Tag Archive for: Pain

Faith Feature 1

Faith Believe In Yourself

 

Faith.

 

How’s your faith these days?

 

Faith got faith image

 

Do you believe in your music even in the absence of proof of success?

Faith comes in all different shapes and sizes.

In your God.

In your significant other.

That your car is going to make it

Faith in your bandmates

In your cowriters.

In the future.

In your children.

In your business partners.Faith Fear shadow image

In your business.

In your vendors.

In your employees

In your family.

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In humanity.

In your music.

In your ability to communicate.

Faith in yourself.Faith Believe in Yourself Hand

Boom.

Yeah, ultimately to believe in all these other things, you MUST believe in yourself.

That’s really the bitch of the bunch right there.

 

Faith Believe in Yourself 2

Devotion to oneself is the connective tissue between the impossible and the possible.

 

 

 

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It’s the building blocks required to construct the bridge between your dreams and your reality: faith is the raw materials of your life edifice.

 

If you don’t like your reality you need to check your faith.

Faith Check it

 

These building blocks require hard work to assemble them into something you find to be beautiful, satisfying, and fulfilling even if it looks different than the way you initially imagined it.

 

Not satisfied?

 

How’s your faith these days?

 

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about it saying faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.

Faith MLK Quote

 

We can never see the whole staircase, better get used to that .

 

 

 Faith means the either the glass is half full, or if it’s half empty which is ok because you’re the one pouring the water.

Faith Glass half full

 

Aeroplane
It kept the Wright brothers working to achieve the impossible.

 

It kept Def Leppard moving forward in the face of multiple terrible personal and business tragedies.

Faith Def Leppard image

 

 

 

 

The founding fathers of the United States had to of had it to risk their lives, speak their mind, take action, and make a new world.

 

Faith was what held us together as families, as a country, and for some as a human being, after WWI, WWII, The Korean War, The Vietnam War, The Gulf War, The War in Afghanistan, The Iraq War, and every other unspeakable conflict in our nation’s history.

 

One of the reasons we struggle to believe in ourselves is our education system in this country. It’s archaic dating back to the monarchy and designed to keep people on the proverbial hamster wheel.

That’s good for government and people control.

 

That’s bad for art.

 

 

Art requires faith in yourself.

You know this, though, don’t you?

To a degree, when your loved ones offer resistance of any kind about your career they are behaving out of a deeply rooted fear that has been planted in our society for hundreds of years.Faith Why So Jealous

Some are jealous because you are an uninhibited spirit and choose to live “outside the box” of societal standards.

 

 

 

Faith AngrySome are angry because you remind them that they lost faith in themselves a while ago. They secretly dream to live where you live.

You aren’t trying, but you make them feel inferior.

 

Everybody secretly dreams to live their own life.

 

Few do because it’s hard and requires and insane amount of conviction.

 

It’s easier to get on the hamster wheel.

Some friends and family are genuinely scared for you because they don’t want to see you suffer living against the norms of society. They come by this feeling honestly as that is what they were taught. So were their parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc.; they’re drinking the Kool-Aid.

Our society teaches us to believe what they put forth rather than think for ourselves.Faith Kool Aid

 

It requires assurance in yourself to remember that and take heed.

 

 

It is not seeing exactly how your life will turn out rather it’s more about a deep understanding that in the face of danger, defeat, doubt, and utter failure you will find a way to survive, improvise, adapt, overcome, and even thrive.

Faith Step of Faith

 

It is a reliance in your own personal growth as a human, a soul, a friend, a lover, a parent, an artist.

It is the very thread of hope that gets you through the tough days and makes the good days taste sweeter.

 

 

With conviction in the uncertain times you get validation when the answers become clear in 20/20 hindsight.Faith validation

 

 

Validation manifests itself in the form of failure sometimes, think Thomas Edison finding 2,000 ways not to make a lightbulb.

 

 

 

 

Faith PAIN

 

Validation manifests itself in the form of pain sometimes like when you’re intuition was right all along and you finally have proof. Ugh. That one sucks.

Faith means believing, TRULY believing before validation.

Belief in yourself is paramount to any success and happiness of any kind.

Faith becomes validation.

 

You can’t succeed without believing in yourself.Faith plus hard work equals success

This convinction grows stronger through hard work.

Hard work begets validation.

Faith + Hard Work = Validation.

How’s your faith these days?

 

Stay

In

Tune

 

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Uncomfortable head in a jar with water image FEATURE SIZE

In our podcast episode entitled “What Is Producing”, Kelly and I discuss the many hats we find ourselves wearing as artist developers.  One hat is that of a psychologist to our artists and writers. Artists are, and should be, constantly uncomfortable. They need guidance, assurance, a friend, a shoulder to cry on, a champion, a white knight, a mentor, a disciplinarian, a protector, and a confidant as they navigate their way not only through this crazy music business, but in their private lives as well.

I am preparing for a meeting we are about to have with an artist who has struggled a bit trying to find his groove as a writer.

I am thinking about pain.

I am thinking about panic.Uncomfortable Panic image

I am thinking about anxiety.

I am thinking about what it means to be uncomfortable.

I remember as an artist I was in a constant state of “uncomfortable”.  Not only was I searching for the tools, processes, and pathways to advance my artist career, but I was trying to be a better person as well.

I was growing

I was effing uncomfortable.

I was always the least talented musician because I chose to (and was lucky enough to) be surrounded by guys with far more musical talent than me.

We worked our butts off and found ourselves in a relationship with a regional booking agent offering a club tour and we had to rise to the occasion.

We had to step up our game as a professional organization

We had to intensely scrutinize the vocal and background vocal components of our live show; because it needed it.

We had to become better musicians

We had to do it fast.  There was a tour coming.  No pressure.

We had to put an incredible amount of attention towards our look and stage presenceUncomfortable No Pressure No Diamonds Black

We had to step up our promo and create a poster for the booking agent to use as a sales tool.

We had to reevaluate our set list which would have ROCKED Milwaukee, WI but nowhere else; which was a disturbing discovery.

We had to overcome the complexities of 5 distinct personalities plus the road crew in a confined space for long periods of time.

