Take YOUR Songwriting to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL
Drop by

http://www.SongU.com/ifs

Where you can:
+ PITCH your songs
+ Receive Professional critiques
+ Get Mentoring from industry pros
+ Network with talented songwriters at SongU and

TAKE a FREE songwriting course at
http://www.SongU.com/ifs

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Every songwriter should have a songwriting library
Drop by:
http://astore.amazon.com/ifsande-20
find what's missing from yours
I recommend books by Jason Blume and Sheila Davis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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

The Folks at INDIE BIBLE just released a brand new directory called 
The Indie Venue Bible.

The Indie Venue Bible is a unique, comprehensive directory of live 
music venues. It is in electronic (.pdf) format and lists 26,000 
venues and 2000 booking agents in the US and Canada. The 
listings are arranged by area, making it easier for artists to 
route and plan their tour. 
check it out at:
https://nt4.magma.ca/bigmeteor/ivbaras_order.cfm

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dear IFS Readers,

I hope this email finds you well.
How's your songwriting going? Really write me and let me know

First I'm looking for an AWESOME singer songwriter who
went to the UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
please write me if you are one or know of one

Got a royalty check at my office for a cut I got on
Sendero by Stop the Truck for a song called
The Honky Tonk Zone

I've got a new demo up on Songramp

Hotter than the Hinges on the Gates of Hell
http://www.songramp.com/mod/mps/viewtrack.php?trackid=66899
cowrote it with Donna Aylor and Brock Goodwin

here's Brock's original version
Title: Hotter than the Hinges + Brock Goodwin
http://www.songramp.com/mod/mps/viewtrack.php?trackid=14489

I'm looking for an AWESOME singer songwriter who is in Rotary, has a
relative in Rotary or has ever been involved with Rotary.

Ande

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There's an interesting thread going on at Songramp
http://www.songramp.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?
thread_id=59333&page=4

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hey Ande,

I've updated my demo / arranging company, Masterscore Music.

www.MasterscoreMusic.com - arranging/demo

EC
-------
Eric Copeland, President/Lead Producer/Composer
Creative Soul Companies, Inc
www.CreativeSoulRecords.com - label
www.CreativeSoulOnline.com - production
www.MasterscoreMusic.com - arranging/demo
Franklin, TN | 615-400-3910
-------
Get your free weekly jolt of Creative Inspiration
Written especially "For the Creative Soul"
http://www.FortheCreativeSoul.com

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

IFS READER Megan Conner is a finalist in
GAC STAR

HAPPY SUNDAY!. 3 1/2 days left!! Please keep voting and PLEASE pass
this email along. If everyone passes this along to someone or

a group of people - WOW!!!!! THANK YOU so much for your
support!!!!

http://www.gactv.com/star

http://www.meganconner.com

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

joe@...
Sent: Mon, 1 Sep 2008 12:39 pm
Subject:
Pat Pattison Advanced Songwriting Workshop -
October 11 and 12th in Austin TX

Saturday October 11th and Sunday, October 12th
"Advanced Prosody Songwriting Workshop with Pat Pattison

Workshop description: Pat will help you develop your songs from
title, through the boxes into section, focusing on prosody and
contrasting section including building bridges that strengthen your
song. He'll also expand the focus on the elements of structure and
creating motion and momentum to sup port your song.

"I took a class with Pat Pattison, a really great teacher... I
learned a lot of stuff in that class, and I still read Writing
Better Lyrics. I've still got it on the tank of my toilet ... I
think it's great." --
Grammy winning artist/songwriter John Mayer, 2004"

Pat Pattison is a Professor at Berklee College of Music, where he
teaches Lyric Writing and Poetry. In addition to his three books,
Writing Better Lyrics, The Essential Guide to Lyric Form and
Structure, and The Essential Guide to Rhyming, Pat has developed
three online lyric writing courses for Berklee's online school,
available through www.patpattison.com. He has written over 30
articles for Home & Studio Recording Magazine, and The Performing
Songwriter. Pat continues to present songwriting clinics across the
US , Canada , and the UK . Several of his students have won Grammys,
in addition to John Mayer and Gillian Welch.

Cost?
$100 per person. Current Berklee College students and alumni pay $
75. Added bonus! You bring a friend at full price and you can take
20% off ($80 for non-Berklee students and $60 for Berklee students!)
for your admission! Please make checks payable to Pat Pattison.

Meals/Accommodations:
On your own. We may order in for lunch - depending on the group's
preference. We're planning on another "field trip" Saturday night,
depending on the quantity of homework - last October's trip to Opal
Devine's was a lot of fun for everyone.

Location:
St. Edward's University, Austin. Details will be sent to class
participants.

Time: 10 am - 5 pm both days.

Class size:
Limited to the first 30 who send a check payable to
"Pat Pattison".

Mail checks to:
Pat Pattison Workshop,
c/o Joe Strouse,
P.O. Box 80444 ,
Austin, Texas 78708-0444

Questions? Contact Joe Strouse @ joe@...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Have you written a very special song
consider offering a free download of it on your site

like karen taylor good did of her cause song
Precious child on
http://karentaylorgood.com/free_mp3_downloads.html
where she writes
Precious Child (mp3)

I wrote this song to honor my nephew Paul, who "left too soon", at
age 21. I'm honored that it has been adopted by The Compassionate
Friends, The Shaken Baby Alliance, and other groups and individuals.
Please feel free to use it at a memorial service, or on a website
honoring your "Precious Child".

