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Bad Cheating, Great Songwriting. Carrie Underwood and “Dirty Laundry”

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Apparently, Carrie Underwood hates cheaters and loves great imagery.

Much like her mega-hit “Before He Cheats” (which you can read about HERE), Carrie finds herself betrayed by a no-good boy.  And, again, she ain’t putting up with that mess.

“Dirty Laundry” has a lot of great things about it- strong production, powerful vocals, a catchy melody and an empowering lyric.  But for now, I want to focus on the songwriters’ use of imagery.  Writers Hillary Lindsey, Zach Crowell and Ashley Gorley know what they’re doing, ya’ll.

Right off the bat, the songwriters hit us with images…

“That lipstick on your collar, well, it ain’t my shade of pink
And I can tell by the smell of that perfume, it’s like forty dollars too cheap
And there’s a little wine stain on the pocket of your white cotton thread
Well, you drink beer and whiskey, boy, and you know I don’t drink red”

This verse does a few important things – and it does them well.

The images show us the situation- they don’t just tell it.  Showing is so much more powerful than telling.  The writers could’ve just said, “I caught you cheating on me.”  And while we’d understand the information, it’s not emotionally engaging or particularly entertaining.

Instead, the writers bring us alongside Carrie as she discovers the clues to his infidelity.  We see the pink lipstick, smell the cheap perfume, see the wine stain, etc.

Showing us the clues involves us as listeners.

We discover the clues at the same time Carrie does, and we come to the same conclusion.  Don’t believe me?  Listen again and tell me when Carrie says the word “cheat” or “cheated.”  She doesn’t.  She doesn’t have to.  The pictures are the proof.  We don’t have to wonder how she knows he cheated or even if she’s mistaken.  Nope.  We’ve seen the evidence and can pronounce him guilty.

Also, the imagery tells you more about the characters than just “he’s a cheater.”

You learn that he drinks beer and whiskey, but not wine.  We learn that Carrie’s character wears pink lipstick, likes quality (at least fairly expensive) perfume and drinks white wine- but not red.

I already feel like I’m getting to know these characters- and we’re just a few lines into the song!  And we know them not because the songwriters TOLD us about them, but because they SHOWED us about them.

That’s some strong songwriting.

(Side Note: Normally if a man does Carrie wrong, she resorts to either property damage or murder.  This dude definitely gets off easy!)

Strong imagery like we find in “Dirty Laundry” can really make a song stand out.  If you want to build YOUR imagery skill so that YOUR songs stand out, I have a great opportunity for you.  In Songwriting Pro’s upcoming live online workshop, I’ll reveal several techniques that I and other pro songwriters use to create killer imagery.

CLICK HERE IF YOU WANT YOUR SONGS TO STAND OUT.

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

Craft, Cut Study

A Spork, A Twinkie and Warner Bros. Records

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Man vs Row

Ever imagine having a music industry pro pull a lyric out of one of your songs (from memory) and quote it back to you? And to tell you they love it? Let me tell you, it feels GREAT. And it opens doors.

In my last post, I revealed how great imagery can give your songs that slight edge that can bring big opportunities [CLICK TO READ]. Today is the example of one of those opportunities…

Brandon Kinney and I wrote a song called “Every Head Bowed,” written from the point of view of a little boy in church. It was a funny song, and we packed it with imagery from both our imagination and memories of growing up in church.

The song went on to get recorded by legendary country artist, Randy Travis, on his “Around The Bend” album on Warner Bros. Records. It was a huge thrill to have a song recorded by an artist of Randy’s stature. Unbelievable. And what really tickled me was the fact that the song contained the word “spork.”

Spork? Yes, spork. Those plastic spoon-fork things at KFC.

spork pic

The end of the song takes place after church as the family is having lunch at KFC, and the dad tells the singer to “put that spork back down” while the family prays. It’s such an odd, specific word, but it’s exactly what you use there- and it fits the fun vibe of the song.

Here’s where it gets even more fun. I kinda knew some of the A&R folks at Warner Bros., but now I had a cut on one of their artists. That definitely took me up a notch in their eyes. Even more, they LOVED the spork line.