We had to learn to say “NO”.

We had to discover and practice politics with club owners, road crew, booking agencies, and the occasional law enforcement officer.

 

We had to become pros because when we were signed to this agency we were amateurs.

Uncomfortable Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort ZoneWe had to improvise, adapt, and overcome because the “next step” is never anywhere near how you envisioned it to be.

We worked harder and then a producer became interested in developing us.

Guess what?

We had to rise up again.  Now we had to repeat all previously mentioned steps because we were operating at a higher level than before.  So new politics, new challenges, new relationships, and a lot more at stake.

We kept working and that helped us create a relationship with a major record label.  All new politics, new challenges, new personalities, and it never goes the way you imagined it.

Get the picture?

This was far better than the contrary, you know, the scenario where I surround myself with people who are “beneath my pay-grade” solely for the purposes of feeling comfortable.  So I can feel relaxed.Uncomfortable save yourself from settling 2

Content.

Kelly and I operate Daredevil Production the same way.  Hell, it’s WHY we named our company Daredevil Production!  The picture of the man performing a handstand on 2 legs of a chair that is balanced on another chair that is balanced on 4 Coke bottles, that is balanced on a tower of platforms that are balanced on top of a B-29 Superfortress is actually Kelly’s Great Grandfather, the Great Al Dault. That is the home page image on our website.

If you’re not feeling these things then you’re doing it wrong.

You’re stronger than you think

You’re smarter than you think

You’re capable of much more that you can currently imagine; I promise.Uncomfortable Rise Up Feature image

Comfortable is for people on their death bed.

Artists that are moving forward are risk takers.

If risk taking was an FDA approved drug the side effects would be:

  • Fear
  • Nausea
  • Anxiety
  • Elation
  • Euphoria
  • Devastation
  • Vomiting
  • Paranoia
  • Joy
  • DelightUncomfortable Side Effects image
  • Jubilation
  • Pleasure
  • Depression
  • Despair
  • Hopelessness
  • Satisfaction
  • Financial stress
  • Financial freedom
  • Flu-like symptoms
  • Anal leakage

 

Screw comfortable.

 

Unless you’re dying.

 

 

Uncomfortable get comfortable with being uncomfortable

 

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By Johnny Dwinell

 

prag·ma·tism

[prag-muh-tiz-uhm]  Show IPA

noun

character or conduct that emphasizes practicality.

a philosophical movement or system having various forms, but generally stressing practical consequences as constituting the essential criterion in determining meaning, truth, or value.

 

Pragmatic Pragmatic MLK image

 

Utilitarian

 

Sober

 

Realistic

 

LogicalPragmatic Bono Quote image

 

Practical

 

Efficient

 

Down-to-Earth

 

Pragmatic To Do Image

Businesslike

 

I am wondering, how do you run your career?

 

I am wondering, how do you approach your art, your talent?

 

Many of you are suffering artistically and stagnate in your careers because you are trying to be something you’re not.  Some of you are pushing for things you think you need to do and ignoring the lanes that options that will bring actual momentum to your career.

In short, many of you are creating your own obstacles unnecessarily.

Yes, it is much easier and quicker to start a fire with a blow torch or flame thrower, but if _MG_2855you don’t have these things, then the more pragmatic approach is to set up smaller kindling wood stuffed with newspaper. The paper burns immediately catching fire to the kindling which catches fire to the big logs in your fireplace; then just keep stoking.

 

You can choose to lament the fact that you don’t have a flame thrower/blow torch which results in no fire, OR you can work with something more practical, something you do have, and the end result is a nice fire.

 

 

 

EVERY ARTIST has their strengths and weaknesses.

 

Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.

An artist really is not going to gain serious momentum until they can objectively sit down and pragmatically determine where the strengths and weaknesses are in their live show, recordings, images, lyrics, melodies, market approach, business plan; their art essentially Pragmatic Madonna Album Cover image

Madonna is an Icon.  She isn’t a good singer.  She’s a good dancer, a great business person, and a great entertainer.  Her live shows do not focus on her singing do they?

She focuses on her strengths.

Ray LaMontagne has a voice that is like butter.  He is an AMAZING singer/songwriter.  Listen to his tracks.  They are decidedly arranged with space.  Space that allows that voice and those lyrics to easily shine through and change your life; that’s how he touches you.

 

He is accentuating the positives.

Pragmatic Ray LaMontagne Image 2

Ray is not trying to blow you away with vocal acrobatics.  That is not his lane and he knows it.  His lane is in the tone and the story, like Stevie Nicks or Rod Stewart.  These kinds of voices just need to sing good songs and the tone feathers out in your chest like a really good scotch.

 

If you listen to pop music with a pragmatic ear you will notice that many of the artists can’t sing.  Consequently the musical arrangements around their voices are akin to a sonic circus.  By design, they don’t really want you to focus on the voice all that much.  It’s more about the hooks and the feel.  Pop music has always been lyrically “light” so much that the words don’t even have to make sense, they just has to sing well; remember Phil Collin’s “Sussudio”?Pragmatic Phil Collins Sussudio image

Two different approaches.

Each approach is appropriate to the artist and genre, yes?

Are you pragmatic with your songwriting?  Do the songs you write fit your vocal range and style?

Are you pragmatic with your live show?  Does your show accentuate your positives and eliminate the negative?

Are you truly a captivating act?

Are you pragmatic with your sonic production and arrangements in the studio?

Pragmatic Tony Robbins Resourcefulness image

 

Are you overplaying?

Are you over-singing?

Are you over producing a great voice?

How about your marketing approach?

Pragmatic is about focusing on what you do have instead of what you don’t.

Be pragmatic.  Get momentum.

 

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No Excuses Feature Redo

People hate it when I talk about this subject. Mostly because everyone has some festering sore spot in their life where they felt like they coulda, shoulda, woulda, but made an excuse and never did. So having a serious discussion about excuses causes people to relive their most catastrophic or most painful failures which in turn pisses them off.

I get it.

Do you know why it pisses them off?Excuses Are The Tools Of Incompetence

It’s because they knew better. It’s because, deep down, they knew that there was more they could have done, but they chose to make an excuse.