To save this song to your hard drive, right click (ctrl click on
Mac) and select "Save Target As".

Allen Shamblin cowrote a Beautiful song called Why
After his friend Richard Roddy committed suicide.

You can hear it at:
http://www.richardroddymusic.com/Music/why1.mp3

or see the video to celebrate his life at:
http://www.richardroddymusic.com/richard_roddy_video%20tribute.htm

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

check out Allen Shamblin's performance of
I Can't Make You Love Me
at
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?
fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=9793065


~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

are you going to the Durango Songwriter Conference?
http://www.durango-songwriters-expo.com/

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Country Music Star John Rich Performed
'Raisin' McCain' at Republican National Convention

John Rich to Join Presidential Hopeful John McCain and Perform
Original Anthem at "Road to the Convention" Rallies in Pennsylvania
and Missouri


Last update: 12:21 p.m. EDT Aug. 28, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug 28, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Music star
John Rich today announced he will perform "Raisin' McCain" -- his
original song in support of Republican presidential candidate John
McCain -- at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN on
Sept. 3. In addition to his performance of the rock-infused anthem,
Rich is also slated to perform "Our America" with Gretchen Wilson
and Cowboy Troy at the Convention on Sept. 3.
In advance of the Convention, Rich will make special guest
appearances with Senator McCain at two official campaign events.
Rich will be on-hand at the "Road to the Convention" rallies outside
of Pittsburgh, PA (Aug. 30) and outside of St. Louis, MO (Aug. 31)
to fire up voters and offer his endorsement of McCain building up to
the nominating convention.
Rich wrote the music and lyrics to "Raisin' McCain" as a "fight
song" to energize Americans and declare his support. The song
celebrates McCain's maverick spirit and is a call-to-action for all
Americans to exercise their right to vote. "Raisin' McCain" is
available to the public for free download at www.johnrich.com.
John Rich is a singer, award-winning songwriter and acclaimed
producer. The Texas native is most recently known as one half of the
multi-platinum Warner Bros. Records duo, Big & Rich. Additionally,
Rich served as a judge and mentor on NBC's music competition
series "Nashville Star," and has returned as the host and judge of
CMT's "Gone Country 2."
To schedule an interview with John Rich in advance of, or on-site at
the Republican National Convention, please contact
Courtney McCraw (212-582-0375 / courtney.mccraw@...) or
Casey Klurfeld (212-616-5552 / casey.klurfeld@...).
PERFORMANCE DETAILS:

Saturday, August 30th
Road to the Convention Rally
with Senator John McCain
and Cindy McCain

Consol Energy Park
1 Washington Federal Way
Washington, PA
Doors open: 3:00 p.m.

Sunday, August 31st
Road to the Convention Rally
with Senator John McCain
and Cindy McCain

T.R. Hughes Ballpark
900 T.R. Hughes Blvd
O'Fallon, MO
Doors open: 2:00 p.m.

Wednesday, September 3rd
"Our America" Performance
with Gretchen Wilson and Cowboy Troy
& "Raisin' McCain" Performance

Republican National Convention
Xcel Energy Center
St. Paul, MN
(time to be announced)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gretchen Peters said
"I think great songs are born. They are born with all the urgency of
childbirth, born out of pain, anger, joy, wit, and delivered by
instinct, skill and love."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Going to West Coast Songwriters?
28th annual Music Conference coming up September 12-14
The Conference Handbook, which takes the place of the September
Newsletter, has been posted on our fab new website. It lists all the
seminars, guests, performances, one-on-ones, details etc for the
whole weekend. Please check it out. We are still allowing those who
haven't signed up to get the last pre- registration price - $225 for
members and $250 for non-members. We are also offering a special
price of $60 for the weekend for Under 21's, and giving a $25
discount to ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, NSAI, TAXI, Recording Academy, and
Other Songwriter Association Members. Come to the biggest event of
the WCS Calendar year!
http://www.westcoastsongwriters.org/pdf/ConfHandbook2008.pdf

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We would like to extend an invitation to you to attend a small
private party fundraiser for Austin Music Foundation featuring one
of Austin's premiere artists in one of Austin's coolest musical
spots.

Austin's own Kellye Gray delivers a powerful and classic jazz sound
that will delight your ears. The kind folks at The Recording
Conservatory of Austin have offered to host this event for us in
their sparkling new recording studios with scenic views of the Hill
Country. Food and drinks will be provided.

Please join us for this special occassion.

WHAT: Fundraiser for Austin Music Foundation

Your suggested minimum donation of $50 directly supports AMF
programs
that empower musicians and fuel Austin's creative economy.

