June 2014
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 19, No. 6
NEXT MEETING - 5:00pm Sunday, June 1st, 2014
The International Songwriter’s Guild meets at 5 PM on the first Sunday of every month at
the Central Florida Musician’s Union building, 3020 East Robinson (at the extreme east
end of Robinson, near Orlando Executive Airport ) in Orlando.
Songwriters, composers, performers, publishers, and the curious are encouraged to join
us. Non-members are invited to attend a meeting or two to get a feel for our group and
what we do. For more information, visit our website at www.tinyurl.com/isgsongs or
myspace page at https://myspace.com/21075001
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 I-phone 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.
Songwriting Questions
By Jeff Mason
I received the following questions from ISG member Loi Head:
Who or what businesses work with songwriters?
How do you propose a song to a company or project?
Are there any regular (or non-regular) local opportunities?
Who (like what are their titles/positions) should I be networking with?
Are songwriting competitions worthwhile? Which ones?
Are there any resources I should be taking advantage of?
In this article and the next I am going to try to answer these
questions. The first thing I did was paste these questions into my search engine. It
never ceases to amaze me how much information is available on the internet. I could spend
a day on each question.
Another important resource is the 2014 Songwriter’s Market available in
paperback and still the industry bible. What I like about this book is that it keeps up
with the times. This is the over view from the Barnes and Noble website:
“ We live in a golden age of DIY artistry, and songwriters and musicians
are no strangers to pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, or guitar straps, and
blazing a trail toward their own success. “Songwriter’s Market” has been there with
songwriters every step of the of the way for more than 37 years, providing the most
complete and up-to-date information songwriters need to place their songs with music
publishers, record companies, producers, managers, booking agents, fellow musicians, and
more. This comprehensive guide gives you the tools and first hand knowledge you need to
launch, manage and advance your songwriting career right now!”
It is my belief that the answers to these questions are to be found in
the pages of this book. “In the 2014 edition, you’ll also gain access to:
Newly updated information about using crowd-funding, social media, press-kits, grants and
smart phone apps to boost your creative independence.
Songwriting tips from the experts, including Grammy-winning producers, songwriting
instructors and fellow musicians
Hundreds of songwriting placement opportunities.
Listings for songwriting organizations, conferences, workshops, retreats, colonies,
contests, venues and grant sources (helpful for indie artists looking to record and tour
on their own).”
Let me be a little more specific. I Googled the question about
songwriting competitions and found this
link. http://www.gearslutz.com/board/songwriting/874618-worth-entering-songwriting-contests.html
“ Is it worth entering songwriting contests?” The rather cynical reply was “Only if you
win.” In my opinion, there are some good reasons to enter a song contest. Apart from the
slim chance of winning it is good to write and produce a song with a deadline in mind. It
can be a valuable learning experience and can serve as a motivator to kick-start one’s
songwriting into a new gear. Beware that the price per song entry can be
substantial.Thirty dollars for The John Lennon Songwriting Contest and the International
Songwriting Competition. You may find a list of competitions at this ASCAP link.
http://www.ascap.com/music-career/resource-guide/resource-10.aspx
If you are just looking for inspiration or motivation try the February Album Writing
Month, 14 songs required, http://fawm.org/ or the RPM Challenge, 10 songs or 35 minutes
of original music, also takes place in February.http://www.rpmchallenge.com/ They are a
cheap version of a contest and just as rewarding.
Another resource is this link
This page is The Idiot’s Guide to Getting Your Song
Recorded by a Major Artist. It answers the question about who to network with and what
their titles are. It could be the A & R person at the record company or the artist’s
manager. You may end up working with a publisher or a song pitcher. You may work with a
Song Placing Organization such as Taxi https://www.taxi.com/ or Broadjam
http://www.broadjam.com/ The person responsible for putting songs in television shows is
often called The Music Supervisor. I found an informative and interesting link comparing
the Top 9 Pitching Platforms http://www.musicthinktank.com/mtt-open/top-9-song-pitching-platforms.html
All these web sites are worth exploring and one can spend hours
researching them.
I’d like to do a little more research on local opportunities and how to
propose a song project. I’ll cover these topics next month. Before I sign off let me
suggest another resource http://bobpopyk.com/musicians.html This page is dedicated to
the International Musician columnist Bill Popyk. Bill gives practical advice on the music
business and the reader will learn the importance of a professional press kit.
There’s quite a bit to chew on in this article. See you next month.
ISG Bulletin Board
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,
May 22nd 6 pm to 10 pm
115 S. Rockingham Ave,
Tavares, Fl, 32778,
352 343 2157
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 Song Contest for May
New members always welcome!
Any Details not in this newsletter are at:
© 2014 ISG