All posts by Brent Baxter

MvR Community, YouDay

Awards

7 Comments

YouDay
Brent is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ray Stevens, and more.  He’s written a top 5 hit in the US and a #1 in Canada… so far.

I got some exciting news last week when the nominees were announced for the 2014 Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMAs). Gord Bamford, Byron Hill and I are nominated for Songwriters of the Year for our song, “When Your Lips Are So Close.” The song is also nominated for Single of the Year. (It went #1 with Gord as the artist.) By the way, if you happen to be a CCMA member, we’d appreciate your vote!

What award would you love to win? As a writer and/or artist, which award would you take if you could only have one? And, honestly, if you couldn’t care less about awards or if your dream reward has nothing to do with the music business I’m cool with that. I hope you’ll put whatever your answer is in the comments.

What award would YOU love to win?

As a writer and/or artist, which award would you take if you could only have one? And, honestly, if you couldn’t care less about awards or if your dream reward has nothing to do with the music business I’m cool with that. I hope you’ll put whatever your answer is in the comments.

I’ll go first, and I’ll keep it to music.

In 2005, “Monday Morning Church” won a “Song I Wish I’d Written” Award from NSAI. There were only 13 given that year, and the other winning songs included “Bless The Broken Road,” by Rascal Flatts, “I May Hate Myself In The Morning” by Lee Ann Womack, “Hey Good Lookin’” by Jimmy Buffett and Friends, and “Memories Of Us” by Keith Urban.

To have one of my songs sitting along side songs written by Hank Williams and Rodney Crowell was simply amazing. What made it even more special was that the award was voted on by only pro songwriters. When I dream about success, it usually involves that award.

But enough about me. What about YOU?

God Bless,

Brent

DON’T MISS A SINGLE MvR POST!

If you like this blog, don’t miss a single post!  Subscribe by putting your email in the “Follow Man vs. Row via E-mail” section on this page.  It’s either in the upper righthand corner or down below.   Also, please share this blog with anyone you think would benefit from it.  I appreciate it when you share it on Twitter, Facebook, and anywhere else.  Thanks!

Brent’s Twitter: @Razorbaxter

Brent Baxter Music:  http://www.brentbaxtermusic.com

Brent’s Instagram: Razorbaxter75
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Biz, Muse

A Positive Attitude Matters For Songwriters

11 Comments

Man vs Row

Brent is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ray Stevens, and more.  He’s written a top 5 hit in the US and a #1 in Canada… so far.

Success in songwriting and the music business is about so much more than just talent. For one thing, there is just so much talent in (and trying to get in) the business that talent alone is not enough. In a biz where talent is as common as water, attitude can make or break you. So today, I’d like to focus on why having a positive attitude is important.

A positive attitude keeps you going.

This is a marathon, not a sprint. A positive attitude allows you to tap into your deeper energy reserves. Without this, it’s too easy to quit when it’s been a few miles (or a few years) of uphill climb. A positive attitude gets you through the tough times.

A positive attitude draws the right people to you.

Wise, successful people want to surround themselves with positive people. They know that negative attitudes are contagious and toxic, so they intentionally avoid negative people. If you want to keep the company of successful people, it helps to be a positive person.

A positive attitude helps you be more creative.

If you believe you’ll be successful, if you believe your next great song is just around the corner, your mind will be open and receptive to song ideas in the world around you. In a cowrite, you’re more likely to shut down and not contribute if you’re more worried about not saying something “stupid” than you are about saying something that might be great.

A positive attitude opens your eyes to possibilities.

Pessimism focuses on the closed door, but optimism keep an eye out for an open window. A positive attitude allows you to move on from disappointments more quickly so you get back in the game. Pessimism sees only the reasons something won’t work. Optimism sees the obstacles, but it can also envision the path to victory- or at least believes that there IS a path to victory to be found.

A positive attitude helps you learn.

If you always focus on how “bad” the songs on the radio are or what hacks the hit songwriters are, you’re less likely to see what has made those songs and those songwriters successful. You don’t have to love every song on the radio, but they each might have something to teach you. Don’t miss the lesson.

Songwriting should be fun!

Listen, the chance of big monetary or commercial success in songwriting is very slim. If you don’t have a good attitude, if you aren’t having fun, then you should probably find something else to do. Music is meant to be a blessing. If it becomes a curse, you may need to step away for a while.

Take good care of your attitude, and your attitude will take good care of you.

What about you?  What other advantages do you get from a positive attitude?  What disadvantages of a negative attitude?  I’d love to hear your comments!

God Bless,

Brent

DON’T MISS A SINGLE MvR POST!