WHERE: The Recording Conservatory of Austin

ADDRESS: 4615 City Park Road, Austin TX 78730

WHEN: Sunday, September 7

TIME: 5:00 - 7:00 pm

BAND: Kellye Gray

Space is limited, so please RSVP to vip@...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My name is Andrew Fromm. I'm a published singer-songwriter who also
plays piano. Currently, I have a co-publishing deal with Universal
Music Publishing and have written songs for quite a handful of acts
over my career. I started in this business about 14 years ago
singing and playing at open-mic nights around NYC. After doing a few
performances such as appearing on Star Search and landing a national
Folgers commercial early on, my songwriting has gained me the most
recognition up to this point. I've been blessed and fortunate enough
to have my songs appear on over 45 million albums world wide. Some
notable acts Ive written for are Backstreet Boys, Marc Anthony,
Nsync, Kci & JoJo, Jesse McCartney, Westlife, Corbin Bleu, Francesca
Battistelli, Clique Girlz, Gareth Gates (Pop Idol UK), Billy Gilman,
Luis Fonsi, David Charvet, Ray Roc Project, Kristine W, OPM,
2Gether, Soluna, Nobody's Angel, Daniel Rene', Judith Lefeber,
Christian Bautista, Reymond Sajor, Nikki Webster, C21, Hiromi Go,
Fey, Rosa and others. I frequently collaborate with some of the
industry's leading songwriters and producers. I wanted to come on
here and share some of the songs I've written, co-written and/or
sang. I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as I did creating
them.

For the record, being I'm somewhat established in this crazy
business, I'm totally open to discovering new talent as well. If you
TRULY think you have what it takes then feel free to email me on
here and I'll do my best to check out your site. I've already
discovered a few exceptional acts on here and have aided them in
their procuring major production, publishing and/or record deals.
Due to the sometimes overwhelming response this site can generate,
it's quite difficult to respond to everyone. What I usually do is
show some industry friends your page. If they love what you are
doing and see the potential, either myself, or they will contact you
back personally.
www.myspace.com/andrewfromm

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Most of the Nashville locals probably read this article, but for the
out-of-town folks...
An article in the Tennessean regarding a new artist, Sunny Sweeny,
and a "pitch" session with song pluggers trying to get songs they
represent on her album..

Song pluggers savor pitches to artists
By CINDY WATTS • Staff Writer • August 22, 2008

The path a song takes from writer to radio can be long and winding,
like the five years it took for the Clay Walker/Kimberly Locke
hit "Fall" to make it to the airwaves. Or it could be a fast trip,
like Glenn Sutton's song "What's Made Milwaukee Famous." Sutton
wrote the song one night and Jerry Lee Lewis recorded it the next
day.

Either way, much of the work associated with getting a song cut is
often assigned to a song plugger, someone generally employed by a
publishing company or songwriter who specializes in that process.
And local pluggers agree it's usually best â€" and fastest â€" to
pitch the song directly to the source: the singer. Those
opportunities are fairly uncommon.

So when Big Machine Records recording artist Sunny Sweeney announced
plans in mid-July to hold pitch meetings at BMI in search of
material for her next record, it was no surprise when more than a
dozen publishers responded with interest.
Seated at the end of a long conference table in a back room at BMI
with her manager/husband Brandon Allen, Sweeney spent the entire day
meeting with song pluggers who hoped to land one of their publishing
company's songs on her new record.

"Most of the time I'm pitching songs to A&R executives and
producers," said Nathan Nicholson of Nathan Nicholson Music. "The
advantage of meeting with the artist is you don't have to guess
about what the singer might like. Or the executive or producer
you're playing songs for otherwise doesn't have to guess about what
the artist might like."

In this situation, Sweeney left very little room for guesswork. A
bulletin was sent to many of the businesses beforehand explaining
what the traditional country singer wanted: up-tempo story songs.
Some pluggers took the direction to heart while others faltered.

"We were told tempo, but we didn't stick to that at all," said one
representative as he handed her a CD of songs from writers at his
company.

"Did you include any up-tempos?" Sweeney asked as she put the disc
in the player and scanned through the five or so songs, giving each
somewhere between 15 and 45 seconds of listening time.

In less than five minutes Sweeney determined that four songs
are "just too pop" while one might be what she's looking for. She
thanked the song plugger, who left, to be followed two minutes later
by the next appointment.

"I was extremely specific in what I wanted," she said later. "I'm
not polite. If I don't like it, I'm not going to sit there and waste
my time and your time listening to it. I want to make the record I
want to make."

Some pluggers made more thoughtful song selections than others, and
by the end of the day, Sweeney had heard about 120 songs and culled
around 20 she said were "really good." But a CD normally averages
about 12 songs, and Sweeney, also a songwriter, has also penned a
few songs for her project. So, most of the songs probably won't make
the cut.

Carla Wallace from Big Yellow Dog had one of the more successful
pitch sessions that day, with Sweeney opting to keep most of the
songs Wallace delivered. But the plugger understands the odds
against all those songs landing a slot on the record, and said that
a big part of her job was keeping her fingers crossed.

"Hopefully you get the cut," she said. "Hopefully it makes the
record. Hopefully the record comes out. Hopefully the artist keeps
the record deal. Hopefully it comes out as a single. There are no
fast rewards when you're a plugger. It might take a year or more for
you to get a song cut and the pat on the back."

For new songwriters who don't have publishing deals, the process of
getting a song cut is even harder.

Wallace said the first thing new songwriters should do is contact
Nashville Songwriters Association International or a performing
rights organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC for help.