They chose to give up.

They succumbed to their moment of doubt.

They behaved weakly.

I have some to be sure. They don’t feel good when you live them and they certainly don’t feel good when you relive them. I submit to y’all that there is exactly ZERO people on this planet that do not have a sore spot left from an excuse.

Excuses Before After Weight loss imageHere’s the key part of this concept EVERYBODY has at least one moment where they wish they would have done something differently, ya know?

The difference between the successful people and the people who seem to get stuck living in the past or making the same mistakes/excuses is that the successful people learn from the error in judgment and move on.

Successful people grow.

They learn that the difference between an excuse and a challenge is simply perspective.

Now you’re thinking about your moment of doubt and you’re deciding whether to continue reading.

Again, I get it.

My dad always told me that excuses are like butts, everyone has one and they all stink. (He always used more colorful language)

Yes, I know, there are definitely valid excuses. Real good reasons that something didn’t get done.

There are also crappy, weak, excuses. Real lame reasons why something didn’t get done.Excuses Are For People Who Don't Want It Bad Enough

It is a FACT that all valid and all lame excuses have the same outcome; something didn’t get done that should have been done.

Another way to articulate this fact is to say that whether one has a valid excuse or a weak excuse the damage is exactly the same. Something doesn’t get done.

Another really HORRIBLE fact about excuses is that they always imply failure. They precede giving up. Excuses become the trumped up reason to quit.

Excuses make it ok to fail at your goals and dreams.

Excuses make it ok for life to happen to you instead of the other way around.

A challenge is processed COMPELTELY differently in the subconscious mind.

If one thinks of any roadblocks as a challenge they are framed as an obstacle that is delaying the execution of a certain goal or dream.

See the difference?

An excuse is subconsciously thought of as “Here’s the reason why we failed.”

A Challenge is subconsciously thought of as “Here’s the reason why our success is being postponed.”

With an excuse there is no need for further action; game over. (This is why people like them so much)Excuses Don't Limit Your Challenges Challenge Your Limits

A challenge REQUIRES additional effort.

(This is why people don’t like them)

Thomas Edison could have had 2,000 excuses why he couldn’t make the light bulb. Instead he viewed them as 2,000 challenges that got him closer to his goal.

Oh yeah, and then he made the first practical, long lasting, incandescent light bulb.

Excuses are toxic and nonproductive. View them as the most horribly addicting drug that will ABSOLUTELY, UNDENIABLY ruin your life.

You should seriously treat excuses as something life threatening like the Ebola Virus that should never to be put in or around you.

Challenges are a pain in the ass.

Challenges make us uncomfortable.

Challenges delay success.

But challenges alwaysprecede success.

One cannot have success without challenges.

One cannot succeed with excuses.

Are you busy making excuses or are you busy dealing with challenges?

Excuses Challenges Make Life Interesting

Excuses Mom with 3 ChildrenExcuses Handicapped Kid Image

Excuses Olympic Discus Thrower

Excuses Stop Making Excuses image

 

 

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Kinetics Feature image

WHAT ARE THE KINETICS OF YOUR SONG?

Hey y’all, meet Brent Baxter.  He will be guest blogging in my absence this week as I am hanging with my family in  Utah’s amazing Zion National Park.  Songwriters this is a must read.

Kinetics Brent Baxter

<Brent Baxter is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson (the top 5 hit “Monday Morning Church,” Lady Antebellum, Randy Travis, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford (the #1 Canadian country hit, “When Your Lips Are So Close”), comedy legend Ray Stevens, Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame member Steve Cropper, and more.  He blogs about songwriting and the music business at Man vs. Row, manvsrow.com.>

I call the energy of a song the “kinetics.”  Kinetic energy is energy in motion, as opposed to potential energy, which is energy at rest.  There are three components of a song’s kinetic energy: 1) tempo 2) melody and 3) phrasing.  Let’s take a look at each of these elements.

Tempo

Tempo is the speed of your song in beats per minute, or bpm.  As a general principle, uptempo songs are in higher demand than midtempo or ballads.  Therefore, your best bet to get a cut is by writing great uptempo songs.  The mathKinetics Tempo image everywhere supports this.

Look at the albums by the top artists.  Most of their songs are mid- and uptempo.  There’s usually only one or two true ballads on most albums these days.

Radio mostly plays uptempo and midtempo.  They want the listeners to feel good and stick around through the commercials.

And, finally, artists want their shows to be fun- they want the crowd on their feet, singing along and having a great time so they buy a T-shirt at the merch table.  An artist works hard to get everybody on their feet at a show.  Then he plays a ballad.  What does everyone do?  They sit back down.  Now the artist has to work hard to get them on their feet again.  Because of this, most artists don’t play many ballads in their shows.

Shows, radio, and records all rely on tempo.  Therefore, it’s wise give your song, if possible, in a faster tempo.

Here’s another reason to lean toward writing tempo.  A lot of people listen “beat first.”  This means they don’t pay attention to the lyrics of the song at first.  They listen for a good beat first.  Then, if they like the beat, they MIGHT get around to connecting with the lyric.

Your song might have a great idea and a powerful lyric, but “beat first” listeners will likely never know.  Writing songs with a good beat and a good lyric helps your song connect faster to both beat-first and lyric-first listeners.

Melody

I’m a lyricist, and I don’t write melodies.  I leave that to folks who are great at that. However, I know from experience Kinetic Melody imageand observation that MELODY MATTERS.  It’s huge.

Let me be clear- a song with a great melody and average lyric will get cut a lot faster than a song with a great lyric and an average melody.

Your melody has to fit your idea, simple as that.  This is not to say that sad songs HAVE to have “sad” melodies (I’ll touch on that later), but if your lyric is angry, your melody probably shouldn’t be too “sweet.”  Likewise, if your idea is for a tough guy, the melody should be one that a tough-guy artist would sing.

In general, if your song has a slower tempo, it probably needs to have a bigger, more rangy melody.  There just aren’t many slow songs with soft melodies getting cut these days.  You put your song at a disadvantage when you frame it that way.

