Category Archives: Songplugging

Artist Insight Report: Eric Church “Mr. Misunderstood”

February 22, 2016 Brent Baxter 19 Comments

If you want your songs to get recorded by major artists, you need to understand those artists.

Understanding what an artist has recorded before can help you predict what he or she might record in the future. So, today, I decided to dive into Eric Church’s new album, “Mr. Misunderstood.” Here’s what I found, track-by-track. (Note: “PUL’D” is a reference from my workbook “Cut/able: Lessons in Market-Smart Songwriting.” It means “Positive-Uptempo-Love/Depth.” “Neighborhood” is also a reference from “Cut/able.” Check out the workbook HERE.) POV is “Point Of View.)

Artist: Eric Church

Album: Mr. Misunderstood

Producer: Jay Joyce

Label: EMI Records Nashville

“Mr. Misunderstood”

Writers: Eric Church, Casey Beathard

POV (Point of view): You/me

Timeframe: Present tense singing to “Mr. Misunderstood,” past tense about himself.

PUL’D: Positive, Ballad to Midtempo, Depth

Neighborhood: Rocker / indie. Fits his rocker image. Preaching to his choir: outsiders, musicians.

Subject: Music, life.

Notes: Sing-a-long “na-nas.” No repeating chorus, just the title. Lots of imagery. Speaks to the outsiders and musicians- clearly makes himself one of them.

“Mistress Named Music”

Writers: Eric Church, Casey Beathard

POV: I/me

Timeframe: Past

PUL’D: Positive, Mid-ballad, Depth/Life

Neighborhood: Bad boy. Alcohol & drug references. Rocker.

Subject: Music, Musician

Notes: Strong imagery, blues-sound, big guitar solo/classic rock long outro, big choir on intro

“Chattanooga Lucy”

Writers: Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell

POV: You/me

Timeframe: Present

PUL’D: Positive, Uptempo blues rock, Love

Neighborhood: Rocker, rough side of the tracks, edgy

Subject: Music, girl

Notes: Blues, lots of imagery, soul falsetto, female gang BGVs

“Mixed Drinks About Feelings”

Writers: Eric Church

POV: Me/I

Timeframe: Present

PUL’D: Sad, Ballad, Lost love

Neighborhood: Drinkers

Subject: Lost love, drinking

Notes: Alcohol references, female lead (smoky voice) on 2nd verse, blues/soul

“Knives Of New Orleans”

Writers: Eric Church, Travis Meadows, Jeremy Spillman

POV: Me/I

Timeframe: Now

PUL’D: Negative, mid-uptempo, depth/life

Neighborhood: Tough guy, dark side of life

Subject: Murder about money

Notes: Good imagery, big driving feel, storytelling- takes on a character, big classic rock Bob Seger Springsteen epic

“‘Round Here Buzz”

Writers: Eric Church, Luke Dick, Jeff Hyde

POV: You/me

Timeframe: Now

PUL’D: Negative, midtempo, love

Neighborhood: Average Joe

Subject: You’re gone, so I’m hanging around our hometown drinking.

Notes: Good imagery, verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus

“Kill A Word”

Writers: Eric Church, Luck Dick, Jeff Hyde

POV: Me/I

Timeframe: Now

PUL’D: Positive, midtempo, depth

Neighborhood: Tough guy with a heart of gold

Subject: Singer’s fed up with the negative junk in the world.

Notes: Tough, but positive. Violent language, but wants to make the world a better place. Dark.

“Holdin’ My Own”

Writers: Eric Church

POV: Me/I

Timeframe: Now

PUL’D: Positive, Midtempo, Depth/Love

Neighborhood: Rebel, but laid back.

Subject: Fatherhood, family, music, settling down.

Notes: Biographical (“troubadours”), mid-acoustic kinda beach/bouncy.

“Record Year”

Writers: Eric Church, Jeff Hyde

POV: Me/You

Timeframe: Now

PUL’D: Bittersweet, midtempo, lost love

Neighborhood: Average Joe

Subject: Music, lost love

Notes: Name drops artists from several genres: country, rock, R&B, soul. Ends up thanking the girl for leaving because it helped him rediscover all this great music. Starts off sad, ends up feeling positive.

