Tag Archives: Mike Doyle

Write Like A Pro

There’s only ONE day left!

2 Comments

SWP 4

The deadline for submitting a song to Songwriting Pro’s “Play For Publisher” event is TOMORROW (Saturday)!

If you’ve thought about submitting a song (or two or three) for the Play For Publisher event, you have until the end of the day tomorrow (Saturday the 24th) to purchase your ticket and reserve your spot.  Details and a link are at the end of the post.

In the meantime, here’s a encore of a recent blog post on the topic.  Thanks!

God bless,

Brent

I used to think my songs were pretty dang good.  Then I played them for a pro. 

Back when I was in Arkansas, writing songs and dreaming of getting cuts and hits, I thought I was a pretty good songwriter.  After all, my main cowriter, Tim Meitzen, liked our songs, and so did many of the people who came out to Tim’s gigs.  Tim just finished an album, and the studio owner / producer had good things to say about the songs – most of which I cowrote.  So I was feeling pretty good about myself.  (The phrase “as good as the stuff on the radio” might’ve been said once or twice.)

Then I played my songs for a pro.

I knew Danny Tate (a little) from back home.  His dad was the minister of music at my church.  Danny was a pro singer/songwriter who’d spent time in both Nashville and LA.  He’d gotten several cuts, his biggest being “Affair Of The Heart” for Rick Springfield in the ’80’s.  He’d also had a record deal and landed at least one video, “Dreaming'” on VH1 during my college days.  So he was no rookie.

Rick Springfield

I sent him some songs, and he was kind enough to listen.  He was also kind enough to be honest.  He gave me some valuable feedback, basically saying that “there’s a whole ‘nother level of songwriting” in Nashville.  Be told me my stuff was okay, but it didn’t meet professional standards.

Ouch.

By Little Rock, Arkansas, standards, Tim and I were doing strong work.  But by Nashville standards, we had a long way to go.  A later trip to meet Mike Doyle at ASCAP confirmed this.  I left that meeting encouraged but  reminded that the bar was set higher than I was reaching.

Those moments were NOT fun, but they were NECESSARY.

I appreciate Danny and Mike.  Their feedback was sometimes frustrating, but it helped me to reach higher.  Their feedback helped me turn pro.

It’s easy to let “the bar” slip down lower than it should.  It’s easy to start judging your work against what your cowriters or other amateurs are writing.  Having your friends and family like your songs and request them can lower the bar.  But “friends and family” is not where the bar is really set.

If you want cuts and hits, you can’t set the bar at “what mama likes.”

Set The Bar

So… how do you “re-set” the bar?  How do you raise your songwriting standards?  Here are a couple ways.

Go to great songwriter rounds.

Open mic nights don’t count.  I’m talking about hitting the later rounds where the pros play.  Yes, it’s fun to hear their cuts and hits.  But pay special attention to their songs that haven’t gotten cut yet.  You’ll hear songs that blow your mind- and it’ll blow your mind that those songs haven’t been recorded yet.  Those great songs?  That’s your competition.

Get professional feedback.

There are some places that offer song evaluations and coaching, and that’s great.  But I’ll be honest- I used to do a bunch of coaching sessions, and it’s easy to start grading on a curve.  A song may sound pretty good when it’s in the middle of a bunch of beginner coaching sessions.  That same song might sound very different if you’ve been listening to pro demos all day.

Your best bet to get an accurate assessment of your song is to get it in the ears of someone who is actively in the trenches.  Play it for someone who has their own songs (or the songs of their writers) judged by the highest standards on a regular basis.

Having a pro re-set your songwriting bar can be uncomfortable.  But it’s worth it.

If you’ve never played your songs for a pro, I encourage you to do it as soon as possible.  If it’s been a while, you’re due for a tune up.

So, how do you get to one of these pros?  Well, there are a few ways… but let me tell you about an event I have coming up.