As I’d bump into a couple of the A&R folks, and we’d talk about the song, they’d always mention that line and how it was their favorite line in the song or how it was so funny.

A&R people hear thousands of songs- more than they can remember. But if you can give them an image they love, they’ll remember your song and YOU.

This simple thing gave me a calling card. I was the guy that wrote “the spork song.” It gave the A&R people a little something positive to remember me by. It’s a goofy line, but it no doubt helped me get more pitch meetings there. And the song even helped me and Brandon land a cowrite with Randy Travis himself!

Randy Travis cowrite

A great image can really set the identity of a song in the mind of a listener- just like it’s another hook or an alternate title. Don’t believe me? How many people called “Something Like That” by Tim McGraw “BBQ stain?” How many people know you’re talking about the Dierks Bentley song “What Was I Thinkin’” when you call it “little white tank top?” The right image, as simple as it might be, can make your whole song memorable. And memorable is valuable!

0 unusual image

Another quick story involving “Every Head Bowed.” I was out a couple months ago, and I ran into one of Randy Travis’ band members. I said, “Hey, you’ve probably played one of my songs.” “Which one?” he asked. When I told him it was “Every Head Bowed,” he nudged his wife and said, “Hey, this guy wrote ‘Every Head Bowed”- we love that song!”

She looked confused, like she didn’t remember it. Then he said, “Oh, you know- the Twinkie song!” Then she gave a big smile as he told me they always call it “The Twinkie Song.”

Yep, there’s a line about a Twinkie in that song, too. Again, giving your listener one strong image (or more) can set your song in their memory more than even the title does.

I want to help you put winning imagery into your lyrics. Here’s a quick video that might serve you…

MvR Video

What about you? Do you have any songs that you or your friends call by a different title- one based on an image? Or a particular image that comes to mind when you think of a certain song? Leave a comment!

Since strong imagery is such an important part of professional-level songwriting, I’ve put together a course on imagery. It’s called, “Use Imagery To Supercharge Your Songwriting (Like The Pros Do)” and it’s available now. By the end of the course, you’ll have the basic skills to:

  1. Effectively use both literal and figurative imagery.
  2. Make your story come to life using imagery.
  3. Prove your character’s personality using imagery.
  4. Make your listener connect to your character’s emotions using imagery.
  5. Hook your listener in the song’s first few lines using imagery.
  6. And to begin more songs (more easily) using imagery exercises as the start of your songwriting process.

Click here if you’re ready to “Use Imagery To Supercharge Your Songwriting (Like The Pros Do)” or click on the image below.

imagery_square_copy

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.

Man vs Row

Craft, Cut Study

6 Words That Changed My Life

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Man vs Row

In 2002, I was an unknown lyricist who had just moved to Nashville from Little Rock, Arkansas. Almost zero contacts in the music business. No cowrites with pro songwriters.

Fast forward 3 1/2 years. In 2005, I’m standing on stage at the NSAI Awards receiving one of only 12 “Songs I Wish I’d Written” awards given that year. The next night was the ASCAP Awards, where I’d be receiving an airplay award for a top 5 single. I now had a publishing deal at Major Bob Music and wrote regularly with other pro songwriters.

ASCAP Awards

So what got me from point A to point B? What got me from waiting tables at Cracker Barrel with a name tag that said, “Hello, my name is Brent” to having people introduce me as “This is Brent, he wrote ‘Monday Morning Church’ for Alan Jackson?” Well… God took me from A to B, really. God gets all the credit, because it certainly wasn’t because of my songwriting skills at the time.

Looking back now, it’s almost embarrassing how green I was.

And it wasn’t about my networking skills. I still knew almost no one in the music business. I was at an industry party talking to some guy. This was in 2004 after the song got cut but before it was a single. We were chatting about the song, and he said, “Man, I love that song.” I said, “Oh, you know it?” He said, “Yeah. I cut it on Alan.” It was Keith Stegall, Alan’s producer. A legend in the biz and I didn’t recognize him because I’d never actually seen him in person before. I was so embarrassed. So, no…

I was not a networking genius.

