All posts by Brent Baxter

WordPlay, Write Like A Pro

Wordplay Thursday #161

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Wordplay Thursday

Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

“Country music 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!

“Country music is ________.”

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

“Country music is whiskey wisdom twanging through a dusty dashboard speaker.”

Wordplay Thursday

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!

Play For Pub

Looking to connect with a REAL music publisher?  Want to get  professional feedback on your song from someone who works with pro songwriters every day?  If so, I have a great opportunity for you!  CLICK HERE TO CONNECT WITH THE MUSIC BIZ!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

SWP 4

The C.L.I.M.B., Think Like A Pro

Happy Halloween! Beware of Songwriting Vampires, Zombies & Werewolves!

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SWP 4

In the spirit of Halloween, I figure now is a good time to warn you about a few of the ghouls who prey upon unsuspecting songwriters. Beware of…

VAMPIRES

There are people out there who will suck the life out of your dreams. Dwelling in (and on) the darkness, these predators never see the bright side or the silver living. Little by little, their biting comments slowly bleed you of your hope and optimism (“What makes you so special?” “Oh, the music biz is rigged- you’ll never make it.”).

They might look like your friends, but they are dead inside. Avoid these vampires- once their negative, pessimistic attitude sinks its teeth into you, you start to become one of them.

ZOMBIES

They are among us, and their number is legion. They shuffle off to their soul-sucking day jobs like a mindless herd. They never dream. They just respond to whatever happens to be in front of them. They stagger back home and sit mindlessly in front of a TV or computer screen for hours feasting upon whatever catches their eye (“lightsss… sooo… preeetttyy…)

It’s easy to turn into a zombie because being a zombie means doing the easy, numb, thoughtless thing. Spend too much of your time with the zombies and you’ll wake up one day to realize you’ve been sleepwalking through life- just like one of them.

WEREWOLVES

If you want songwriting success, you must avoid running with a pack of werewolves. These are folks who only “turn into” songwriters about once a month. The majority of the time, you’d never suspect they have that hidden side. They think they can just go about “normal life” for a few weeks, then suddenly unleash their inner songwriter for a night or two and somehow make a killing in the music business.

No, the music biz is not so easily tamed. You can’t just go into beast mode on rare occasions and create a career. You need to run with a pack that is ALWAYS hungry and ALWAYS hunting. Don’t be a werewolf. Be a REAL wolf.

What about you?  What are some songwriting ghouls that you have encountered?  I’d love to hear from you!

And if you’d like to hear more about these monsters, Johnny and I dive into this topic on the newest episode of The C.L.I.M.B. podcast.  It’s available on iTunes and at TheClimbShow.com.  Check it out!

theclimbFINAL

Happy HOWLoween!

Brent

Brent Baxter is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, 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 #160

18 Comments

Wordplay Thursday

Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

“Halloween 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!

“Halloween is ________.”

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

“Halloween is the rustle of wrappers as a 5-year-old, wide-eyed Ninja Turtle dumps his bag of neighborhood candy onto the living room carpet.”

Wordplay Thursday

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!

Play For Pub

Looking to connect with a REAL music publisher?  Want to get  professional feedback on your song from someone who works with pro songwriters every day?  If so, I have a great opportunity for you!  CLICK HERE TO CONNECT WITH THE MUSIC BIZ!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

SWP 4

Do Business Like A Pro, The C.L.I.M.B.

The C.L.I.M.B. #37: The Halloween Episode… Boo!

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theclimbFINAL

The C.L.I.M.B. Podcast Episode 37 is live and ready for download!

Boo!  In this week’s episode, Johnny and I discuss some of the ghouls that will haunt your songwriting career if you let them.  Beware of songwriting vampires, zombies & werewolves! (And be sure and subscribe so you never miss another helpful episode!)

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

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

Climb reviews

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

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.

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Get a killer website design and help bring two orphans home!

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Get a killer website.  Bring home two sweet orphans.

My friend, David Keltonic, does  freelance website design for small businesses and individual clients, and he has made a very generous offer.  He will do a website for someone in the Songwriting Pro community – and donate all the proceeds to our adoption fund!

That’s right- you can get a killer website designed – or redesigned- and help me bring my two new sons home at the same time!

You can check out David’s portfolio at:

www.davidkeltonic.com/web

If you want to work with David, just let him know it’s for Brent’s adoption fund.

You can also email David directly at:  davidkeltonic@gmail.com

If you want to find out more about the two amazing boys my family is adopting, you can CLICK HERE.

Wren Quill Sled

Thanks and God bless,

Brent

Think Like A Pro

That’s Who I Am!

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SWP 2

It’s not about you.  It’s about the listener.  What’s in it for the listener?

