Country star Keith Urban schedules first performance since vocal cord surgery
January 13th, 2012
Missing Keith Urban? You’re not the only one. He’s been out of commission for months now with a vocal cord problem. And that’s a really tough one for such a high-energy entertainer.
Keith will return to the stage on the Feb. 3 Grand Ole Opry. It’ll be his first performance since undergoing vocal surgery. The country superstar had a polyp removed from a vocal cord at Vanderbilt University Medical Center late last year and has been on vocal rest.
Scotty McCreery’s Debut Album Goes Platinum
January 11th, 2012
When news was released that Scotty McCreery would be recording in Nashville, we received tons of requests from writers we work with to pitch their songs to him. Problem was, by then, he had already locked up the songs he would record. That’s the way it goes. By the time the popular press and sites start talking about such things, it’s already done.
Now, as reported by Music Row.com, his debut album, Clear As Day, has been certified platinum in just three months after its Oct. 4, 2011 release.
McCreery says the platinum certification marks a major milestone in his career, “It means the world to me,” he explains. “It’s one of the highest honors you can get with your album and it’s a huge testament to the loyalty of country music fans and how great they have been to me this year. 2011 was absolutely an incredible, life-changing year for me. I want to say a huge thanks to the fans for this.”
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.
The Super Bowl and Nashville Music Just Naturally Go Together
December 22nd, 2011
Super Bowl fans attending the SB in February can get a good dose of Nashville’s Country Music, AND a generous dash of Nashville Pop/Rock.
According to MusicRow.com, Music City will be well-represented at festivities surrounding the Feb. 5 Super Bowl in Indianapolis.
Numerous free concerts will take place at the Super Bowl Village from Jan. 27-Feb. 4. The line-up features Darius Rucker and Dierks Bentley from the country set, and Will Hoge, Six Pence None The Richer and Here Come The Mummies from Nashville’s pop/rock scene.