In October, I’m hosting the first Songwriting Pro Play For Publisher (“P4P”) event.  This is YOUR opportunity to get YOUR song heard by a successful, active music publisher.  And we’re kicking off our first P4P event with a great guest: Chris Oglesby of BMG Chrysalis!  Chris is a 25-year music biz veteran, and he works every day with hit songwriters like Tony Lane, Brett Beavers, busbee, Hillary Lindsey, and more.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS AWESOME 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.

cropped-SWP-2.jpg

P4P, Write Like A Pro

Is your songwriting bar set high enough?

16 Comments

SWP 4

I used to think my songs were pretty dang good.  Then I played them for a pro. 

Back when I was in Arkansas, writing songs and dreaming of getting cuts and hits, I thought I was a pretty good songwriter.  After all, my main cowriter, Tim Meitzen, liked our songs, and so did many of the people who came out to Tim’s gigs.  Tim just finished an album, and the studio owner / producer had good things to say about the songs – most of which I cowrote.  So I was feeling pretty good about myself.  (The phrase “as good as the stuff on the radio” might’ve been said once or twice.)

Then I played my songs for a pro.

I knew Danny Tate (a little) from back home.  His dad was the minister of music at my church.  Danny was a pro singer/songwriter who’d spent time in both Nashville and LA.  He’d gotten several cuts, his biggest being “Affair Of The Heart” for Rick Springfield in the ’80’s.  He’d also had a record deal and landed at least one video, “Dreaming'” on VH1 during my college days.  So he was no rookie.

Rick Springfield

I sent him some songs, and he was kind enough to listen.  He was also kind enough to be honest.  He gave me some valuable feedback, basically saying that “there’s a whole ‘nother level of songwriting” in Nashville.  Be told me my stuff was okay, but it didn’t meet professional standards.

Ouch.

By Little Rock, Arkansas, standards, Tim and I were doing strong work.  But by Nashville standards, we had a long way to go.  A later trip to meet Mike Doyle at ASCAP confirmed this.  I left that meeting encouraged but  reminded that the bar was set higher than I was reaching.

Those moments were NOT fun, but they were NECESSARY.

I appreciate Danny and Mike.  Their feedback was sometimes frustrating, but it helped me to reach higher.  Their feedback helped me turn pro.

It’s easy to let “the bar” slip down lower than it should.  It’s easy to start judging your work against what your cowriters or other amateurs are writing.  Having your friends and family like your songs and request them can lower the bar.  But “friends and family” is not where the bar is really set.

If you want cuts and hits, you can’t set the bar at “what mama likes.”

Set The Bar

So… how do you “re-set” the bar?  How do you raise your songwriting standards?  Here are a couple ways.

Go to great songwriter rounds.

Open mic nights don’t count.  I’m talking about hitting the later rounds where the pros play.  Yes, it’s fun to hear their cuts and hits.  But pay special attention to their songs that haven’t gotten cut yet.  You’ll hear songs that blow your mind- and it’ll blow your mind that those songs haven’t been recorded yet.  Those great songs?  That’s your competition.

Get professional feedback.

There are some places that offer song evaluations and coaching, and that’s great.  But I’ll be honest- I used to do a bunch of coaching sessions, and it’s easy to start grading on a curve.  A song may sound pretty good when it’s in the middle of a bunch of beginner coaching sessions.  That same song might sound very different if you’ve been listening to pro demos all day.

Your best bet to get an accurate assessment of your song is to get it in the ears of someone who is actively in the trenches.  Play it for someone who has their own songs (or the songs of their writers) judged by the highest standards on a regular basis.

Having a pro re-set your songwriting bar can be uncomfortable.  But it’s worth it.

If you’ve never played your songs for a pro, I encourage you to do it as soon as possible.  If it’s been a while, you’re due for a tune up.

So, how do you get to one of these pros?  Well, there are a few ways… but let me tell you about an event I have coming up.

I’m hosting the next round of Songwriting Pro’s “Play For A Publisher” soon!  We have these awesome events- with legit hit music publishers- every quarter, and 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.

cropped-SWP-2.jpg

Biz, C4X, Craft, Live Event

Songwriting Coaches Don’t Make You Do Push-Ups

8 Comments

 

First of all, what is a coach?