If you’re going to go ballad, go big.

A good example of this is “I Drive Your Truck,” written by Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, and Jimmy Yeary and recorded by Lee Brice.  It’s a sad ballad.  But it doesn’t FEEL like a ballad because of the power in the chorus.  Lee just sings his backside off.

If they hadn’t CHOSEN to go the power ballad route, I don’t think the song would have worked as well- and I definitely don’t think it would’ve been a #1 hit country single.  If the tempo had been too fast, it might have trivialized the subject matter.  If they had given it a soft, flat melody, I think the singer would’ve come across too whiney.

Again, if you go ballad, go big.

Phrasing

Phrasing is the rhythm of the lyrics as they fit into the melody.  You could say it’s the “bounce” of the words.  Phrasing could be melodic and slow, like the chorus on “Drink A Beer” recorded by Luke Bryan and written by ChrisKinetics Phrasing image Stapleton and Jim Beavers.  It could be more like a rap, like the verses of “Boys ‘Round Here” recorded by Blake Shelton and written by Craig Wiseman, Thomas Rhett, and Dallas Davidson.  Or it could be somewhere in between.

Play with your phrasing.  Mix it up.  If you’re not great at writing uptempo songs, try writing faster, more interesting phrasing.  Brantley Gilbert and Colt Ford did this well when they wrote “Dirt Road Anthem,” which went on to become a #1 country single for Jason Aldean.  The tempo wasn’t that fast- the song felt really laid back.  It’s the rapid-fire phrasing on the verses which really gives the song its energy (instead of giving it a power chorus or a fast tempo).

You don’t want your lyric to have the same “bounce” all the way through.  Mix up the phrasing between your verse and your chorus.  This will help you vary the melody between the verse and chorus, too.  That’s really important.

Right now, rap-like lyrics are pretty popular in country music, but who knows how long that’ll be the case.  My best advice is to just keep it interesting, whatever you do.

IN CONCLUSION

Let’s take a look at “These Days” recorded by Rascal Flatts and written by Jeffery Steele, Steve Robson and Danny Wells.  The idea of the song is that this guy runs into his old flame and they start catching up.

He basically says, “I wake up, think of you, cry and hope all day that you’ll call.  Then I go back to bed and dream of you.  That’s what I’m doing these days.”

What a whiner!

But those hit writers knew they could not only get away with, but GET A HIT with that bellyaching lyric by giving it some tempo, a big chorus and interesting phrasing.  It’s a classic case of “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.”

Let’s learn from this!

God Bless,

 

Brent Baxter

MANvsROW.com

 

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It’s interesting to watch human nature during a massive paradigm shift within any industry; a songwriter is no different. We hate change. The more successful we are in any particular field the more removed we are from the undercurrent that is facilitating the change; and the more we fight it.

It makes sense, really, you make money via a certain pipeline or methodology and you get good at it, you have those relationships, you have that “groove” down. When something comes into the market that is disruptive to the status Songwriting Hate Change imagequo, we rebel.

We don’t trust it

We don’t want to start over.

We can’t think about the concept of it except for remembering and waxing about the way it was.

It doesn’t stop disruption from arriving, though.

I like disruption.

The music industry has certainly been disrupted by the internet, Napster, streaming technologies, too much consumer choice, etc.

What does the future of a professional songwriter look like?

Tomorrow will be way different, but it IS better.

Listen, all the answers are not in place yet. Big thinkers are working as we speak to identify and fill some of the vacuums that are being created with these disruptions.

Trust the Free Market

Trust the free market, many people will discover ways to make consistent money selling music on the internet. Then they will figure out ways to bring the supply to the demand. THAT fact we can count on.

If we look at what making a living as a songwriter used to be like, we can better understand the mindset songwriters currently have. Once we identify the old mindset and define it for what it is, which is old, we can tackle what’s going on now.

 

 

file9351251928986The old business model provided big bucks to the lucky few who could find their way into the party. The words “Lucky” and “Few” are the key words in the previous sentence because there are only a very limited amount of coveted radio slots to spin songs. So the club was exclusive, man.

 

 

If we generalize (yes, I’m REALLY generalizing but you get the point), a hit single, more specifically a #1 single on the country charts, is worth about $1 million of overall performance revenue unless it crosses over to the Pop market, then it is worth more. For the argument, let’s stick to $1 million. Since a #1 single requires “X” amount of radio spins in the same markets, the performance revenue difference between 1999 and 2014 is relatively the same.

Here is where a songwriter suffers today: mechanical royalties.

Mechanical royalties are paid to the songwriter based on record sales.

Let’s study a few of the top selling country records released in 1999 (Just 15 years ago) and 2014, dissect the sales of each (so we can determine the mechanical royalty income), and create some comparative data.

With this information we can calculate a paycheck on gross mechanical royalties for a songwriter.

In 1999 the mechanical royalty rate was 7.1 cents per song. A “cut” on a record would pay the songwriter 7.1 cents for every record sold.

  • 100,000 Units sold would generate $7,100 in gross revenue
  • 500,000 (Gold) sold would generate $35,500 in gross revenueOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
  • 1 Million (Platinum) would generate $71,000 in gross revenue
  • 10 Million (Diamond) would generate $710,000 in gross revenue

These numbers are for ONE song-cut on a record that may or may not be a single. A single, of course, would generate a whole other huge cash register of performance royalties.

Let’s look at a few of the most popular country records released in 1999 and attribute the songwriter revenue to each. NOTE: publishers share of royalties would be 50% and the co-writers would split accordingly; we are just looking at gross revenue.

  • Dixie Chicks “Fly” 12 Million Units sold
    •  1 song cut = $852,000 in gross mechanical royalty revenue
    •  #1 Single = $852,000 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)
  • Faith Hill “Breathe” 8 Million Units soldSongwriter Faith Hill Breathe image
    •  1 song cut = $568,000 in gross mechanical royalty revenue
    • #1 Single = $568,000 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)
  • Tim McGraw “A Place In The Sun” 3 Million Units sold
    • 1 song cut = $213,00 in gross mechanical royalty revenue
    • #1 Single = $213,000 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)
  • LeAnn Rimes “LeAnn Rimes” 1 Million Units sold
    • 1 song cut = $71,000 in gross mechanical royalty revenue
    • #1 Single = $71,000 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)
  • Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Gary Allan, Reba McEntire, Toby Keith, Keith Urban, and Montgomery-Gentry are just a few all the artists that had platinum records in 1999 so everyone was going platinum if you didn’t go platinum you damn sure went gold.