“Three Year Old”

Writers: Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell

POV: Me/I

Timeframe: Now

PUL’D: Positive, Mid-ballad, Depth

Neighborhood: Average Joe, good guy, but not perfect

Subject: Fatherhood

Notes: Great images, lessons to a dad from his kid. Lighthearted, but deep. Jesus reference.

TAKEAWAYS:

The big theme is music- how it has and continues to affect Eric’s life. It’s the constant drumbeat in the background of these songs and the thread that holds the record together. Classic blues and rock sounds. He’s dark, an outsider… but he has a good heart. He lives wild, but is maturing. Church wrote on every song and has a small circle of cowriters on this record, mainly Casey Beathard, Jeff Hyde, and Luke Dick. Hyde has the most cuts. Eric tends to write all of his own stuff, so there’s little chance of an outside cut. Path to a cut: work your way into cowrites with his cowriters, prove yourself and earn your way into the room with Eric.

What do you think? What insights would you like to add? Did you enjoy this post? Would you like to see more Artist Insight Reports from Man vs. Row in the future? Let me know in the comments!

Pro songwriters know they need to study artists and the market to have their best chance at writing songs that get cut. 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…

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

To get your FREE, INSTANT download of “THINK LIKE A PRO SONGWRITER,” just click on the image below, or CLICK HERE!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

Brent Baxter is a hit songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, Gord Bamford, Ruthie Collins, Ray Stevens, and more. He’s written a top 5 hit in the US and a #1 in Canada… so far.

Cowriting, Craft, Songplugging

The Advantages of Cowriting

February 1, 2016 Brent Baxter 13 Comments

Nashville is a cowriting town.

It seems that everyone that moves or spends time here gets sucked into it eventually. But maybe you’re unsure if it’s something you want to try. Maybe you’ve always written alone and you’re worried about the unknown. Maybe you think another writer might pull your song in the wrong direction. Maybe you don’t see the value in it.

If that’s the case, consider these advantages of cowriting:

1. More relationships.

The writing room can be a very lonely place. Some of your cowriters will become close friends, and that’s awesome. For me, one of my favorite parts of songwriting is getting to hang out for hours with people I admire and enjoy. Each of your cowriters also has his or her own network. That means they can help you mean more publishers, artists, other cowriters, etc.

2. More pitch / promotional power.

If you write a song alone, it’s up to you- and only you– to get it into the right hands (a publisher, a producer, an artist, etc.). However, if you add a cowriter or two, now you have more people to play the song out live at songwriter nights or pitch it to publishers or artists. It multiplies the chance that your song will be heard by the right people.

3. More ideas.

When you write alone, you have to come up with every single melodic and lyric idea yourself. If YOU don’t think of it, it doesn’t end up in your song. However, when you cowrite, you and your cowriter help each other overcome those creative roadblocks. “Two heads are better than one.”

4. Less creative ruts.

When you only write alone, it’s harder to stay out of creative ruts and it’s harder to pull yourself out of them. Maybe you find yourself going back to the same tempos, moods, chord progressions or stories time after time after time. However, it’s hard to stay in a rut if you’re writing with a bluegrass female on Monday and a pop-country guy on Wednesday.

5. Less excuses, more productivity.

It’s pretty easy to break writing appointments with yourself. Nobody’s going to call wondering where you are, and you’ll probably get bonus points with your spouse if you did the laundry or mowed the yard instead. But if you know someone expects you to be online or in the writing room at a certain time to write, you’re a lot less likely to bail. Likewise, it’s pretty easy to walk away from your guitar or notebook when you hit a creative roadblock in a song. But it’s a lot harder to just walk into the other room and turn on the TV when you have a cowriter sitting across from you. That would be just plain awkward.

6. Faster learning curve.

Cowriting allows you to learn from your fellow songwriters. You get a front row seat to observe how they think, how they overcome obstacles, etc. You may pick up a cool alternate tuning or a way of constructing a lyric that you would’ve only discovered on your own years later. Plus, a good cowriter will challenge you to dig deeper and write better songs. I know that’s definitely been true for me.

