Co-writer Characteristic #4 of 10: Patience

Patience is kind of boring. I want to write a song in the morning, email it to my publisher in the afternoon and hear the song on the radio by evening. That, of course, isn't how it works. "Hurry up and wait" is the saying on Music Row.

To a farmer, a watched seed never grows. It's not our job as songwriters to mull over every single detail pertaining to where our song ends up after it leaves the pencil and hits the pad. There are just too many factors that go into the journey of a song to easily understand how to make a tangible difference in how well a song does.

My friend Cliff Goldmacher says it well in his recent post. Read it on BMI's website here.

Keep writing,

Ben

------ Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Songbird Camp on BMI.com

I am incredibly excited to have BMI involved as a sponsor of Songbird Camp. They have gone above and beyond in their support, even putting us on their main homepage:



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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

David Foster's 10 Tips for Songwriters

Quoted from BMI.com:

Foster has written and produced hits for international superstars including Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, Chicago, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Josh Groban, Earth, Wind & Fire, Natalie Cole, Kenny Loggins, Chicago, Chaka Khan, Boz Scaggs, Michael Bolton, Brandy, and many more. He has taken home a total of 15 Grammys, including three Producer of the Year trophies, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010.

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

BMI Live Video

My friend Beth over at BMI introduces their service, BMI Live. This is an incredibly helpful tool that allows songwriters to ensure they are paid for their live performances. I'm registered, and I highly encourage you to check it out!

8-4-2-1

 

When I joined a P.R.O., my rep there took interest in the music I was writing. He encouraged me to continue bringing him new songs, and was gracious enough to give me constructive feedback. At an unclear stretch of my creative journey, it was important to have someone rooting for me and my art.

After about a year of meeting every month or two, he said, "I think it's time for you to meet with some publishers." I was thrilled. And nervous. Here's the breakdown of what happened after I walked out of his office that afternoon:

1. He gave me a list of 8 different publishers (including phone numbers) who he thought would have interest in the songs I was writing. He also gave me permission to use his name, which definitely helped legitimize my reason for calling.

2. I got meetings with 4 of the publishers. They either listened with interest, asked me to just leave the CD and told me they'd call me (which they didn't), consistently skipped to the next song every 30 seconds (I think I played a song that only had gibberish words instead of lyrics, so I can't blame her), or just wanted to chat.

3. I got multiple meetings with 2 of the publishers, getting feedback and constructive criticism on my songs. I would consistently drop by the two publishers' offices every couple of weeks, and would write songs specifically with the intention of taking them to the meetings.

4. Ultimately, I only continued meeting consistently with one publisher. Thankfully, that was the one publisher that I ended up signing with, over a year after this process began.

The actual process of meeting consistently with a publisher is called "courting," and it's fairly similar to dating someone until the proposal. It looked and felt a lot like an internship of sorts, where I had many of the same opportunities that the publisher's signed writers had.

Though I felt like I was ready the day I walked out of the P.R.O.'s office with a list of eight publishers, I knew the day I signed my publishing deal that it was worth going through the year-long process. I was a better writer because of it. For more on what a publisher does, read my previous post here.

Keep writing,

Ben

What Does a P.R.O. Do?

When I came to town to perform and write, I had someone ask me which P.R.O. I belonged to. I had no answer, because, not only was I not affiliated with any of them, I didn't even know what one was.

When you hear people talk about a "P.R.O.," they are referring to a Performing Rights Organization. The three major P.R.O.s in the United States are:

ASCAP
BMI
SESAC

And in Canada:

SOCAN

The job of a P.R.O. is to track, collect and distribute performance royalties from radio, television and live performances. They all accomplish the same work, and are one of the songwriter's best friends and biggest advocates. They write the big checks we all dream of finding in our mailbox one day.

The decision of which P.R.O. to join is based less on hard facts than it is a gut feeling. I've heard of two co-writers initially getting paid different amounts by their different P.R.O.s for writing the same song, but the amounts evened out over the long term. The best advice I ever heard when making my decision was to go wherever I felt the most welcome and had the strongest relationships. You need to go where they know your name and are familiar with what you do. I know songwriters at all three American P.R.O.s who are equally happy where they are (you can only join one at a time, but are able to switch over time if so desired).

I actually ended up meeting my publisher and signing my deal directly through my P.R.O. and the people I knew there. But more on that later...

Keep writing (and contact a P.R.O. if you haven't already),

Ben

BMI Live

 

Today BMI launched a new program that allows songwriters to report their own live performances. Read about it here.

Keep writing,

Ben