All posts by Brent Baxter

Write Like A Pro

Avoid Songwriting Autopilot!

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Man vs. PRO

To be honest, the whole thing is kinda fuzzy.  I’m not sure I can tell you exactly what happened, but… I think I blacked out during my cowrite. 

There I was, sitting across from my cowriter, working on a song – him with his guitar and me with my coffee and laptop.  Things were going well- we were crafting a love song, talking about our wives, etc.  Then he threw out a line that ended in “feelings so strong”… and that’s the last thing I remember.

It wasn’t until I was back in the truck, listening to the work tape that I seemed to come to my senses.  It was when my cowriter sang the line, “make love all night long…”

What the heck??

“Make love all night long?”  Really?  How’d that end up in my song?  Sure doesn’t sound like something I’d say.

Then came “with your feet on the dash…” Aw, come on!  No way I’d settle for that overused cliche’!  Did my cowriter make that edit when I was in the bathroom or something?  Maybe he slipped something in my coffee?  But deep down, I knew the truth – the awful, disgusting truth.

I’d gone on songwriting autopilot.

That’s right.  I’d gotten lazy and gone on autopilot.  Instead of doing the hard work of keeping my lyrics real, true and honest, I started just plugging in cliched, boring and formulaic phrases.

Instead of writing what WE had to say, we started writing what dozens upon dozens of other songs had ALREADY said.  No wonder the cowrite was a blur- “autopilot lines” make everything forgettable!

Okay, I’ve been having some fun with this, but I hope you get my point.  Songwriting on autopilot will never take you to new heights.

Autopilot

Autopilot lines are those lines, phrases and expressions that just wanna pop out of us – because we’ve heard them a thousand times.  You’ve used them, I’ve used them, every songwriter has probably used dozens of them.  But the 1st step on the road to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

What are these autopilot lines?  In country music, some of the usual suspects are “make love all night” “bare feet on the dash” “wild and free” and most things involving dirt roads and tailgates.

It’s easy to go on autopilot because those lines come so easily.  It’s hard to really stay engaged- to raise your standards and to dig deeper.  Dig deeper into your real life.  Dig deeper into your heart.

Dig Deeper

And if you do turn off the autopilot?  Well, some of your songs will take longer to write.  Sometimes you’ll frustrate your cowriter who wants to coast.  But your songs will get better, they’ll get more real, and they get more memorable.

And you won’t have to wonder if somebody spiked your coffee.

What about you?  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.  Are you guilty of going on autopilot?  Are you a recovering autopilot?  (Maybe we should make a songwriting support group- “AA” (Autopilots Anonymous.)  Please leave a comment!

Also, if you think this post might be helpful for your songwriting friends, please share it through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email, however you want.  I want to help as many songwriters as possible!

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.

SWP 4

WordPlay, Write Like A Pro

Wordplay Thursday #151

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Wordplay Thursday

Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

“Her kiss sent his heart racing 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.

“Her kiss sent his heart racing like __________.”

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

“Her kiss sent his heart racing like the last lap at Talladega.”

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!

And thanks to everyone for your great additions to Wordplay Thursday #150 (read it here)! Great job!

Wordplay is a fun way to kickstart the creative process, but if you REALLY want to get strong ideas- consistently- then I have a great workshop series coming up for you.   It runs in August, and it’s called “Song Ideas: From Blank Page To Finished Lyric.”

Blank 2 Finished

Andrew went through the course earlier this year, and here’s what he has to say about it.  CLICK HERE or on the image below to hear Andrew talk about his experience.

MvR Video

This course is designed to take you from a blank page to a new song idea to a fully developed concept to a finished lyric. You’ll learn a repeatable process you can use to discover and develop strong song ideas again and again. And you’ll also learn how to frame and focus those ideas for maximum commercial impact and appeal.