This is not to say that cowriting is always the best thing in every circumstance. But it sure has helped a lot of writers (like me) get more successful more quickly. What about you? What other advantages of cowriting would you add to this list? Leave a comment below- I’d love to hear from you!

Oh, and here’s one more advantage…

7. Complimentary strengths.

Few songwriters are equally strong at both lyrics and melody. Even fewer are equally strong AND GREAT at both. So, if you’re like most of us, your songs can benefit from finding a cowriter who is strong where you aren’t. And this doesn’t mean just “strong at lyric” or “strong at melody” or “strong at producing.” It could even be more specific things like “great at idea development,” “brings in killer hooks” or “writes awesome images.”

You want to find cowriters who have valuable strengths. And YOU become a more valuable, in-demand songwriter as you develop strengths in different areas. One area which has helped me attract and grow some valuable cowriting relationships has been my ability to write with strong imagery.

Writing with great imagery has helped my songwriting career and helped get my songs cut.

Imagery in songs like “Monday Morning Church” (a top-5 hit for Alan Jackson), “Last Night Last” (recorded by Lady Antebellum), “Crickets” (the title-track to Joe Nichols’ current album), and “When Your Lips Are So Close” (Canadian #1 hit and Single Of The Year for Gord Bamford) helped them get recorded and released. I’m living proof that it’s a valuable skill.

And 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:

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

If you want to join a LIVE workshop or learn more about how to “Use Imagery To Supercharge Your Songwriting (Like The Pros Do)” CLICK HERE or on the image below.

God Bless,

Brent

Biz, Cowriting, Money, Songplugging

A Pro Songwriter’s Team

November 9, 2015 Brent Baxter 4 Comments

Songwriting is a team sport. I’ve said that a thousand times if I’ve said it once. But, until now, I don’t guess I’ve written about who makes up a pro songwriter’s team. Well, here ya go. Not all of these members are necessary for every songwriter at every career stage. Some are only needed when money is being generated from your songs. So don’t get overwhelmed- you don’t have to find all these folks today.

Also, this list is for pro songwriters or those who want to make money. If you just want to write good songs, pick and choose accordingly.

1. The Cowriters.

There are very, very few songwriters who turn pro (and stay that way) who are exclusively solo writers. Your cowriters help keep you fresh and break you out of creative ruts and stale habits. They also provide song ideas so you don’t have to come up with all your own ideas. Cowriters provide creative strengths to compliment your weaknesses (lyrics for your melodies, etc.) They share valuable information (who’s cutting, what they want, who’s about to get a record deal, etc.). They (and their publishers) help pitch your songs. They provide political advantages- writing with the artist, the producer, or with someone in a powerful publishing company.

2. The Songpluggers.

If you want cuts, somebody has to be out there actively pitching your songs and getting them heard by folks who can say “yes.” Oftentimes, this is done by a music publisher, who has at least one songplugger on staff. Many pros also pitch their songs themselves. I’m an “all hands on deck” kinda guy, so I like to have both when I can. People who might plug your songs: you, your publisher, a (legit) independent songplugger, your cowriters, your cowriters’ songpluggers. If nobody is plugging your songs, nobody will hear them. If nobody hears your songs, nobody will cut them.

3. The PROs.

Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) are basically companies who collect and distribute airplay royalties for publishers and songwriters. There are three PROs in the United States- ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. Every other country / territory has only one. If you’re blessed to get some airplay, you and your song won’t get a dime of airplay money if you (and your song) aren’t registered with a PRO. That’s the big service they offer. Other benefits include networking and educational opportunities. EVERY money-making pro must have a PRO.

4. The Recorders.

All the songplugging in the world isn’t gonna do you much good if all your demos / recordings sound terrible. There’s just too much competition and too many quality demos out there for an A&R person to do the work to hear through a bad recording. They just don’t have to. Unless you’re an established hit songwriter with a good track record, they’ll just trash it and move on to a recording that sounds like it was done by a pro. It’s great if you have the musician and production chops to get good sound on your own. But most songwriters don’t have that, so it needs to be outsourced. Maybe your cowriters can perform this function, or maybe you hire a track guy or some studio musicians. I hesitated to list them as part of your team since they’re hired guns… but getting quality recordings is so important, I couldn’t keep them off the list.

