these things? You’re right, you won’t learn unless you do it yourself, but take it from me, it’s going to be a LONG time before you really learn enough to be able to present your songs adequately. Going into another studio is another way to learn about the recording process, and you’ll meet other musicians and people who are trying to take the same path you are. I DO have an article for beginner recording if you INSIST on doing it yourself! But one thing that songwriters tend to do is to become pretty isolated…meeting other people is also a GREAT way to expose yourself and your music, and create a name for yourself! Okay, so now you’ve got a demo and had some positive feedback…time to send those songs off to the big name artists, right? Yikes! Unless you have some amazing contacts, it just ain’t gonna happen that way. I know, I know, yours is the perfect song for *put BIG NAME ARTIST here*, but how about somebody you can actually talk to at a concert or on the phone? Local artists are ALWAYS looking for material to perform…not only that, but they’re already OUT THERE playing all the time! Do some research, look for some local artists or a band who might be perfect for your song(s). Go to one of their performances, ask them if you can give them a tape. Be prepared. Look professional. Have a business card and mark your tape CLEARLY with all of your contact info. The first artist/group might not go for it…the second one might. Keep taking the small steps.

Now you’re a little further down the road, you’ve been getting your songs demoed, a couple of local acts have been performing them, one group recorded a song of yours…do you know what this is called? It’s called a “track record”! This is your background, your bio, your story. This is when you start pitching your songs to small publishers. The work you’ve done already gives you credibility, it shows you’re hard working and serious and publishers are ALWAYS looking for that! The pitching process is a whole other process, I’ve written another article on it here.

This is what I mean by taking the small steps…if you take enough of them, they will inevitably lead to bigger ones. Don’t run off to Nashville with your first three songs and become disheartened and disillusioned, just take the next step, and the next. And let me know when you get your first cut 🙂

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The Second Verse – How to Write the *%&!@ Thing!

Posted on by IJ

© I.Woloshen

Why is it that the hardest part of a lyric to write is so often the second verse? Ever had this problem? It’s almost as if you’ve already said it all in the first verse…so where do you go from there?

There are several schools of thought on this one…I’ll tell you mine! First of all, maybe you HAVE said it all in the first verse. Some stories are shorter than others, some jokes get to the punchline faster. But don’t give up yet! There are certainly some things you might try before scrunching up that paper and filing it under “G”. And instead of telling you “don’ts”, I’m going to try to keep it all in the “do” category 🙂

1. Here’s one idea: do you remember having to write an essay in school, or maybe an article? One of the things your teacher might have told you to do was to try the “5 W’s”…who, what, when, where, why. If you haven’t covered all of these in your first verse, that may help you to expand upon your lyric in the second.

2. Refer to your chorus (if you have one)! The chorus is supposed to be the whole point of the song…use that main theme to get more ideas about where to go with the rest of the song. Verses work well if they all relate somehow to each other, and all to the chorus. I call these threads because of the idea of all of the verses “tying” together. The chorus can sometimes give you a clue as to how to expand upon your first verse and tie that in with your second.

3. Think of using a timeline, past, present and future. This may actually change the verse you already have a little…maybe you need to adjust it to be in the past tense. Tenses have to be used carefully, you can’t move all over the place in time without confusing the listener somewhat…so use with caution!

4. How about this? Make your first verse your second! Then write another first verse 🙂 The point is that sometimes it’s just a psychological rut you’ve gotten yourself into, and moving the first verse to another position might get you out of it.

5. Ultimately, maybe you have nothing more to say. Maybe there isn’t enough of an idea for a song lyric. It’s not inconceivable to just dump what you have and start on another track! Again, it’s possible that you’ve just got yourself into a lyrical rut and starting fresh might help.

Yes, for some reason, it always seems to be that second verse that trips us up. Remember the old song “Henry the 8th”? After the first verse, he yells “second verse, same as the first!” Well, you don’t have to resort to that just yet 🙂 Getting another objective opinion might also help…read to someone what you have so far and ask them what it makes them think. You might have to give them a songwriting credit, but if it means finishing the *&#$/!! thing, well, why not? Good luck!

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Self-Indulgence – Don’t Sound Like A Beginner!

Posted on by IJ

© I.Woloshen

Just to qualify what I’m about to say here: this applies to songwriters who are either performing or trying to pitch their songs, not necessarily to hobbyists!

