Career Songwriter

A familiar topic floating around artist and musician circles is how to decide how much time to spend on writing, and how much to spend on marketing and promoting our music. The balance is often a challenge. As one writer responding to my blogs says, “On good marketing days I rarely get time to write, and on good writing days nothing sells because I’m not marketing.”

For some first-hand insight into this issue, I talked with Kelly James http://www.kelleyjames.com/, an artist based out of Los Angeles who recently released his fourth record, Break Free, available on iTunes. Kelly finances his music and personal life through extensive touring, record sales, and business ventures, including an endorsement by Oakley. Each day of the week he’s juggling the art and business of being an artist, a songwriter, and a businessman. Here’s what he has to say about his journey so far.

Q: What are some of the highlights of your artist and writing career so far?
A: Putting out my first album. I wrote all the songs, and it was a thrill to get that first copy – I thought, wow, it actually worked! You can sit and write all you want all day long, but until you have a finished album you can give people, nothing really matters. Definitely some other highlights are touring all across the nation. We’ve been to 70% of universities around the nation on sorority and fraternity tours. We’ve been to Australia twice, and it’s great to have a batch of songs that you can go to different parts of the world and still have it resonate with the crowd.

Q: What have been some of your biggest challenges along the way as an artist?
A: Doing it on our own. You got to lose the the mentality that some big hand will come and pluck you out of the sky. It just doesn’t exist anymore. Not that it can’t happen, it’s just that you put yourself in a terrible position if you sit there and wait for it. I know I need to take every aspect of my career into my own hands. Once I started to do that, that’s when the hands started coming out of the sky. Other challenges have been turning this artistic thing into a real business model that supports our artistic ventures, allowing us to do music every day. Booking shows, taking advantage of the right opportunities, and tackling questions like ‘how do we actually make money from this and expand on that as opposed to staying at same level?’ occupy a lot of our time.

Kelley tours with producer and artist Bren, and you can follow them both on Twitter at ‘brenmusic,’ and ‘yourboykj.’

Q: How do you determine which marketing opportunities are worth pursuing?
A: We look at ourselves as a brand – we are what we are, how we act on stage, what places we push our music out to, who we tour with – put it all through the filter of our brand Let’s be honest with who we are and let’s base everything around that.

Q: You have been approached by record labels in the past and turned turned them down – why?
A: A couple of reasons. They didn’t understand the slow burn process I wanted in terms of the grass roots build I wanted to have. That’s not a focus in the music industry now – they want return on their investment NOW. I knew I needed to develop on my own, and I wanted to pursue these things on my own. Also, nobody is going to believe in me and my music more than me. In the last few years I’ve proven to myself that by staying true to my brand I’ve accessed opportunities, endorsements, and achieved sales that labels only promise. At this point, I don’t need a label to do what I can do for myself, taking a huge piece of the pie and taking away the control I have.

Q: How do you determine how much time to spend marketing yourself, and how much time to spend writing and recording new material?
A: It’s a balance – you gotta do both all at the same time. If you’re in the studio, you should twitter. Social networking is so important. When Bren is in the booth, I’m not just waiting – I’m on the computer blogging. Be able to multi-task on all levels. Can you tour, market, and write songs at the same time while you’re on the road? It’s not “today I’m a songwriter, and tomorrow I’m my own business manager.” You gotta do both at the same time. 99% of artists don’t have a management team – but it doesn’t matter if you do have a team, even Kanye West has to keep marketing himself.

Q: How do you measure your success from day to day, month to month, year to year?
A: It changes all the time. As long as there’s progress and we’re hitting our short term goals, we’re doing okay. The focus has to be on the short-term, attainable goals. Even one-day goals. Lay out a path for 3 months with specific goals you create each day. If you’re brilliant enough to come up with 3-year or 5-year plan, great. And if you design Sunday to be chill out day, then that’s a successful day. You know, if you do what you’re able to do today and are just getting overwhelmed by your 3-year plan, relax the rest of the day.
To do this for a living, as your career, you’ve got to do something every day. I might spend a whole night listening to old records, looking for samples. But I can’t do that every day, or I wouldn’t have success.