And my success wasn’t about my cowriter’s political pull in the biz. It was her first cut, too. She was still in college at MTSU! She did have a well-established publisher pitching the song, though. But our names had nothing to do with the cut.

What God used more than anything else to take me from unknown lyricist to hit songwriter… was 6 little words I ran across in a poem my mother wrote:

“Empty as a Monday morning church.”

An image. A really great image became the core of my first cut and changed my life.

If you’re like me and want to write songs that get on records and radio and compete for the big money, you’re stepping into a very, very competitive business. There are only a few spots available on the album of a major artist. And there are even less slots available on radio.

In a business this competitive, you need every advantage you can get. Small advantages can bring big results. Adding great images to your songs can give you that advantage. It can make you more attractive and valued as a cowriter. It can get you that second publisher meeting. It can make a record label go from “what else do you have” to “let me keep a copy of that.” Likewise, better imagery can take your song from “let me keep a copy of that” to “put that on hold- I want to play it for my artist.” Or maybe great imagery will even take your song from “I want to put that on hold” to “we want to record your song.”

0 small advantage

Great imagery can even make the difference between getting a $300 album cut or a $300,000 hit single.

0 $300

In a business this competitive, the opposite is also true. Your song that’s being held for an artist might not get cut because they decide to record a song that’s just a little better. Or even if they do cut your song, they might single a different song instead. And the difference between an album cut and a hit single is huge. It’s not just a huge money difference, getting a hit single will boost your status and prestige much more than an album cut ever will.

Don’t settle for images that work. Strive for the BEST images you can get into your songs. It’ll make a big difference in your songwriting. And that big difference might just give you that small edge that turns you pro.

0 best image

Think you can’t write great images? Think you either have to be born with the “imagery-gene” or you’re just out of luck? Put those thoughts away. You CAN learn to get a lot better with imagery-writing. My first songs didn’t have nearly the level of imagery I can write now. What made the difference?

Time, education and practice. Now, I can’t do much about “time,” but I can help you with education. Here’s a video clip that you might find helpful.

MvR Video

What about you? What are some of your favorite images from song lyrics? Please share in the comments!

 

Since strong imagery is such an important part of professional-level songwriting, I’ve put together a course on imagery. It’s called, “Use Imagery To Supercharge Your Songwriting (Like The Pros Do)” and it’s available now. By the end of the course, you’ll have the basic skills to:

  1. Effectively use both literal and figurative imagery.
  2. Make your story come to life using imagery.
  3. Prove your character’s personality using imagery.
  4. Make your listener connect to your character’s emotions using imagery.
  5. Hook your listener in the song’s first few lines using imagery.
  6. And to begin more songs (more easily) using imagery exercises as the start of your songwriting process.

Click here if you’re ready to “Use Imagery To Supercharge Your Songwriting (Like The Pros Do)” or click on the image below.

imagery_square_copy

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.

Man vs Row

Craft, Cut Study

Songwriting Is Like Real Estate… For Real.

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Man vs Row 

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

My last couple of posts talked about how your songwriting can “Fill The G.A.P.S.” or get you “P.U.L.’D. To Success.”  Today, I want to talk about the most important thing in real estate (and 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 “Cut/able,” and it’s one of the lessons we’ll be discussing in our C4 Experience.

c4x

In my last post, I promised to tell you what “C4” means, so here it is.

C4:

Creative
Commercial
Coaching
Community

The C4 Experience is about celebrating your creative spirit and sharpening your commercial songwriting, guided by expert coaching and encouraged by a supportive community.

Let’s look at each part of this:

Creative:
I want to celebrate you because I’m a fan of you! I love dreamers and doers. And while I take the craft of songwriting very seriously, I believe it should be fun. If you’ve ever been to one of my workshops or live events, you know I like to have fun while I’m teaching- so you can have fun while you’re learning. And I also believe you can be creative while being commercial, which brings me to the next “C.”

Commercial:
This workshop series is for songwriters that want to write commercially successful songs- either for yourself or for others to sing. By the end of this workshop, my goal is for your songwriting to be a lot more commercial.