After having listened to many, many songs, and critiquing lots of lyrics over the years, I can spot a “beginner” almost immediately! Don’t misunderstand, there is nothing BAD about beginner songwriters…we all have to start somewhere! As I’ve said before, it takes about 50 songs before you begin to find your songwriting “voice”, your individual style and content. But some songwriters take 100 songs to get there, and some never get there. Why? Well, it’s simple. It’s difficult to step outside of yourself and hear your song from another person’s point of view. And THAT is the whole key to writing songs that you want others to hear and love. Right?

What I’m going to discuss here ideally shouldn’t be implemented until AFTER your first draft…that’s because if you think too hard too soon, you’ll lose the connection with your creative self, and we can’t have that! So consider what I’m about to say once you’ve got the first version of your song in front of you.

The very first hurdle we have to overcome as writers is self-indulgence. Although “self” expression is probably why we started writing in the first place, it doesn’t have much weight when it comes to getting your material across to your listeners. Why do they want to hear all about you and your problems? You know what I mean? Self-indulgence happens when we get so enamoured with a chord, or a line, the sound of a note or a repetitive phrase, that we can’t let it go. This is “no-no” number one. The second no-no is when a song meanders on and on without any seeming purpose. It is NOT EASY spotting your own self-indulgence however! Here are some things to consider:

Repetition – I refer to this later in another article, but here is where I want you to understand the difference between “good” repetition, and “bad”. Popular music especially relies on a certain amount of repetition in order for the listener to remember! Rhyme helps too, but a “hook” or repeating line or musical phrase creates the memorable part of the song that brings a listener back for more. But how much do you repeat? Just enough and not too much 🙂 I once had a writer send me lyrics in which EVERY LINE ended with the same word! It’s not hard to see how this would create a yawn in no time! That is an extreme example, but I understood that he thought he was reinforcing his theme and how can you ever do too much of that? Well, you sure can.

Lyrically, I try to stick to the “three’s plenty” rule. If I want to use a word or phrase as a hook, if you will, I won’t repeat it more than three times in a chorus, for instance. If I had a four line chorus, the fourth line would be the “twist” or the surprise, or something different. But the shorter the lines, the less likely I’m going to repeat too soon!

(I want to make one destinction here…there is a difference between repeating a word that is IMPORTANT to the song [like the hook] and a word that is repeated in error! Sometimes I find that when I’m first writing, I use the same word twice in a verse or song without realizing it and when I get to the second draft or beyond, I’ll usually replace one of them.)

Musically I use the same rule. It is rare that I will repeat a musical phrase or melody more than three times within a verse or chorus. Here’s an exersize you can do to reinforce this idea. Sit down and sing the same short line four or more times. Try to pay attention to when it sounds cool, and when it gets tedious. Again, the length of the line has a lot to do with when that happens!

Meandering – this is almost the opposite of repetition! Some songs can go on and on and on and never get anywhere! Imagine listening to a long and boring monologue, no jokes, no purpose, just a continuous drone. I’ve heard many beginner songwriters write one like that, and I’ve written a few of those myself 🙂 This type of song is in DESPERATE need of repetition. You might be afraid to repeat too much and end up going in the opposite direction. Sit down with your song and plot out how long it takes you to repeat a musical phrase. So much of this is intinctual, so I can’t tell you you need to repeat every 10.5 seconds, but you HAVE to learn to listen to your own songs with some objectivity. If you have really long verses, think about repeating musical lines within that verse, don’t make the whole verse one long musical line. Does this make sense? If your verse is relatively short, there isn’t as much need for repetition, is there? Because you’re going to move on to the next verse more quickly! A repeated chorus can also satisfy this need for repetition somewhat. If your song doesn’t have a chorus, you still need SOMETHING that a listener can hang on to. A refrain will do that job…think about Bob Dylan’s song “The Times They Are A Changin'”. That line is the refrain…he doesn’t have a “chorus” in the song, just verses with that line at the end of each one.

Lyrically, meandering can be a little different. Sometimes a songwriter will send me a lyric that starts out with an idea in the first verse, and then moves onto another unrelated idea in the next verse, and another one…there is very little that ties these ideas all together. I find myself telling songwriters to “focus” a lot! Focus in on what your song’s lyrical purpose is. Plotting out a kind of storyline helps you to focus…write out a phrase that represents each verse and chorus, like this:

Verse 1
I just don’t want to see you anymore

Verse 2
What happened to the way things were?

Chorus
There’s nothing left of us

So I’m plotting out where I’m going with this song without getting tangled up in rhymes and meter and all of that, stripping it down to it’s main purpose.

A listener is almost ALWAYS waiting for the repeated part. If you make them wait too long, you’ve lost them. If you never get there, you bore them. There are simple listeners and sophisticated ones…you won’t please all of them, but your job is to decide who you are writing for and figure out how to leave them wanting more!

