All posts by Brent Baxter

WordPlay, Write Like A Pro

Wordplay Thursday #179

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Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

“A dream is __________.”

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- and try to get IMAGERY in at least one of your plays!

“A dream is  ___________.”

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

“A dream is that song in your head that keeps you up later than the moon and gets you out of bed earlier than the sun.

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!

Wordplay Thursday is a fun way to generate new song ideas- and who doesn’t need more song ideas?  If you’d like an inside look at the techniques I use to find song idea after song idea- ideas that YOU can use, too- I have just thing for you!

CLICK HERE TO FIND GREAT SONG IDEAS!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

The C.L.I.M.B.

The C.L.I.M.B. #57: Songwriting Chart Study #2

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This week on The C.L.I.M.B.: Brent & Johnny break down a few hits on the country singles chart (including Eric Church’s “Kill A Word” and Dierks Bentley’s “Black.”)  Let’s see what YOU can learn from hit songwriter success!

The C.L.I.M.B. Podcast Episodes 57 is live and ready for download!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE C.L.I.M.B. ON ITUNES

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE C.L.I.M.B. ON STITCHER (for Android)

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN ON THE C.L.I.M.B. WEBSITE

The C.L.I.M.B. stands for “Creating Leverage In The Music Business,” and that’s the goal of this podcast- to help singers, indie artists and songwriters like YOU to create leverage in the music business.  What is leverage?  It’s “strategic advantage; the power to act effectively.”  We want to help YOU make stuff happen in the music biz.

It’s exciting to see how folks are digging the show- and being helped on their CLIMB.  If YOU like it, we’d really appreciate it if you’d subscribe and leave a rating or review on iTunes.  Positive ratings and reviews help us to climb the iTunes rankings so more people become aware of the show and we can help more singers, songwriters, and indie artists like you make The CLIMB!The CLIMB iTunes review 3

CLICK HERE TO LEAVE AN iTUNES REVIEW

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE C.L.I.M.B. ON ITUNES

If you aren’t on iTunes, you can listen to the show at our website:

TheCLIMBshow.com

If you have an Android phone, you can subscribe to the show on:

Stitcher

Thanks for your time. It means a lot to me, and hopefully it’ll be a lot of help for you!

God Bless and keep C.L.I.M.B.ing,

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.

Cut/able Songwriting, Write Like A Pro

Cut/able Songwriting: Dierks Bentley & “Black”

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So… how do you write a song with a negative-sounding title, and make it a positive, sexy love song?  Well, you write it like Dierks Bentley’s “Black.”

Let’s look at some of the songwriting lessons that make “Black” a cut/able song.

____________________

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

_________________________________

Ok, I know what you may be thinking.  “Didn’t Dierks write that song himself?”  Well… yes.  He wrote the song with Ross Copperman and Ashley Gorley.  But that doesn’t change the fact that it still made the record- and the radio.

I’m sure Dierks doesn’t cut everything he writes.  So “Black” still had to compete- even if was just against other songs he wrote.  There are valuable songwriting lessons to be learned here.  So let’s look at a few.

The song puts a positive spin on a negative phrase.

If a cowriter brought in the phrase “make the world go black,” where would your mind immediately go?  Probably somewhere dark.  (ba-dum-dum!)  That phrase has a negative connotation- slipping into oblivion, passing out, and even dying.

A potential angle would be something like “I want to stop thinking about her blue eyes, that red dress… I’m gonna sit here and drink till the world goes black.”  And that could work just fine.  It could be pretty cool.  But ya know what?

A song with a positive spin… usually gets more spins.

The writers went to the next level, did the extra work, and took the song to a positive, sexy place.  Much more commercial!

The song bridges the confusion gap.

“Black” has a twisty idea (the world going black = good instead of bad).  This means the listener might get lost.  So Bentley and crew just came right out and said what they mean in the bridge: “I don’t wanna see a thing, I just wanna feel your touch.”  They even said it twice to make sure you got it!  This makes it clear that it’s not so much that Dierks doesn’t want to see her, but that he really wants to focus on another of his senses – the sense of touch.

If you confuse, you lose.

This song bridges that gap, so the listener is less likely to be confused.

The song’s images are right on point.

