there's a singer searching for songs blurb in this issue

take your songwriting to the next level
TAKE a FREE songwriting course at

http://www.SongU.com/ifs

PITCH your songs
Get professional critiques and mentoring
Network with talented songwriters

~ ~ ~

Many artists say the INDIE BIBLE
is a wonderful tool for independent artists
drop by
http://www.indiebible.com/swb
to check it out

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you want to RECEIVE IFS or CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS with IFS
SEND an EMPTY email to
difs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I'd LOVE to hear from YOU, let me know what you've been up to

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dear IFS readers,

I hope this email finds you well.

My wife and I will be in LA on Friday Feb 9th - Monday Feb 12th to
attend the Grammy's. I hope to give y'all a full report.

I hope to meet with IFS reader Alan O'Day while I'm in LA

Follow your local news to find talented singers, songwriters and
artists
http://keyetv.com/topstories/local_story_012180000.html

MY GRAMMY MOMENT now has a top 5
drop by
http://music.yahoo.com/mygrammymoment/
to hear them and vote for your favorite
Remember, you have now until Saturday, Feb. 3 to vote for who you
think should move on to the next round.

Local Grammy Chapters are now accepting apps for people who want to
serve as Governors, today is the dead line
there may still be time for you to send yours in

Sunday my wife and I went to san antonio to attend the Imaging USA
event
http://imagingusa.org/schedule.htm
in the whole trade show I only saw 2 music companies that were
offering music for professional photographers to use in their slide
shows
one was Jeff Zimmerman with the
www.theslideshowcompany.net
Jeff thanked me for referring him to Steve Mesropian, AKA MEZ

my buddy Brock Goodwin who moved to Nashville last year signed a
publishing deal with Clay Walker's publishing company.
He has a wonderful song called
The Swing
up on
www.BrockGoodwin.com
let me know what you think of it.


Ande

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

cdbaby.net offer the CDBaby news page
https://members.cdbaby.com/news

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

check this out

http://www.canyouhearme.tv/index.php

some say it's a really good web documentary.


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~ ~ ~ ~ ~

several Catus dates that caught my eye

Mon. January, 22, 29, February, 5,12,19, 26
OPEN STAGE
hosted by Abi Tapia & Graham Weber
7pm sign up


Wed. January, 24
Two time Grammy Award Winner
JOEL GUZMAN
http://www.reyesaccordions.com/Aztex/joel.htm
&
SARAH FOX
$7.00/door * 8:30pm

Todd Snider is coming back to play the Cactus in Austin
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, February 7, 8 & 9,
three big cactus nights
TODD SNIDER
w/ special guests
Wed & Thu * $18.00 * Fri * $22.00
Tix on sale 1/20 @ noon @ Texas box office locations
All Heb's, Central Markets, Erwin center Box office (no service
charge @ the Erwin center)
http://www.utexas.edu/student/txunion/ae/cactus/

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~ ~ ~ ~ ~

here's some wonderful business resolutions
http://www.americansmallbusiness.com/default.asp?
ArticleUp=1&ArticleID=619

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~ ~ ~ ~ ~

several cool taxi articles

Hit Songwriters Panel, TAXI Road Rally 2006, Part 1
http://www.taxi.com/transmitter/0701/headlineA0701.html

You've Got Exactly the Same Chance of Writing a Hit as Diane Warren
http://www.taxi.com/transmitter/0701/headlineB0701.html


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Danny Ray Harris on Myspace wrote the following blog

Monday, January 15, 2007

NEW CD

HELLO! JUST WANTED TO LET ALL OF YOU KNOW THAT I AM GOING TO BE IN
NASHVILLE RECORDING MY NEXT CD IN FEB AND MAR. I AM HOPING FOR A
LATE MAR RELEASE. I AM STILL LOOKING FOR SONGS RIIGHT NOW TO GO
ALONG WITH SONGS THAT I HAVE WRITTEN TO COMPLETE THE CD.

(ifs readers let me know if you find his myspace site)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

IFS reader Keith Lubrant sent me this note

webmaster@... writes:

Hey Ande,

Have some good news...just wanted to share it with you!

My new cd is officially complete!

