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 Tim Hunze of Parallel 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 a few country songs, some gospel, male songs, female songs, somebody raps, there’s a second-time submission (way to not give up), some solo writes, and even a work tape!
There were a lot of worthy songs sent in, and I felt bad about leaving so many out. So just because your song wasn’t chosen this time doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good song.
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 current album.
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 Tim’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):
“Steam” by David Hill, Gelman, McKinney
“Never Be Tennessee” by Curtis McCabe
“Some Days” by Barry McGuire
“Drink You Up” by Leslie Bowe, Karen Kiley
“Jesus, The Beatles & Me” by Donna King, Lee Black, Gina Boe
“Bent” by Mindy Gars Dolandis, Amanda Williams
“Leavin’ Town” by Chris Smith
“Girl In Every Song” by Jim Logrando, Sean Spollen
“Santa Fe Rain” by Roy Semlacher, Allen
“Grass Stains” by Pat Aureli, Todd Dickinson, Marty Dodson
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! Tim and I look forward to hanging out with you on December 6. (I’ve already emailed the winners the instructions about the online meeting. If you didn’t get the email, please let me know!)
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 them, too. (Ya’ll feel free to link up your songs in the comments, too!)
“ON HOLD” songs…
“One More” by Marialaina DiFalco
“Hang Ten, My Friend” by Pat Aureli, Danny Myrick
“That Old Screen Door” by Pamela Lack, Jean Nolan, Bobby Earl Ray
“I Am Blessed” by Mindy Gars Dolandis, Chris Castle
“Blue Kisses” by Daniel Leathersich
“I Think My Buddy’s Broken” by Jason David Hiatt
“Mid Western Civilization” by Ed Daniels
“Favorite Shirt” by Rich Mahan
“Better Get Used To It” by Dave Quirk, Sherrie Austin, Will Rambeaux
“Just A Little Broken” by Allister Bradley, Dean McTaggert
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.
Congratulations to all~ wondering since they cannot be heard yet, are they all country genre…. -d
Mostly country- the vast majority of the entries were country. But there’s a gospel one in there, and another gospel song made the “on hold” list. On the last event, a pop song and a rock song both made the cut.
Boom, boom, boom, bright lights, there’s fireworks in the sky!! Congratulations every one. You rock!
Congratulations to everyone who entered. It was great to see some familiar names from the Songwriting Pro Facebook group among the top 10. And I was surprised and inspired to see Mr. Dodson included among the co-writers. All writers who made the top 10 should be honored just to be mentioned in the same paragraph with this man. Please post your songs so we can learn from your achievements!
Thanks, Brent, for offering this invaluable opportunity. I hope you’re planning another round. If so, I’m looking forward to participating.
Thanks, Russ! I definitely plan to do another one!
Very Cool! Congratulations to the finalists!! Its great to see success from familiar names!
Yes I too would love to learn the sound that makes the cut! Posting samples from the winners would be a great learning tool!
Wow. Humbled and excited that our song made the Top Ten! Thanks Brent and looking forward to the event. For those interested in hearing our song, check it out here: http://bit.ly/TKEvery
Thanks for sharing, Jim. You and Sean have absolutely nailed it. The beat, the vibe, the story and the melody are all perfectly crafted for New Country radio. They respect the commercial formula while adding unique, high quality differentiators that really cut through the category clutter. I’d be shocked if one of several established or emerging artists didn’t put a hold on this, immediately. Congratulations, gentlemen. I’ll be looking for this one on the charts, soon. Best wishes for success!
My cowriters and I are greatful for this opportunity and look forward to more in the future! We’re thrilled to make the “on hold ” list. We’ll keep pitching! Thanks Brent, for your wonderful songwriting posts! Pamela Lack
Congratulations everyone! Best of luck to all of you!
Congratulations to all.
Congratulations to all the winners & all of you hold on’ ers!
As the old saying goes, ” It starts with a song! ”
All the best to each & everyone of you!
Congratulations to the top 20. You should be proud of your accomplishments!
And I would like to relay a special thank you to you, Brent. You waded through a lot of submissions (200?). I pray for you and your commitments. I think you are doing a great work here.
God bless you with peace and understanding.
t.
Thank you Brent. It is an honor to have my song Mid Western Civilization “on hold”. Sometimes, we write and write and only receive “atta boys” from our family and friends. This is the best “atta boy” I have gotten in awhile. Thank you again for all of your advice and positive feedback about the music industry. For those who want to listen, you can check my song out here:
https://soundcloud.com/eddaniels/mid-western-civilization
Congrats to all the Writers and God bless.