Tag Archives: Dan Hodges Music

In Today’s Music Biz, Songwriters Must Have THIS Skill

Hit music publisher, Dan Hodges of Dan Hodges Music, was our most recent Play For A Publisher guest, and he dropped a HUGE value-bomb on us!

It was just too good and too important to keep to ourselves, so I decided to share it.  If you want to become a pro songwriter, read on!

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To BE a pro, you need to THINK like a pro, and this FREE ebook will help transform your thinking, your songwriting, and your success.  Get it today!

Click Here For The Book

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At Songwriting Pro’s most recent “Play For A Publisher” event, Dan Hodges was asked about the importance to a publisher of a songwriter being able to play, sing, record their own demos, etc.

His answer was surprising.

Here’s basically (paraphrased) what Dan told us.

In the 1990’s, it was really important for a songwriter to be able to write solo.  That way, you could put that writer in the room with anybody (or nobody), and you were confident that he or she could come out with a good song.

But these days, it’s different.

Now, Dan places a big value on work ethic.  Is the writer a hard worker?  Does he or she show up consistency, putting in the effort and the hours?

Then Dan hit us with something surprising.

It’s really important that the writer is a good hang.  A publisher is always looking to network, and it’s very important that the writer is LIKABLE.  Just like in the ’90’s, when publishers wanted a writer who could go into a room with anyone and come out with a good song, these days, they often want a writer who can go into a room with anyone and come out with a good RELATIONSHIP.

The social aspect of the music business is vitally important.

He told us the story of one of his songwriters.  According to Dan, this writer is a very positive person.  He just makes everyone around him feel good.  This writer recently landed a #1 hit country song, which he cowrote with the artist.

Basically, as Dan explains it, his writer got a #1 not only because he is a good writer, but the artist enjoyed writing with him.  They became friends, and after that relationship garnered 30 or so songs, one of them landed on the artist’s debut album.  It was released as a single, and eventually hit #1.

Now Dan’s songwriter has a #1 hit to go with his winning, positive personality.

Now, here’s my (Brent’s) take on that.

I know some writers who hate to hear these kinds of stories.  They hate to think of the music business as “high school all over again” or a “popularity contest” where only the “cool kids” get the attention.

That’s a loser mentality, and you can’t afford to think that way.  

(Those are my words, not Dan’s, just so we’re clear.)

The music business is FULL of writers with a ton of talent.  It’s full of writers with a good work ethic.  And there are a lot of writers trying to get into the biz who also work hard and have talent.

Bringing a good hang can be worth as much as bringing a good hook.

Why?  Because being a good hang can get you in the room again and again.  Yes, you need the talent.  But once the talent-bar has been cleared, the artist (or hit writer) still has more potential cowriters than they have time for.  So…

What’s going to get YOU in that room instead of someone else?

Be a good hang.  Be likable.  Be someone other people want to be around.

Like it or not, personality matters.  People just have too many options to be stuck spending their time with people they don’t like.

If an artist or cowriter doesn’t HAVE to write with you, it’s your job to make them WANT to write with you.

 

I want YOU to join me at the next Play For A Publisher event- and get great advice and feedback on YOUR song in person! (No matter where you live.)

If you’re ready to connect with a publisher, I have a path for YOU and YOUR great song to get to a real, legit, successful music publisher, no matter where in the world you live.  That’s right- it’s all online, so you can join us from anywhere!

On Thursday, December 14, I’m having the next round of Songwriting Pro’s “Play For A Publisher.” Our guest is John Ozier of ole Music.  John has had his hand in a bunch of hits, but the deadline to submit your song is coming up THIS MONTH!  CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

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.

Advice For Songwriters From Hit Music Publisher, Dan Hodges

Hit music publisher, Dan Hodges of Dan Hodges Music, was our most recent Play For A Publisher guest.  And, boy, did he have some great advice for our songwriters!

Wanna know what he said? Read on!

________________________________

To BE a pro, you need to THINK like a pro, and this FREE ebook will help transform your thinking, your songwriting, and your success.  Get it today!

Click Here For The Book

_________________________________

If you couldn’t make it to the event or watch the replay, here’s some of the great advice Dan had for us.

Put yourself in the artist’s shoes.  With every song, ask yourself, “If I were an artist on a label, would I want to sing this song every night, saying ‘This is me.  This is who I am.’?”

Go with what you know.  Trends change, but a great story and a melody are always relevant.  Sam Hunt’s “Breakup In A Small Town” may have progressive production, but it still has some brilliant lines (especially the one about the grass growing back where she used to park her car).  That’s great writing.

Show me a “moment” in your song.  Create a moment or paint a picture that draws the listener in.  Avoid having too many generic lines.  Get something tangible in there.

Don’t make the listener connect too many dots.  Country music is a very spelled-out market.  Don’t make the listener work too hard to understand what you’re talking about.

Regarding how progressive a country demo can get:  Anything goes.  Just keep the lyric a country lyric.  But the demo can get “out there.”