Q: What advice would you give aspiring artists and writers?
A: Take control of everything yourself. If you can do it on your own, that’s when the money, the help, and everything else will come in. If you’re sitting back and waiting for something else to happen, it’s not gonna happen. Even if it’s on the lowest level – write the song, record the song, and send it to music supervisors. If that doesn’t work, walk into the music supervisor’s office, or write a different song – then call everyone you know. Try something else. Don’t keep hearing ‘this is the way to do it’ and keep knocking on that door – it may not ever open again in the state of this music industry. Try something new, even unconventional.
The singer songwriter generation including folk artists and guitar playing traditional music artists really need to take a lesson from the rap world as far as the effort. Rappers have their hands in all different pots, always marketing, always promoting. But the rappers could take a lesson from the singer songwriter generation too in preserving the art of the craft. So both need to learn from eachother. If you really investigated the lifestyle of successful artists we follow today, I bet most people would be shocked. The teams behind them, the marketing strategies, the business focus, the hustle – these artists aren’t just sitting around writing songs letting a team do their work. They’re out there leading the team. It’s like Bren – he’s got another project on his own outside of our venture, and he’s got to drive all the way down to South Orange County for a meeting and then be back up in Hollywood to record later in the day, then somewhere else to co-write that night. Multiple projects can be overwhelming, being in Miami with Jim Johnson, then back in LA, juggling all these projects and still do it – that’s the goal.

Thanks to Kelley and Bren for these insights. You can follow their music and careers at http://www.kelleyjames.com/, and on Twitter ‘brenmusic,’ and ‘yourboykj.’ The new record, Break Free, just released August 19th is available on iTunes.

How does one get to be a paid songwriter, writing songs for a living? Reflecting on the paths of our favorite role model artists or songwriters can certainly illuminate some answers. But most times the path can seem so uncharted, and indeed our own personal path is. The trouble is that with many musical careers, one person’s experiences are vastly different from another. Some of our success depends on circumstances out of our control, such as being in the right place at the right time to meet that person who wants to finance our next record. It can be very frustrating indeed to feel ready to reach a broader audience, co-write with those who can enhance our talents and skills, or approach popular artists with our polished demos, and not have the resources to do so. But there are things we can do to create those opportunities, harnessing the power over what we can control.

What we can control are things like how much we practice our art, whether and how often we network, and deciding which jobs to take and which to let go. We can also control how we view the road to our final destination – writing songs that matter, entertaining an ever-increasing audience, becoming an expert in our particular genre, helping to spread awareness for a special cause through our music, etc. Those are the end goals, the big picture we need to keep coming back to time and again to find the fuel we need to get through the current moment.

When I was first starting out as a new writer in a new town with very few contacts, I took too much responsibility for any success that came my way. That is, at times I felt that luck didn’t have anything to do with it and it was all up to me to carve the path ahead. I’m glad I did the work, but looking back I’m also aware of the blood, sweat, and tears I shed over things out of my control. Had I to do it all over again, I would create a game plan that included a reasonable amount of effort on my part, and a reasonable amount of faith in the journey. Burn-out is something we feel when our expectations for reward don’t meet the level of effort we’re putting out, and for an artist and writer, it can wreak havoc on our inspiration and our personal lives.

Today, I’m constantly revising my game plan as my life and career change and my goals change too. I try to think in terms of short-term goals, tangible ideas I can keep track of in a notebook as a sign of my efforts and tiny victories. I’m successful in my short-term goals if I put in the effort, regardless of the final result. I encourage you to do the same, trying it out for a few months. See if you feel more satisfied with how you spend your time, more justified in the victories you win, and more accepting of those you don’t. For me, it makes all the difference.

