If an A&R rep, manager, or whoever doesn’t have the authority to tell you, “Yes, my artist WILL cut your song,” then that person doesn’t have to power to tell you, “No, my artist WON’T cut your song.”
If someone who can’t really say “yes” says “no,” it just means you need to find a different person to pitch that song to. Knock on a different door. Or maybe you need to knock on that same person’s door again after some time passes (you never know how the direction of an album- or how someone’s mood- might change).
The point is, don’t quit on a song you believe is right for that artist. Keep going until you’ve exhausted every avenue to that artist.
Actually, you don’t quit even then. You wait for a new avenue to open up.
That’s what happened with “Crickets,” which I wrote with Lisa Shaffer and Bill Whyte. We thought it was a good Joe Nichols song, but we couldn’t get it through his label, Universal South. After a while, he left them and signed with Red Bow.
We pitched it to the new label, and they loved it. Joe finally heard it, and he cut it as the title track to his current album.
If you believe in a song, keep pitching it. And never take “no” from someone who can’t say “yes.”
Have you had that experience where you’ve had success after refusing to take “no” from someone who can’t say “yes?” It doesn’t have to just be music: “She’ll never go out with you.” “You’ll never make the team.” Etc. I’d love to hear from you!
Not taking “no” from someone who can’t say “yes” is how pro songwriters think. And if you want to become a pro, you need to think like a pro. In my FREE e-book, “THINK LIKE A PRO SONGWRITER,” I not only reveal several of the mindsets which separate the pro songwriter from the amateur, but also…
- How to get on a music publisher’s radar
- How the pros know who is looking for songs
- Six simple ways to make your songs more commercial
- And more!
To get your FREE, INSTANT download of “THINK LIKE A PRO SONGWRITER,” just click on the image below, or CLICK HERE!
God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,
Brent
Brent Baxter is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ruthie Collins, Ray Stevens, and more. He’s written a top 5 hit in the US and a #1 in Canada… so far.
You are da bomb, Brent! This is a highly COOL little jewel of advice. Thanks, brother. Sharing this gem to me, is a treasure in itself. Abundant riches are all around me in places and in forms the world cannot discern. ; ))) I have a few songs I wrote..that seem awfully close to what the music group, P.O.D. writes and sings..but, IDK for sure. I do know that i do not wish to ever be popular, or to walk on red carpets, or to be famous. Nu-uh. I love that your blog pitched its way to me, sir. ; ))