Coaching:
Each two-hour session will begin with 30 minutes of teaching and a lesson review. Each lesson will be based on one of the four sections of “Cut/able.” You’ll do the reading and exercises before each workshop, and we’ll meet online to discuss the lesson and answer any questions. Each student will also receive 45 minutes of “spotlight coaching.” This is a time for us to focus on YOU- your situation, your challenges, and your songs. I’ll lead, but the other students can also give their advice.

Community:
The C4 Experience is limited to just 8 students, so there will be time to get to know everyone else in the group over our 8 hours together over 4 nights. You’ll encourage each other and probably find out that your challenges aren’t that different from anyone else’s. Successful commercial songwriting is a team sport, and this just may help you build that team.

HOW DOES C4 WORK?

The C4 Experience is an online event, so you can join in from anywhere there’s an internet connection. You do NOT have to be in Nashville. You can join us from anywhere in the world. We’ll meet via Fuze, an online videoconferencing platform. Basically, I’ll send you a link before each session, and you just click to join in. If you have questions, you can find out more about Fuze, here:
System requirements
Join Fuze meeting through an internet browser

We’ll meet 4 times (that’s where the “4” in “C4” comes from):

     Tuesday, January 12, 7:30pm to 9:30pm (Central time)
     Tuesday, January 25, 7:30pm to 9:30pm (Central time)
     Tuesday, February 9, 7:30pm to 9:30pm (Central time)
     Tuesday, February 23, 7:30pm to 9:30pm (Central time)

Each night will begin with a 30-minute lesson from “Cut/able.” We’ll work through the workbook in order:

*Session 1- W.I.L.L.power: Proving Personality & Emotions Through Your Lyrics (Connect on a deeper level with the artist and listener through effective use of imagery.)

*Session 2- PUL’D To Success: The Value of Positive, Uptempo, Love/Depth Songs (Give the artists what they need, give radio what it wants, and give the fans what they like by learning the importance of writing positive, uptempo, love/depth songs.)

*Session 3- Neighborhoods: Where Will You Build A Home For Your Songs? (Develop skills to identify an artist’s “brand” so you can write songs that fit that brand and speak to the artist’s core audience.)

*Session 4- Fill The G.A.P.S.: Growth, Achievement, Preaching/Positioning, Songwriting (Pinpoint areas of opportunity within an artist’s catalog- slots you can fill with your songs, songs that fit the artist’s brand without being just like what they’ve already done.)

After the lesson/Q&A, we’ll do two 45-minute spotlight coaching sessions. We’ll focus on one of the group members each session (two per night). Each of the eight community members will get his or her own spotlight over the course of the event.

The cost of the entire C4 Experience is $250, which is a great deal. It works out to $31.25 an hour. I usually charge $150 for just one hour of coaching. But with C4, you get 4 30-minute lessons with Q&A and a personalized 45-minute spotlight coaching session. PLUS, you get to participate in the spotlight sessions of the 7 other songwriters. Believe me, there will be plenty you can learn from their sessions, too!

An average demo in Nashville currently costs anywhere from $500 to $1000. That’s just for ONE SONG. That’s a fine investment if your song is commercially strong. If it isn’t… you just wasted a lot of your money. Wouldn’t it be better to spend $250 to keep from wasting $1000 or more (again and again)? For less than the price of demoing one song, you can learn how to write song after song after song that’s worth demoing!

BONUS!

Since we’ll be learning from my workbook, “Cut/able,” it only makes sense to give you a copy when you join C4. It sells for $25, but I’ll throw it in for free. (If you already own “Cut/able,” there’s a discount code in the back of the workbook. Use it at checkout, and it’ll knock $25 off the price, so it’s like you get it for free!)  Click here to find out more about “Cut/able.”

Tickets for this event are on sale NOW. There are only 8 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 January- CLICK HERE or on the image below to reserve your spot now!

c4x

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.

Man vs Row

Craft, Cut Study

Are Your Songs Being P.U.L.’D. To Success?