As we began discussing a few weeks ago (READ IT HERE), successful songwriters know it’s not about us- it’s about the listener.  When it comes to your song, what’s in it for the listener?  What’s going to make them stick around till the end and hit “repeat?”

If your song doesn’t have something in it for the listener, there’s no money in it for you.

Yep.  I just said that last week and the week before, and I’m still saying it.

So, for the next few weeks, I’m going to be pointing out some things you can build into your song that can connect with your listeners.  So far, we’ve discussed “It’s What I Want To Hear” and “It’s What I Want To Say.”    This week, let’s talk about…

all about the listener

“That’s Who I Am (or want to be)!”

“She wears short skirts, I wear sneakers.  She’s cheer captain and I’m in the bleachers.”  How many young girls hear themselves in those lines?  Not only does Taylor Swift say in that song what so many girls want to say, she IS who so many girls ARE.

When the listener sees him or herself in your song, it’s powerful.  Let’s be honest- most folks’ favorite topic is themselves.

But you can also connect with a listener by being who they WANT to be.  Jimmy Buffett is a great example of this.  So much of his music is escapism.  Most Parrotheads aren’t beach bums, but we sure want to be!  I want to  crank it up in my earbuds while sitting by the neighborhood swimming pool and pretend I’m really on the beach, where I’ll be again tomorrow… and the next day… and the next day…

How many country boys are big-time ladies men like Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line present themselves?  Not many.  But a lot of them sure want to feel that cool.  He wants to feel like the girl’s right in the palm of his hands, dancing for him in the truck headlights by the river, right before she slips out of that sun dress and invites him into the water for a skinny dip.

Really, if that happened as much in real life as it happens in country songs, the out-of-wedlock birth rate would be a whole lot higher.  It’s who a lot of the young male listeners want to be.  It’s male fantasy.  But, hey… it sells.

If you want to immediately connect with a listener, sing their life (or the life they want) back to them.

One way to make your song more “cut/able” is to have your lyric say sing the listener’s life back to him.

So here’s your homework.  Turn on the radio or your favorite playlist.  Find a song or two that answers the question, “What’s in it for the listener?” with “That’s who I am (or want to be)!”  (Either you yourself as the listener or who a listener of the other gender would want to be.)  Please leave a comment and let me know what you discovered!

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.” It’s 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.

cutable-2-3d-cover-large

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

WordPlay, Write Like A Pro

Wordplay Thursday #159

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Wordplay Thursday

Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

“Hope 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!

“Hope is ________.”

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

“Hope is when you see your crush slamming her boyfriend’s car door in tears.”

Wordplay Thursday

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!

Adoption August

Adoption August at Songwriting Pro was a great success- because of YOU!  The short story is that every penny you spent on the Songwriting Pro store (minus the store’s fees) will go towards bringing two precious orphans (Wren and Quill) home from China.

Because of your generosity, we raised $2102.77 towards the adoption!  Thank you so much!

Now, I’ll be honest.  There are still about $10,000 in expenses left… so feel free to check out any other items in the Songwriting Pro Store.  I appreciate it.

To read more about our boys, Wren and Quill, CLICK HERE.

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

SWP 4

Do Business Like A Pro, The C.L.I.M.B.

The C.L.I.M.B. #36: 10 Worst Demo Mistakes

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theclimbFINAL

The C.L.I.M.B. Podcast Episode 36 is live and ready for download!

In this week’s episode, Johnny and I dive into the 10 worst demo mistakes.  Learn what NOT to do! (And be sure and subscribe so you never miss another helpful episode!)

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

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.

Thanks to everyone who has already downloaded our first run of episodes, covering topics like “10 Ways To Get To A Music Publisher” and “6 Simple Ways To Make Your Songs More Commercial.”

It’s been 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

Climb reviews

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

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.

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Great Advice From Our “Play For A Publisher” Event

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Play For Pub

The 10 songwriters to join us for our first “Play For Publisher” event were great- but they weren’t the only ones to write really good songs!

I want to share some of the “honorable mentions” among the dozens and dozens of submissions.  If you’re one of these writers, keep going!  If you’re NOT one of these writers… KEEP GOING!

The 10 “Honorable Mentions” songs are:

“The Captain” by Kris Krumal

“Hand It Down” by Dave Udis & Michael Skottle

“Welcome Home” by Tami Dove

“Easier On Me” by Megan Brennan, Brett Sheroky, Tommy Cole

“Just One Night” by Dave Quirk & David Hill

“Olivia” by Colleen Brown Keenleyside

“Drinking With You” by Jeff Hodge, Palmer Lee, Blaine Younger

“My Happy Place” by Steve Probst

“Where Jesus Lives” by Dale Mercer & Briahnna Sullivan

Good work, ya’ll!