A coach is an experienced and trusted advisor. A songwriting coach could be a more seasoned, experienced cowriter. It could also be a publisher or PRO representative (ASCAP, SESAC, BMI, SOCAN, etc.) who takes time to meet with you. It could also be a pro-songwriter coach from NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) or GSC (Global Songwriters Connection), or Songwriting And Music Business. There are several good independent coaches out there, too.

A quality coach can help you get where you want to go more effectively and efficiently- if you’re willing to learn. Here are five specific ways songwriters can benefit from a coaching relationship.

1. Your coach knows things you don’t.

He may or may not have some #1s to his credit. He may or may not have a song on the charts this week. But the important thing is that he has been down the road ahead of you and can point the way. He’s seen more, learned more, and accomplished more than you have (yet). He can help accelerate your learning curve and avoid some of the pitfalls.

2. Your coach is not your mom.

A coach doesn’t have to see you at Thanksgiving or worry about the quality of the nursing home you’ll choose for her. Therefore, while a quality coach will not be mean, she has the freedom to be honest about your writing- as she sees it. She also doesn’t know your backstory. This means your writing has to stand on it’s own- singing about Jenny you dated in high school means ONLY what the song says. Your coach can’t fill in the gaps from your shared experience- your coach won’t know that Jenny was Prom Queen unless your song tells her.

3. It’s good practice.

If you want to get songs recorded on a professional level, you’re going to have to get comfortable throwing your babies into the real world. It can be scary and frustrating, but it’s something you need to get used to. A quality coach is a safe place to get that professional feedback. It’s a step into the music business where you’ll be challenged and have to toughen up. But it’s also safe because being “just okay” or even “bad” doesn’t close the door to them in the future. Your coach doesn’t expect you to be professional-level, and it’s not about, “Well, did you bring me a hit today?”

4. A coach is a potential entry point into the music business.

If you want to be a professional writer, you won’t get there alone. You need a network of relationships in the business, and a coach is a great start. A coach might recommend potential cowriters or publishers. He or she can be your champion- especially at places like NSAI or GSC. A coach might even write with you. Eventually. (But you should never be the one to mention it first.)  None of this is guaranteed, and when you sign up with a coach, do not expect it.  But if you EARN it, it MIGHT happen.

5. A songwriting coach won’t make you do push-ups.

I hate push-ups, and thankfully… no matter how bad my songs were… I’ve never had one of my songwriting coaches say, “drop and give me 20.”  So, there’s that.

Coaching has had a profound impact on my songwriting. There were coaches I only met with now and then (and sometimes only once). These included guys like Chad Green and Ralph Murphy at ASCAP. It also includes publisher Clay Myers, who gave such blunt, honest and challenging feedback that I wanted to throat-punch him 10 minutes into our first meeting… and wanted to write for him 30 minutes later.

It includes my songpluggers- Mike Doyle, Jesse Frasure and Scot Sherrod at Major Bob Music, Sam Ramage at RPM Music, and Paul Compton at Writers Infinity. These guys wouldn’t just pitch my songs. They encouraged me when I was down, they celebrated our victories, and they challenged me to write better.

Are there songwriting (or other) coaches who have made an impact in your life or on your writing? Give them some love in the comments!

Coaching can make a big positive difference in your songwriting. But let’s face it, even the best, most knowledgable songwriting coach in the world won’t do you any good if you’re not willing to do the work it takes to implement their suggestions and rise to their challenges. Seeking out a coach and then ignoring their advice only annoys the coach and wastes your time. Don’t do that, okay?

But, if you ARE ready to get some coaching, and you ARE ready to do the work, I have a cool opportunity for you. It’s called The C4 Experience, or C4X. It’s a series of workshops in January and February in 2016. What does “C4” stand for?

Creative
Commercial
Coaching
Community

The C4 Experience is about celebrating your creative spirit and sharpening your commercial songwriting, guided by expert coaching and encouraged by a supportive community.

Click on the image below or CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE!

c4x

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.