Is there an advantage to working with a publisher?  Yes, Dan says.  A publisher will hook up cowrites and help you with networking.  You must have artist/producer relationships, and a good publisher will have those.

Stay away from curse words in a country lyric.  It makes it harder for the song to get cut.

Don’t put the singer in a negative light.  They have to sing the song every night and “become” the character in the song.  Make the main character in the song someone the artist WANTS to be.

I want YOU to join me at the next Play For A Publisher event- and get feedback on YOUR song in person! (No matter where you live.)

If you’re ready to connect with a publisher, I have a path for YOU and YOUR great song to get to a real, legit, successful music publisher, no matter where in the world you live.

On Thursday, December 14, I’m having the next round of Songwriting Pro’s “Play For A Publisher.” Our guest is John Ozier of ole Music.  John has had his hand in a bunch of hits, but the deadline to submit your song is coming up quickly!  CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

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.

Congrats To Our September 2017 “Play For A Publisher” Winners!

Congratulations to our newest “Play For Publisher” Top Ten songs and songwriters!

First of all, thank you to each of you who took a chance, took positive action, and submitted one or more songs to the “Play For Publisher” event with Dan Hodges of Dan Hodges Music.  Ya’ll are just plain awesome.

Out of about 200 songs, it took a while to whittle it down to just 10.  We have country songs, pop songs, cowrites, solo writes, male songs and female songs!

There were a lot of worthy songs sent in, and I felt bad about leaving so many out.  If your song wasn’t chosen this time doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good song.

By the way, here’s a little about HOW I pick these songs.  Brave, awesome songwriters like you sent in your song or songs.  I downloaded them and listened in the truck- BEFORE I looked at who the writers are.  I picked the Top 10 and On Hold songs, THEN I looked up who wrote them.

So these were picked based on the song, not on the songwriter.  As a result… some folks got more than one in the Top 10 and On Hold.  Congrats to them for doing good, consistent work.

You know, one time I turned a song in to my publisher, and they didn’t know what to do with it, so they didn’t want to do anything with it.  My cowriters wanted to demo it, and the publisher said they wouldn’t pay for a demo.

The song was called, “Crickets,” and we got it cut by Joe Nichols.  It’s the title track to his last album.

joe-nichols-crickets

That’s right.  The song my publisher wouldn’t even pay to demo got cut anyway.  (My cowriters did an out-of-pocket guitar/vocal, and we pitched it ourselves.)

Welcome to Nashville.  So while I listened to each and every song and did my best to pick the ones that have the best chance of catching Dan’s ear… I could be wrong.  That’s just the way the music biz works.  So if your song wasn’t selected, it doesn’t mean you should give up on it.

Okay, here are the Top Ten (in no particular order):

“One Man’s White Trash (Is Another Man’s Treasure” by Chloe Dolandis, Zach Ziskin

“Park It On The Water” by Donna King, Lee Black, Gina Boe, Riley Roth

“Hang Ten My Friend” by Pat Aureli, Danny Myrick

“The Boy That Once Was Me” by Sam Speirs

“Call Me Drunk” by Troy Castellano, Doug Folkins

“Kids In Love” by Jay Putty, Brian Donkers

“Fifth Of July” by Sarah Spencer, John Cirillo, Dan Reifsnyder

“I In Love” by Lynn Tessari, Terez Goblet

“Ugly Is The New Beautiful” by Jayne Sachs, Hattie Murdoch

“Takes” by Rob Harris, David Rivers, Todd Taylor

(The Songwriting Pro community would LOVE to hear your songs, so if you have a link you’d like to post to your “Top 10” song, please post it in the comments below!)

Congratulations!  Dan and I look forward to hanging out with you on September 18.  (In the days before the event, I’ll email the winners the instructions about the online meeting.)

Like I said, the 10 songs above aren’t the only good ones I had the pleasure of hearing.  There are several more that were put “on hold” for the top 10 songs.  This list could be quite a bit longer, but I’d like to spotlight a few of them, too.  (Ya’ll feel free to link up your songs in the comments, too!)

“ON HOLD” songs…

“Devil You Know”  by Mikalyn Hay, Bobby John, Murray Daigle

“GPS” by Donna King, Riley Roth, Brandon James

“Friday Groove” by Joe Sly, Emily Kroll, Donna King

“Pulling Strings” by Tom Glynn, Kelly McKay

“Magnetic” by Joe Slyzelia, Loralei Ells, John Stanislawski

“Tequila’d” by James Hoppe, Vanessa Welwyn

“Calling Your Bluff” by Lynn Tessari, Ben Woolley, Ajaye Jardine

“Beyond Repair” by Art Dickerson, Parker

“Scotland Whispering” by Sam Spears

“He Is Greater” by Josh Otten

These songs, along with others, were in there battling it out with the top 10, so be encouraged!

If you want to become a songwriting pro (in how you think, write songs or do business), then a great place to start is RIGHT HERE.  I want to help you on your songwriting journey.  I’ve been in the music business for years, and I’m here to help you get the cuts – and avoid the bruises.  CLICK HERE TO START 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.

SWP 4