If you like this blog, don’t miss a single post!  Subscribe by putting your email in the “Follow Man vs. Row via E-mail” section on this page.  It’s either in the upper righthand corner or down below.   Also, please share this blog with anyone you think would benefit from it.  I appreciate it when you share it on Twitter, Facebook, and anywhere else.  Thanks!

Brent’s Twitter: @Razorbaxter

Brent Baxter Music:  http://www.brentbaxtermusic.com

Brent’s Instagram: Razorbaxter75
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Muse, WordPlay

Wordplay Thursday #51

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Wordplay Thursday

Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

Here’s a writing prompt for you.  It’s a simple fill-in-the-blank. You can use one word or several. Feel free to get as crazy, genre-appropriate, or as imaginative as you want. The point is to get the creative juices flowing. And it’s a good thing to dig deeper, so don’t stop at the first idea that hits you. Try coming up with at least five things.

“She blew that town like _____.”

I’ll give you an example to get you started:

“She blew that town like a 50 amp breaker.”

(Hat tip to Aaron Goodvin and Matt Cline, who had this line in their song, “Holly Would.”  The line was just too fun NOT to use!)

I’d love to hear what you come up with, so please share in the comments. Oh, and please keep your posts below an R-rating. It’s a family show, after all!

SHOUT OUT!

Thanks to Debbie74, Matt Martoccio, Jaredith Mize, Christopher Litz, Martin Vipond, Gary Snead, Roger Russell, Barney Coulter, Christian Baxter, Janet Goodman, Robert Sans, Debbie Convoy, Jeff Green, Ronnie Jones, Justin Heath, Amy (Appointed2), Taylor, Willa Thompson, and Ross Hemsworth for your great additions to Wordplay Thursday #50 (read it here)! Great job!

NEVER MISS ANOTHER MvR POST!

Hey, ya’ll. If you like this blog, then make sure you don’t miss a single post.  I’ll be happy to send each new post directly to your email inbox.  Just let me know where to send it by entering your email address in the “Follow Man vs. Row via E-mail” box either in the top righthand corner or down below.  And I love it when you share this blog through facebook, Twitter, and wherever! Thanks!

Twitter: @Razorbaxter

Facebook: www.brentbaxtermusic.com

Instagram: Razorbaxter75

God Bless,

Brent
//

Biz, Money

Should You Copyright Your Song?

19 Comments

Man vs Row

Brent is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ray Stevens, and more.  He’s written a top 5 hit in the US and a #1 in Canada… so far.

Should I copyright my song?

That’s a question I used to ask, and it’s one I’ve heard a lot over the years from other songwriters. Here are my thoughts on it. Hopefully, this will give you some answers, some guidance and some peace. By the way, I am NOT a lawyer, so this is NOT legal advice.  Always check with a legal professional before making big decisions.

What do the pros do?

I used to work in the royalty department of Bluewater Music. We wouldn’t send off a copyright registration until the day a song was commercially released. The last time I checked, it cost $40 to register a work, and it’s just financial suicide for a prolific writer or publisher to invest that much per song. I’ve had years when I’ve written 100 songs – that’s $4,000 just to register the copyrights! Even if you only register the songs you demo and pitch, it’s still not a good use of time and money.

What if somebody steals your song?

First of all, it’s hard to sue and prove plagiarism. You can’t copyright a title, idea or approach. Secondly, you have to prove the “thief” had access to your song. Thirdly, and most importantly, they’d have to make enough money off your song to make it worth your time to take legal action. Basically, it would have to be a hit. And that is VERY hard to do! The odds of that happening is so very slim that it’s a non-issue. Don’t let it stop you from pitching your songs or playing them out.

Do you protect your songs at all?

Yes. I leave a paper trail to prove the date of creation (which is a huge part of proving ownership). But, honestly, this is more to protect ME from someone suing me. I keep a paper calendar where I write my cowrite dates and cowriters. I write on a laptop, but I also copy the lyric into a series of notebooks with the date on each page. Additionally, I keep the Garageband file of each worktape. For songs which are part of a publishing deal, there’s an additional paper trail- assignments, Schedule A, etc.

You own the song the moment you write it down or record it. Registering your song with the copyright office just helps to prove it.

So, that’s me. I don’t copyright a song until it is commercially released (on more than just a small do-it-yourself indie project). But how you handle it is up to you. If it’s worth $40 a pop to help you feel comfortable sharing your top songs with the world, that’s cool. I hope that gives you some answers.

God Bless,

Brent

DON’T MISS A SINGLE MvR POST!