The imagery in the song points to either “black” (the dress on the floor) or the sense of touch (“brush me with your hair,” “find your fingertips, trace them back to your lips”).  Is the “brush” in “brush me with your hair” a paintbrush-with-black-paint reference?  I like to think so.  And some of the images pull double-spins.  “Heart attack” and “put me flat on my back” usually mean bad things.  Here, they mean very good things!

These are a few of the elements that make “Black” a cut/able song. If you want YOUR songs to be more “cut/able” (able to be cut) then you should definitely check out my new, expanded and upgraded version of “Cut/able: Lessons In Market Smart Songwriting.” Its five powerful lessons will help you write songs that artists want to sing, radio wants to play, and listeners want to hear! CLICK HERE TO WRITE CUT/ABLE SONGS.

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.

WordPlay, Write Like A Pro

Wordplay Thursday #178

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Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

“Jet lag hit me like __________.”

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- and try to get IMAGERY in at least one of your plays!

“Jet lag hit me like  ___________.”

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

“Jet lag hit me like a cast-iron skillet in the whiskeyed-up hand of an angry ex-wife.

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!

Wordplay Thursday is a fun way to generate new song ideas- and who doesn’t need more song ideas?  If you’d like an inside look at the techniques I use to find song idea after song idea- ideas that YOU can use, too- I have just thing for you!

CLICK HERE TO FIND GREAT SONG IDEAS!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

The C.L.I.M.B.

The C.L.I.M.B. #55 & 56: CD Baby, music streaming & happiness

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Recently on The C.L.I.M.B.: Brent & Johnny pow wow with Kevin Brenuer of CD Baby (and the band Small Town Poets) about streaming and the future of the music business.  In another episode, they discuss Gary V, happiness, death, and getting stuff done!

The C.L.I.M.B. Podcast Episodes 55 & 56 are live and ready for download!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE C.L.I.M.B. ON ITUNES

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE C.L.I.M.B. ON STITCHER (for Android)

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN ON THE C.L.I.M.B. WEBSITE

The C.L.I.M.B. stands for “Creating Leverage In The Music Business,” and that’s the goal of this podcast- to help singers, indie artists and songwriters like YOU to create leverage in the music business.  What is leverage?  It’s “strategic advantage; the power to act effectively.”  We want to help YOU make stuff happen in the music biz.

It’s exciting to see how folks are digging the show- and being helped on their CLIMB.  If YOU like it, we’d really appreciate it if you’d subscribe and leave a rating or review on iTunes.  Positive ratings and reviews help us to climb the iTunes rankings so more people become aware of the show and we can help more singers, songwriters, and indie artists like you make The CLIMB!The CLIMB iTunes review 3

CLICK HERE TO LEAVE AN iTUNES REVIEW

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE C.L.I.M.B. ON ITUNES

If you aren’t on iTunes, you can listen to the show at our website:

TheCLIMBshow.com

If you have an Android phone, you can subscribe to the show on:

Stitcher

Thanks for your time. It means a lot to me, and hopefully it’ll be a lot of help for you!

God Bless and keep C.L.I.M.B.ing,

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.

Cut/able Songwriting, Write Like A Pro

Cut/able Songwriting: Eric Church & “Kill A Word”

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So… how do you get a rough-around-the-edges rock ‘n roll country rebel to sing about “love and truth” and NOT be cheesy?  You write it like “Kill A Word.”

Let’s look at some of the songwriting lessons that make “Kill A Word” a cut/able song.

____________________

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

_________________________________

Ok, I know what you may be thinking.  “Didn’t Eric Church write that song himself?”  Well… yes.  He wrote the song with Jeff Hyde and Luke Dick.  But that doesn’t change the fact that it still made the record- and the radio.

I’m sure Church doesn’t cut everything he writes.  So “Kill A Word” still had to compete- even if was just against other songs Church wrote.  There are valuable songwriting lessons to be learned here.  So let’s look at a few.

The song is in Eric’s neighborhood.

Eric Church is NOT a hippie.  He’s shown no sign of being the sit-in-a-circle-and-sing-kumbaya type of artist.  He isn’t a sissy, and his ideal fan isn’t, either.  So how does he build a song that is pro love-and-truth in a way that fits him and his fans?

His solution is to sing about love in the most violent terms you’ll hear on country radio this year.

