…something that you can always point to back in your life and be proud of. I’ve been blessed with a few of those things, and one of them is hanging on the wall in my office.
It’s a plaque I received after Gord Bamford had a #1 single in Canada for our song “When Your Lips Are So Close.” The plaque includes part of that week’s Billboard chart, and there’s our songs, sitting at #1 above Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, and Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert.
How would it feel to tell yourself, “I did it. I wrote a #1 hit. No matter what happens in the future, I’ll always know my dream wasn’t crazy. It came true.”
Well, ok… maybe having a hit song IS kind of a crazy dream. But I’m living proof that crazy dreams can come true. I want to help you make YOUR crazy dream come true, too. And that’s why I want to share the concept of “PUL’D” with you. “PUL’D” describes the type of song that most artists are looking for.
Just look at the singles charts, and you’ll see what I mean. Most songs are positive messages or happy. People like to feel good. Positive songs are a whole lot better to listen to when you’re out with your friends at a party or at a club. Most songs on the charts are mid-tempo or uptempo. It’s something people can dance to, or at least bob their heads or tap their feet to. And most either deal with love or some some deep (“depth”) life topic. Love is the most universal topic, right? If you want to connect with a huge group of people (millions of radio listeners), your best bet is to talk about love. “Depth” is when the song deals with some sort of life issue. It could be death, growing older, looking back on life lessons, contemplating God, etc.
In the case of “When Your Lips Are So Close,” (the #1 hanging on my wall) the song is Positive, Midtempo, Love. It doesn’t have a dance club tempo, but it moves and it has a big chorus which gives it energy.
To give your song the best chance of getting recorded, you want to give it at least one of these three qualities (I say “three” because “love” and “depth” are both topics). However, if you can give it all three, then you REALLY have something that people are looking for.
You can think of it this way:
If you want to learn more about how to write commercial songs, my course, “Cut/able” is a great place to start. It includes lessons on PUL’D, G.A.P.S. (from my last post), and more. (It’s available HERE.)
But maybe you already own “Cut/able” and you’re ready to take the next step. Or maybe interactive learning is more your thing. Either way, I have a great opportunity coming up for you.
In January and February, I’m leading a series of multiple-night, live, web-based workshops that I’m calling the “C4 Experience.” Why “C4?” I’ll get to that in my next email, where I’ll also share how building a song in the right neighborhood can move YOU into “Cut City.”
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.