Biz

The Power Of Community

1 Comment

Man vs Row 

Even LeBron has a coach and a team.

Even Springsteen has The E Street Band. Even Han Solo (yep, a guy with the last name “Solo”) has Chewy.  Scooby Doo has Shaggy and the gang. Heck, Kool has The Gang.  And I have too many examples.

Here’s the deal.  There’s a romantic notion about being a creative island- of being an artistic hermit  who produces great art and sets the world on fire while never leaving their cabin in the mountains.

That might be fine if you just want to create for yourself or for the sake of creating.  That’s great.  But if you want your art, your songs, to connect with a larger audience… if you want your songs to get on the radio… you can’t be a lone wolf.

You need a community.  Just like I do.

Community

Over the years, my community (friends, cowriters, and music biz peeps) have introduced me to great cowriters that have become close friends.  They’ve opened doors for me to get jobs and publishing deals.  They’ve gotten record deals and have recorded my songs.

And, perhaps most importantly, my community has challenged me to become a better songwriter, and they’ve encouraged me when I felt like a lousy one.

There’s Mike Doyle, my first ASCAP writer’s rep, who told me that I had talent but also said I needed to keep working on the craft.  There’s Neal Coty, who has continued to write with me and tell me, “I’m gonna get us a cut,” even when I’m frustrated.  There’s Lisa Shaffer, who told Paul Compton he should consider me for a publishing deal when I was without one.  And there’s Paul himself, who sent me back to the writer’s room on many occasions to dig deeper- to rewrite even when I didn’t want to.  There’s Tim Meitzen, my first cowriter, who gave me the thrill of hearing my song played for an audience for the first time.  There’s Sheree Spoltore at NSAI who introduced me to Ruthie Collins, who ended up becoming a friend, cowriter, and an artist on Curb Records.  There’s Matt Cline, who has never failed to tell me I’m good enough- even when I’ve doubted it.

And there’s more.  There are many friends and cowriters who have prayed for me and opened their hearts, guitar cases and hook books for me.  They’ve made me a better songwriter, and they’ve made me a better person.

Do you have a community? If so, give them a shout-out in the comments or share this post with them and say “thanks.”

It can be hard to find a community sometimes- a group that understands the struggles of an aspiring songwriter.  Folks who don’t just nod and say, “sorry, bro…” when you share a wall you’ve hit- folks that can really relate because they have bruises from those same walls.  It can be difficult to find those people- especially when you live outside of a major music city like New York, LA or Nashville.  I know- I lived in Arkansas in the days before social media.

I want to help you form a community.  I’m putting together a small group to meet through a series of live, online, interactive video workshops called, “The C4 Experience.”  We’ll meet (from anywhere in the world) online for a total of 8 hours over two months.  I’ll lead our discussions, but everyone will be encouraged to participate- to share your struggles and victories, and to ask your questions.  We’ll spotlight each of the 8 group members of the course of the C4 Experience, and we’ll work together to help each other grow as songwriters.  It’s my hope that once the C4 Experience is over, you’ll stay in touch with each other, either as cowriters or as fellow travelers on the songwriting journey.

In short, we’ll start building a community.  And you know how I feel about those.

Here are the details of the “C4X.”

c4x

“C4” stands for:

Creative
Commercial
Coaching
Community

The C4 Experience is about celebrating your creative spirit and sharpening your commercial songwriting, guided by expert coaching and encouraged by a supportive community.

Let’s look at each part of this:

Creative:
I want to celebrate you because I’m a fan of you! I love dreamers and doers. And while I take the craft of songwriting very seriously, I believe it should be fun. If you’ve ever been to one of my workshops or live events, you know I like to have fun while I’m teaching- so you can have fun while you’re learning. And I also believe you can be creative while being commercial, which brings me to the next “C.”

Commercial:
This workshop series is for songwriters that want to write commercially successful songs- either for yourself or for others to sing. By the end of this workshop, my goal is for your songwriting to be a lot more commercial.