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Dynamics and Tension: What They Are and How To Use Them

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© I.Woloshen

Having spent many years listening to and reviewing other songwriter’s songs, and working on my own, I am struck by a number of recurring problems that songwriters have. The obvious ones, like a low quality recording or not having a great singing voice, aren’t the only problems. What seems to be an affliction of many of the songs is that they lack dynamics and tension.

What exactly are dynamics in songwriting? Simply speaking, they are contrasting parts. For example…if you write a song with the chord progression and/or the melody the same in both the verses and chorus, you risk having a pretty dull sounding song. That is not to say that it hasn’t been done effectively, but this is just one example that I came across while reviewing songs. By putting a little contrast in different places, your song will stand out!

What exactly do I mean by “contrast”? All I’m really talking about is change…you can create contrast by having a different melody in the chorus than in the verses. When it comes to melody, you can also create these dynamics within a verse. For instance, maybe the melody starts out in a lower register (lower notes) at the beginning of the verse, but gets higher as the verse progresses. Or, you can change chord progressions within a verse toward the same end. So, for example, the first line might contain 2 bars of G followed by two bars of C. Maybe the next line is the same. But the third line could begin with a D and so on, just to create that contrast. But it doesn’t stop there! Dynamics and contrast can also be achieved lyrically…the mood or emotion can change from verse to verse or verse to chorus. As an example, the song might start out with the main character walking into an empty bedroom and feeling low because his lover has left him…the next verse might be him reminiscing about their relationship, about what they had and lost…and then the chorus could be filled with his anger at being jilted. Do you hear it? I mean, just by reading those words, can you almost hear what the music would be like? Interesting 🙂 That’s the natural dynamic of the story, almost begging you to put the right chords and melody to it!

Dynamics and contrast can also be achieved within the meter of a song (the rhythm of the words). As an example, in one of my songs, Let’s Make Trouble:

“He said ‘Damn! If you don’t look good tonight
……………………………………….
You’re a little bit of trouble and it’s just not right.’
……………………………………….”
But with a wink of her eye, he forgot what he said
Thoughts on fire and a body hell bent”
……………………………………….
……………………………………….
(“Let’s Make Trouble” Copyright © 2000 I. Woloshen SOCAN)

So what I’ve done in the example above (without actually showing you the music) is to show you how the lyrics work within the verse. There is a line of lyric, then just an instrumental line, then another line of lyric. THEN, I do two lines of lyric in a row, followed by two instrumental lines in a row. So the feel of the first half of the verse is more spacey, but the two lines in a row create a kind of build, feeling like I’m singing faster, and then there’s the release of the two instrumental lines. (If you’re interesting in actually hearing it, you can listen to Let’s Make Trouble on my Soundclick page. Scan down the page to find it…) So a dynamic is created within this verse by having the first half different from the second half. The length of lines can also be a contrast. In a verse of a song, you might have a long first line and a shorter second one, etc. You could also have, in a 4 line verse, three shorter lines and then a long 4th line. If you make everything exactly the same and don’t build in a few contrasts, there is no dynamic, and the song can sound pretty dull pretty quick!

Tension is another aspect that is often lacking in a lot of the songs I hear. Quite often, you’ll find choruses have a higher range of notes than the verses in order to create a dynamic effect. So there’s the “contrast” we spoke of earlier. But this kind of build up to the chorus does something else: it creates tension. Let’s put it this way. If you hold a rubber band loosely, and then slowly start to pull both ends of it, this would be what the verse is trying to accomplish…you pull and pull…then SNAP!! The chorus is the release of the rubber band…the release of tension. The next verse creates that kind of build again up to the chorus and the whole process repeats. But tension can also be created lyrically…think of a standup comic telling a story. He’s setting the stage, telling the story just right so that when he gets to the punchline or the payoff, you’ll howl with laughter! And then he might go onto another related story, occasionally referring back to the first one. He’s manipulating your emotions, playing you in order to get his laughs exactly where he wants them. And just like the comic, timing is another factor in songwriting, where you sing and where you leave a space can really produce an effect or leave an audience flat. Building up to something and then not delivering can be a disaster! You’ll never get a slot at Yuk Yuk’s again!

A great songwriter knows how to time everything…it can be done with humour, with anger, with any type of emotion…for example, expressing a deep longing and make you feel it too in exactly the right place and at the right time. A great movie maker can do the same thing. In fact, I think songs are very much like stories and movies…all stuffed into 3 or 4 minutes!