After 2 years of off and on recording, I finally have it complete.
This is my 2nd cd, the followup to my first cd, FACE IN THE CROWD,
this cd is titled SEARCHING FOR SIGNAL.

If you would like to check it out, there are song samples for every
cut at www.keithlubrant.com and two full songs on my MySpace account
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?
fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=11539183

It was mastered by Euphonic Mastering
(http://www.euphonicmasters.com/), who have done tons of artists,
Sister Hazel, Nine Stories, and Evanescence to name a couple. He did
a great job.

I also had some guest spots from Mike Viola (Candy Butchers), Jim
Boggia, and Pete Donnelly (The Figgs). I feel VERY fortunate to have
them contribute to the disc.

As for marketing, I have tried something different for this cd:
When the customer buys the cd, inside the liner notes is an unlock
code. With that unlock code, they can go to the web site and "unlock
the vault" which has 3 complete songs from the recording sessions
that did not make the cd cut, a documentary/diary on the process of
recording, a "recording 101" class with over 20 audio examples of
different instruments in the mix, tons of unreleased demos, and
extras (such as radio broadcasts, pics, etc..)

It's a bunch of extra stuff, so hopefully, people will enjoy the
extras! (I also threw in magnets, stickers, and pictures for the
first 50 people that buy the cd)

As you can tell, pretty proud of this project. Hopefully, you have
time to check it out. It is getting released on Kool Kat Musik.

I have had songs aired on MTV, VH1, E!, CBS, CMT, Discovery Channel,
and some others. The style of music is pop/rock, always
concentrating on a good hook!

For more info, you can go to my site: www.keithlubrant.com

I also write music for other artists/tv/film.

Thanks Ande, and have a great

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ASK Ande


Hi, Ande,

If a song is co-written, who owns the licensing rights?
I was contacted by a music library, following up on a submission of
a song through TAXI.

They say I must own all the licensing rights.

Does that mean my co-writer has to officially give them to me?
Is there are form for this?
I know you co-write a lot, so I thought you would know.
Have fun at the Grammys!

Linda

~ ~ ~

Ande's answer

hello linda,

nice to hear from you
to answer your questions

I'm not a lawyer, but here is my understanding of the situation
with every song there are 2 copyrights

"If a song is co-written, who owns the licensing rights?"
the cowriters both own the song, in the percentages they agree to
split it

"Does that mean my co-writer has to officially give them to me?"
yes, but it's all about who controls the publishing on the song
both cowriters can sign publishing agreements

"Is there are form for this?"
I'm sure there is
an entertainment lawyer can create one

one other thing
a song has 2 copyrightsÂ

1) the first is for the creation of the song, the cowriters co own
the
song together
actually this is assuming both writers control their own publishing
what matters is who controls the publishing on the song

2) the next copyright has to do with who owns the master recording of
the song
this is the sound recording of the song
one issue that can come up is where a songwriter hires a demo
producer
to create a demo
the songwriter pays for a demo
but then to license for film and TV use you have to control both
copyrights
the song and the sound recording
but the songwriter only hired and paid the demo producer to create a
demo
now the songwriter comes back to the demo producer and asks him is he
can upgrade the recording to master recording
legally everyone involved in the creation of the recording needs to
sign off

but it you came to a demo producer upfront and told him you want a
work
for hire master recording
you'd have to pay the musicians more and get everyone to sign off

hope this helps

ande


~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

got this email from Taxi

Could Music Fund Your Retirement?

Music_News@... writes:
Dear Passengers,

Boy oh boy, my last email about music not 'loving you back' must
have really hit home. I've had an avalanche of letters, emails and
phone calls from friends and people on my list telling me their own
stories.

In one form or another, all the stories had a similar tone, "Yep,
that's me! My passion for music has fueled me emotionally for most
of my life, but it hasn't helped me much financially."

I heard from a lot of people who are disheartened by their lack of
success selling their own CDs. While most seem to be validated by
knowing that at least a few dozen people around the world have
bought their music, in the end, they lost money on their CD sales.

And that's WITH awesome outlets like CDBaby to help you out!