Make sure your short-term goals are reachable. For instance, if you dream of performing two times a week and drawing a significant income from it as well as broadening your audience from that venture, start by breaking that down into smaller, reachable steps. Target some small venues in your area, and book a show a month. Devise an initial plan for promoting your shows. Make it a goal to talk to one new person a day about your gigs, and follow up with an email about the next gig. Target one business in that community you may pair up with to promote the show. Write and perform one new song a month to generate more interest in your shows. Think about the visual interest of your show, and add one new element to spice up the way your show looks. Attend one industry event, conference, or workshop every two or three months. Make it a point to network with two new contacts at that event and follow up by email. Maybe your first step is to carry your CDs with you wherever you go. Maybe it’s to record a piano/vocal of one song and organize your lyrics and music in a folder that is easy to access. Maybe your smaller step is to make one cold call each week to a club you’d like to be booked at. Whether or not you get the booking, you’ve done the work of calling. Take charge of the day to day steps that are within your control. If you’re a writer, write one new song a week. If that sounds like a lot, write one new chorus each week. Or, commit to developing the outline for one new song each week, whether you write the final lyric or not. Research one new artist or songwriter each month. Get familiar with all the songs that writer has written, and analyze one lyric and harmony or melody for the tools you’re learning in your online Berkleemusic.com course. Research the publisher who works with the artist or writer you like. Read the staff bios from that publisher, and find out if any are appearing at conferences or workshops you might attend. The important idea here is to keep pursuing, cut yourself a break, and get real about where you want to go. Don’t underestimate the small steps, but keep track of them so you can see how the efforts you put in return dividends later on.

Start your list today by brainstorming all the small steps you can take to advance your craft and business of songwriting. You might even find a partner to brainstorm together and keep you accountable for those things you can control, and those things you need not spend your valuable time and energy fretting over. It may not always be obvious how to prioritize the items on your list. When this is an issue, give yourself a deadline from which you expect to see progress. If you find you’ve been pursuing a dead end, you can change gears wiser and more seasoned in the ways of the business. In all cases, commitment is key. Seeing a project through can be the toughest hurdle. Persistence is the most important element, so keep referring to those short-term victories when the dry stretches are long.

Happy writing,
Andrea

A good friend of mine and I were carrying on the other day about the music industry, venting our frustrations, sharing our hopes, and talking nitty gritty about our goals. She’d go on about how difficult it’s been to write while touring, and how she hardly finds the energy to wash her hair much less brainstorm on song titles or plot ideas. That’s about the time when I chime in about how I always intend on actually practicing the piano, but find myself moments later writing something I’ve been tossing about in my head for a month or so.

I find it interesting that my friend can’t get enough of the stage, and I can’t get enough of pen and paper. Though we both write and we both perform, we each have identified the fuel that drives us. Sure, she looks over on my side of the fence and fantasizes about a publishing deal and staying in the same town for more than a few weeks at a time. I fantasize about crowded auditoriums clamoring with fans dying to hear me and my band as I tour the country and live the life of a rock star. But, we both know that at the end of the day, these fantasies carve out important distinctions that make us successful in the pursuits we follow every day.

Sometimes we approach our music careers with limited vision of what different careers can look like. The most obvious career for musicians is a player, or a singer or singer/songwriter. Outside of those very visible jobs are studio session players, staff songwriters, song pluggers and publishers, managers, producers, tracking engineers, mix engineers, mastering engineers, programmers, studio managers, A&R, song coaches, booking agents, music editors or music supervisors, arrangers, orchestrators and string composers, horn composers, music directors or band leaders, and the list goes on. Many times we are performing several of these duties all at the same time. As you can imagine, different jobs call for different skills, and so though we may be able to perform the tasks needed to get our jobs done, we may be wise to identify those folks who can help in the areas we are weak.

Being a staff songwriter, I spent many years writing for other people. Now and then a song would slip out that I knew would not be particularly marketable in the genre I was writing for. I had a feeling that later on I might record my own record, and that is exactly what I did. Now, though I consider myself an artist, the secret I know about myself is that if given the opportunity to write or to perform, I will almost always write. It seems to be an unconscious choice more than a conscious one. Writing just gives me energy rather than depletes it. For my good friend, she will almost always find herself on stage performing a favorite cover tune among her own tunes rather than off somewhere writing and honing her craft.