Now let’s look at a few of the top selling records for 2013 (the mechanical royalty rate has risen to 9.1 cents)

  • Luke Bryan “Crash My Party” 1.9 Million Units soldSongwriter Luke Bryan image
    • 1 song cut = $172,900 in gross mechanical royalty revenue
    • #1 Single = $172,900 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)
  • Blake Shelton “Based On A True Story” 1 Million Units sold
    • 1 song cut = $91,000 in gross mechanical royalty revenue
    • #1 Single = $91,000 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)
  • Keith Urban “Fuse” 354,000 Units sold
    • 1 Song Cut = $32,214 in gross mechanical royalty revenue
    • #1 Single = $32,214 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)
  • Kenny Chesney “Life On A Rock” 392,000 Units sold
    • 1 song cut = $35,672 in gross mechanical royalty revenue
    • #1 Single = $35,672 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)
  • Darius Rucker “True Believers” 502,000 Units sold
    • 1 Song cut = $45,682 in gross mechanical royalty revenue
    • #1 Single = $45,682 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)

FYI, I believe these were all #1 records in 2013.

You see the difference? Record labels are releasing fewer records because they are making less money per record and nobody is really buying records anymore. Sheesh!

Just a quick glance at the difference between songwriter revenues in 1999 vs. 2013 shows that without a #1 single, the revenue is around 10%-18% of what it used to be 15 years ago. You used to be able to make a seriously good living with a cut on a record that would never be spun on the radio but that has significantly changed.

The AWESOME performance royalty revenue is on its way out too. As terrestrial radio continues to erode a hit single will definitely dwindle in financial significance.

So what does the future look like for a songwriter?

I think the outlook is good and certainly accommodating to more writers. Before you really had to be “in-crowd” to get a cut, much less a single. Cuts were rare and singles even more rare, but they paid WELL. So we judged our Songwriting Exclusive imagerevenue and/or potential revenue per song or per artist as 1 song had the power to change everything.

The key to success for the songwriter of the future will be volume. The songwriter business model of the future is not really going to have any “home runs” in it, it will be founded on “base hits” instead: lots of base hits.

1 hit song, even right now, has an amazing revenue potential, the kind of financial impact that results in an “Achy Breaky kitchen”, an “Achy Breaky Ferrari”, or an “Achy Breaky west wing of the house”

The future will belong to fragmented, unexciting, financially insignificant revenue streams per song. The “living” we all aspire to make will reside in the aggregate revenue of many songs; many base hits.

Songwriter Moneyball imageThink the true story plot of the baseball movie “Moneyball” and apply it to songwriting. It’s all about base hits now guys.

I see a smart minded songwriter changing his business approach to coupling with as many artists as they can. Maybe between mechanical royalties and performance royalties (from YouTube for instance) a songwriter will make only $2,000-$3,000 per song, per year. However, there is no velvet rope, no terrestrial-radio-log-jam to limit the universe of revenue bearing opportunities, essentially no tyranny of space.

So ideally, a prolific songwriter could place 20-30 songs a year or more into a pipeline that generates revenue. The revenue could also be consistent meaning that if a songwriter placed 20 songs into the pipeline that generated $2,000 per song each per year they would gross $40,000 in revenue; the next year they could add to that.

It’s conceivable that the songwriter could build up his/her book of business over time well into the 6 figure range.

Keep writing. The world is about to change.

 

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By Johnny Dwinell

So terrestrial radio is gone…or almost gone. If you’re a new artist you certainly can’t count on it to break you in the Rock or Pop music genres anymore. MAYBE you’ll do it in country, but the clock is ticking on that too. Ugh, I know, it’s totally depressing, but when one door closes a window opens up or visa-versa I don’t remember. LOL

What are the newly opened windows?

Well, the good news is they’re AWESOME 40 foot tall giant picture windows with a view of the entire planet…and WHAT A VIEW!!

I am so freaking excited about the future of the music industry, man. I’m rambling.

Btw I’m listening to this killer band right now.

DSC_0907

 

…And I am about 3 cocktails in, its 1:00 am in the morning, I’m feeling pretty good. I’m gonna try a little artistic writing experiment and just type stream-of-consciousness as much as possible, ok? Little writer’s block I guess…ugh.

I’m getting off on this record tonight. These guys are friends of mine (remember that blog about relationships??) and I produced one of the tracks on the record. (Email me if you wanna know which one.)

It all starts with the song; they’re all fucking great. They write feel-good, laid-back, vibey songs about love. Probably shouldn’t bother listening if you prefer to be anxious…just sayin’

The musicianship is incredible.

Eli Hludzik provides the perfect feel for these songs with his smart percussive arrangements; like there can’t be Eli Hludzik Poker imageanother drummer that could shape this sound the same way.

What you think?

Eli’s extremely creative with the sonics as a percussionist; I remember he literally brought a footlocker full of drum toys (including goat’s toes!!) to my studio.  I loved that about our session together, it was refreshing.  We were like two kids in a sandbox.

 

The arrangements are SUPER creative by all members which YOU KNOW is rare.

Etienne Franc Poker imageEtienne (pronounced A, T, N,) Franc starts this intricate, brilliant instrumental effort with a foundation that not only serves the song but gently keeps you intoxicated inside each track. Seriously, somebody please tell me…how the hell does he do it so well when the he gets elaborate with the bass lines? How does he make it work so flawlessly?

 

 

Etienne and Eli are like a good wine and exotic cheese paired perfectly.

The singer is Mike Frieman. His smooth, easy-going, Sunday afternoon voice just takes the edge off of any situation and puts life back into perspective, a good perspective. I can’t explain why really, but it just totally has that effect onMike Poker Spaceneedle image me. His vocals are somewhat hypnotizing and somehow the lyrics kinda belong to the melodies ya know?