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Man vs Row

It’s a good feeling to earn something that can’t be taken away…

…something that you can always point to back in your life and be proud of. I’ve been blessed with a few of those things, and one of them is hanging on the wall in my office.

It’s a plaque I received after Gord Bamford had a #1 single in Canada for our song “When Your Lips Are So Close.” The plaque includes part of that week’s Billboard chart, and there’s our songs, sitting at #1 above Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, and Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert.

Gord 1

Imagine YOUR songs sitting in that #1 spot.

How would it feel to tell yourself, “I did it. I wrote a #1 hit. No matter what happens in the future, I’ll always know my dream wasn’t crazy. It came true.”

Well, ok… maybe having a hit song IS kind of a crazy dream. But I’m living proof that crazy dreams can come true. I want to help you make YOUR crazy dream come true, too. And that’s why I want to share the concept of “PUL’D” with you. “PUL’D” describes the type of song that most artists are looking for.

PUL’D stands for:

P: Positive
U: Uptempo
L: Love
D: Depth

Just look at the singles charts, and you’ll see what I mean. Most songs are positive messages or happy. People like to feel good. Positive songs are a whole lot better to listen to when you’re out with your friends at a party or at a club. Most songs on the charts are mid-tempo or uptempo. It’s something people can dance to, or at least bob their heads or tap their feet to. And most either deal with love or some some deep (“depth”) life topic. Love is the most universal topic, right? If you want to connect with a huge group of people (millions of radio listeners), your best bet is to talk about love. “Depth” is when the song deals with some sort of life issue. It could be death, growing older, looking back on life lessons, contemplating God, etc.

In the case of “When Your Lips Are So Close,” (the #1 hanging on my wall) the song is Positive, Midtempo, Love. It doesn’t have a dance club tempo, but it moves and it has a big chorus which gives it energy.

To give your song the best chance of getting recorded, you want to give it at least one of these three qualities (I say “three” because “love” and “depth” are both topics). However, if you can give it all three, then you REALLY have something that people are looking for.

You can think of it this way:

“Commercial songs get PUL’D into the recording studio.”
“Commercial songs get “PUL’D up the charts.”

If you want to learn more about how to write commercial songs, my course, “Cut/able” is a great place to start. It includes lessons on PUL’D, G.A.P.S. (from my last post), and more. (It’s available HERE.)

But maybe you already own “Cut/able” and you’re ready to take the next step. Or maybe interactive learning is more your thing. Either way, I have a great opportunity coming up for you.

In January and February, I’m leading a series of multiple-night, live, web-based workshops that I’m calling the “C4 Experience.” Why “C4?” I’ll get to that in my next email, where I’ll also share how building a song in the right neighborhood can move YOU into “Cut City.”

c4x

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.

Man vs Row

Craft, Cut Study

Are your songs filling the G.A.P.S.?

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Man vs Row

I’ll never forget the first time I heard one of my songs on the radio.

“Monday Morning Church” had just been released by Alan Jackson, and it was starting to get some spins. It was to be featured on a local (Nashville) radio station’s song-vs-song challenge (a “Friday Night Knockout” kind of thing). They kept promoting it, so I knew it was coming on around 8pm that night.

A good friend had just arrived from Little Rock, and was in the bathroom when the opening fiddle started playing on the radio in the living room. I yelled, “It’s on!” and she came bolting out of the bathroom- tugging up her sweatpants and almost putting on an indecent display as she tried not to trip over herself in her excitement and hurry.

The song was cranked up, and we were totally amped up. We laughed, hugged, and paced around the living room as the song played. I had FINALLY heard my song on the radio! It was an unbelievable feeling. “Wow… he REALLY released it! It’s REALLY on the dad-gummed RADIO!”

Alan Jackson- Monday Morning Church

I want YOU to have that feeling, too.

Don’t say that it can’t happen to you. Sure, the odds are long. The chance of success are small, I won’t deny that. But I’m just an ‘ol boy from Arkansas. I didn’t have any special connections in the music business. I barely knew anybody when I moved to Nashville. All I brought with me was a dream, a knack for words, and a good work ethic. And I brought a song that filled a gap in Alan’s catalog.

