Songwriting opportunities will come to you more and more as people in the music biz (publishers, artists, producers, other songwriters) think three particular things about you.
The more folks that think these things about you, the more doors are going to open for you, the more inside info you’re going to get, and the more successful you’re likely to become. So what are these three magic beans that can grow your songwriting career? Buckle up, ‘cuz I’m about to drop some serious, deep philosophy on ya. You want people to think…
“I know you.”
“I like you.”
“I trust you.”
There ya go. Are you surprised that these are the keys to the door of opportunity? If so, on behalf of the people of Earth, I welcome you to our planet. I hope you enjoy your visit. While you’re here, I suggest you check out The Grand Canyon and pancakes. If you only have time for one, go for the pancakes.
It’s just simple human nature that people want to work with and help folks they know, like, and trust. Let’s look at each one.
“I know you”
You have to get out there and shake hands- whether in person or digitally. Complete strangers rarely bring good opportunities. (Although there is a promising email in my inbox right now from a prince in Nigeria…) I can’t tell you that a new artist on Sony is looking for your type of song if I don’t know you or what type of music you do. Without someone knowing you, you’ll never get to the next step…
“I like you”
The music biz is rarely like a serious medical condition (I know what you’re thinking- don’t say it) where there’s only one or two doctors in the world who can help. In that case, the doc can be a complete jerk, but you don’t care because he’s the only one who can sew your face back on or whatever. It doesn’t matter if you like him. But that isn’t the case in the music biz where we’re surrounded by talented people. If we’re going to extend a good opportunity, it’s going to be someone we like and can think…
“I trust you”
Let me tell you about my brother-in-law, Matt. I’ve known Matt for over a decade. He’s a great guy. But if I were to get on an airplane and hear his voice come over the intercom saying, “This is your pilot speaking…” I’m getting off the plane! Why? Because I don’t trust him to fly an airplane. He has a lot of skills, but that isn’t one of them. He’s not a good fit for that job. Folks in the biz are less likely to attach their name to you if they don’t trust you for that particular opportunity.
For example, let’s say you’ve had a couple meetings with a publisher. He’s gotten to know you, and he likes you. Awesome. But he doesn’t think your songs are very good. Is he going to set you up on a cowrite with his best hot-streak writer? Probably not. Because he doesn’t trust that you’ll bring the goods. And he doesn’t want Mr. Hot Streak knocking on his door asking why his day got wasted.
See, it takes all three components for the opportunities to really start rolling in. They may start as small opportunities as people get to know you. But if you knock those small opportunities out of the park, people will begin to trust you more often and with bigger opportunities.
More know-like-trust leads to bigger opportunities.
But it all starts with folks getting to know you. So reach out in person at industry events, writers nights, workshops, online groups, etc. Be likable. Then knock their socks off with your songs and professionalism. And enjoy those pancakes.
Knowing the importance of know-like-trust is one way that pro songwriters think. And if you want to become a pro, you need to think like a pro. In my FREE e-book, “THINK LIKE A PRO SONGWRITER,” I not only reveal several of the mindsets which separate the pro songwriter from the amateur, but also…
- How to get on a music publisher’s radar
- How the pros know who is looking for songs
- Six simple ways to make your songs more commercial
- And more!
To get your FREE, INSTANT download of “THINK LIKE A PRO SONGWRITER,” just click on the image below, or CLICK 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.
Just started reading cut/able after watching the video. There’s more info in the video and what I’ve read so far than my $2500 trip to the ASCAP convention in LA. Maybe not as fun or star filled. But it will certainly lead me to having that as a part of my life everyday being a successful songwriter using this information. So glad I found you Brent!
Awesome, Dean! I’m so glad to be of service, even if it is less than “star-studded!”
It is always a mystery to me how much I can complicate things. Thank you, Brent for the simple “life lesson”.
Loved this post – entertaining and thoughtful 🙂
”More know-like-trust leads to bigger opportunities.” This equation definitely
adds up more ways than one! Thanks Brent! I also received a ”promising email ” in my inbox…but it was from a ” King in Borneo ”
Im not particularly enthusiastic about red carpets or popularity, or Grammys, or public speeches at award shows. I’d much rather, and prefer it more so, to write for others. Any advice on lyric ghostwriting in the biz? Yes, I’m dead serious.
Shoot, Nick… pretty much every lyricist is a ghost writer! By that, I mean that the whole world, minus the serious songwriting community, couldn’t recognize a hit songwriter on the street. Nor would they care to- they’re all about the artist.
But you could even assume a pen name, or alias, when you write. There’s at least a couple hit writers here in Nashville who go by an alias in their credits. And nobody MAKES you go to award shows, if you should be one of the few who are invited.
I wouldn’t worry about getting famous as a songwriter. Believe me, most of us have the opposite problem!
Then how do I go about lyricising as a ghostwriter while being simultaneously liked, known, and trusted. How am I to be invisible if people in the biz have to know me and like me and trust me. I’m just not understanding this process. I’m not liked now, so, How am I going to be liked as a serious lyricist? Gosh! I’m not liked because I’m unskilled and boring in socializing. But I l take my poetry, and lyricising, and writing seriously. I’m not a hermit or unibomber weirdo, I’m just a pupa in a cocoon. Lol!
Well, Anonymous, I won’t lie. I don’t know how to gain commercial success without making connections. Especially since it sounds like you need a cowriter to write your melodies. First things first, you have to find a way to connect with a cowriter. (Maybe try the pen name angle.) Then you’ll have to push all the networking/connecting work onto your cowriter (not really fair and only half as effective). But connections HAVE to be made if you want cuts. You can do really good work in a cocoon, but I don’t know of a way to get cuts from a cocoon. I just don’t. Sorry. Even Batman has Robin and Alfred. And he’s a stinkin’ billionaire genius.
The fact of the matter is there are some outstanding unknown songwriters in America who are not given any opportunity to be heard in Nashville. Focus groups confirm these artists are turning out better material than that which is showing up on air. It would be cool if there were Federal laws that required radio and streaming to play a song no more than once every 3 hours to give others a chance.