Hand-crafted, I guess?

He communicates in a simple way that is lyrically more intelligent than pop but certainly dripping with pop sensibilities in a jam bandy kind of way. I think you’ll find Mike artistically identifiable and smart. I sure did.

Out of everyone in the band, I’m probably closest to the guitar player, George Laird. I’ve known him for awhile now. We met outside of the music world and, oddly, it took us years to connect those dots…weird right? Strange, but true!

Listen to George’s beautiful arrangements, man. He really nailed these guitar parts on this record with grace and melody. His sound is very organic even with the electrics in the mix (their first record was totally acoustic, FYI, but that’s a whole nutha Oprah).

 

George Laird Poker imageI remember the night we tracked the guitar solo on the song I was STOKED to produce. We were definitely drinking, vibing, feeling good, and trying to find the most appropriate soaring melodic guitar solo. We worked that one…I remember…it didn’t come right away. But it did finally come and in a BIG way! We crafted the arrangement together and then we needed the performance, ya know? Then, BOOM he nailed it! George delivered an amazing performance that required controlling the feedback Hendrix-style at the end. We were freaking out, LOL! (We really were.)

George is a really sick guitar player; an artist. He is just so creative, man, fun to produce.

Listen to the guitar arrangements under those vocals first and focus on his right-hand, you won’t be disappointed; it’s smooth.

I’m drifting along with the silky current of the guitar arrangements on “Forever Sometimes” right now. The acoustic sucks you in a little left of center and then there is a gentle, clean, cascading set of guitar showers that rinse the day away cleanly. Oh, and it builds to a euphoria that I just recovered from, whoa.

I forgot about that one.

(Yeah, I’m a little drunk…don’t judge me, man, LOL)

Now go back and listen again but this time to the solos. George has great pocket, sense of melody; he moves you with each solo performance, more cleverly and crafted then any jam band, btw.

Ultimately there is SPACE

…that might be the opiate in this musical equation; great space. I offer sincere respect to the whole band for their sense of space which really is the final frontier for any musician.

The mastery of space means you finally get it; you’ve arrived artistically.

The lead-off single called “The Stand In” is a song with TV/Movie star Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl, Country Strong) who joins Mike in a duet about meeting your true love (Hint: this is NOT the one I produced). Leighton starts with a wonderful vocal that is supple and vulnerable floating on a well constructed melody. Then Mike comes in softly and takes the track to another level; forget about the chorus…you’ll have to experience that yourself. You can get a free download HERE if you want.

CITD + Leighton Meester Poker studio image

I am tripping on this record mostly because I’m feeling it tonight, but partly because it is the record that we are about to release.

Listen I’m proud of the band for their effort. I’m proud of my effort with the band for one of the songs we worked on together, and I’m proud of what we are about to do very quietly in the marketing space.

Oh, yeah, the name of the band is Check in the Dark.

Btw, the significance of the name revolves around Poker.

Poker winnings funded the debut album. LOL

I’m interested in your opinion with regards to the market.DSC_5393

Who do you think their audience is?

What other artist’s audience would most likely dig Check in the Dark?

What tour would be the most advantageous to them?

 

 

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Good-News-Feature-image
EPK Feature Image

By Johnny Dwinell

These days a killer Electronic Press Kit (EPK) is becoming increasingly necessary as an effective, immediate method to demonstrate yourself as an artist to live venues, booking agents, PR firms, promoters, investors, labels, Lawyers, etc.  A good EPK is tricky to put together mostly because artists get confused as to the intent of the EPK, who the audiences will be, and precisely how it will be consumed.  Whether you want to believe it or not, whether you like it or not, a poorly or naively constructed EPK is a red flag that defines you immediately.  If you want to look professional you better have a professional EPK.  Let’s define these formerly mentioned items and then I’ll break down some solid, common sense strategies on how to create a killer EPK.

 

What is the Intent of Your EPK?

Intention EPK image

A good EPK is  like a mission statement/business plan/band brochure for interested parties that are considering doing business with you.  What an EPK is NOT intended for is ego stroking, “Behind the Music” type documentary content.  All too often I see 30 minute long EPK’s and they never get consumed when they’re that long, no matter how good the band is…so don’t waste your time.  I promise you that your audiences will not waste theirs.  Just think about your own time.  Think about when a friend sends a video that is “awesome” or “cool” or “funny” and you see that it is 15 minutes long; you inevitably think “ugh” and pass on it or stow it away to watch “whenever you get more time”.  I mean, would you watch a documentary of any length from a band you didn’t know or are you far more interested in documentaries from bands you LOVE?  Get my point?

 

Who is Your Audience?

 

Audience EPK image

Your audiences are professionals in the music business and they are not only crushed for time with their respective job requirements, but they also have families, private lives, other obligations, charities, etc. so you must respect their time.  Your audiences are decidedly NOT consumers, fans, or groupies so they won’t consume this material as such.  Since the audience for your EPK is professional they are interested in if they can make money working with you and then exactly how that will happen.  The more you can stick to business the better off you will be.  Not for nothing, but the more you stick to business in your EPK the more professional you will look as well.

 

How Will Your EPK Be Consumed?

Consumed EPK image

Quickly!

They don’t have time.  Think of the time factor from their perspective; which means LARGE volume.  If they need to experience 500 EPK’s per week and they consume just 5 minutes of each EPK that’s almost 42 hours per week and I promise you their job description requires far more than just viewing EPK’s.

Get it?

They are going to view the most efficient summary of the content (called a “One Sheet” or “Elevator Pitch”) and decide if they will commit any more time from there.  The bio is the LAST think they will consume and only if they have a slow week or the previous content in the EPK has simply enchanted them.  Common sense says spend the time and limited budget on making sure the one sheet is awesome and leave the bio for last as most of your audiences will not to the bio even if they decide to hire you.

 

8 Points to Creating a KILLER EPK

8 Ball EPK image

Here are 8 essential points to assembling a super effective EPK.  I will put them in order of importance the best that I can.  I say this because different bands will be stronger with different points so you need to focus on putting your act in the best possible light.  If your band is ugly, then photos are necessary but not what you want to lead with and so on.