He’s not a dreamy-eyed pansy handing out daisies.  No, he’s seen the ugly in this world, and he’s had enough.  He’s mad as hell.  He wants to take all the bad, drag it out back and put a bullet in it.  That fits his artistic brand.

Not every artist could (or would) cut this song- and that’s alright.  Different artists have different styles.  This angle and execution (pun intended) wouldn’t work for everyone, but it sure works for Church.

The song fills one of his G.A.P.S.

Every artist has G.A.P.S. in his or her catalog – (areas of opportunity in Growth, Achievement, Preaching/Positioning, Songwriting).  These are slots the artist hasn’t yet filled with a song.  “Kill A Word” fills G.A.P.S. by being NOT about love, NOT about music, and NOT about being a rebel or outsider.  It’s a topic he hasn’t really covered before, but it still makes sense for him as an artist.  It allows him to grow into a new space as an artist.  It adds some depth to his persona and to his catalog.

The song shows you what can’t be seen.

Country music is a very visual genre.  We like to “see” our songs when we hear them.  But how do you talk about fear, hate, regret, etc. and still give us imagery?

The songwriters chose to show us the various methods of execution!

Yes, it’s all metaphorical, but I still see teeth flying and bare hands around a neck.  Yes, those are dark images, but they’re very engaging and memorable.  They found a way to “show” us thing we can’t see directly (lies, hate, etc.).

These are a few of the elements that make “Kill A Word” a more cut/able song. If you’re ready to dive into concepts like an artist’s “Neighborhood” and “G.A.P.S.” – if you want your songs to be more “cut/able” (able to be cut) then you should definitely check out my new, expanded and upgraded version of “Cut/able: Lessons In Market Smart Songwriting.” Its five powerful lessons will help you write songs that artists want to sing, radio wants to play, and listeners want to hear! CLICK HERE TO WRITE CUT/ABLE SONGS.

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.

WordPlay, Write Like A Pro

Wordplay Thursday #177

15 Comments

Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

“Loyal is __________.”

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- and try to get IMAGERY in at least one of your plays!

“Loyal is  ___________.”

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

“Loyal is a husband unfriending that flirty girl on Facebook.

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!

Wordplay Thursday is a fun way to generate new song ideas- and who doesn’t need more song ideas?  If you’d like an inside look at the techniques I use to find song idea after song idea- ideas that YOU can use, too- I have just thing for you!

CLICK HERE TO FIND GREAT SONG IDEAS!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

Do Business Like A Pro, P4P

Congratulations! You already have a music publisher!

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“How do I get a publisher?”

“Do I need a publisher?”

“How do I connect with a publisher?”

Those are common questions that songwriters ask me on a regular basis.  And I’ve worked to answer those questions.

Maybe you’re asking the same questions right now. And we’ll get to that. But first, I want to remind you of one very important fact… You ALREADY have a music publisher.. .

________________________________

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

_________________________________

“Uh…” you might be thinking… “I don’t remember signing a publishing deal. And I know for sure that the check for my advance hasn’t shown up in my mailbox.” True enough. But it doesn’t change the truth.

Your current music publisher is… YOU.

Here in the United States (I can’t speak for other countries), the copyright law is clear. You own the copyright of your song as soon as you put it in a fixed form. In other words, as soon as you write it down, sing it into your phone, or YouTube yourself singing it, you (and your cowriters) own the copyright.

Owning the copyright makes you the publisher.

You’re the publisher, even if you don’t have a company name registered with your PRO. Even if you haven’t registered your copyright with the Copyright Office. Even if you’ve never gotten a cut. Even if you’re not pitching your songs.

You are your own publisher. Even if you don’t act like it.

Now, am I saying that you need to run out, hire a songplugger and sign some writers? Of course not. I realize you’re probably not in that position. We’re each at different points along the journey. Maybe your journey includes landing a publishing deal. Maybe not. But I do know that if you want to be a pro songwriter, you need to treat it like what it is – a business. You need to own that fact.

The sooner you “own” your success, the sooner you will earn your success.

If you own your success – if you take responsibility for it – you might not need an outside publisher to “make it happen” for you. On the other hand, if you never own your success, there’s probably not a publisher out there who CAN “make it happen” for you.