5. The Administrators.

Somebody better be watching the money. Your administrators are the folks that make sure your songs are registered with a PRO, licensed properly by the record labels, the copyright forms are sent in and that your royalties make it (properly and promptly) from the record labels to the songwriters. This function is usually done by the publisher, but you can also hire an admin firm for a percentage of what they collect on your behalf. For example, my Major Bob Music catalog is partly administered in-house and partly by The Harry Fox Agency. My personal publishing company, Cowboy Chords Music, outsources my admin to Bluewater Music. They handle my licensing and royalty collections for a percentage of the money they collect.

6. The Sharpeners.

These are the folks who help you sharpen your skills, both on the artistic and business sides of songwriting. This may include cowriters who inspire and challenge you to do your best, it may include NSAI, Global Songwriters Connection, Man vs. Row, Frettie, song evaluators, and coaches. It may be your publisher or songplugger. It may be a writer’s rep at a PRO or a publisher who will listen to your songs and give feedback. The Sharpeners are hugely important for amateurs turning pro and for seasoned pros trying to keep current and to adapt as the commercial market changes. These are the folks who will tell us the truth and challenge us, even when it’s unpleasant.

7. The Believers.

Who’s going to pick you up when the biz knocks you down? When you’re lost in doubt? You’ll find The Believers in several of the other categories- The Cowriters, The Pluggers, and sometimes The PROS and The Sharpeners. The Believers may also include folks outside of music- your family and friends. This isn’t just for the aspiring songwriter. We ALL need The Believers. But the most important believer will always be one person. Yourself.

There ya go. A pro songwriter’s team. Like I said earlier, you may not need all these folks right now, depending on where you are in your career. But as you climb that mountain, you’ll add more and more of them.

What about you? Would you add anyone else to “a pro songwriter’s team?” How’s your team-building coming along? Leave a comment- I’d love to hear from you.

Pro songwriters know they need a team. 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…

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

To get your FREE, INSTANT download of “THINK LIKE A PRO SONGWRITER,” just click on the image below, or CLICK HERE!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

Biz, Songplugging

The Email That Helped Me Get A Joe Nichols Cut

October 26, 2015 Brent Baxter 18 Comments

Recently, I posted a lesson called, “Here’s Why Music Biz Professionals Aren’t Emailing You Back” (read it here). Today, I want to look at an email that resulted in a phone call, a hold, and eventually a Joe Nichols cut.

A few years back, I wanted to get my song, “Crickets,” to Joe Nichols. I just thought it’d be perfect for him. But how do I get it to him? I didn’t have a personal connection with anyone in his camp. However, I did happen to get the email address of the owner of Joe’s label (thanks to a sungplugger friend of mine). I decided it was worth a cold email.

(Note: Normally, I wouldn’t send a song to a label owner. But I know this particular owner actively listens to songs through email and has a say in what end up on his artists’ albums. See my post “The Big Yes.”)

Not knowing the owner, this is how I worded my email:

Subject:

Song for Joe Nichols: “Crickets” (Baxter, Shaffer, Whyte)

Message:

Mr. Brown,

I’m a songwriter with cuts by Alan Jackson (“Monday Morning Church”), Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, and others. Here’s a song for Joe. Thanks for listening!

“Crickets”

(Brent Baxter, Lisa Shaffer, Bill Whyte)

Lyric and mp3 attached.

God Bless,

Brent Baxter

615-000-0000

—-@email.com

Sometime later (maybe a day or two, maybe weeks), I got a call from the owner. He said he loved the song and wanted to hold it for Joe. Eventually, they cut it and it became the title track to Joe’s debut album on Red Bow Records.

Okay, let’s break down the email and see what we can learn.

I was proactive and pitched my own song.

I didn’t wait for someone else to make my dreams come true. See my post, “10 Reasons Songwriters Should Pitch Their Own Songs.”