This course is INTERACTIVE! You won’t sit back and just stare at me talking for an hour-and-a-half each night. You won’t be some number on my laptop’s dashboard. No. We’ll be face-to-face. You’ll have exercises to practice outside of our sessions. I’ll ask you questions. You can ask me questions. We’re in this thing together. That’s why I keep the workshops small- I want to get to know YOU!

Tickets for this event are on sale NOW. There are only a few spots left, 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 August- CLICK HERE or on the image below to learn more and reserve your spot now!

Blank 2 Finished

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

Man vs. PRO

Write Like A Pro

Beat The Heck Out Of 2nd Verse Hell

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cropped-SWP-2.jpg

Ever been trapped in “2nd Verse Hell?”

“2nd Verse Hell” is that lovely place you reach at the end of the first verse and chorus where you stare at the page for an hour, pulling out your hair and trying to figure out what to say next. I’ve been there, and it’s not fun.

Sometimes the solution to 2nd Verse Hell isn’t what happens next. Sometimes, the solution is what happened before.

Think of each section of your lyric, or even each thought, as a single playing card out of a deck. Shuffle the deck.

  • Take what you thought was your 1st verse and move it to the 2nd verse. Now what needs to be said in the 1st verse?
  • Maybe verse two is really the chorus and the chorus is really verse two.
  • Maybe you told too much in the 1st verse and you need to play some of those cards in the 2nd verse instead.
  • What happens if you make your chorus the 1st verse?  Or 2nd verse?
  • What if the last line (or thought) of verse one is really the 1st line of verse two?

Don’t be afraid to shuffle the deck several times. If you don’t like the result, you can always put the cards back in their original order. Go ahead. Give it a try.

Shuffling the deck just might change a losing hand into a winning one.

Shuffle-Deck

Having a song you can’t figure out how to finish just feels awful, doesn’t it?  I want YOU to have a winning hand with every song.  I want you have songwriting skill to find, focus and finish more of your song ideas.  That’s why I’ve put together a live, online  workshop series in August called “Song Ideas: From Blank Page To Finished Lyric.”

Blank 2 Finished

This course is designed to take you from a blank page to a new song idea to a fully developed concept to a finished lyric. You’ll learn a repeatable process you can use to discover and develop strong song ideas again and again. And you’ll also learn how to frame and focus those ideas for maximum commercial impact and appeal.

This course is INTERACTIVE! You won’t sit back and just stare at me talking for an hour-and-a-half. You won’t be some number on my computer’s dashboard. No. We’ll be face-to-face. You’ll have exercises to practice outside of our sessions. I’ll ask you questions. You can ask me questions. We’re in this thing together. That’s why I keep the workshops small- I want to get to know YOU!

Tickets for this event are on sale NOW. There are only 5 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 August- CLICK HERE or on the image below to learn more and reserve your spot now!

Blank 2 Finished

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 #150

13 Comments

Wordplay Thursday

Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

“Nervous 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.

“Nervous is __________.”

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

“Nervous is the taste of fingernails.”

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!

And thanks to everyone for your great additions to Wordplay Thursday #149 (read it here)! Great job!

Wordplay is a fun way to kickstart the creative process, but if you REALLY want to get strong ideas- consistently- then I have a great workshop series coming up for you.   It runs in August, and it’s called “Song Ideas: From Blank Page To Finished Lyric.”

Blank 2 Finished

Andrew went through the course earlier this year, and here’s what he has to say about it.  CLICK HERE or on the image below to hear Andrew talk about his experience.

MvR Video

This course is designed to take you from a blank page to a new song idea to a fully developed concept to a finished lyric. You’ll learn a repeatable process you can use to discover and develop strong song ideas again and again. And you’ll also learn how to frame and focus those ideas for maximum commercial impact and appeal.

This course is INTERACTIVE! You won’t sit back and just stare at me talking for an hour-and-a-half each night. You won’t be some number on my laptop’s dashboard. No. We’ll be face-to-face. You’ll have exercises to practice outside of our sessions. I’ll ask you questions. You can ask me questions. We’re in this thing together. That’s why I keep the workshops small- I want to get to know YOU!