I have no doubt that you CAN earn your living selling your CDs, but
I know it's really, really hard to find the time to exert the
Herculean effort required to sell thousands of units.

It takes the same effort I had to put into starting and running
TAXI, and I know that's nearly impossible if you have a day job
and/or a family to take care of.

There simply aren't enough hours in the day to do it.

But let's get back to the Film and TV market for a minute.

I remember the early days of TAXI, when people used to laugh at us
because such a high percentage of the deals our members landed were
for film and TV placements. Then, as the record industry took a huge
hit, people stopped laughing.

Licensing your music for film and TV projects has become so
mainstream, that articles about it are on the covers of nearly all
the magazines that people like you and I read. Even the companies
that used to point fingers at TAXI for "too many" film and TV deals
now try their best to imitate us!

Sadly, I think that most songwriters and artists really don't know
much about the market, what kind of music is needed, and how to get
it to their music to right people. Do you?

When most musicians hear the phrase film and TV music, they picture
John Williams waving his baton in front of a full orchestra. That's
PART of the market, but there's a whole lot of money left on the
table after the scoring people finish their work.

Imagine a scene in a TV show where a couple of unsavory characters
score a load of illegal drugs, stuff them in the trunk of their
black sedan, and head off from their seedy warehouse location to
meet with Mr. Big. What do you hear in the background?

Dink, di-di, dink, dink, di-di, dink.

Yep, that was a triangle! Somebody got paid to play that triangle
and for "writing" that piece of music.

As the bad boys approach Mr. Big and his cohorts in an ally, a hi-
hop beat is heard in the background. Somebody got paid to write and
record that too!

And when the "sellers" reach their hotel room, dump their satchel of
money on the bed, and begin to count it, we hear a song, "Money,
money, been good to me. Ain't made this much money in my history."

Now you know why I'm not a songwriter ;-) but you DO get the idea,
right?

There are all KINDS of music cues that the film and TV industries
need -- cues that you can create. It makes me wonder how many songs
you have sitting on those unsold CDs in your garage that might be
perfect.

TAXI member Matt Hirt has been making more than $50,000 per year for
several years doing this. So have plenty of others.

And I'll bet that you can create a brand new income stream for
yourself WITHOUT touring, WITHOUT finding a way to drive thousands
of buyers to your music on the Internet, and without investing a ton
of time or buying lots of new equipment.

And this brings me back to what I touched on last week: creating a
way for your music to PAY YOU BACK!

Could you supplement your income by doing this? Yes.

Could you sock away that extra income and with some conservative
investments and create a retirement fund using your music? Yes!

And could you use this kind of music to create "mailbox money" to
supplement the meager checks you'll get from social security when
you retire. YES!

I've told you before about the musicians I've met that make lawyer-
level incomes from film and TV music, but let's not even go to THAT
extreme (although it's CERTAINLY possible if you work diligently at
this).

Let's look at REALISTIC amounts of money you could make -- Five
Grand, Ten Grand, maybe Twenty-five Grand of extra income a year --
just to get started. Over time, you could build up to MUCH more as
you get dozens and dozens of your tracks picked up by several
publishers.

Eventually, your music will get used frequently enough that you
could make a six-figure income from nothing more than film and TV
placements that come from your modest home studio.

But, I want to repeat here: I am NOT going to try to sell you a TAXI
membership. I want you to know that so you'll keep reading this!

So . . . I sat down at my computer today and Googled "compound
interest calculator." I figured that $5,000/yr. is a VERY realistic
amount to earn and save each year. Then I plugged in a 5.6% interest
rate because I saw that number in the window of my bank yesterday --
it's what a Certificate of Deposit currently pays.

Then I asked the calculator to figure out how much retirement money
that would be for somebody who only saved that extra 5K per year
they made from their music for the next 25 years.

The answer blew me away -- $293,404.39 - more than a quarter of a
million dollars!

Did you know that the Standard & Poors index has averaged better
than 8% over many decades, including the Great Depression and every
recession we've had since? What if you were able to save just 10K a
year doing film and TV tracks as a side gig, on TOP of your regular
job?