If you like this blog, don’t miss a single post!  Subscribe by putting your email in the “Follow Man vs. Row via E-mail” section on this page.  It’s either in the upper righthand corner or down below.   Also, please share this blog with anyone you think would benefit from it.  I appreciate it when you share it on Twitter, Facebook, and anywhere else.  Thanks!

Brent’s Twitter: @Razorbaxter

Brent Baxter Music:  http://www.brentbaxtermusic.com

Brent’s Instagram: Razorbaxter75
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Muse, WordPlay

Wordplay Thursday #50

27 Comments

cropped-music_row_signs322.jpg

Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

Here’s a writing prompt for you.  It’s a simple fill-in-the-blank. You can use one word or several. Feel free to get as crazy, genre-appropriate, or as imaginative as you want. The point is to get the creative juices flowing. And it’s a good thing to dig deeper, so don’t stop at the first idea that hits you. Try coming up with at least five things.

“He misses her like _____ misses _____.”

I’ll give you an example to get you started:

“He misses her like John McCain misses Hanoi.”

I’d love to hear what you come up with, so please share in the comments. Oh, and please keep your posts below an R-rating. It’s a family show, after all!

SHOUT OUT!

Wow! We’re already at 50 Wordplay Thursdays! Guess I’ve been at this for almost a year, huh? Thanks for making it so much fun!

Thanks to Christopher Litz, Gigi Gostas, Robert Sans, Debbie, Janet Goodman, Dan Retzlaff, Nila, Jerry Childers, Willa Thompson, Amy, Jeff Green, John Brownlee, Mark, and Matt Martoccio for your great additions to Wordplay Thursday #49 (read it here)! Great job!

NEVER MISS ANOTHER MvR POST!

Hey, ya’ll. If you like this blog, then make sure you don’t miss a single post.  I’ll be happy to send each new post directly to your email inbox.  Just let me know where to send it by entering your email address in the “Follow Man vs. Row via E-mail” box either in the top righthand corner or down below.  And I love it when you share this blog through facebook, Twitter, and wherever! Thanks!

Twitter: @Razorbaxter

Facebook: www.brentbaxtermusic.com

Instagram: Razorbaxter75

God Bless,

Brent
//

MvR Community

Tell Us About Your First Song

22 Comments

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Brent is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ray Stevens, and more.  He’s written a top 5 hit in the US and a #1 in Canada… so far.

What’s the story of the first song you ever wrote?

Did a light come on, telling you, “This is what I do!” Or did the songwriting bug slowly creep up on you? Did you ever play it for anyone? What do you feel about that song as you look back on it now?

Here’s my story:

It was Christmas of 1994. I was back home in Batesville from college at Arkansas State. It was my sophomore year. My buddy, Tim Meitzen, had gotten a guitar for his birthday, and he was starting to play and sing. He was still back in high school, but we knew each other and were friends from church.

Me, I had been writing poetry since my senior year in high school. Bad poetry, mostly venting about unrequited crushes, etc. I had also been writing short stories- mostly superhero adventure stuff. It was an outlet, and fun, but I didn’t consider myself a “writer” really. Or at least, I didn’t know what to do with it.

Anyway, Tim and I got together over Christmas, hanging out at his house. He had started songwriting a little bit. I showed him a “poem” I had written called, “Waiting On Wings.” I didn’t realize it at the time, but the structure of the poem was just like the structure of a song- it had verses and a repeating chorus.

Tim liked it, and he stole the melody off something else he had been working on and applied it to my poem… which was now a lyric. It was a ballad about a girl named Julie who had always been waiting on her wings. “Julie’s just an angel who is waiting on her wings – waiting for her chance to soar above all earthly things.” Each verse told a different story from her life, and (you guessed it) ended with her old, dying, and waiting on Heaven.

Sad, sweet, ballad… does that sound like your first song?

Tim put that melody on my words, and I was hooked. It was such a great feeling to have my words sung back to me! My short stories were in a notebook at home. My poems were in a notebook at home. But this SONG… this song was being sung out into the world! Tim could play it around the campfire with our buddies- which was way cooler than me reciting a poem to a bunch of 18 year old guys out in a field at 2 in the morning.

It wasn’t a very good song. It was okay, but miles away from anything professional level. Of course, we didn’t know that- we thought it was great!

After that night, I still wrote a poem or two, but I mainly wrote song lyrics. I was hooked on hooks… and I still am.

What about you? I’d love to hear your story!

God Bless,

Brent

DON’T MISS A SINGLE MvR POST!

