November 2013
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 18, No. 11
NEXT MEETING - 5:00pm Sunday, November 3rd, 2013
The meetings will be structured as follows: 5:00 to 5:30, business and introductions. 5:30
to 6:00, presentation by a guest speaker (when scheduled), 5:30 or 6:00 to 8:00, song
critiques. Please bring a CD or mp3 player or perform your song live, and bring 10 or more
lyric sheets. If we have at least 5 songs by members who wish to be scored, and 6 members scoring, then
we will have them entered in the Monthly competition. Everyone is encouraged to write
constructive comments on the lyric sheets.
We will be having a short presentation on Creativity in November's meeting from Logan Belle,
a songwriting course lecturer at Full Sail.
The Answer’s In Front Of You
By Jeff Mason
I would like to return to a subject that I’ve written about in the past. In
my February 2012 article I touched upon the lucrative television and film market. It’s
possible to generate a six figure income if you are prepared to put in the time and hard
work.
Tim Myers is a composer and multi instrumentalist. Since leaving the band
OneRepublic in 2007, he has pursued a successful solo career. His upbeat and optimistic
songs can be heard in commercials and on television shows. His song “Under Control” was
featured in an ad campaign for Chase Bank. This is a Beatle-esque piece of music and just
the kind of song that advertising executives are looking for. His song “ It’s A Beautiful
World” was picked up for a Target commercial, a Frito-Lay SunChips ad and was featured in
the movie “Hotel For Dogs.” He has an extensive list of television credits and you may read
a three part interview with him on Taxi’s web-site
http://www.taxi.com/transmitter/1305/tim-myers-interview.html
http://www.taxi.com/transmitter/1306/tim-myers-interview-2.html
Tim remains a humble and gracious character and offers some advice for
all aspiring songwriters. “Write/record or work on a song everyday. It takes 21 days to
make a habit, make a habit of writing or recording everyday. You’ll write a lot of really
bad songs, but you learn from those mistakes and over time you get better at your craft.”
Tim, also, offers this daunting piece of advice. “ Write 80 songs a year. and record all of
them completely, and send them off to people, meet new people, and really get out and make
it happen. You know, if you’re relying on just 20 or 30 songs a year-fully recorded songs
that you can show to people-it’s not going to happen.”
I confess that as I read this quote I gulped! Having had some time to
digest and think about it I’m now more comfortable with his premise. Tim compares the
discipline of songwriting to the work ethic of famous painters like Monet and Picasso who
painted a painting everyday. “Not every painting is amazing but there’s always that magical
one or handful that are just absolutely amazing pieces of art and stand the test of time.”
At the end of this three part interview you may find Tim’s Songwriter’s Philosophy.
http://www.taxi.com/transmitter/1307/tim-myers-interview-3.html?cid=EMNMTR00000086
I plan to make a copy of it and post it in a prominent place in my little home studio.
Matt Hirt is a composer with almost 1,500 published songs and
instrumentals. His songs have been featured in movies and television. You may hear his work
in “Mr. & Mrs.Smith” and “Tropical Thunder.” He can be heard on “The Dr. Oz Show” and
“Hawaii Five-O.” Matt recommends the budding songwriter “Find a niche, focus on it
initially, and then you can branch out.” Matt studied the market and after composing World
music and Latin based themes branched out into producing Asian music. “We combine the use
of real traditional instruments and a deep understanding of Chinese and Asian music and
culture and with years of experience meeting the unique requirements of the music for the
media community.” Matt has partnered with Haoyue Kuang who is a talented singer, songwriter
and performer from mainland China. You may hear her sing on several traditional songs at
https://soundcloud.com/dragonscaleproductions/sets along with Matt’s instrumental
compositions.
Matt is honest about his career and talks about having a “Five Year
Plan.” It takes time to perfect the craft of songwriting, develop the production skills and
assemble a large and varied catalog. If you do make any money expect it to be a trickle at
the beginning. Set reasonable goals for yourself and don’t be afraid to try new musical
genres. I think the arrival of the bedroom studio has revolutionized the industry. Anyone
can produce high quality music in their home and eventually turn that trickle into a
pipeline. You may read more about Matt’s Five Year Plan at
http://www.taxi.com/transmitter/1302/the-5-year-plan.html This is another three part
interview. http://www.taxi.com/transmitter/1303/the-5-year-plan-2.html
http://www.taxi.com/transmitter/1304/the-5-year-plan-3.html
I hope you derive some inspiration from this article. Remember the
answer is in front of you each time you watch television or turn on your computer. See you
next month.
ISG Bulletin Board
Videography and website management services at a price you CAN AFFORD. Capturing your
wedding or event on video may not be in your budget but you’re hoping that you may have
something left over to hire a videographer. I will fit your budget. My goal is to offer my
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day and you most definitely want to capture those moments. Visit my website at
http://www.videosaysitall.com . Thanks and call me anytime (352-267-5911)…Carlos Colon
Meeting space graciously provided by Central Florida Musicians Association, Local 389.
You are invited to join the largest union in the world, representing the interests of the
professional musician. Visit their website at afm389.org for more information. You may
reach them by phone at: 407-894-8666.
Why isn't your gig announced here? Call us with your appearance schedule!
Jeff Mason playing at O'Keefe's Irish Pub,
Friday Oct 25th 7pm to 11pm
115 S. Rockingham Ave,
Tavares, Fl, 32778,
352 343 2157
Jeff Mason playing at Fiddler's Green
Sat Nov 16th 5 to 8pm
544 W. Fairbanks Ave,
Winter Park, Fl, 32789
407 645 2050
Current members please send us your website info if you would like your site to be listed
in the ISG members page. Also if you have any songs that have placed first in the monthly
critiques, please send the mp3's to isgorlando@gmail.com if you would like to have them
featured in the ISG MySpace page. https://myspace.com/21075001
No October contest
New members always welcome!
Any Details not in this newsletter are at:
You can find info here about the Songwriter's Stage competitive open mic.
http://www.yelp.com/events/orlando-songwriters-stage
© 2013 ISG