  1. One SheetA one sheet is the summary of everything about your act on one sheet.  In the world of business plans this is called an executive summary.  This is the first thing your audiences will see in your EPK but should be the last item you create for your EPK because you will need to view all the necessary components of your EPK to get a feel for strengths and weaknesses to create a potent one sheet that has sizzle.  Your one sheet should have a few of the following items:
    1. A great photo
    2. Quick list of milestones/accomplishments
    3. Press quotes
    4. Contact info for:
      i.    Band
      ii.    Management
      iii.    PR
      iv.    etc
    5. Band member names and instruments they play.
    6. Links to your 2 or 3 most popular songs (don’t attach anything or they won’t get downloaded due to fear of viruses)
    7. Link to live video
    8. Link to press page on your website or links to a few choice reviews or press interviews, etc.
    9. Social Media links – These should demonstrate your popularity on whatever social media sites you choose to be on.
    10. Check out a decent one sheet HERE
  2. Great PhotoA photo is worth 1,000 words.  Learn it.  Live it.  Love it.  This is usually the first way in which you will communicate with your audience; thus, it’s THE most important way to communicate.  GoodPhotography EPK image photos = more press.  Bad photos = no press, no listens, judgments that you are unprofessional.  Your photo immediately defines you; think about that for a second.  If you were a hippie, folksy, organic, acoustic band you wouldn’t take a photo in biker leathers and boots like a heavy metal band, right?  HELL NO, it would give people the wrong first impression.  BTW, up and coming photographers are always looking for good content so don’t be afraid to ask for a deal, man!  The worst thing anyone can say is “no” but if you serve it up like your band could add quality content with the photographer’s talent to the photographer’s portfolio, you just might get a deal.  If you have friends that are a bigger act than you are, ask them to “piggy back” on a killer photo shoot.  My band was shot by Prince’s photographer (3-rolls of film) with Prince’s make-up lady for just $600 because my buddy who had the budget was shooting with the photographer earlier that day and lined up a bonus deal for me. Here are some important points to remember:
    1. Your photo has to be awesome it’s the first line of communication!
    2. Don’t waste time or money on a crappy photo.
    3. Don’t use a friend to save money, use a professional
    4. Check out an example of a killer creative photographer HERE
    5. Check out an example of a killer live photographer HERE
  3. PressPress quotes offer social proof that you are making a dent in the music scene.  This is what will get promoters excited to work with you.  Do NOT put quotes in from friends or family as this will make you look unprofessional.  More press = better no matter how small the periodical or blog may be.  When you list the press quotes, list the most important press first and least important last, etc.  If it is possible, provide the quote in the form of a hyperlink to the actual quote to offer a quick 1-click method to corroborate your story with the truth; again, think time constraints here.  I would include:
    1. CD reviews
    2. Live Show Reviews
  4. Music Video – this is super important, especially for the live venues.  If your audience is a booking agent for Music Videos EPK imagea live venue it stands to reason that they would want to see videos of you performing for a packed house, right?  You definitely wanna show your band in front of a jam-packed house.  If you don’t have a big draw, then make sure you are in a super small club or a friend’s basement, LOL.  If the club isn’t standing room only get good angles so it seems like it’s crammed!  Getting good talent to shoot your video can be a bit of a challenge.  I recommend scouring your local universities for film students who are looking for some content.  You can also check out a pretty cool website called Radar Music Videos.  This web site puts directors all over the world with bands and their respective budgets.  Pretty cool open source opportunity.  Live videos show that:
    1. You can actually play live
    2. You have a draw
    3. Your Stage Presence
    4. Professionalism
    5. NOTE: don’t show any overtly violent mosh pit shots, instrument destruction, etc.  It’s much easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
  5. MP3’s – Next I would put the music in there.  Definitely do NOT attach mp3’s as you will likely get most of your EPK’s deleted due to fear of viruses.  Simply provide links to 3 of your very best songs on your website, MP3 Audio EPK imageSoundcloud, Reverbnation, etc.  Unless they are sporting some killer consumption statistics, I always advise our artists to link to mp3’s on their own website as there are no metrics to judge how many people have listened.  Perception is reality.  Your EPK is not the place to put demos, or iPhone recordings or anything unprofessional.  There is simply no excuse for sonically crappy recordings anymore so if you don’t have good recordings you really don’t need an EPK.  You will be judged.  Again, remember how many EPK’s your audiences are consuming every week.  Every other band is professional you had better be too.  If you think because they are professional promoters that they are going to hear past crappy production you are naïve.
  6. Gig/Tour Calendar – This is obviously important.  The more gigs you have the more attractive you look.  If you don’t have a ton of gigs yet, don’t put the calendar in the EPK.  If you do have some pending dates make sure:
    1. The gigs are constantly up to date.  Don’t blow this off or you will look like an idiot.  Consider listing a few shows in the EPK and a link to your tour/gig dates on your site.
    2. Define types of venues, frequency, etc.
    3. Remember that you are looking for appropriate venues, not to win over everybody.
  7. Social Media Links – These demonstrate your marketing prowess and marketing momentum.  These links will show how many fans you have and demonstrate how engaged they are.  For instance, if you have 100,000 Twitter followers but all your tweets only get retweeted or replied to 5 times, there is a problem.
  8. Bio– This bio should be short and sweet.  Nobody cares about your whole story until you’re famous.  I thinkBio EPK image of the scene in the movie “Bull Durham” where Kevin Costner is preparing Tim Robbins for the major leagues.  He says, “Your shower shoes have fungus on them. You’ll never make it to the bigs with fungus on your shower shoes. Think classy, you’ll be classy. If you win twenty in the show, you can let the fungus grow back and the press’ll think you’re colorful. Until you win twenty in the show, however, it means you are a slob.”  Unless your story is super compelling AND famous I would stick to the basics.  A bio should have the following:
    1. Where your based
    2. Short summary on your professional milestones/work accomplishments
    3. Band member names and instruments they play
    4. Nobody cares about your struggle

 

Conclusions

Here are some quick points to think about in conclusion:

  • You should always be looking at other people’s EPK’s to keep up with the latest trends.  Good artists borrow; great artists STEAL.
  • Keep your EPK short; no more than 5 minutes.  An EPK is NOT A MOVIE; it won’t be consumed as such.  So keep a “Director’s cut” to scratch your filmmaker itch if necessary but deliver a short, potent, EPK for business purposes; remember that all your audiences HATE reviewing EPK’s so make it as painless as possible.
  • I recommend that your first draft have everything you want in it and then chunk it down to 5 minutes from there.  If you have to make decisions on eliminating quality content, this is called a “High Class Problem”.
  • Constantly cultivate your EPK by replacing old content with more up-to-date substance.
  • Take higher profile gigs regardless of financial compensation to bolster the legitimacy of your EPK.