Actually, the song filled one of the G.A.P.S. in Alan’s catalog.

What does G.A.P.S. mean?

G.A.P.S. is a memory device I use to remind me where to aim when I’m trying to get a song on an artist’s album. It points out where there might be opportunity- where there might be an empty space (a gap) that my song can fill. It stands for:

G: Growth
A: Achievement
P: Preaching / Positioning
S: Songwriting

In short, “Growth” reminds me to write based on where the artist is GOING. Artists change over time, they evolve, and it doesn’t do me much good to write a song that fits where they’ve been. They need songs that fit where they’re going.

“Achievement” reminds me to try and write something that will take the artist’s career up a level. Most artists are always trying to climb the ladder of success, and they want songs that aren’t just going to maintain their current careers. They want songs that are going to win awards, raise their visibility, and grow their careers.

“Preaching” is when an artist speaks to THEIR crowd, THEIR listeners. It’s the old saying of “preaching to the choir.” They want songs that their established fans will love. “Positioning” is when a song identifies who an artist is- what their brand is. It says, “I’m a so-and-so kind of person/artist. If you want this kind of music, come to my show or buy my album.”

“Songwriting” reminds me to be aware of what kind of song the artist writes himself, and what kind of song he records that somebody else writes. I have a much better chance of getting a cut if I write the kind of song that the artist doesn’t write, but is looking for.

In the case of “Monday Morning Church,” it filled one of the G.A.P.S. in Alan’s catalog. It was a topic and emotion he hadn’t covered before. It was some new material that still fit within the general scope of what he does. It was Alan’s kind of country sound, but the lyric content was new for him.

So the next time you’re writing a song specifically for an artist (or figuring out which of your existing songs to pitch for an artist), think about how you can fill the G.A.P.S.

In my next post, I’ll tell you about earning something nobody can take away. And I’ll let you know about a special opportunity I have coming up.

If you want to be sure and stay in the loop on all things songwriting, be sure and subscribe to manvsrow.com (at the top right or down below)!  I have some cool stuff coming up, and you won’t want to miss out!

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.

Man vs Row

Cut Study

Cut Study: Benton Blount & “God Talks To Me”

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Man vs Row

“God Talks To Me” is the new single from America’s Got Talent Season 10 finalist, Benton Blount. Last time, I discussed the songwriting decisions that went into the song, and today I want to share how the song got to Benton. Hopefully, there are some lessons here that will help you on YOUR journey.

AGT_Benton_Blount

We met through a mutual connection.

A cowriting buddy of mine, Skip Black, invited me in to his upcoming cowrite with Benton. Skip and I had written some songs, and I guess he thought I’d be a good fit. All I knew was that “this Benton guy” had an indie record deal, so I was up for it. Relationships create opportunity.

I kept the relationship.

Benton and I went on to write several songs together. Then his record deal ended, and he went back home. But I liked Benton, and I believed in him as an artist (CLICK HERE to read “Why Benton Blount Is Successful”). We stayed in contact, and he put some of our songs on his indie records.

I pitched the song.

When Benton told me he was looking for songs for a new project, I looked through my catalog for songs. “God Talks To Me” has always been one of my favorite songs, and I think it’s a hit waiting to happen. (I wrote the song with Jason Cox and Michael Boggs.)  Normally, a pro songwriter won’t pitch a “top drawer” song to an unknown indie artist. But, like I said, I believe in Benton Blount. I emailed the song to him, along with several others.

Benton cut “God Talks To Me” a while before he ever tried out for America’s Got Talent, so that wasn’t a factor in deciding to pitch the song. I just decided to pitch the song to a good artist who was out there working hard.

I know that’s not a real exciting or glamorous story (hopefully, the most exciting part is still to come). But that’s songwriting. You make connections, you work with folks you believe in, then you hope for the best.

Benton and I met in 2009. It’s now 2015. Be patient.

Check out “God Talks To Me” on iTunes!