If you like this blog, don’t miss a single post!  Subscribe by putting your email in the “Follow Man vs. Row via E-mail” section on this page.  It’s either in the upper righthand corner or down below.   Also, please share this blog with anyone you think would benefit from it.  I appreciate it when you share it on Twitter, Facebook, and anywhere else.  Thanks!

Brent’s Twitter: @Razorbaxter

Brent Baxter Music:  http://www.brentbaxtermusic.com

Brent’s Instagram: Razorbaxter75

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Craft

Shuffle The Deck To Beat 2nd Verse Hell

8 Comments

 

Shuffle-Deck

Brent is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ray Stevens, and more.  He’s written a top 5 hit in the US and a #1 in Canada… so far.

“2nd Verse Hell” is that lovely place you reach at the end of the first verse and chorus where you stare at the page for an hour, pulling out your hair and trying to figure out what to say next. I’ve been there, and it’s not fun.

Sometimes the solution to 2nd Verse Hell isn’t what happens next. Sometimes, the solution is what happened before.

Think of each section of your lyric, or even each thought, as a single playing card out of a deck. Shuffle the deck. Take what you thought was your first verse and move it to the second verse. Now what needs to be said in the first verse? Or maybe verse two is really the chorus and the chorus is really verse two.

Don’t be afraid to shuffle the deck several times. If you don’t like the result, you can always put the cards back in their original order. Go ahead. Give it a try.

Shuffling the deck just might change a losing hand into a winning one.

God Bless,

Brent

YOU VS.

What about you?  Do you struggle with 2nd verse hell?  What ways have you used to fight it?  I’d love to hear from you!

DON’T MISS A SINGLE MvR POST!

If you like this blog, don’t miss a single post!  Just put your email in the “Follow Man vs. Row via E-mail” section on this page, and I’ll send each new post right to your inbox.  The “Follow” box is either in the upper righthand corner or down below.   Also, please share this blog with anyone you think would benefit from it.  I appreciate it when you share it on Twitter, Facebook, and anywhere else.  Thanks!

Brent’s Twitter: @Razorbaxter

Brent Baxter Music:  http://www.brentbaxtermusic.com

Brent’s Instagram: Razorbaxter75

Muse, WordPlay

Wordplay Thursday #49

19 Comments

cropped-music_row_signs322.jpg

Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

Here’s a writing prompt for you.  It’s a simple fill-in-the-blank. You can use one word or several. Feel free to get as crazy, genre-appropriate, or as imaginative as you want. The point is to get the creative juices flowing. And it’s a good thing to dig deeper, so don’t stop at the first idea that hits you. Try coming up with at least five things.

“Her boss is as annoying as ____________.”

I’ll give you an example to get you started:

“Her boss is as annoying as a mosquito bite.”

I’d love to hear what you come up with, so please share in the comments. Oh, and please keep your posts below an R-rating. It’s a family show, after all!

SHOUT OUT!

Thanks to Jaredith Mize, Nila Kay, Barney Coulter, Carol Katterjohn, Matt Martoccio, Roger Vines, Roger Russell, Gabrielle Kennedy, Debbie Convoy, Dean Stacey, Willa Thompson, Steve, Janet Goodman and Mae Young for your great additions to Wordplay Thursday #48 (read it here)! Great job!

FOLLOW AND SHARE THIS BLOG

Hey, ya’ll. If you like this blog, then make sure you don’t miss a single post. Subscribe by entering your email address in the “Follow Man vs. Row via E-mail” box either in the top righthand corner or down below. And I love it when you share this blog through facebook, Twitter, and wherever! Thanks!

Twitter: @Razorbaxter

Facebook: www.brentbaxtermusic.com

Instagram: Razorbaxter75

God Bless,

Brent

Biz

Don’t Let Songwriting Success Kill Your Momentum

2 Comments

cropped-music_row_signs322.jpg

Brent is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ray Stevens, and more.  He’s written a top 5 hit in the US and a #1 in Canada… so far.

Don’t let songwriting success kill your momentum.

That sounds crazy, right?

But trust me, success can be just as big of a stumbling block as failure.

And here’s why: In the music biz, it can take a long time for success to bear the fruit of success.

Let’s say you get a big cut. It’s an amazing feeling, for sure. It’s tempting and easy to spend too much time and attention on what is now out of your hands. “Did it make the record? Will it be a single? Let me spend my solo songwriting time daydreaming about my #1 party!  Oh, and let’s make sure I spend too much of my cowriting time annoying my cowriter by talking about it!”

