Songwriters: Be Careful Where You Get Songwriting Advice
February 17th, 2012
Since we all go on the Internet looking for all kinds of information, it’s natural to go there looking for advice on songwriting. But there’s a difference in opinions on songwriting and pizza or shoes or most anything else. You can even find credible medical advice on the Web, because usually the medical sites you go to list the credentials of the medical experts they have on line. If they didn’t, you wouldn’t be there a minute reading advice on your heart from some unidentified person.
But it’s very hard to find credible advice about songwriting on the Web. Even sites that may be credible can have visitors with unchecked credentials. Like the following from Yahoo Answers. A question is posed: “Do you need help with songwriting ideas?” So would you think they’d get an established music pro to answer that?
No way. An obvious beginner posts, “im singer and wants to write song for myself…..I wrote only 1 song yet and it took 3 or 4 days to complete it…..i need advice to get better at writing songs ? its like the most hardest thing for me to write song because nothing come to my mind when i sit for writing ?? how can i improve my writing skills ??”
So, will some great expert reply to this earnest request for help? No. There are no experts there. However the hapless beginner does get 2 responses. One from someone using the name Tareq, the other Edu. No qualifications listed for either. Hopefully the writer ignored the advice from these nobodies, but we never know.
Not long ago, we talked with a usually intelligent adult who believes Google checks the accuracy of every answer they return in response to a search. Of course they don’t. Dont claim to. They’re simply a conduit for the info they find with their web crawlers.
Just goes to show you that some people believe anything they read on the Internet. Which is probably why con artists, identity thieves and hackers can do so much damage to so many innocent people on the Net.
Lessons for Emerging Songwriters from the Grammys
February 13th, 2012
For you who are interested in the Grammys, and what aspiring songwriter wouldn’t be, you probably watched it, or at least have heard the news. So we won’t go through a recap explaining what happened. but do have a couple of observations of value to any songwriter: how a song that doesn’t seem terribly important to begin with can turn into a huge hit and a lasting classic, and the importance of co-writing.
The first appeared in the tributes to Whitney Houston. The song that kept coming up was “I Will Always Love You,” written by Dolly Parton. The song was originally recorded by Dolly and gained little notice outside her country music world at the time.
Then it was picked up for inclusion in Whitney’s signature movie “The Bodyguard.” Whitney of course sang it in the movie and made it an absolute killer of a hit and the classic that became her signature song. Dolly remarked that the IRS loved her for all the taxes she had to pay on the royalties for that one song.
Item two and and a most important lesson for the many lyricists we work with: Adele’s Grammy winning song of the year was a co-write. She had the idea, got the song started, then got with a pro, Dan Wilson to finish it. Some of the nominated songs were written by more than two co-writers.
And yet there are lyricists who tell us they don’t want a co-writer, because the music writer gets a share of the copyright. Really, people, thats the way the music business works. Co-writing is standard, with just a small minority of writers who write both lyrics and melody going it alone. But anybody who writes only lyrics obviously must have somebody do the music. And guess what: a demo service willing to co-write your music and give you all the rights doesn’t count. They obviously don’t think much of their writing skills if they’re willing to give up all rights for the price of a demo. Or they may be using the same melody for a lot of different songs. That does happen.
Songwriters: Protecting Your Cellphone Against Hackers Could Be Crucial for Song Protection
January 27th, 2012
We frequently hear from songwriters that they’re highly fearful of their music being stolen. If you fall in that category, now there’s another worry. Your smartphone. We all know about being careful about the websites we visit, the emails we open and links we click, but the dangers of losing data to a smartphone hacker is fairly new. The New York times brings it to our attention in a new tech article as follows:
Chuck Bokath would be terrifying if he were not such a nice guy. A jovial senior engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta, Mr. Bokath can hack into your cellphone just by dialing the number. He can remotely listen to your calls, read your text messages, snap pictures with your phone’s camera and track your movements around town — not to mention access the password to your online bank account.