Find out more about Benton Blount at www.bentonblount.com

BB God Talks To Me

During the process of building and maintaining my relationship with Benton and pitching “God Talks To Me,” I was taking care to think like pro songwriter.  And if YOU want to become a pro, you need to think like a pro, too.  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…

  1. How to get on a music publisher’s radar
  2. How the pros know who is looking for songs
  3. Six simple ways to make your songs more commercial
  4. And more!

To get your FREE, INSTANT download of “THINK LIKE A PRO SONGWRITER,” just  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.

Cut Study

Cut Study: Ruthie Collins & “Vintage”

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Ruthie Collins EP

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.

I’m blessed to have a cowrite on Ruthie Collins’ debut project on Curb Records. Here’s the inside story on how it made the record.

I wrote with a developing artist (early).

Ruthie was just coming off Season One of CMT’s “Can You Duet.” We got introduced at NSAI, and I started writing with her. That was back in August of 2008. Eventually, Ruthie got a record deal on Curb. Thanks to our friendship and writing history, I was able to bypass the gatekeepers at her publishing company and label (both Curb) and continue to book cowrites directly with her. I didn’t get blocked out, as sometimes happens when cowriters get deals.

I brought in the right title.

Knowing Ruthie loves all things vintage, I thought she’d like the title. I kept it in my “Ruthie Collins Ideas” file on my laptop. One day we hit a wall on another song we were writing, and we decided to move on to something else. I mentioned, “Vintage” and Ruthie lit up like a Christmas tree.

The timing was right.

The song sat unfinished for probably a year while Ruthie finished up her debut album and I had to go get a day job.  I did have one song on there called, “Always Open.” What I didn’t know was that they basically scrapped the whole album she’d recorded, and she was now headed in a different direction. It was a direction that “Vintage” fit perfectly. Ruthie rediscovered the worktape and said, “We HAVE to finish this!”  Boy, am I glad she did!

We served the song, generously.

Ruthie and I can write a good song on our own, and we know it. Almost all of our cowrites were just the two of us. But Ruthie really wanted to make sure we got it right, and she thought her good friend and cowriter, Jessica Roadcap, would be a great fit. In terms of ownership (and potential money) this brought us each down from 50% to 33.33%. But we’d rather have 33.33% of a cut than 50% of nothing. And it was a good call. Jessica brought great value to the song. (Plus, it gave me a new friend in the music biz and in Ruthie’s camp.)

We positioned the song to win.

Ruthie could’ve just played the worktape for Curb, but she really wanted to put “Vintage” in the best light possible. So she and Jessica demoed it. They even went back and did several tweaks to the demo to get it just right.

Ruthie championed the song.

Ruthie believed in the song. She knew it really fit her brand, and she didn’t sit around hoping her label and marketing team would happen to come to the same conclusion. She actively brought them ideas around the “Vintage” concept. “Vintage,” both the song and the style, summed up her brand.

Right idea, written right, with the right artist at the right time. Easy and predictable… right?

You can check out Ruthie at:   ruthiecollinsmusic.com

You can get the EP on iTunes <HERE.>

God Bless,

Brent

THE PRO KNOWS

To BE a pro, you need to THINK like a pro. In this complimentary report, learn the mindsets that help the pro songwriter get cuts, earn respect in the industry, and maintain long-term success in the music business. Just click on the picture below to download this complimentary report today!

The Pro Knows

Cut Study

The Story Behind “Monday Morning Church”

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Alan Jackson- Monday Morning Church

Brent 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.

A lot of people ask me about the story behind “Monday Morning Church.” Did I lose someone close to me? Did I just make it up? Stick around and find out.

Back in 1999, I was in the final semester of getting my Master’s Degree in Business at Arkansas State University.

At that point, I was writing songs at night and on weekends.

I went back home to Batesville, Arkansas, one weekend to hang out with the folks. My mom, an English teacher, showed me a poem she had written as an example to her students.

The poem was about a teacher’s day, and it had a line that read, “Trudging wearily through the parking lot, as empty as a Monday-morning church.”

When I saw that line, it about blew the top of my head off! I thought it was a brilliant image. Immediately, I told her I was gonna use it.