I used an appropriate communication channel.

This was an email address that the owner regularly uses to listen to songs. It wasn’t his wife’s personal email or some other inappropriate email. I was conducting business through a business email address.

The subject line is very clear and professional.

No hype. No bull.

I kept the message very brief and to the point.

One quick glance at the message isn’t a turn-off. He could read it very quickly, so he was more likely to actually read it. Long emails are intimidating and look like too much work.

I presented pro credentials briefly and in the beginning.

I opened with a few choice cuts to set myself as a pro in his mind. It increased the chance that he’d take my email seriously and expect a good song. If you don’t have these, just get to who the song is for. It’s better to skip this completely than say how you won a local talent show. Your song may be killer, but if you’ve only has small success (so far), they might think you only have small talent.

I provided contact info both in the email and on the lyric sheet.

He called be back partly because I made it easy for him to find me.

I provided both the mp3 and the lyrics.

Some folks don’t look at the lyric when they listen. Some do. I don’t take chances. I want them to have everything they might need.

The song was well-written and a good fit for the artist.

The email was written to get the song heard. But getting the song heard doesn’t help if the song itself isn’t good or isn’t a good fit for the artist.

What about you? Have you had any success with cold emails? How did you word them?

Pro songwriters know how to act professionally. 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…

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

To get your FREE, INSTANT download of “THINK LIKE A PRO SONGWRITER,” just click on the image below, or CLICK HERE!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

Biz, Cowriting, Money, Songplugging

A Pro Songwriter’s Team

September 28, 2015 Brent Baxter 2 Comments

Songwriting is a team sport. I’ve said that a thousand times if I’ve said it once. But, until now, I don’t guess I’ve written about who makes up a pro songwriter’s team. Well, here ya go.

Not all of these members are necessary for every songwriter at every career stage. Some are only needed when money is being generated from your songs. So don’t get overwhelmed- you don’t have to find all these folks today. Also, this list is for pro songwriters or those who want to make money. If you just want to write good songs, pick and choose accordingly.

1. The Cowriters.

2. The Songpluggers.

3. The PROs.

Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) are basically companies who collect and distribute airplay royalties for publishers and songwriters. There are three PROs in the United States- ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. Every other country / territory has one. If you’re blessed to get some airplay, you and your song won’t get a dime of airplay money if you (and it) aren’t a member of a PRO. That’s the big service they offer. Other benefits include networking and educational opportunities. EVERY money-making pro must have a PRO.

4. The Recorders.

5. The Administrators.

Somebody better be watching the money. Your administrator’s are the folks that make sure your songs are licensed properly by the record labels, the copyright forms are sent in and that your royalties make it (properly and promptly) from the record labels to the songwriters. This function is usually done by the publisher, but you can also hire an admin firm for a percentage of what they collect on your behalf. For example, my Major Bob Music catalog is partly administered in-house and partly by The Harry Fox Agency. My personal publishing company, Cowboy Chords Music, outsources my admin to Bluewater Music. They handle my licensing and royalty collections for a percentage of the money they collect.

6. The Sharpeners.

These are the folks who help you sharpen your skills, both on the artistic and business sides of songwriting. This may include cowriters who inspire and challenge you to do your best, it may include NSAI, Global Songwriters Connection, Man vs. Row, song evaluators, and coaches. It may be your publisher or songplugger. It may be a writer’s rep at a PRO or a publisher who will listen to your songs and give feedback. The Sharpeners are hugely important for amateurs and turning pro and for seasoned pros trying to keep current and to adapt as the commercial market changes. These are the folks who will tell us the truth and challenge us, even when it’s unpleasant.

7. The Believers.

Knowing you need a team (and who is on it) is an important part of being a pro. If you want to become a pro, you need to think like a pro. In my FREE e-book, “THINK LIKE A PRO SONGWRITER,” I not only reveal several of the mindsets which separate the pro songwriter from the amateur, but also…

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

To get your FREE, INSTANT download of “THINK LIKE A PRO SONGWRITER,” just click on the image below, or CLICK HERE!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

Songplugging

Never Take “No” From Someone Who Can’t Say “Yes”

August 24, 2015 Brent Baxter 1 Comment

If an A&R rep, manager, or whoever doesn’t have the authority to tell you, “Yes, my artist WILL cut your song,” then that person doesn’t have to power to tell you, “No, my artist WON’T cut your song.”