As cellphones have gotten smarter, they have become less like phones and more like computers, and thus susceptible to hacking. But unlike desktop or even most laptop computers, cellphones are almost always on hand, and are often loaded with even more personal information. So an undefended or carelessly operated phone can result in a breathtaking invasion of individual privacy as well as the potential for data corruption and outright theft.
Read more via Protecting a Cellphone Against Hackers – NYTimes.com.
Songwriters: Beware Bad Advice From Internet Characters Who Falsely Claim To Be Legal Experts!
January 4th, 2012
We hate to see people who contact us get sidetracked and even hoodwinked by asking for advice in the wrong places. Here’s a case in point: A lyricist looking for help poses a question on a site which indicates that it’s a site specializing in legal advice on intellectual property matters (copyright, trademark) Unfortunately it’s a reservoir of BAD advice, as evidenced by the question and answer which follows.
The lyricist asks, “Is it normal practice to be charged a fee to get a song recorded by a professional vocalist accompanied by instruments?”
Some guy claiming to be an “intellectual property counsel” says no. Which means he has no idea what he’s talking about. The writer has described a demo recording arrangement. Every day in Nashville and other major music centers demos are recorded, and the company or person authorizing the recording pays for the musicians, engineers and studio time. Who else would foot the bill?
Maybe this “counsel” is confusing a demo situation with that of a publisher hiring a songwriter or issuing a single-song contract, in which case the publisher may advance funds to pay for the demo, then take the advance out of earnings, when and if there are any. BUT… publishers don’t send out contracts on lyrics alone. They only do that on complete songs. If “counsel” knew anything about the music business, he would know that.
The shame is this “counselor” may have done irreparable harm to this lyricist, who incidentally PAID $22 for the bad advice. The harm comes from the lyricist trying to base a future on faulty advice, and probably wasting years trying to find the impossible deal.
This “counsel” identifies himself only by a first name. With another click, we find that his description of his practice is, “Private practice with focus on family, criminal, PI, consumer protection, and business consultation.” No mention here of IP law or entertainment law.
So what’s a family practice lawyer, who makes no mention of entertainment law doing answering such a question anyway? And what kind of practice could he have if he gets the pittance of $22 for a consultation? Lawyers we know get a minimum of 200-$300 an hour, some much more.
Shouldn’t there be a penalty for a lawyer who takes money for advice outside his field without issuing a disclaimer saying he has no special qualifications to give that advice?
The “lawyer” in this case makes some mention of the word “scam.” If ever the word should apply, it should certainly apply to this rip-off artist posing as a lawyer. So what’s a writer to do? Simple. If you want legal advice, go hire a legitimate lawyer who really does specialize in entertainment law. A $20 lawyer could do some real damage to your songwriting aspirations.
Songwriting Tips: How Your Smartphone Can Help You Write Better Songs
December 27th, 2011
Songwriting tools have grown over the years from the old rhyming dictionary, which used to be one of the most recommended tools, along with a note pad to take down ideas. The note pad graduated to a small cassette recorder, which grew to a tiny digital recorder. Now there are apps for your smart phone to record your ideas, or even songs on the go.
Some songwriters still resort to the small note pad, because if you’re in a crowd you kind of stand out — or maybe even look suspicious — if the crowd isn’t composed of other songwriters. And then you may not want to give away your ideas by uttering them aloud in a crowd of writers who may just write your idea before you do. Taking notes by hand while maneuvering a car, however, can become a little delicate if not downright dangerous.
But back to the idea of the smart phone. With that you have many ways to keep track of your ideas, and even lyric and melody trial bits. And since almost everybody uses a phone in public, the iPhone or Droid actually fits in. You can be taking down your greatest idea yet, and as long as you’re not too loud, others simply think you’re talking on the phone to your girl friend, boy friend or bookie. Or if you’re thumbing it, you could be texting the same.
So the smart phone and its wide choice of songwriter (including lyricist) apps wins hands down as the best new songwriting tool.
Next time, we’ll start on some of the available songwriting apps — the useful and the not so useful.