Writers who don't have publishing deals often struggle the most,
according to Wallace.

"They don't know the routes," she said. "They don't know what kind
of music strikes a chord with the A&R person. Always go through one
of the performing rights channels first because they're going to be
able to find out more about you as a writer and gauge whether you're
ready to go to the next level as far as pitching your songs to a
publisher."

Wallace said writing camps and artist co-writes tended to be other
fast ways of getting songs cut.

Regardless, writers still have to wait on singers and record label
executives to make up their minds about which songs they want.
That's what Wallace, Nicholson and the other pluggers who succeeded
in pitching songs to Sweeney are doing now.

And, as often happens, they could be waiting a while. According to
BMI, Sweeney hasn't started recording yet and a release date hasn't
been set.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008808220368

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hi from Barbara Cloyd.

I'm writing to all my Ready for the Row friends because I want to
let you know about my next Play for Publishers Workshop. It's for
songwriters who want to get cuts in the major-label Country market.
Lots of participants from past workshops have open doors to major
publishers because of it and some have gotten single-song contracts

You have to apply and sixteen people will be selected to present
songs (live or a demo ) to six top Nashville publishers.. As a group
we listen to the songs and the publishers give feedback on their
craft and commercial potential.

These publishers aren't paid " they come because they have a sincere
desire to discover and nurture new talent. They are all successful
pros with the ability to sign staff-writers and pitch to top
artists. Writers who aren't accepted to present their songs are
still welcome to attend and take advantage of the intense learning
experience

The workshop is in Nashville October 16-18. The application deadline
is Wednesday September 10th. If you go to the workshops page of www.
barbaracloyd. com you can read the bios of the publishers and get
complete details on the workshop and how to apply.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Sometimes a glance, a few casual words, fragments of a melody
floating through the quiet air of a summer evening, a book that
accidentally comes into hands, a poem or memory-laden fragrance may
bring about the impulse which changes and determines our whole life."


~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The 4th Annual Texas Songwriters Cruise is leaving Galveston Texas
on February 1, 2009, aboard the Carnival Conquest, with ports of
call in Jamaica, the Grand Caymans and Cozumel. We received an
extension on our group rate from Carnival, so you can still lock in
current rates with a down payment $250 per person by September 1,
2008!!!!! It is very likely that Carnival will be raising their
rates so lock in your cabin now. If something comes up for you, you
can still receive a 100% refund on your down payment by October,
2008.
Go to: www.txsongwriterscruise.com
This is going to be our best event ever! Rumors that this year's
cruise may not happen are completely false. Meet songwriters from
all over the world in an intimate setting with some of the biggest
music industry pro's in the world. Pitch your songs to publishers
and receive feedback on your songs. MORE THAN 16 PUBLISHING DEALS
HAVE BEEN SIGNED WITH OUR ATTENDEES AS A RESULT OF THEIR SONG
PITCHES ON THE CRUISE!!! (Congratulations to Jennifer Adan, 2006
Attendee, who has the next single coming out on Blake Shelton's
album!).
Here are some of the music industry pro's that you'll meet on the
cruise:
Jason Blume
Hit Songwriter, Best Selling Author
Jason's credentials are endless! He is one of those rare individuals
to ever achieve the distinction of having songs on the Country, Pop,
and R&B charts- all at the same time. His songs are on albums that
have sold more that 50 million! His songs have been recorded by
artists including Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, John Berry,
Steve Azar, Jesse McCartney, J'Son, Collin Raye, The Oak Ridge Boys,
and on and on. He is one of the nation's most respected songwriting
teachers and is the author of critically acclaimed songwriting books.
Steve Seskin
Hit Songwriter, Teacher
Steve Seskin is a successful songwriter who has written seven number
one songs, including Grammy-nominated "Grown Men Don't Cry,"
recorded by Tim McGraw, and "Don't Laugh at Me," winner of NSAI Song
of the Year and Music Row Magazine Song of the Year in 1999 as
recorded by Mark Wills. His other #1 hits are "No Doubt About It"
and "For a Change," both recorded by Neal McCoy, "No Man's Land"
and "If You've Got Love," both recorded by John Michael Montgomery,
and "Daddy's Money," recorded by Ricochet. Other chart toppers
include "I Think About You," recorded by Colin Raye, and "All I Need
To Know," recorded by Kenny Chesney.
Eddie Galan
Producer, A&R, LA
Known in industry circles as 'Eddie G.', Eddie Galan has worked with
some of the industry's hottest superstars such as the Backstreet
Boys, B5, O-Town, Myra, Jesse McCartney, Nina Sky, Steven Tyler, and
the Young Bloods. As a producer/songwriter, Eddie G. has received
gold, platinum and multi-platinum sales awards for his work on
various major label projects. He has achieved 4 Billboard #1's in
one year (2006), with his work on High School Musical (#1 Highest
Selling Album of 2006) and Hannah Montana (#8 Highest Selling Album
of 2006), to go along with his Billboard Award Nomination (Album of
The Year), Billboard Award Win (Soundtrack of The Year), and
American Music Award Nomination (Album Of The Year). In 2007, Eddie
placed 100+ songs on albums, TV, film, video games and more.
Wil Nance
Songwriter, Nashville
Wil recently hit the top of the R&R and Billboard with his Brad
Paisley smash, "She's Everything", which stayed at #1 for 3 weeks.
He also received a BMI award for "Round About Way", a #1 hit single
for George Strait. The same song also landed on other George Strait
albums including George Strait's Latest Greatest Hits and Strait's
50 Number Ones?over 7 million in sales and counting. Wil received
another BMI award for his Joe Nichols single, "Cool To Be A Fool".
He has had cuts with numerous other artists including Tracy
Lawrence, Rhonda Vincent, Lisa Shaffer, John Michael Montgomery,
Gene Watson, Craig Morgan, McHayes and Diamond Rio.
Holly Hefner Nance
Vice President/Creative Director for Nance Music Group
After becoming runner up in 3 Miss Wisconsin preliminary pageants,
Holly moved to Nashville to seek an artist career. She has opened
for many major acts including George Jones, Lorrie Morgan, and Keith
Urban and performed on national television shows including the
National Anthem on ESPN, TNN's "Be A Star", the Charlie Daniels
Show, and Nashville Star 3. She has been featured in a number of
music videos on CMT, GAC and VH-1. As a songplugger and Creative
Director for various music publishing companies in Nashville, she
has landed catalog songs with Hank Williams Jr., Restless Heart,
Tracy Lawrence, Rhonda Vincent, and many others. In addition to
running the day to day operations of NMG, Holly recently accepted a
position with Music Central, a new Nashville Record
Label/Publishing/Production Company.
Tom Luteran
EMI Music Publishing
Tom began his music career working in the Finance Department of RCA.
Three months after that he was hired as Creative Director at Music
Genesis Music Publishing. There he worked with five staff writers
including the lead singer of the platinum band Lonestar, Richie
McDonald. His next stop was Zomba Music Publishing for five and half
years. The world's largest independent music company had just signed
a new 14 year old singer from Louisiana named Britney Spears. There
he worked with Gary Baker, Mutt Lange, George Teren, Jason Blume,
Kerry Kurt Phillips and more. Zomba was on the top five Billboard
Country singles publisher list back to back years during his tenure.
After a short stint at Acuff-Rose, he has spent the last 6 years at
EMI Music Publishing. He works with Jamey Johnson, Tom Shapiro,
Kelley Lovelace, Shane Minor,Dallas Davidson and others. Over his
career he has been part of 175 major label cuts including:
It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere, Honky Tonk Ba DonkaDonk, Real Good Man,
I'm Already There, Girls Lie Too, Ladies Love Country Boys, Don't
Forget To Remember Me.

