Career Songwriter

I really enjoy reading your blogs. i have been working on my songwriting craft for a number of years and have developed a really good sound and flow. i have everything now apart from someone to listen to my stuff. i’m really unsure with where to go to next and who to trust out there. i know that i have a talent and something to share. any thoughts would be appreciated.

-Scott

This question was posted as a response to my blog ‘From Amateur to Professional,’ and I felt it deserved another blog to do it justice. I’ll try to outline some of my own thoughts and opinions, and I hope it helps spark some ideas of your own.

As artists and writers, our main goal after honing our music is getting that music heard. It’s a wonderful thing that anyone with a tune and an internet connection can reach volumes of people once only reachable through heavy marketing campaigns and major label budgets. But with so much music at our fingertips these days, it’s also difficult to rise out of the pack and be heard. The old model of touring and being discovered, signed, and vaulted into stardom is almost a thing of the past. Artists are retaining more control while making more money by staying independent of labels. As long as we can create a product our fans will buy, the rest is up to our own ingenuity and ambition. For the remainder of this post, please refer to www.songwritingtechniques.net.

In the effort of making a living with songwriting, I find it easy to slip into the habit of thinking that unless I’m endorsing perforated strings of royalty checks, I’m not writing great tunes. Commercial success certainly can be an indicator of great writing, but it’s also a result of other elements like networking and being on the pulse of the current sound of artists in our genre. When I signed my first publishing deal in Nashville, I hadn’t yet learned what that meant. Over the years as I looked back on my development as a writer, I recognized a few patterns I had gone through that are so typical of developing songwriters and artists. Initially, I was signed based on the merit of the songs I was already creating. My publisher believed there was something unique about my musical style and my lyrical voice that he could market. His comments to me were always “honey, just keep doing what you’re doing.” For awhile, I did. But the more I began focusing outward on other writers’ and artists’ songs getting attention around me, the more I wanted that attention too. After all, I didn’t know for sure if what I was creating would be successful in the major market. That very lack of belief was what convinced me to skip the process of developing my own style further and instead just recreate what were already hits. The problem was, my publisher already had writers to fulfill that need, and the songs I wrote were just near copies. After much frustration, a hundred thousand unrecouped and several years of a good contract later, I finally came back to what I was doing in the first place.
For the remainder of this article, please visit www.songwritingtechniques.net

‘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.

Whatever stage you are in as a songwriter, artist, producer, engineer, studio musician, touring musician, or jack of all trades, you’re probably starting to develop a strategy for receiving criticism. If you’re out there working your connections at all, whether it be performing, asking co-writers to write with you, or wading through all the possible ways to promote yourself as an artist, you are inevitably forming your personal perspective of the music industry. The industry itself is wide and multi-faceted, and it’s no wonder two artists can have completely different paths aiming for the same success.

Students in my online classes often ask me ‘what’s my story?’ In other words, we want to know how another writer got where they are so that we can do some of those same activities that may get us where we want to go. The trouble with this thinking is that we are setting out into a completely different landscape with new people and new and different opportunities. The industry itself has changed, but even more importantly, the people we meet along the way will not be the same. The only thing that has ever earned me any success comes down to just one person. That one person was someone who believed in my music. There have been several ‘one persons’ over the years, but I hang my gratitude on those few I had to sift through the haystack to find. Without my searching, I may not have found them. But without their ability to hear me and see some potential in what I do, I wouldn’t have been able to expand my career.

I began this blog by talking about a strategy for criticism, and that very idea of criticism leads me to the thoughts I’ll try to verbalize here. It’s very easy for us ambitious artists, songwriters, and musicians alike to become overwhelmed with the amount of work that can be done to promote ourselves. The seeds we plant today often sprout several months or more often several years later, and that’s a long time to wait for a harvest. Being a creative person, I spend quite a bit of time reflecting, deriving great pleasure from finding new ways to express myself and share myself with others. I am not alone on this creative island, and so I wish also see my expression received by others, affecting others. This is why the idea of writing songs that never leave my living-room is like death to my creative spirit.

With my business so closely linked to my creativity, like most artists I have had to develop a strategy for living and working that nourishes my happiness rather than starving it. As we can see in the entertainment industry, many have not found working strategies. But the strategy itself is not a ‘goal’ that is achieved, but one we consistently have to commit to day after day. The business is constantly changing, and so are my creative goals. While I’m doing all the things I know are good for moving my career forward, such as writing, performing, and networking, I also make decisions about future activities based on the following.

What give me energy?
I’ll be honest, sometimes taking the day off and going to the beach is what I need to do to forward my career. There are times for writing when I don’t feel like it, or going out to shows and networking when I’d rather stay home. But there are also times for slowing down and erasing my agenda. If I lose the energy to believe in what I’m doing, then I lose my effectiveness in getting what I want.

Is what I’m doing busyness or opportunity?
There is a difference, and I constantly assess what projects I may become involved in that are going to lead me somewhere, and ones that are simply filling time or my pocketbook. It’s easy to get caught up in the talk that flies around in the industry. People talk about the next big thing and then that thing flickers flat like a damp firework. The only true question I need to answer is if the project is worth my time. Whether it’s worth my time depends on my specific goals. If my goal for the moment is to make money, then I make choices based on that. If my goal is to invest in a project I believe strongly in, then I make choices based on that. Sometimes it’s a balance, but I always try to make those choices intentionally.

Pretending I’m managing my career as an outsider, how do I view where I am, and what are some steps I would make to further my career?
This idea has been so invaluable to me. Stepping outside of myself and looking at my career from a distance enables me to see more clearly the way things really are. I sometimes have ideas about new opportunities I can make for myself when I’m not tethered to my own hesitations and concerns. I can also extend to myself more acceptance and forgiveness when I see clearly what things are within my control, and the things that are not.

I encourage you to continue practicing what you enjoy at least a little while each day. When weeks go by and we find ourselves constantly focusing on business ideas rather than writing, it can suck the energy and purpose right out of us. Take some time each month to evaluate new goals and aspirations as you unearth new opportunities. Allow yourself the flexibility to change as you grow in your art. In an industry where persistence is the name of the game, keeping our self healthy and happy is the smartest decision we can make.