One other note: these effects…dynamics, contrast and tension…are also often achieved in the production of a song when it comes to the recording process. Different parts of a song can be supported by different instruments, a build of instrumentation, softer or heavier, louder or quiet. But if a song has all of these elements to begin with, you don’t have to rely on creating it in the studio! The best songs can be sung with one voice and one instrument creating that wonderful array of dynamics, contrast, tension and release without any need for anything else!

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Publishing – A Brief Beginner’s Guide

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© I.Woloshen

First of all, I want to emphasize the fact that my experience with publishing has to do with having my music on television series, which is different in some ways from having a song contracted to a publisher. Most of what I’ve learned has been through connections with other published writers or publishers themselves. But I do occasionally get emails asking what publishing deals are, or how to “sell” their songs (you don’t outright sell your songs, but more on that later)…and of course most people are curious as to how they can get a deal! Let’s start at the very beginning and discuss what exactly it is. Warning: Music biz lingo ahead! I’ll try to explain the terms that may be unfamiliar to you.

First of all, let’s discuss what a publisher does. A publishers’ main job is to create a catalogue (collection) of songs that they can pitch (promote) to artists or producers, anyone who might potentially get a song recorded or on a project. Larger publishers are often also connected with, or even a branch of, a record label. Kind of an “all in one” package. In this case, if a performing songwriter is signed to a label, her/his songs are usually published through that record label’s publishing branch.

But many publishers are strictly in the business of creating their catalogue in the hopes of getting one or more of their songs on a hit record. Why? Because part of the money that is made from a successful recording goes to the publisher. This is how it works:

When a song gets on the radio it earns royalties. You’ve probably heard the word “royalties” before. Simply speaking, the song being “exposed” to the public in some way, either on radio or television, in a restaurant…wherever you hear music publicly, earns money. Any company or organization that uses music in some way as part of their business, has to pay a lump sum fee to a “performing rights organization” such as SOCAN, ASCAP, or BMI…every country has its own performing rights organization (PRO). This PRO collects information on when a song was played and how much, and distributes this money to its members (publishers, songwriters, etc.). The more exposure a song gets, the more money the publisher (and songwriter) makes. Bingo.

For the songwriter, the advantage to having a song with a publisher is that the publisher will hopefully have some good music business connections and will work hard to get the song on an artists’ recording. They are interested in finding great songs! This is where you come in because you’ve got the great songs! But how do you find the publishers? How do they know about you?

One book I recommend you get yourself is called Songwriters’ Market. Check your local bookstore, or buy it online from any number of online sites, including mine. Not only does it go into detail as to what a songwriter can do to get her/his song heard by publishers, but it actually lists names and addresses of publishers to send your songs to! There are articles written by people in the business and it gives you some standards to adhere to as far as looking and sounding professional (very important!) This book is a great place to start gathering information on the business side of songwriting.


How do you get a deal with a publisher? Well, first of all, let’s discuss what a publishing deal is. There are basically two types of deals: a single song deal and a writer’s deal. The single song deal is easier to get, and simply involves signing only one of your songs with a publisher. The writer’s deal is extremely difficult to get…this involves essentially working for a publisher where the rights to all of the songs you write during this tenure are assigned to them. You do get paid, but only as an advance on potential future royalties. In other words, your songs have to eventually make money or they’ll dump you! These days a writer’s deal is even MORE difficult to get. Many labels and publishers are doing the ol’ “downsizing” and employing fewer writers.

So let’s assume that you’re only looking for a single song contract. You make your list of publishers to send your demo tape to, you ship them off and you wait. You get a call from a publisher (hey, if that happens the FIRST time you send your song out, consider yourself either LUCKY or an incredible, undiscovered writer!!). The publisher says he’s interested in the song and thinks he can pitch it to an artist who’s in the studio right now and looking for more songs to consider recording. What happens next? The publisher sends you a contract, you are hopefully smart enough to take it to an entertainment lawyer (!!), you decide it’s a good deal, you sign the contract, and voila! You have a publishing deal. Does this mean that the money starts rolling in? NO! The contract only gives the publisher the right to exploit the song for a period of time. “Exploit” seems like a dirty word, but it is the term used for trying to get a song heard. If during that period of time nothing comes of it, the contract runs out and the deal is off. That’s it.

If, however, the publisher manages to get someone interested in your song…what happens next? Does this mean the money starts rolling in now? NO! The producer/artist/record label has simply put the song on “hold”. A hold means that the publisher promises not to pitch the song anywhere else until the artist/producer, or whoever, decides if they want to use it. It sits in limbo until the decision is made one way or the other. If they decide to record it, you’re in business! Does this mean the money starts rolling in? Not yet. Once the song is on a CD and then manufactured, the first money you’ll see is a part of the mechanical royalties. Usually there is a contract between the writer/publisher and record label or artist for these royalties. The last I heard, mechanical royalties are just a little over 7.5 cents per CD. If they manufacture 10,000 CD’s, you’ll get a part of $750.00. In some cases, the publisher splits that with you. Doesn’t sound like much, does it?