Tickets for this event are on sale NOW. There are only a few spots left, 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 August- CLICK HERE or on the image below to learn more and reserve your spot now!

Blank 2 Finished

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

Man vs. PRO

Biz, Do Business Like A Pro, Write Like A Pro

You’ll Probably Regret Not Bringing This To Your Next Cowrite

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This is an encore edition of a recent blog post.  I’m re-releasing it for two reasons: 1) it’s a really important topic and 2) I have a great opportunity for you at the end of it.  Thanks! -Brent

cropped-SWP-2.jpg

Let me tell you a tale of two cowrites, both from my early “pro” days. First… the bad cowrite.

I was signed with Major Bob Music at the time, and “Monday Morning Church” had recently been a top 5 country hit for Alan Jackson.  But in spite of having a publishing deal and a hit under my belt, I was still pretty much a newbie trying to figure things out.  (I still feel that way to be honest.)  Anyway, Major Bob hooked me up to cowrite with a legit hit songwriter.  This guy had many cuts and hits to his credit, and I was honored to get in a room with him.

We met at his publishing company on Music Row.  After a little chit chat, he got that familiar look on his face.

“So… got any ideas?”  No.  Not really.

I mean, I had a bunch of hooks and some ideas, but nothing great.  Nothing I was busting a gut to write.  And I apparently didn’t have anything that impressed him, either.  After I threw out several “shoulder-shruggers,” he said, “Man, we need an idea like ‘Monday Morning Church.'”  Too bad.  I must have left my stack of “Monday Morning Church” ideas at home that morning.

We chatted some more, eventually moving out to the porch where he smoked a cigarette and I watched my hopes of making a good impression going up in smoke.  We called it a day.  I call it a failure of preparation on my part.  We’ve never written again.  For me, I was embarrassed and in no hurry to risk wasting his time again.

Now for the good cowrite.

cropped-SWP-2.jpg

I met Byron Hill at Chad Green’s ASCAP Country Workshop.  And, if I remember correctly, Carla Wallace at Big Yellow Dog Music also helped connect us.  We got a cowrite on the books, and I was pumped.  Byron has written a bunch of hits including, “Fool Hearted Memory” for George Strait, “Born Country” for Alabama, “Politics Religion & Her” for Sammy Kershaw and many, many more.

I did my homework.  I pulled together several ideas and lyrics that I thought he’d like.  I really wanted to make a good impression on him. When Byron asked, “So… got any ideas?” I was ready.  He loved a lyric sketch I brought in called, “Ring On The Bar,” and we were off to the races.

This first cowrite led to some success and more opportunity.  While “Ring On The Bar” hasn’t been a big hit yet, it’s been recorded by John Pierce (RCA), James Dupre’ (The Voice), and has been on hold by several artists, including Brad Paisley.

But the big thing is that Byron and I went on to write several more songs together, including the 2014 Canadian Country Music Awards Single Of The Year (and my first #1) “When Your Lips Are So Close” with Gord Bamford.

Good thing I showed up with a good idea on that first day, huh?

And that brings me to the point of these two stories.  I believe that a strong idea is the most valuable thing you can bring to a cowrite (other than Kris Kristofferson).  “Well,” you might say, “how come these big-time songwriters didn’t throw out any of THEIR ideas?”  Here’s why:

A great idea is really the only thing a newer songwriter has to offer a seasoned pro.

Let’s face it, if you get to write with an established pro songwriter, what do THEY need from YOU?

new songwriter offer pro

They have a more valuable name in the business.  They have more connections.  They most likely bring a higher level of songwriting skill.  The only thing they need is a fresh, cool idea or melody.  Unless you’re swinging around a big fat record deal, your job is to bring in the idea or the start of a song.

If the pro has a great idea, he surely has several proven, established cowriters who could write it with him.  Why risk giving 50% of HIS idea to a songwriter who might not contribute very much?