 

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EZ Button 1 Epic Event Image

By Johnny Dwinell

The music business, like your life, is all about how much work you put into it.

There is No EZ Button!

Our personal and professional lives are shaped and determined by what we do consistently, not any one event. We work, or choose not to work, every day on our relationships, our jobs, and our dreams. Single, positive, epic 1 Epic Event imageincidents put emphasis on our momentum and feel really good, especially when we are truly prepared to take full advantage of the serendipitous event. Single positive epic incidents also happen when we are not prepared to take full advantage of them. These feel good and we feel validated, but they are short-lived and we gain little from them. Conversely, a single negative or devastating occurrence can temporarily spoil our forward progress but we continue on, we move forward, because we must. We still have to wake up, we still have to go to work, we still have to raise our kids. The show must go on! Our lives are no different from the music business.

There is No EZ Button!

Many of us are thriving at a job right now that we got because a friend referred us or made us aware of it. We got the opportunity because of our relationship and the job because of our talent and personality. Life is about relationships. The music business is no different.

There is No EZ Button!

Every day we go to work and perform our daily tasks to execute our job requirements. We would be FIRED if we told our boss that we were waiting for a big break which entailed someone coming in and doing our job for us. Our job is no different from the music business.

There is No EZ Button!

(What are your artistic daily job requirements? Just a thought.)

 

EZ Button Lottery imageYou work every day to create monthly cash flow because your landlord or your mortgage company will not wait for a “big break” in your life, like winning the lottery. Can you imagine? “Yes Mr. Landlord, I understand I am 2 months late but you don’t understand, I am super talented/lucky and I am going to win the lottery…THEN I will pay you!” Your housing situation is no different from the music business.

 

There is No EZ Button!

We have to raise our kids ourselves. Some of us really care about our kids, and as a result we are constantly trying to learn and improve our parenting skills. We are also learning from our kids and improving as humans from the time spent. Some of us don’t give a shit and those kids will grow up to be terrorists. Raising kids requires constant attention and consistency. Raising kids is no different from the music business.

There is No EZ Button!

Every one of us has had to deal with a terrible loss: a family member, a friend, a lover, a band member. It hurts. We loved them. Losing a loved one is no different from the music business.

There is No EZ Button!

One of the hardest lessons any of us has to learn is how and when to let a friend go. It’s extremely difficult to shift gears in a long-valued relationship when the other person stops bringing any value to it. The music business is no different.

There is No EZ Button!

The very first day on our job, we were a rookie and we felt vulnerable and certainly uncomfortable because every EZ Button First Day Imagejob feels foreign on the first day. We went the second day because we had faith we would learn, we had faith it would get better with time, we had courage! Now we OWN our job. Now we are a valued member of the team.  Now, we have mastered our exact job description, daily requirements, office politics, upper management assholes, insubordinate underlings, glass ceilings, self-solving IT issues, software workarounds, where to park, where everyone eats, who needs schmoozing, who needs to be left alone, the sharks, the dolphins, and all the little things we do that help us excel. The music business is no different from our current job because it entails all these things.

There is No EZ Button!

EZ Button Every Time You Spend Money image

To get any decent paying job we have to spend money. We spend a lot of money on a college education, clothes, tools, power tools, trucks, cars, qualified leads, advertising, supplies, continuing education, child care, transportation, travel, paid coaching seminars, trade shows, technology, etc. The music business is no different from any other business because it costs money if you want to do it right.

There is No EZ Button!

An ungodly percentage of us have received a degree, and while it helped qualify us for our current job and maybe taught us to think (maybe!), we don’t use our degree to make a living. Those of us who do use our degree and those of us who don’t use our degree realized the first day we got our job that we didn’t know anything. We realized it takes WAY more than school to be good at what we do. The music business experience is no different from your job experience.

There is No EZ Button!

EZ Button Dent in the Universe imagePeople judge/evaluate us at our current job, even it’s a menial job. We’re perceived somewhere on this continuum: as a rock star who always excels, as a mediocre worker who never rocks the boat, or as a lazy one who lingers at the bottom, skating by, always about to get fired. Our artistic dream of creating a dent in the Universe reflects the exact same work ethic. No matter the job: if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well! Of course, the music business is no different. We will be judged and evaluated.

There is No EZ Button!

We enjoy being with our friends and (sometimes) with our family because we love them and they are a great hang. We work at deepening these relationships by providing value or we ignore these relationships and constantly float on their periphery. We despise time spent with people who steal our energy and suck up all the air in the room; we avoid that scene at all costs. The music business dynamic is no different. So, be a great hang, not someone who sucks all the energy out of the room.

There is No EZ Button!

We all need love. We all need to be loved. All of us have had romantic relationships that were complete disasters. From this point we either choose to be a victim and wallow in the sorrow & despair or we choose to learn and move past it. We can choose to grow. Those of us who choose to learn and grow realize that we were partly responsible for the tender wreckage regardless of how it manifested itself or in spite of getting screwed. We choose to be accountable for the mess. Then we move on and try again because we all need love. We all need to be loved. We decide to be bitter and closed off, willing to be vulnerable again, or we learn to be willing to be vulnerable again. Love is always a risk. Still, we do it, don’t we? The music business is no different from your love life; it’s COMPLICATED!

There is No EZ Button!

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