If you (at 40 years old, for assumption's sake) put $10,000/yr. into
an S&P Index fund until you retire at 65, then you'll have
$858,028.90 in your retirement account. If you draw an 8% income
from that nest egg AFTER you retire, you'd have an annual income of
$68,642.30.

And that's WITHOUT ever touching the principal! You could add that
to the $18,000 you'll get from Social Security and have an annual
retirement income of nearly $90,000 per year.

And finally: what IF you were able to make the same $50,000/yr. that
Matt makes when you're ALREADY retired? That would certainly be a
huge help if you haven't been able to build a retirement nest egg
because Music Didn't Love You Back.

Go to www.moneychimp.com/calculator/compound_interest_calculator.htm
and play around with the numbers. See what you think.

Am I nuts?

Talk to you next week,

Michael

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

if you know things other people are willing to pay to learn
consider creating and offering information products
like this professional photographer
fran reisner was one of the instructors who spoke at the canon
workshops
http://franreisner.com/sharingpass.html



~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

here's some otes from the NY NSAI workshop



Clear your schedule, ˜cause our Adopt-a-Shop Pro

TIM BUPPERT

www.myspace.com/timbuppert

will be visiting at the end of January

Get your song critiqued by a Nashville insider!!!*



An award-winning songwriter, TIM BUPPERT is best known for writing
Kevin Sharp's #1, She's Sure Taking It Well, and
Yankee Grey's Another Nine Minutes.
His songs have also been covered by Trisha Yearwood, Continental
Divide, the Wiggins, Marty Haden and others. Most recently, Tim had
a top-ten song and #1 video with Doc Walker on the Canadian charts
with Whoever Made Those Rules. Tim's smooth country/pop vocals are
in demand all over Nashville for songwriter demos, commercials &
backgrounds on artist projects. You've heard him on Pepsi, TNN and
Luvs commercials, among others, and on recordings by Trisha
Yearwood, Michael Peterson, Kevin Sharp, Paul Brandt, Anita Cochran
and many more. He’s the drummer for Nashville's popular Beatle
cover band, FAB, and has been the official NSAI mentor (Adopt-A-Shop
Pro) of the New York City and Long Island NSAI chapters since the
end of 2001.

Sunday, 1/28/07, 4:00 to 7:30 PM
(3:30 PM sign-up)

OPEN MIC/SHOWCASE with Tim as the featured performer

SIDEWALK CAFe (www.antifolk.net)

94 Avenue A (at East 6th Street)

Open to all, $5 admission, 2-drink minimum

~ Please bring your acoustic guitar with pick-up; keyboard on site
also. Sorry, no live-to-track or electric instruments.

~ Performance strictly on a first-come, first-served basis.

~ Original songs only--five minutes or less in length.



Monday, 1/29/07, 6:00 to 10:00 PM

ALL-CRITIQUE WORKSHOP led by Tim

OPAL (www.opalbar.com)

251 East 52nd Street (at 2nd Avenue)

$25 NSAI members; $35 non-members (special member price extended to
SGA and NAPM members with current organization ID)

~ Once again, Opal has made it very easy financially for us to
conduct our event here. Please help us thank them by ordering lots
of food and drinks.

~ We encourage you to attend even if you do not submit a song for
critique--you can often learn more from listening to a critique of
someone else's song than your own!

~ Payment will be made at the door, but RSVP is encouraged
(stonepulse@... or nashrand@...).

~ Songs may be submitted for critique either on CD or tape. Sorry,
no live or live-to-track presentations. If submitting on CD, make
sure it is clearly marked with your name, the name of the song, the
track number and your phone number. If submitting on tape, it
should be cued to your song and marked with your name, the name of
the song and your phone number. In either case, your recording
should be accompanied by a typed lyric sheet with your name, the
name of the song and your phone number included on it.

*Critiques will be done strictly on a first-come, first-served basis
with NSAI members getting priority over non-members. Although we
will certainly try, we cannot guarantee that all attendees’ songs
will be critiqued.

Tim will be available to do demos while he is in New York City
(through Tuesday evening, 1/30)please contact him directly at
tbuppert@... for more info.
Take advantage of the presence of this world-class demo singer!

