Hunter vs. Farmer

When writing songs, we can either take on the mentality of a hunter or a farmer.

When applied to songwriting, the hunter is the one who finds it best to chase after a moving target (i.e., Keith Urban is recording next month, so you'd better write a song that he might record). The problem with this mentality is that the creative process is practically flipped on its head. What you end up with is a song that only Keith Urban would record, and chances are that he won't record it. Often times the hunter ends up "hungry" at the end of the day.

The farmer is the one who works consistently (though not constantly) planting seeds that have the potential to grow and offer long-term satisfaction. When writing a song, the farmer can focus on creating the kind of art that he believes in rather than creating art that he hopes others will believe in. I would argue that when an artist believes in their work, that belief is contagious and is caught by the listener.

What the music industry needs right now is less hunters and more farmers. The buffalo herd (opportunities to get songs cut by major artists) is getting too small to accommodate every songwriter who's trying to be a hunter. Hunting is okay to do every once and a while, but only when there's food growing in the field.

Keep writing,

Ben

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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!

Key West Songwriters' Festival

Last week I had the opportunity to head down to Key West with a large group of writers and publishers from Nashville. The festival was full of shows happening all over town, from noon until three or four in the morning.

What's the point of such a migration, you may ask? For me, the main value of attending is for the opportunities to network. In town, I may run into other writers in a coffee shop or on music row, but generally we are both on our way to meet someone or to write. In Key West, no one really has to be anywhere, unless you are performing. Every meal and show is another chance to build a relationship or discover a new favorite songwriter. Here were a couple of my new favorite writers I saw perform this week:

Tony Lane ("I Need You" by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill)

Lori McKenna ("The Luxury of Knowing" by Keith Urban)

Here's a video from last year's festival:



Keep writing,

Ben

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Have you visited SongbirdCamp.com yet?

“You Like That One, Huh?” by Georgia Middleman

One thing about songwriting that I love is that the work is highly collaborative. I believe that we benefit highly when we are willing to learn and share out of our experiences. So when you see a byline next to the post title, it's because I've invited someone else to share their insights.

Georgia is one of my all-time favorite people to write with ("Bare Feet" on my EP, The Way I See Her). She also penned Keith Urban's recent hit, "I'm In."

“You Like That One, Huh?” by Georgia Middleman

While watching A Beautiful Mind the other day on television, I was struck by a line that to me reflects the link between songwriting and success in a nutshell.

A gentleman from the Nobel Prize Society comes to mathematician, John Nash, and says, (and I paraphrase):

“We’re considering you for the Nobel Prize.”

Nash says, “Based on what?

“Your theory on equilibrium.”

To which Nash says, “You like that one, huh?”

You like that one, huh? A perfect answer from someone who lives and breathes economics and works on it day in and day out. Who has a million theories he’s proud of; just so happens it was THAT one that got the Nobel Prize Society’s attention.

When I was younger, I would write a song and think, “This is it. This is the Big One.” And then nothing happened. Nobody beat down my door to get their hands on it. So I wrote another one. Nothing happened. Next thing I know, I’m writing for the sake of writing and not trying to achieve any said results. I’m writing because I have to write. It becomes a need like breathing.

Living in Nashville for the last 19 years, I believe there is a true craft to writing a commercial song. Having said that and always putting that craft to work, I now find that when I let go of attaching myself to the “Gotta write a hit song today” philosophy and just write what needs to come out of me, good things happen. Any success I’ve had at this point in my career I could have never guessed would have come from those particular songs. Call it luck or being in the right place at the right time. I call it SHOWING UP. If you write every day, you’re exploring wonderful angles that you might never have thought of if you had boxed yourself into writing that “HIT SONG.” You’re also upping the odds by sheer nature of quantity that something wonderful may happen.

So when that recording artist comes calling and says they love that song you wrote and want to record it, wouldn’t it be nice if you could say, “Which one? Oh, you like that one, huh?”


Visit Georgia's website here.