Let me tell you, it’s more fun (and profitable) when you have a strong answer for “got any ideas?” – and I want you to be prepared when that question comes your way.  And that question doesn’t need a good answer ONLY if you get a pro cowrite.  That question comes up in EVERY cowrite.  Every time you step into the writing room, you have the opportunity to blow away your cowriter with a great nugget or idea.

Feeling like I have a stack of strong ideas allows me to walk into any cowrite with confidence.  We might not always write my idea, but I came prepared… and my cowriter knows it and appreciates it.

I want YOU to have that confidence – and those results, too.  I want your cowriters to be glad they showed up to write with you.  But I DON’T want you to have to go through years of trial, error and the occasional embarrassing cowrite like I did!  That’s why I dive deeply into the topic in my upcoming web-workshop series in August called “Song Ideas: From Blank Page To Finished Lyric.”

Blank 2 Finished

This course is designed to take you from a blank page to a new song idea to a fully developed concept to a finished lyric. You’ll learn a repeatable process you can use to discover and develop strong song ideas again and again. And you’ll also learn how to frame and focus those ideas for maximum commercial impact and appeal.

This course is INTERACTIVE! You won’t sit back and just stare at me talking for an hour-and-a-half. You won’t be some number on my dashboard. No. We’ll be face-to-face. You’ll have exercises to practice outside of our sessions. I’ll ask you questions. You can ask me questions. We’re in this thing together. That’s why I keep the workshops small- I want to get to know YOU!

Tickets for this event are on sale NOW. There are only 11 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 August- CLICK HERE or on the image below to learn more and reserve your spot now!

Blank 2 Finished

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 #149

22 Comments

Wordplay Thursday

Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

“She climbed in his truck 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.

“She climbed in his truck like __________.”

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

“She climbed in his truck like her daddy and her common sense were hot on her high heels.”

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!

And thanks to everyone for your great additions to Wordplay Thursday #148 (read it here)! Great job!

Wordplay is a fun way to kickstart the creative process, but if you REALLY want to get strong ideas- consistently- then I have a great workshop series coming up for you.   It runs in August, and it’s called “Song Ideas: From Blank Page To Finished Lyric.”

Blank 2 Finished

This course is designed to take you from a blank page to a new song idea to a fully developed concept to a finished lyric. You’ll learn a repeatable process you can use to discover and develop strong song ideas again and again. And you’ll also learn how to frame and focus those ideas for maximum commercial impact and appeal.

This course is INTERACTIVE! You won’t sit back and just stare at me talking for an hour-and-a-half. You won’t be some number on my laptop’s dashboard. No. We’ll be face-to-face. You’ll have exercises to practice outside of our sessions. I’ll ask you questions. You can ask me questions. We’re in this thing together. That’s why I keep the workshops small- I want to get to know YOU!

Tickets for this event are on sale NOW. There are only 11 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 August- CLICK HERE or on the image below to learn more and reserve your spot now!

Blank 2 Finished

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

Man vs. PRO

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

The C.L.I.M.B. Episode 21: 10 Reasons Songwriters Should Pitch Their Own Songs

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theclimbFINAL

The C.L.I.M.B. Podcast Episode 21 is live and ready for download!

In this week’s episode, Brent leads as we dive into 10 reasons songwriters should pitch their own songs.  If you’re in a publishing deal (or hope to be in one) and expect your song pluggers to just go out and get you cuts, you’re making a BIG mistake- one that could cost your cuts!  Give this episode a listen. (And be sure and subscribe so you never miss another helpful episode!)

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

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.

Craft, Think Like A Pro, Write Like A Pro

Songwriting Is All About Location, Location, Location

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cropped-SWP-2.jpg 

It’s true for real estate, and it’s true for songs.

I want to talk about the 3 most important things in real estate (which are also really important in songwriting):

Location, location, location.

In probably any town, certain neighborhoods have certain personalities. One neighborhood is full of SUV-driving soccer moms. Another is mostly middle-class country folk. Another is college kids, another is hipsters, etc.

Musically-speaking, most artists put down roots in one neighborhood.