But here’s the truth- it may take months, years, or never for your cut to ever see the light of day. (It took TWO YEARS after my Randy Travis cut for the album to come out- and other cuts never came out at all.) Even if the record comes out, it’s easy to wait around to see if it becomes a single. If you are too focused on that one cut, you might miss several good opportunities in the meantime.

For example, you might be tempted to wait until your song is released to call for that cowrite you want (thinking it’ll make you more credible).  Or maybe you’re waiting to book some particular songwriting show until you can say, “Yeah, this song came out last week…”

Or maybe your success is getting your first song picked up by a publisher.  It’s tempting to see what happens to that song before approaching other publishers or certain songwriters about writing.

Maybe you just had a great publisher meeting, and you’re waiting to see if you can get a single song publishing contract before calling a venue and trying to book a songwriter round.

But the thing you’re waiting on may not happen, and you wasted time when you could’ve been making something else happen.

Write your next song. Find your next pitch opportunity. Don’t stop working your backside off! Now’s not the time to coast- now’s the time to put the hammer down while you have a success under your belt to give you some street cred.

Please understand me, though- I’m NOT telling you not to celebrate your victories. It’s very important to savor the wins (see my post “6 Ways Songwriters Can Keep Motivated”).

Go ahead, dance in the endzone. Spike the football. But then huddle back up and run the next play.

The game isn’t over yet- don’t stop playing.

What about you?  Have you experienced a success that hurt, or threatened to hurt your forward momentum?  I’d love to hear your comments!

God Bless,

Brent

THANKS!!

Thanks to the Songwriting and Music Business Conference for having me out to speak on the 20th!  I had a blast, and I enjoyed meeting several of ya’ll in person.  And thanks for all the kind comments in person and on Twitter and Facebook!

DON’T MISS A SINGLE MvR POST!

If you like this blog, don’t miss a single post!  Subscribe by putting your email in the “Follow Man vs. Row via E-mail” section on this page.  It’s either in the upper righthand corner or down below.   Also, please share this blog with anyone you think would benefit from it.  I appreciate it when you share it on Twitter, Facebook, and anywhere else.  Thanks!

Brent’s Twitter: @Razorbaxter

Brent Baxter Music:  http://www.brentbaxtermusic.com

Brent’s Instagram: Razorbaxter75

Muse, WordPlay

Wordplay Thursday #48

27 Comments

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FREE GIFT

Hey, ya’ll! At the bottom of today’s post, I’m going to let you know about some free stuff I’m giving away to all of you great Man vs. Row subscribers. Now, on to today’s post…

Here’s a writing prompt for you. It’s a simple fill-in-the-blank. You can use one word or several. Feel free to get as crazy, genre-appropriate, or as imaginative as you want. The point is to get the creative juices flowing. And it’s a good thing to dig deeper, so don’t stop at the first idea that hits you. Try coming up with at least five things.

“His nerves were as fried as ____________.”

I’ll give you an example to get you started:

“His nerves were as fried as catfish at a country buffet.”

I’d love to hear what you come up with, so please share in the comments. Oh, and please keep your posts below an R-rating. It’s a family show, after all!

SHOUT OUT!

Thanks to Debbie, Jeff Green, Michael Flanigan, Debbie Convoy, Barney Coulter, Ronnie Jones, Joseph Lekkas, Willa Thompson, Jerry Childers, Amy, and Matt Martoccio for your great additions to Wordplay Thursday #47 (read it here)! Great job!

FREE GIFT

As a way to say “thank you” to all of you who subscribe to Man vs. Row by email, I’m going to give away some cool stuff in July (2014). If you subscribe to MvR, I’ll send you a free report, “10 Things The Pro Knows.” I’ll also send you the guitar/vocal of “Crickets,” which is the title track of Joe Nichols’ current album. You’ll get to hear the song as Joe heard it when he decided to record it. You’ll also receive the lyric file of the song- and this lyric file includes “Baxter’s Boneyard” – all the lines that DIDN’T make it into the song (see if you agree with our choices). It’s something nobody else has seen, and I think it’s pretty cool. But, again, this gift is only for those who subscribe to Man vs. Row by E-MAIL. These gifts will be sent by email, so if I don’t have your email address, I can’t send it to you. God Bless!

FOLLOW AND SHARE THIS BLOG

Hey, ya’ll. If you like this blog, then make sure you don’t miss a single post. Subscribe by entering your email address in the “Follow Man vs. Row via E-mail” box either in the top righthand corner or down below. And I love it when you share this blog through facebook, Twitter, and wherever! Thanks!

Twitter: @Razorbaxter

Facebook: www.brentbaxtermusic.com

Instagram: Razorbaxter75

God Bless,

Brent