Shannan Neese
Writer / Publisher Relations, SESAC, Nashville
Shannan serves in Writer/Publisher Relations at SESAC, Nashville,
where she assists songwriters and publishers in the administration
of their musical works and signs new affiliates to the performing
rights organization.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hi Ande,

Thanks for your note. How are you these days?

All's well in Nashville, though I'm on the road here in the
Northeast for the next couple of weeks (gigging and catching up with
family & friends). I've been slowly but surely playing some songs
for publishers, mainly via ASCAP, but I haven't gone ahead with any
new demos/singers just yet, so my revised "Lifeline" is on-deck, so
to speak.

It's been a year, and I'm still getting to know as many people as
possible in town. Unlike other writers or performers, I hadn't made
regular trips to Nashville prior to my move, and I'm also a bit more
cautious when approaching anyone in the industry (given my past
experience working in artist management and record label
publicity/promotion). That said, I've joined NSAI and enjoy their
weekly workshops, play live at Brown's Diner every month, and work
closely with the Americana Music Association as well.

I do have a song called "Hopeless and Free" which I'd love to share
with you once I get past the bare-bones guitar/vocal demo. Having
been a relatively low-tech artist up till now, I'm getting the hang
of more tech-stuff thanks to my friends (everything from my website
to recording) and working from there. Like songwriting, it's an
ongoing process... 8=)

Hope you're doing well and by all means please keep me posted if
you're coming to Nashville... it would be great to meet in person!

All the best,
Guy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Remember Andi's Question in the last IFS Issue
here's Marc Alan Barnettes response

Andi,

Hello. My name is Marc-Alan Barnette. I am a
singer/songwriter/teacher/consultant based out of Nashville, Tn. I
have been involved with the music industry in Nashville since 1988.
I got a “cut” (song recorded) by major recording artist and
Grammy Award winner Shelby Lynne, on my first night in town. I have
experienced pretty much everything the industry has to offer from
publishing deals, major concert openings, songs recorded, etc.
everything except the major single deal that we all crave. For the
past 9 years I have developed a business teaching and consulting
songwriters, artists, and others who desire knowledge on an
entertainment career.

I became aware of you through Ande, who has been
communicating with you through the Internet. He and I are involved
with an online songwriting community, Song Ramp.com. We are part of
an international community that post songs, have conversations and
share information regarding the music industry. My role is as an
advisor to them through forums where they ask questions and I do my
best to develop the conversations.

They are mostly interested in the world I have resided in for 20
years so most of my answers come from first hand experience.