What about radio airplay? Since most royalties come from that, you’d be really interested in your song getting on the radio, wouldn’t you? But that only happens if your song is chosen as a “single”. The record label decides which songs would be good as singles, songs that are chosen to represent the CD. If your song is not chosen as a single, you won’t see much in the way of royalties, certainly not to begin with. OH, it’s a long and complicated process, isn’t it? 🙂

Next, if the song DOES get some airplay, eventually you might see some royalties. Might? Well, you have to get a LOT of airplay for your song to be noticed. In Canada, where I live, radio stations send in a sample log to SOCAN (the PRO) once a month. What’s a log? It’s a stack of papers that show the songs and commercials and everything that was broadcast on that station for a day. The log that they send in has to have your song on it, in other words, it had to be played on that radio station that day for it to even show up as having had airplay. If your song played the day BEFORE, well, you’re outta luck! Doesn’t sound very promising, does it? Sometimes it takes months for a song to catch onto the listeners out there…sometimes a radio station will give up on it long before that. Not only that, but politics are involved. Record labels work hard at convincing radio stations to play their artists latest recording, but the programming managers at the station have to like it. Arrgghhh….! Let’s get back to the publishing deal…

All single-song contracts should have what is called a “reversion clause” written into it. Be aware of this! A reversion clause means that after a period of time (could be 6 months, could be two years) if the publisher is unsuccessful in exploiting your song, you get the publishing rights to the song back. Then you start all over. There are many songwriters out there with single song contracts, getting the song on a recording is much more difficult. A lot of publishers these days are working on getting songs placed in movies…this is another way for the song to earn money. Although movie theatres do not pay royalties like radio or television stations do, the song would be recorded on the soundtrack as part of the movie promotion. Just about every movie has a soundtrack these days! Getting your song on a television show is another way that you can earn royalties. I wrote music for several television series’…everytime that music plays, I get royalties! The beauty of my situation is that I am my own publisher, so the most I end up doing is paying a part of the publisher’s portion of the royalties to the producers of the series. This is a slightly different situation than the publishing deal you’re likely in search of. But as you can see, there are all kinds of possibilities out there.

Some things to be aware of:

If a so-called “publisher” asks you for money to record your song, or for any other reason…RUN THE OTHER WAY. This is NOT what a legitimate publisher will do. You should NEVER pay money to a publisher for anything! If they want to re-demo the song, they will do it themselves.

If a publisher wants to “buy” the rights to your song…again, RUN THE OTHER WAY. A legitimate publisher knows that you can’t buy people’s rights from them. It is not done. Well, maybe in some countries, but don’t be fooled!

Most publishers listed in Songwriters Market are legitimate…occasionally you’ll come across one that isn’t. How do you know? When they start making all kinds of promises to you. The old saying “If it sounds too good…” you know the rest. For the most part, it is not in a publishers’ best interest to start a bad reputation! They want to develop a good relationship with you, one that will benefit everyone.

Most publishers will want ALL of the publishing rights to your song. You may have heard of situations where songwriters own some of their own publishing. They are usually well-established songwriters who have a little more clout and can negotiate these kinds of deals. In the beginning, expect to compromise to some extent. Do you want a deal, or would you rather not? This is often what it comes down to. Later on, when you’re a famous writer 🙂 you can get yourself a better deal!

Is a publishing deal all it’s cut out to be? That’s up to you. In my case, I’m a performing songwriter and not as anxious to get published because I perform them myself. That doesn’t mean I won’t in future, but for now, it’s not in the cards. If you are not a performing songwriter, the only way you’re going to get your songs heard is by somebody else performing them. You may be able to find a group or an artist on your own! That’s the sign of a savy songwriter! But if you’ve decided you’d prefer a publishing contract, and after this article STILL think you want to pursue it, here are a couple of other resources you might check out:

For a more thorough description of royalties and how to get ’em, read Nancy Reese’s article for the Muse’s Muse…Publishing 101.

Robert Carter has also written an article for the Muse’s Muse explaining the sources of Publishing Income.

In fact, for a whole bunch of questions about publishing and copyright, why not take a cruise through Nancy Reese’s many Q&A articles for the Muse’s Muse…you might find your answer right here!

Hopefully, this information will give you a little insight into the mysterious world of publishing…Good Luck!

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