Back at school, I started working on the lyric (I don’t write melodies). I remember sitting in my little off-campus apartment at my computer and kicking that title around. With an image like “empty as a Monday morning church,” I knew it had to be something serious.

I settled on the idea of a man who had lost his wife and was having a crisis of faith. The first lines of the song came first:

“You left your Bible on the dresser, so I put it in the drawer. ‘Cuz I can’t seem to talk to God without yelling anymore.”

I remember really liking those lines, even though I knew they might be too in-your-face. As it turns out, they seem to be most peoples’ favorite part of the song, so what do I know?

I’m not sure how long it took me to write the first draft of the lyric- probably a few hours over the next couple of days.

The lyric sat around for a few years…

…with occasional false starts by various cowriters. I eventually moved to Little Rock and met Erin Enderlin, who was a Conway native going to school outside of Nashville.

I rewrote the 2nd verse and showed it to Erin during a cowrite her parents’ place over Christmas break. Thankfully, she liked it. A few days later, she played the melody for me. She’s a great writer.

Erin took our song back to Nashville…

…and played it for her publisher, a guy named Jeff Carlton. He demoed the song I believe in 2003, which was after I had finally made the move to Nashville myself.

Even though I had originally written the lyric with a male artist in mind, Erin sang the demo from a woman’s point of view, and Jeff played it for Keith Stegall, a producer in town. Keith loved it, thank goodness.

In August of 2003, Keith put “Monday Morning Church” on hold for Lee Ann Womack.

It was my first hold.

However, he didn’t end up working on that Lee Ann album, and the song came off hold. Then he put it on hold for Terri Clark. It stayed on hold for her over Christmas.

Word was, she was going into the studio in early March of 2004. On the night of my two-year anniversary of moving to Nashville, Erin called with good news and bad news. The bad news was that Terri didn’t cut our song. The good news was that Alan Jackson had put it on hold.

Well, the rest of that month was pins and needles. Jeff called me with the news that Alan had cut “Monday Morning Church” in late March. It was an unbelievable feeling! Erin and I both finally had our first cuts.

And it only took five years and two states to go from an idea to a record.

God Bless,

Brent

Man vs Row

Sept. 22: KNOW THE ROW with CHAD GREEN

Man vs. Row invites you to be a part of an exclusive Google Hangout with music publisher & former ASCAP Membership Representative, Chad Green. Ask Chad YOUR questions face-to-face as we discus how YOU can get on the radar of a publisher or PRO. To find out more, click on the image below:

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Brent’s Twitter: @Razorbaxter

Brent Baxter Music: http://www.brentbaxtermusic.com

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Cut Study, Songplugging

Cut Study: Drew Gregory, “Farm Hands”

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cropped-music_row_signs322.jpg

Brent 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.

Drew Gregory is an indie Canadian country artist from Alberta.  He gets some radio airplay and TV exposure, and he’s building his career.  He ended up cutting a song of mine called “Farm Hands,” which I wrote with Jaron Boyer and Chris Hennessee.

The story of how Drew got the song is pretty interesting, and I’ll let Drew tell you in his own words.

“A song that was not even originally pitched to me managed to find its way on to our album.  I was sent a DropBox by my producer, Aaron Goodvin, with a bunch of songs to consider but within the DropBox, another folder was accidentally sent.  I was never meant to see it, but I thought it was just too good a song to let go.  I remembered the tune, and months later when we were making final selection of songs for the album I let Aaron know I wanted it.  He worked his magic and we were able to cut “Farm Hands” as a perfect addition to our ‘farm boy’ themed record!”

The takeaway for me is a reminder that a song is like a message in a bottle.  After we write the song, we throw it out into the ocean.  After that, we don’t control where it goes or who gets it.  Surprises like this are part of what keeps songwriting fun and exciting.  Thanks to Drew and Aaron for the cut- it sounds great!

You can check out Drew’s music at: www.drewgregorymusic.com

God Bless,

Brent

YOU VS…

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Brent’s Twitter: @Razorbaxter

Brent Baxter Music:  http://www.brentbaxtermusic.com