So, what’s the next step for YOU in your success? Is it registering your personal publishing company with a PRO? Is it writing that next song (even though you’re crazy busy)? Or is it connecting with a publisher?

If you ARE ready to connect with a publisher, then… I’m happy to offer a potential path for YOU and YOUR song to get to a real, successful music publisher.

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.

WordPlay, Write Like A Pro

Wordplay Thursday #176

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Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

“Heartache is __________.”

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- and try to get IMAGERY in at least one of your plays!

“Heartache is  ___________.”

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

“Heartache is a chest full of broken glass.

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!

Wordplay Thursday is a fun way to generate new song ideas- and who doesn’t need more song ideas?  If you’d like an inside look at the techniques I use to find song idea after song idea- ideas that YOU can use, too- I have just thing for you!

CLICK HERE TO FIND GREAT SONG IDEAS!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

Do Business Like A Pro, P4P

Here’s are 10 ways you can get a music publisher’s attention!

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There are a lot of things standing in between you and a legit music publisher.  Gatekeepers and distance are just a few.

But I have good news!  Here are 10 ways to connect to a music publisher.

________________________________

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

_________________________________

1. The unsolicited request.

This is the only easy path on the list- and it’s the one I don’t really recommend. This is where you just put in a cold call or email to a publisher and ask for a meeting. It has a very low success rate (you’re lucky to get a response at all), and there are better strategies available.

2. The professional recommendation.

Publishers listen to people in their peer group. If you can get recommended by another publisher, an A&R rep, a professional songwriter, etc., it will go a long way toward getting you in the room. Your best bet for a recommendation from an industry pro is making a fan of someone at NSAI, Global Songwriters Connection (GSC), or another songwriting organization.

3. The personal relationship.

Do you have a relative or friend anywhere in the music biz? Leverage your personal contacts. It isn’t cheating- nobody gets here alone.

4. The business relationship.

When I first got to Nashville, I got a part-time job at a publishing company. As I got to know our administrative clients- patiently, over time- I was able to approach them about listening to my songs.

5. The PRO recommendation.

A PRO is a Performing Rights Organization. In the US, we have ASCAP, SESAC, and BMI. Each PRO has writers reps who spend part of their time meeting with writers. If, over the course of several meetings, you can make a rep a believer in your music, they might hook you up with some publishers. They can’t do that for everyone, so don’t expect it. Every time they recommend a writer, they risk some of their professional credibility.

6. The Play-For-Publisher event.

Organizations like NSAI and GSC have events where their members can play one (I repeat- one) song for a Music Row publisher. If you or your song knock their socks off, it might open a door. You don’t always have to be in Nashville to participate in these events, so check their websites for details.  Oh, yeah.  We have a Play-For-A-Publisher event every quarter here at Songwriting Pro, too.  We have one coming up soon, and you can find out more with a CLICK HERE.

www.nashvillesongwriters.com      www.globalsongwriters.com

7. The staffwriter cowrite.

It’s not easy to get a cowrite with a pro writer, obviously. However, if you write a killer song with a staffwriter, their publisher is likely to ask who you are. If they love what you write with their writer, they will probably be open to hearing more of your stuff.

8. The industry function.

If you meet a publisher out at a writers night, workshop, etc., be patient. Don’t get all excited and shove a CD in his face or beg her for a meeting. Try to connect in a real way on a personal level. Make a connection, not just a contact. There are a lot of crazies out there, and a publisher will usually need to sniff you out a few times before they’re up for a meeting.

9. The major cut.

I wasn’t getting much publisher love till I got (and owned the publishing on) my Alan Jackson cut. Suddenly, I had a skeleton key to just about every publisher’s door on Music Row.

10. The artist buzz.

The value of the writer/artist has skyrocketed over the past few years. If you’re getting buzz around town as a potential artist, that goes a long way toward getting a publisher’s attention. Even if you aren’t a great writer, they know they can always hook you up with great writers.

I know at this point, you might be more frustrated than you were five minutes ago.  It’s just not easy to get to a music publisher.  However, I am happy to offer a potential path for YOU and YOUR song to get to a real, successful music publisher.

I host Songwriting Pro’s “Play For A Publisher.”  We have these awesome events- with legit hit music publishers- every quarter, and I probably have one coming soon!  CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

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.