Recently Ande posted one of your questions asking
about Nashville and a possible move. While we have covered this in
some of our forums, I thought I might encapsulate some of my answers
for you in an effort to help you in your queries.

A professional songwriting career in this day and
age is vastly different than just a few years ago. There was a time
where a writer could come in, meet with publishers, develop
relationships and at times even be paid to write songs and develop
his or her craft over a period of time. Most of that era was done
away with around 10 years ago with the advent of song downloading
and the Internet. Songwriting has always been at best, a VERY hit
and miss career, with most missing. The truly successful can be
counted in a very small list and any study into musical history can
reveal those. Rodgers and Hammerstein, George M. Cohen, Carol King,
Neil Diamond, Stroller and Lieber, Lennon and McCartney, Elton John
and Bernie Taupin, the majority were writer/artists, and the field
has always been very crowded to say the least. But one thing always
remains constant, the ability to make a living from writing is
directly attributable to one’s ability to sell product. And in an
era of free music, that ability has been drastically reduced on all
fronts.

The Nashville songwriting community consists of
around 48,000 members all attempting to do the20exact same thing,
write, record and promote songs and artists. Out of this, the entire
music community employs around 3600 people at the maximum, who make
a living or primary part of a living from music. This includes the
artists you see and hear on the radio, the behind the scenes record
people, writers, publishers, accountants, management people, t-shirt
venders, recording studios and musicians, promoters, pluggers, you
name it, that is our industry. Of those in the purely songwriting
part of the community, there are never more than around 75
individuals that actually make their living from music.

Some, the Jeffery Steele’s, Craig Wiseman’s,
Tony Mullins, Bob Diepero, etc. get approximately 75% of all the
income from songwriting. You are much more likely to win the
lottery than to ever see any significant income from the music
industry. In fact, most writers will never receive more than $2000
in their lifetime and probably 80% will never see a dime. And even
in the aforementioned closed circles, many of those will receive
more income from teaching, touring, books and other methods than
actually their publishing income.

There are essentially two types of people who are in
the industry and seem to succeed at any level.
Those are the young 25 and under singer wanna-be’s, (most who
resemble the bad American Idol auditioners)
And the over 30 set who have been here for many years putting in the
necessary time, expense and efforts to build the network, learn the
craft and manipulate scenarios in their favor, a process that
usually takes a minimum of 10-12 years to show any level of
progression. The reason for the length is that it is not just about
the songs that someone writes, but the multi-level relationships
that have to be nurtured to even get to a point where they are heard
by anyone in a position to further a career. Remember, the lines are
very long to even get in the door.

I describe it best to my clients (the majority of which are from out
of town) is to imagine what type of business they do for a living.
Imagine the years that it took, educational requirements, low level
grunt work,
Slow building of any significant success. Then imagine someone who
just shows up at their hard earned work site or office, and say “I
never have really done this but it looks like fun and I would like
to do it. You don’t mind if I slip in line in front of you, take
your clients and money do you?” Of course you would mind. You
would never allow that to happen, this is your livelihood. Yet,
everyone that has ever written a song, sung on a Karaoke night,
participated in a talent contest or had a Mother or teacher who told
them how good they are, and convinced them they should move to
Nashville, Los Angeles, or New York and become stars, seems to
believe they can do just that.

The reason I am sharing all this with you is because
you seem to have a relationship with Ande, who is what I consider
“one of my flock=E 2, as all the Song Ramp community is. My role
is not to discourage, but to encourage, but I do this by
“injecting reality into dreams.” If you care enough to be a part
of online chats and Learn what you can about the craft and
opportunities involved, I feel it is important, to share some
information that might help you in your decision whether to move or
not. Most all of this is something you have to assess on your own.
Each person’s experience is going to be shaped by drive,
perseverance, and pure plain luck.

There are around 100 people who move to Nashville
each week. That is offset by around 300 people a week that move out.
The average stay is 6 months. By that time, they have exhausted
their money, realized that no matter what they do it is a very long
ride and more often than not will never receive much in the way of
monetary or professional compensation. Particularly if they are not
some of the new model looking, multi talented youngsters that are
moving in on a continual basis. These people demonstrate, like all
people who are successful at this, a single20mindedness of purpose,
focus and willingness to do anything.

Record companies are now interested in the young,
writer artists. That means that less and less writers have
opportunities and those that do guard those opportunities like life
itself, because sometimes it is. That is what we are all up against.
Myself included.

Now, again, the reason I share this with you, is not
to ward you off or try to get you to discontinue your musical
journey. Quite the contrary, I wish you to investigate, and decide
for your self, but do it first hand, not from someone else, even
from myself. Ande sent you a few very good suggestions. A simple
fact finding trip first can help you a lot in making some
determinations. One of my tours, an NSAI workshop or other options
could give you other ideas. There is an event in Sept. called
“SongPosium:” which is sponsored by NSAI, that feature ar ound
60 classes ranging from writing to publishing to recording, that you
might find enlightening.

I suggest at least 4 trips before one starts
deciding on whether or not to make the move. Assessing your own
needs, job opportunities, and desires are first and foremost. It
should be looked at as if you would never make a professional dime
at it would you still make the trip and can you afford to put your
life, loves, and desires on hold for ten years or more.