If you think about your natural tendency, what is it you find yourself doing when got a little free time? Are you busy booking gigs, going out to shows, networking with other musicians and friends, jamming with your buddies, or telling everyone you know about a great new song or artist you found while searching the depths of Myspace? What drives you, what gives you energy, what keeps you up late at night? The answer may help you to identify the strengths that make you good at what you do, and what you do fulfilling.

Just because I gain my energy from writing doesn’t mean that my influence is limited to just writing. I can perform and do all those things that feed into a successful and diverse career. The difference is that I can be realistic about my expectations, and kind to myself when setting goals.

We might be talented enough or good looking enough to become the next rock star, or have the chops to write the next big hit if we only spent the time honing our craft. But, is what we think we want doing more to limit us rather than expose and employ our true strengths? Unfortunately, this is one of those questions each of us has to answer for ourselves. The answer isn’t always as obvious and clear-cut as we’d like it to be. But, keep asking and I believe that door always opens in due time. Be prepared to let the answer grow and change too. As we experience more, we recognize more opportunities and how those opportunities call us to be the best of who we are.

Andrea

‘Publish’ is a word we often throw around without really clarifying what it means. We might say ‘I’d like to get this song published’, but really what we mean is that we’d like to get the song recorded by an artist selling records, or placed in TV or Film or other media situation. As a songwriter, if we’re ‘published’ it can mean that the songwriter has a contract with a company whose job is to market his/her songs to the people who have a need for those songs – basically artists or other companies looking to use the music for various media purposes. Or, ‘published’ can also refer to just one song, a single-song-contract between a writer and a company interested in getting that one song placed in a film or TV show, or recorded by an artist.

Being ‘published’ may seem like a goal, but it’s actually just a means to an end. Whether we’re backed by a publishing company or not, we still need to bust our butts to continue to push our own music. It is in the publisher’s interest to push our music down the various avenues they have access to, but it’s our job as the writers to manage our careers in the direction we want. Sometimes acting as our own publisher is the best decision we can make for ourselves. If we’re making connections by attending industry functions, getting to know other artists and writers in our area, and working to circulate our own music by playing clubs, house concerts, benefits, our best-friend’s brother’s son’s Bar Mitzvah, and so on, we are doing the business of a label and publisher. The end result is that our songs are out there in the mix, floating upon the ears of those who need the music we create.

When I first started, I got my songs into the hands of other songwriters by handing them a cassette tape. Back then Myspace wasn’t around, and people didn’t rely on MP3’s sent over email instead of a tangible CD or cassette. I hung out in music stores, I met anyone I could at restaurants and clubs who performed or wrote music, handing out my business card and a few tunes everywhere I went. As a result of those initial meetings, my network grew and soon I was co-writing with friends of friends, with some unsigned writers and some signed writers. My goal was to get hired at a publishing company. Since I had no direct contacts with the Faith Hills and Tim McGraws of the world, I believed I needed a publisher to bridge that sizable gap. It’s true that a publisher can get you through some doors previously unapproachable to you. But, it’s also true that with determination and creativity, and a shining personality, you can begin to connect the dots yourself. Don’t let a publishing deal or a label deal hold you back from the true goal – getting your songs to the artists who want to record them and the listeners who want to enjoy them. Assess the contacts you have and start there, building up. Even if you have practically no contacts, start by taking a course in songwriting online, or taking a few vocal or guitar lessons at your local community college. Get involved in your greater metropolitan songwriting community. Get in the mindset that you have something valuable to offer, and you’ll be amazed how those who need your gift emerge from your corner of the world.

I don’t know about you, but I spent years recoiling from this question for fear of what I’d say or wouldn’t say that would pigeonhole my music forever. You’ve probably listened to a lot of styles of music, and like me, you’ve found remnants of each floating around in your melodies, harmonies, and rhythms. You may have been told your voice or guitar stylings are reminiscent of another artist, dumping you into a specific genre you may or may not be completely characterized by. Or, you may be limited by your instrumental abilities so that your songs consistently fall short of the commercial sound where you intend them to fly. These are all issues we deal with as songwriters trying to compartmentalize what we do in order to put ourselves out there as shows, CDs and MP3’s.