--------------------------------------------------------------------


-------------------------------------------------------------------

We are most grateful to our wonderful sponsors:


Manhattans Pickwick Arms Hotel, situated on one of Manhattans
loveliest residential streets, yet near all major shopping and
public transportation. New Yorks first choice for travelers on a
budget. 230 East 51st Street. (212) 355-0300.



The Singing Experience has been helping people learn to sing out
with confidence and joy since 1977. During the past 30 years, this
supportive, non-competitive workshop has been lauded by the media
and was, in fact, the subject of a feature on the CBS Sunday Morning
with Charles Osgood, among many other TV programs. This 6-session
workshop consists of 4 rehearsal sessions, a live performance at a
well-known club in New York and a VideoViewing Party with the cast
to celebrate the success and reinforce the experience. Director and
founder Linda Amiel Burns personally conducts each workshop and is
also available for private coaching. For a brochure and schedule,
call (212) 315-3500 or visit www.SingingExperience.com.



Song Cellar, a Nashville production and recording service
specializing in mail-in recordings for songwriters, music publishers
and artists--and a long-time supporter of our NSAI chapter. More
than just a recording studio, Song Cellar puts the whole production
package together, including pre-recording, song arrangement and
charting, hiring of the musicians and singers, plus help and advice
with and during the actual recording process. www.songcellar.com





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UPCOMING MEMBER PERFORMANCES

---------------------------------------------------------------------

If you're in Nashville next week, New York member Stephen Clair
(www.stephenclair.com) will be doing the following shows: Tuesday,
1/16/07, 8 PM, the Basement (www.thebasementnashville.com); and
Wednesday, 1/17/07, 9 PM, the Five Spot in East Nashville
(www.the5spot.net).


---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------

Member Tamara Hey (www.tamarahey.com) has these shows coming up
locally: Sunday, 1/28/07, Baggot Inn (82 W. 3rd St., between
Sullivan and Thompson) as part of the Songsalive Singer/Songwriter
Showcase (time TBA); and Sunday, 2/4/07, 7 PM, Rockwood Music Hall,
196 Allen Street (between Stanton and Houston) on Sunday, February
4, 2007.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------

On Sunday, 1/27/07, at 7 PM, Long Island member Mary Lamont will be
performing at the South Huntington Library, 148 Pigeon Hill Road in
Huntington Station.


---------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------

UPCOMING LOCAL WORKSHOPS


---------------------------------------------------------------------

Our own Neil Herman, a staff writer at BME in Nashville, will be
conducting a guitar workshop for us on Sunday, March 25, 2006, so
save the date! If you've ever heard Neil's playing and writing,
you'll know why he's so qualified to present this workshop.
Designed to provide performing songwriters of all levels with tips,
tricks and creative ideas not only to present your songs better
live, but to expand your writing palette. Details in next
newsletter.


---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------

Princeton Songwriters (the New Jersey chapter of the NSAI) will be
presenting a workshop entitled "Crafting Melodies that Listeners
Can't Forget -- and Artists Want to Record" led by hit
songwriter/teacher/best-selling author Jason Blume on Saturday,
March 21, 2007 from 9 AM to 4:30 PM. It will be held at the First
Reformed Church, 9 Bayard Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey. There
will be a limited number of critiques, as well as Q&A on the music
industry (questions must be submitted in advance by e-mail to
arlon@... or John@... ).
Fee to attend workshop is $40 per person for registration prior to
March 19th and $50 thereafter or at the door. Send check payable
to "NSAI Princeton," along with your e-mail address, to Arlon
Bennett, PO Box 215, Northvale, NJ 07647.

Private consultations with Jason on
Sunday, April 1st are available at an additional fee
(to make an appointment, send an e-mail to
jbsongdoc2@...).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

congrats to Germain Brunet:
Songramps
January 2007 Artist of the Month!

http://www.songramp.com/news.php?viewStory=636

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nashville Star Started Again
It plays on the USA network
Thursdays at 9:00 pm Central

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I read that

Apple sells more music than Amazon.com

The company has sold more than 2 billion songs through its iTunes
Music Store, with iTunes sales still rising this year.

and that

Digital music downloads set to outpace CD sales

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Write On,

ande rasmussen

does anyone ever read IFS to the very end?