Chris Oglesby of BMG Chrysalis dropped some great advice on us all (including me).  Here are just a couple of the gold and platinum nuggets from the night (paraphrased):

“Assume the girl you’re singing about is in the audience and listening.  Especially when it’s a positive love song, make sure to weed out the lines that might offend her.  Just assume she’ll take things the wrong way.”

“Heart beats clever.  Don’t get so wrapped up in writing to the theme that you neglect to hit us in our emotions.”

“Be sure that it’s clear from the beginning of your song who you’re singing to.  Don’t take me out of the song by making me try to figure it out.”

“Don’t be too safe.  A publisher can always rein you in, but we can’t pull you out if you don’t go far enough.”

“Play songs for publishers that YOU love.  Don’t just play what you THINK the publisher will love.  After all, you probably don’t really know the publisher personally, so you don’t really know what they’ll like.  But songs that YOU love will tell the publisher a lot about YOU, and that’s valuable.”

The Play For Publisher event was so much fun, and the feedback was so good… let’s do it again!

Really, was it good?  Well, let’s hear from a couple of the participants.

“The combination of Brent’s talent as a songwriting teacher with some of the best ears among Music Row’s publishers makes this an indispensable event for any aspiring writer.” – Joe Slyzelia “Vinyl Afternoon”

“I just took part in Brent Baxter’s Play For Publisher event with Chris Oglesby of BMI. This was a great opportunity for me to get one of my songs in front of Chris and also to meet him personally. Chris listened to my song (and everyone else’s) start to finish and gave very useful and specific feedback regarding each. Chris and Brent took a lot of time throughout the night to answer everyones’ questions. This was very educational, helped me get my face and name in front of a prominent figure in the Nashville music industry, and honestly was a lot of fun. Thanks Brent and Chris for a great experience!” – David Hill “Are You Awake”

So, here’s the scoop:

Our next Play For Publisher event will be on Tuesday, December 6, 2016.  Our special guest will be Tim Hunze of Parallel Music Publishing!  Tim works with a staff of pro songwriters including Lance Carpenter (“Love Me Like You Mean It” – Kelsea Ballerina), Jon Mabe (“The Climb” – Miley Cyrus), Jenn Schott (“Two Lanes Of Freedom” – Tim McGraw) and more!  Tim is a real pro, and he has a lot of wisdom to share from his years in the music business.  And, I’ll be honest.  He’s a heck of a nice guy, too!

tim-hunze

CLICK HERE TO ENTER YOUR SONG (OR SONGS) FOR THE UPCOMING “PLAY FOR A PUBLISHER” EVENT.

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

Think Like A Pro, Write Like A Pro

It’s What I Want To Say!

2 Comments

SWP 2

It’s not about you.  It’s about the listener.  What’s in it for the listener?

As we began discussing a few weeks ago (READ IT HERE), successful songwriters know it’s not about us- it’s about the listener.  When it comes to your song, what’s in it for the listener?  What’s going to make them stick around till the end and hit “repeat?”

If your song doesn’t have something in it for the listener, there’s no money in it for you.

Yep.  I just said that last week, and I’m still saying it.

So, for the next few weeks, I’m going to be pointing out some things you can build into your song that can connect with your listeners.  Last week, we discussed “It’s What I Want To Hear.”    This week, let’s talk about…

all about the listener

“It’s what I want to say!”

Back in the day, did you ever call a radio station and dedicate a song to your crush, boyfriend or girlfriend?  Have you ever serenaded your sweetheart?  Why’d you pick that particular song?

There’s a good chance you chose that song because it said what you wanted to say to your snuggle bunny sugar pie.

But what you want to say isn’t limited to love songs.

Have you ever cranked up the car radio to a kiss-off song and pictured your ex?  Have you ever rocked the team bus with your teammates to Queen’s  “We Are The Champions?”  Have you ever cranked up Johnny Paycheck’s, “Take This Job And Shove It” on the way home from work?

What those songs all had in them for you was “It’s what I want to say!”

Put yourself in the mind of your listener.  What does THE LISTENER want to say?  What does THE LISTENER love?  What’s important to THE LISTENER?  What frustrates THE LISTENER?  Give voice to those things, and the listener will listen again and again!

So one way to make your song more “cut/able” is to have your lyric say something the listener wants to say.  Tell the listener’s girl that she’s hot as a firecracker.  Tell the listener’s guy that you love how he’s always there for you.

So here’s your homework.  Turn on the radio or your favorite playlist.  Find a song or two that answers the question, “What’s in it for the listener?” with “It’s what I want to say!”  (Either you yourself as the listener or what a listener of the other gender would want to say.)  Please leave a comment and let me know what you discovered!

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.”  It’s 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.

cutable-2-3d-cover-large

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