In the meantime, Myself, Ande, and others are an e-
mail away from specific questions you might have. Some, like your
question on contests, are easily answered. Contests succeed only in
making money for the entities putting the contests on. A hit song
has never come from a contest. It is for amateurs which exclude the
professionals who actually make a living at it. And regardless of
the intentions and abilities of amateurs, they simply don’t
preclude those professionals in any vocation. It just doesn’t
happen that way. Even those biggest of contests, American Idol, have
very little actual success apart from the few individuals, Kelly
Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and a very few others who have managed
careers after the footlights of the contest wear off. It should tell
you something that the last few winners, Ruben Stoddard, Clay Aiken,
Taylor Hicks, have not been able to sell enough product to justify
being resigned to their record labels. When you are seen by 100
million people over a period of months, then cannot sell over
400,000 units in the market place, that should say it all about what
contests actually can do for a career. And it is much less with song
contests.

A music career in any form is a long, slow build. It
takes years of work, and is actually much more dependent on
networking and political skills than it is the actual writing,
recording or performing of songs.
We are all willing and able to help you with your interests. Please
feel free to e-ma il me at MBarne4908@... if I can help you. For
more on myself of my services, www.marcalanbarnette.com might be
helpful. I encourage you to learn as much as you can, utilize the
tools others have mentioned and investigate your desires. Join NSAI
and attend monthly meetings in an area close to you. Associate with
writers and artists in your area. Conquer your local areas first
before you move to bigger and harder targets. At the end of the day
it will save you money, frustration and the possibility of years
wasted that could have better been devoted to your own life.

Good luck to you and I hope this has helped.

Sincerely, Marc-Alan Barnette

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hi Ande,

Thank you in advance for spreading the word about the services of
Denny Martin Music.
After a total redesigning of the site, we're on line as of yesterday.
dennymartinmusic.com.

My team of musicians and singers and I believe we offer one of the
best values in Nashville.
Many times other studios are set up to crank out demos or artist
projects almost like a factory.

At Denny Martin Music, we prefer the "personal touch" and taking
the
time that's needed to do the project right.
The adage "fast is good" is simply not correct. Arranging,
engineering and producing are all about attention to detail.
We've found that our most successful productions are always
proceeded
by careful, meticulous pre-preproduction.
We also offer consultation with the writer or artist/writer
regarding
their song before we even start on the project.

Thanks again and keep up the good work with your newsletter.
You continue to inspire so many of us.
All the best,

Denny Martin 615 361 6073
dennymartinmusic@...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

First Song, Part One: Writing the Song

Posted on August 4, 2008

by Christine
Posted in Songwriting Note: I appreciated NancyCz's comment in the
last post about how listening to these songs in advance will change
the overall listening experience of the CD.

It most certainly will.

So, you can listen to this song and decide whether or not to keep
listening to others. Or I can open up, say, SIX of the songs to
you " and save the rest, or whatever.

(And Nancy " you can hit the play button on the song below and plug
your ears and go, LA LA LA LA LA!” really loud so you can't hear
it.

VIRGINIA (Part One)
Okay, our first song is Virginia.
(This is Part One because I first wanted to share a little about the
writing of this tune.)

I first wrote this song in about three hours. I wrote it for my
niece (Virginia) on her birthday while sitting in my hotel room.
These are the first lyrics scribbled on my hotel writing pad before
I went to her big birthday party¦



The song was about a little girl waking up on her birthday. And the
hook was Before you even blink your eyes Virginia is growing up.

Bringing in a Co-writer

Then, about a month ago, Steve Seskin and I spent two solid days
writing together in Nashville. The whole point of this was so I
could play my new songs for Steve, who would help me re-write any of
the ones I was stuck on. Steve is very good at this.

I played Virginia " and he liked it. But it was in that dog-hears-a-
high-pitch-head-tilting way. Not in a Whoa-what-a-great-song! way.

So, we tore the song apart . It took almost the full day " and at
one point the lyrics were so bad that we made a parody song that
changed my original hook line from Virginia is growing up to
Virginia is growing pot. We found this hysterical and wasted lots of
time adding new lines that sent us into fits of laughter.

Then, at Steve'™s suggestion, I let go of the song being about a
little girl, and let it be about someone a little older. The song
began to move effortlessly. The second verse is totally word-for-
word what I said out loud to Steve when he asked me to describe this
adventurous girl. It was Steve's idea to lose the hook line
altogether " which is why, at the end of the chorus " it goes
“Virginia and leaves the thought hanging and moves right into the
second verse.

Where's that Confounded Bridge?

Steve and I didn't write a bridge for the song.

(FYI: A bridge is the one section in a song that is totally
different from the other sections musically, lyrically, whatever.
So, say, in Jimmy Buffet's song Come Monday, it's the part where he
sings
I can't help it honey,
you're that much a part of me now

Not every song needs a bridge. But often, you simply know when a
song does need one.

So, when Steve was out of the country and unreachable, I came up
with the bridge. It's unfinished in the version of the song below.
The bridge I wrote switches the song into first person. This kind of
thing drives Steve nuts about my songwriting. When he first heard
this bridge, he wasn't convinced.