Coaching:
Each two-hour session will begin with 30 minutes of teaching and a lesson review. Each lesson will be based on one of the four sections of “Cut/able.” You’ll do the reading and exercises before each workshop, and we’ll meet online to discuss the lesson and answer any questions. Each student will also receive 45 minutes of “spotlight coaching.” This is a time for us to focus on YOU- your situation, your challenges, and your songs. I’ll lead, but the other students can also give their advice.

Community:
The C4 Experience is limited to just 8 students, so there will be time to get to know everyone else in the group over our 8 hours together over 4 nights. You’ll encourage each other and probably find out that your challenges aren’t that different from anyone else’s. Successful commercial songwriting is a team sport, and this just may help you build that team.

HOW DOES C4 WORK?

The C4 Experience is an online event, so you can join in from anywhere there’s an internet connection. You do NOT have to be in Nashville. You can join us from anywhere in the world. We’ll meet via Fuze, an online videoconferencing platform. Basically, I’ll send you a link before each session, and you just click to join in. If you have questions, you can find out more about Fuze, here:
System requirements
Join Fuze meeting through an internet browser

We’ll meet 4 times:

     Tuesday, January 12, 7:30pm to 9:30pm (Central time)
     Tuesday, January 25, 7:30pm to 9:30pm (Central time)
     Tuesday, February 9, 7:30pm to 9:30pm (Central time)
     Tuesday, February 23, 7:30pm to 9:30pm (Central time)

Each night will begin with a 30-minute lesson from “Cut/able.” We’ll work through the workbook in order:

*Session 1- W.I.L.L.power: Proving Personality & Emotions Through Your Lyrics (Connect on a deeper level with the artist and listener through effective use of imagery.)

*Session 2- PUL’D To Success: The Value of Positive, Uptempo, Love/Depth Songs (Give the artists what they need, give radio what it wants, and give the fans what they like by learning the importance of writing positive, uptempo, love/depth songs.) Read more here.

*Session 3- Neighborhoods: Where Will You Build A Home For Your Songs? (Develop skills to identify an artist’s “brand” so you can write songs that fit that brand and speak to the artist’s core audience.) Read more here.

*Session 4- Fill The G.A.P.S.: Growth, Achievement, Preaching/Positioning, Songwriting (Pinpoint areas of opportunity within an artist’s catalog- slots you can fill with your songs, songs that fit the artist’s brand without being just like what they’ve already done.) Read more here.

After the lesson/Q&A, we’ll do two 45-minute spotlight coaching sessions. We’ll focus on one of the group members each session (two per night). Each of the eight community members will get his or her own spotlight over the course of the event.

The cost of the entire C4 Experience is $250, which is a great deal. It works out to $31.25 an hour (for 8 hours). I usually charge $150 for just one hour of coaching. But with C4, you get 4 30-minute lessons with Q&A and a personalized 45-minute spotlight coaching session. PLUS, you get to participate in the spotlight sessions of the 7 other songwriters. Believe me, there will be plenty you can learn from their sessions, too!

An average demo in Nashville currently costs anywhere from $500 to $1000. That’s just for ONE SONG. That’s a fine investment if your song is commercially strong. If it isn’t… you just wasted a lot of your money. Wouldn’t it be better to spend $250 to keep from wasting $1000 or more (again and again)? For less than the price of demoing one song, you can learn how to write song after song after song that’s worth demoing!  And the friends you stand to make- the allies and traveling companions?  What are they worth?  You can’t even put a price on that.

BONUS!

Since we’ll be learning from my workbook, “Cut/able,” it only makes sense to give you a copy when you join C4. It sells for $25, but I’ll throw it in for free. (If you already own “Cut/able,” there’s a discount code in the back of the workbook. Use it at checkout, and it’ll knock $25 off the price, so it’s like you get it for free!)  Click here to find out more about “Cut/able.”

Tickets for this event are on sale NOW. There are only 8 spots open, and I expect them to go fast- so don’t wait too long and miss your chance to take your songwriting to the next level!

I look forward to seeing you in January- CLICK HERE or on the image below to reserve your spot now!

c4x

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.

Community