They spend most of their time there, only venturing out to the adjacent neighborhoods every now and then. This is another way of talking about branding. An artist’s brand says, “I live in THIS neighborhood. I’m like THESE people, and I sing about them and for them.”

For example, an artist’s music may be most “at home” with the good ‘ol party boys. Most of his music is for those good ‘ol boys- bonfires and tailgates. The “good ‘ol party boy” artist doesn’t usually venture into the soccer mom neighborhood, where the music is more about family, lifelong love, kids, etc.

Most songs are also “at home” in certain neighborhoods. Some songs are built for the rednecks, some for the high school girls, some for their moms, some for the blue collar dads, etc.

But remember, most ideas can be built to fit in any of several neighborhoods.

It just depends how you frame the idea (pun intended). The choices you make will determine your song’s neighborhood.

For example, Craig Morgan’s “Redneck Yacht Club” and Little Big Town’s “Pontoon” are basically about the same thing- getting out on the water. But the songs (houses) were built in different neighborhoods and attracted a different kind of artist. Even though the basic ideas of the songs are similar, Little Big Town wouldn’t feel at home moving into Craig’s neighborhood, and vice versa.

When you think about where to build your song, it’s wise to think about the property values in the different neighborhoods.

Are the houses in the “good ‘ol party boys” neighborhood in high demand? Are the houses in the blue-collar-working-man in low demand?  What type of song are artists cutting?

I was blessed to have Joe Nichols cut a song of mine on his most recent album. The song became the album’s title, “Crickets.” We built the song in Joe’s neighborhood, and I’m glad he liked it enough to move in!

joe-nichols-crickets

But what about “Crickets” put it in Joe’s neighborhood? Well, first off, it’s country. Pretty dang country. Joe’s done some more modern stuff here and there, but he has a deep love for country songs that are really country. Also, Joe has also recorded several songs that are funny or tongue-in-cheek, such as “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off.” He’s not afraid to poke a little fun at himself, either, so “Crickets” seemed like a really good fit. I’m glad Joe thought so, too!

The concept of “Neighborhoods” is important if you want to write commercial songs. I go into more depth on the topic in my upcoming web-workshop series in August called “Song Ideas: From Blank Page To Finished Lyric.”

 Blank 2 Finished

This course is designed to take you from a blank page to a new song idea to a fully developed concept to a finished lyric. You’ll learn a repeatable process you can use to discover and develop strong song ideas again and again. And you’ll also learn how to frame and focus those ideas for maximum commercial impact and appeal.

This course is INTERACTIVE! You won’t sit back and just stare at me talking for an hour-and-a-half. You won’t be some number on my laptop’s dashboard. No. We’ll be face-to-face. You’ll have exercises to practice outside of our sessions. I’ll ask you questions. You can ask me questions. We’re in this thing together. That’s why I keep the workshops small- I want to get to know YOU!

Tickets for this event are on sale NOW. There are only 11 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 August- CLICK HERE or on the image below to learn more and reserve your spot now!

Blank 2 Finished

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 #148

13 Comments

Wordplay Thursday

Welcome to Wordplay Thursday!

“She hates _____ like _____ hates _____.”

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.

“She hates _____ like _____ hates _____.”

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

“She hates liars like the devil hates the truth.”

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!

And thanks to everyone for your great additions to Wordplay Thursday #147 (read it here)! Great job!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

Man vs. PRO

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

The C.L.I.M.B. Episode 20: 20 Biggest Indie Artist Marketing Mistakes (part 2)

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theclimbFINAL

The C.L.I.M.B. Podcast Episode 20 is live and ready for download!

In this week’s episode, Johnny leads as we dive into part two of the 20 biggest indie artist marketing mistakes.  If you’re an independent artist doing your own marketing/promo, I hope you aren’t wasting your money and spinning your wheels making these mistakes.  To make sure you aren’t, give this episode a listen! (And be sure and subscribe so you never miss another helpful episode!)

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

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.