Then, while I was walking through LaGuardia Airport on my way to
record, my cell phone rang. Steve was calling to tell me that the
bridge had grown on him, and that it was a very Christine-ish
bridge. (Read: This song has no chance of becoming a hit.)

I've since come up with the last two lines of the bridge
" and you'll hear that later. In this version of the song, and in
tomorrow's version - I will la la la through the missing lines.
(There are always a few re-writes when you record a CD - and always
a few unfinished lines.)

So here's the song. Please know that this version of the song is me
at my kitchen table singing into Garage Band on my computer. It's
VERY rough - with flubbed chord changes and bad singing. Tomorrow, I
will post the first round of work that Ben and I did on this. For
now, just get acquainted with the song

http://bemyrecordlabel.com/2008/08/04/first-song-part-one-writing-
the-song/

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TAYLOR SWIFT'S SOPHOMORE CD, FEARLESS,
TO ARRIVE IN STORES ON NOVEMBER 11TH
PRE-SALE LAUNCHES AUGUST 22ND,
FANS GET A CHANCE TO HAVE THEIR OWN PHOTO INCLUDED IN ALBUM ARTWORK
Nashville, TN " August 8, 2008 " Taylor Swifts highly-anticipated
sophomore CD will arrive in stores on November 11th, 2008, just over
a20month before her 19th birthday. Entitled FEARLESS, the album will
be released by Big Machine Records and contains 13 tracks, all
written or co-written by Taylor. Taylor co-produced the project with
Nathan Chapman, and a first single from the new record will arrive
at radio in early September.

In addition to the title track, the disc includes
Change one of a few songs used as the soundtrack for daily video
highlights shown during this summer's Olympic broadcast. The song
was selected by Team USA and NBC for its lyrical content about
overcoming challenges and achieving victory, and is available on
iTunes starting today, with all proceeds benefiting Team USA. Also
on the CD is Breathe, a collaboration with Colbie Caillat, and
Fifteen a poignant, coming-of-age ballad that Taylor premiered last
fall at the Country Music Hall of Fame's All For The Hall event in
New York City.

Starting on August 22nd, FEARLESS will be available for special pre-
sale on the soon-to-be-launched site www.TheTaylorNation.com, and a
very unique opportunity will exist for Taylor's biggest fans to have
their own picture included in the album artwork and on the packages
CD ROM. There will be a special deluxe box set edition of FEARLESS
available that includes the CD, a FEARLESS leather bracelet, a
FEARLESS t-shirt, a FEARLESS picture book and a The Taylor Nation
decal -- all packaged in a special carrying case. The first 10,000
fans who purchase the limited box set and upload their photos will
have their pictures included in a mosaic image in the album artwork
and on the CD.
Taylor's self-titled debut CD was released in October of 2006, and
has since been RIAA certified Triple Platinum (more than 3 million
sold), and spent 24 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Country CD Sales
Chart. Earlier this summer, Taylor became the only female solo
artist in the 44-year history of the Billboard Country Chart to
score five Top 10 singles from a debut album. Taylor first secured
her place in the country music history books when at the age of 17,
she became the youngest person ever to single-handedly write and
sing a number-one country single entirely on her own ("Our Song"
spent 6 consecutive weeks at #1 atop Billboard's Country Singles
Chart), and she is also the first female solo artist in country
music history to write or co-write every song on a platinum-selling
debut CD.

Since the release of her debut CD, Taylor has:

Surpassed the 54 MILLION mark for music streams on MySpace, where
she is consistently ranked Country's #1 artist.

Won the CMA's 2007 Horizon Award, the 2008 ACM Award for Top New
Female Vocalist, and was named the Nashville Songwriters Association
International's Songwriter / Artist of the Year in 2007.

Won 2008 CMT Music Awards for Video of the Year and Female Video of
the Year, and won the 2007 CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video of
the Year.

Won the 2008 Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakthrough Artist.

Won the 2008 Young Hollywood Award for Superstar of Tomor row,
making her the first musician to ever receive this prestigious award.

Scored a 2008 GRAMMY nomination in the all-genre Best New Artist
category.

Been awarded two RIAA Digital Platinum certifications (1 million
downloads), two Digital Gold certifications (500,000 downloads), and
Gold Mastertone certification for more than 500,000 ringtones.

Been named Country Music's Hottest Female Artist of 2007 by AOL
Music and Best New Artist of 2007 by the editors of iTunes.

Appeared on the covers of Rolling Stone, Billboard, Seventeen,
Blender, USA Weekend, Southwest Airlines' Spirit, and Justine
magazines. Taylor was named one of People magazine's 100 Most
Beautiful People of 2008, and was featured on Maxim's 2008 Hot 100
list.

Appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, MTVs Total Request Live, New
Years Rockin Eve, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Live with Regis &
Kelly, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Early Show, Dance
War, America's Got Talent, the Academy of Country Music Awards, the
CMA Awards, Christmas at Rockefeller Center, Entertainment Tonight,
Access Hollywood, Extra, CNN, E!, Fox & Friends, CMT Music Awards,
Grand Ole Opry Live and the ground-breaking series GAC Short Cuts./

www.taylorswift.com
www.myspace.com/taylorswift
www.bigmachinerecords.com

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Write on,


Ande

Does anyone EVER read IFS to the VERY END?