May 2015
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 20, No. 5
Next Meeting Sunday May 3rd 5:00pm
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
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.
Any Details not in this newsletter are at:
www.tinyurl.com/isgsongs
Web Chatter
by SusieCool
I have been following a blog on http://tonyconniff.com/ where Tony talked about getting out
of a rut with songwriting. One of the comments intrigued me. Ruth Greenwood talked about
some of her methods, and I will bring the blog to the May meeting and share it with you.
Hopefully it will spark some lively discussion among our members. Maybe if you have time
you could jot down some of your methods for getting out of a songwriting rut and share them
with us too!!!
This Musician’s Life
by Jeff Mason
This past month I’ve been wading through the complex and complicated methods that
are employed to derive revenue from selling or streaming music. It’s not been an easy task.
I do, however, feel it’s important for songwriters and musicians to fully understand these
methods.
I’ll open with a frightening and sobering statement. “Since 2000, the amount of
revenue created from selling or streaming music in America has been cut in half, from $14.3
billion to $7 billion, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, or
RIAA.”
http://pando.com/2013/08/05/who-killed-the-music-industry-an-interactive-explainer/
I would recommend the above mentioned article “Who killed the music industry?” It’s
a good article to begin to understand why the music business is in such an alarming
decline. It was another article that inspired me to embark on this arduous task. “New
Business = Same Demons,” written by AFM Canadian Vice President Alan Willaert, that states
clearly that the new monster on the block is Google. “In control of You Tube sits Google,
now one of the world’s most influential companies-of any kind. It probably wouldn’t
surprise you to find out that they have revenue exceeding $450 billion, and fund more than
150 organizations. What is new and extremely unsettling, is that Google has become the
biggest corporate political donor in the US. Spending billions on marketing, paying
lobbyists, and buying influence, it has politicians and regulators in a firm grip.”
http://internationalmusician.org/new-business-model-same-demons/
Musicians and songwriters can produce broadcast quality recordings in their
home.They can upload their music to a streaming site like You Tube and dream of going
“viral.” They’ll become famous and make a fortune. You can by pass the major record
companies and go “indie.” As I said dream on. The truth is that there is a new “man”
running the show. It’s no longer the record companies who are screwing the artists it’s You
Tube, ITunes and Spotify. As Willaert eloquently puts it, “Welcome to the new world order.
It’s nothing more than a technological plantation, where the new ‘man’ owns everything-the
creators, artists, workers, content, distribution, marketing and even the consumer. Look at
the information your mobile device sends them. You are already part of the collective.”
You Tube are flagrantly disregardiing copyright laws and getting away with it. While
they’ve got the politicians in their back pockets things aren’t going to get any better.
I can’t think of another profession that so regularly shoots itself in the foot.
Imagine a group of plumbers going from house to house and fixing the pipes for free. You
can’t can you? Yet that’s what musicians do each time they appear at an open mic night.
This is a thought provoking quote “ Open mic nights are an open invitation for musicians to
be exploited and are leading to the death of paid gigs.”
http://www.gigsandbands.com/5-reasons-why-open-mic-nights-are-killing-live-music/
What are the reasons behind this compulsion to undervalue our skills and talents?
English musician and blogger Emily Peasgood compares the training and “pay disparity” of
musicians and plumbers.
http://www.publicemilie.com/post/18724702087 “The 24 Hour Musician: Rights, Respect and
Exploitation.” It’s worth a read and offers invaluable insight on my question.
These are questions I get all the time when I tell someone that I’m a musician.
“Yes, but what do you really do for a living?” or “What’s your backup plan?” How many
people with a so called “real job” had a a back up plan when the great economic crash took
place in 2008? Why is their job anymore real than mine?
It’s strange but I’m not angry about the absurdity of this musician’s life. I’m
still quite optimistic. I’ve resolved to maneuver my way through this minefield of a
business. 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? Members in good standing
call SusieCool with your appearance schedule! 407-760-2153
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
April 2015 Critique Results
1. The Very Best Day Jeffrey W Evans
2. So Long Gone Away Jeff Mason
3. Begin Again Mark Hofreiter
New members always welcome!
© 2015 ISG