Before I sat down and took a look at the thin red line that ran through my lyrics and musical inklings, I would describe my music as pop/rock. The conversation would usually end right there. Either the person I was talking to liked the genre, or didn’t. Once in awhile I’d get the chance to name a few commercial artists I sound like, but the mixture fell flat when one or more of those artists was unknown or disliked by whomever I was talking to. Needless to say, it wasn’t a very good way to illicit interest in my music. Why would someone want to buy my songs when they can go listen to the real Alison Krauss, Jonatha Brooke, or Sting who they know and love?

I had to learn how to talk about my music in a way that connected with people. It wasn’t that I fit into a genre that was particularly important. What was important was that people could begin to imagine how my music could be useful to them. What am I intending on causing with my music? What issues do I consistently write about? Do my songs make you laugh, tear up, get in touch with old memories, yearn to live more passionately, or bounce down the freeway on your way home from work? How can I summarize the purpose that is consistent throughout my songwriting style so that people are interested in learning more about me and my music?

An artist friend of mine describes her style as ‘Music that soothes the wounds of modern life.’ Knowing how she describes her music in just that simple phrase, a first time listener can approach her music with that foundation. We all have wounds, and we all have our idea of what it means to soothe those wounds. Before she even plays a note I can feel what she’s about. She won’t be a copy of some other artist out there, but a unique voice that is easy to characterize and remember. Furthermore, I can immediately think of other people and situations in which her music would be a good fit. All because of 8 pivotal words.

Imagine yourself in conversation with someone you’d like to expose your music to. What would you say?

If you’re finding this question difficult to answer, grab a notebook and pencil and start journaling about your songs. Read over a few lyrics or titles of yours. Start to talk about the songs in conversational language as if you were telling them as a story to your best friend. What are the far-reaching themes that continue to emerge?

Another exercise might be to grab one or two friends who know your music. Ask them to help you list adjectives or verbs that capture the essence of your music and lyrics. Notice any common threads and start thinking about how you might include them in your own ‘8-word pitch.’ Don’t be confused by songs that land outside this circle of common themes. It’s not so much ‘what’ you write about that may matter in these instances, but ‘how’ you have approached it. Go back to the list of words and think about what experience you’re causing with your music. Everyone wants to experience something, and the more clearly you understand how your music is perceived the more confident you will be that people need what you do.

Andrea

A question I get asked a lot as a working songwriter is “What else can I be doing to grow my music career while I’m writing songs?” It’s true, the most important thing you can be doing as a songwriter is writing songs. But as you’re writing, there are activities you’ll want to adopt that will help open doors for those songs to be heard. After all, feverishly writing songs without an outlet to play them for other people can eventually thwart our creativity altogether.
For the next several weeks, I’d like to post a weekly blog with an activity you can add into your schedule that I hope will help you grow as an artist and musician. Even if you perform the activity for 10 minutes a day, such as picking up a guitar or sitting down at the piano, you are building connections between your life and your creativity. I’ll also separate the activities into business and craft, so you can identify what activities might benefit the work you do in the writing room, and what benefits you outside that circle. Eventually, these activities will all run together as you knit a lifestyle that fosters creativity and connection in the music world. I encourage you to tailor the ideas to your own environment and run with any extra ideas you might have. Let’s get started!

Business:
Check your local paper for who’s playing at a nearby music venue. Try to attend one show this week of an act that is similar to your writing style or the style you aspire to. If you aren’t familiar with any of the artists or venues in your area, pick one at random. If you have a musical friend or co-writer you haven’t connected with in awhile, ask him/her to come along. If you have family or work related responsibilities, consider how you can take your family along, or schedule your meeting to include the show.

After the performance: If you enjoyed the show, introduce yourself to the band or artist afterwards. Mention that you are a songwriter and that you enjoyed their music. Be sure to ask when they’ll be playing again…..and plan to attend.

Craft:
Pick up any newspaper, magazine, or book, and choose an article or page at random. Begin reading, and as you do, consider each phrase – no matter how insignificant – as the title of a song. What might you write sparked from the ideas of those titles?