If someone who can’t really say “yes” says “no,” it just means you need to find a different person to pitch that song to. Knock on a different door. Or maybe you need to knock on that same person’s door again after some time passes (you never know how the direction of an album- or how someone’s mood- might change).

The point is, don’t quit on a song you believe is right for that artist. Keep going until you’ve exhausted every avenue to that artist.

Actually, you don’t quit even then. You wait for a new avenue to open up.

That’s what happened with “Crickets,” which I wrote with Lisa Shaffer and Bill Whyte. We thought it was a good Joe Nichols song, but we couldn’t get it through his label, Universal South. After a while, he left them and signed with Red Bow.

We pitched it to the new label, and they loved it. Joe finally heard it, and he cut it as the title track to his current album.

If you believe in a song, keep pitching it. And never take “no” from someone who can’t say “yes.”

Have you had that experience where you’ve had success after refusing to take “no” from someone who can’t say “yes?” It doesn’t have to just be music: “She’ll never go out with you.” “You’ll never make the team.” Etc. I’d love to hear from you!

Not taking “no” from someone who can’t say “yes” is how pro songwriters think. And if you want to become a pro, you need to think like a pro. In my FREE e-book, “THINK LIKE A PRO SONGWRITER,” I not only reveal several of the mindsets which separate the pro songwriter from the amateur, but also…

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

To get your FREE, INSTANT download of “THINK LIKE A PRO SONGWRITER,” just click on the image below, or CLICK HERE!

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey,

Brent

Biz, Songplugging

Pitching Your Songs Is Like Learning To Play Guitar (Really)

June 29, 2015 Brent Baxter Leave a comment

Remember when you first picked up the guitar? It was a mystery. How do those great guitar players do it? Then you watch a YouTube video or pick up a Mel Bay book (showing my age) and it tells you how to form your left hand into G, C, & D. The first time you strum a clean G, it’s magic!

And it quickly becomes pretty dang painful.

Your soft, virgin fingertips haven’t built up their calluses yet, and it feels like they’re going to split open any minute. (And Heaven have mercy if your first guitar has high action.)

But if you play frequently enough and don’t quit, your fingers will toughen up. Making those chords won’t hurt. That high E string won’t be the razor blade it used to be.

Now you’re not quite the beginner you were. Now you have a little “pro” about you.

(I may focus on lyrics now, but there was a time I earned some calluses on an old acoustic.)

Learning guitar can teach you a valuable lesson about pitching your songs to publishers and labels. And that lesson is:

You need calluses.

If you’re like me, your first meeting with a publisher is full of excitement, hope and big possibilities. Well, that’s how it feels on your end, anyway. From the publisher’s perspective, you’re probably just the next person through their door- a stranger who may have potential but probably doesn’t have a hit to play that day.

And the publisher is probably right. And it hurts.

Then you get another meeting, either with the same person or with someone else. Again, publishing deal offers don’t drop out of the sky like confetti at the end of your song.

The disappointment stings.

But, over time, you build up your calluses and it doesn’t hurt like it did. Having someone pass on your song will never feel good, but you’re able to take passes in stride and move on to the next song.

Like playing guitar, if you stick with it and don’t give up, you’ll be rewarded for it.

Enjoy the journey,

Brent

JOIN ME ON A LIVE INTERNET WORKSHOP!

On Wednesday, July 15, I’ll be hosting a LIVE INTERNET WORKSHOP from 8:30pm to 9:30pm CENTRAL. I’ll be teaching out of my book, “Finish Your Song! 20 Ways To Overcome Creative Roadblocks.” There are only 11 tickets available for this exclusive event, so don’t delay! The $35 ticket includes a FREE copy of “Finish Your Song!” along with notes and extra content not found in the ebook. To find out more or to get one of the 11 tickets, CLICK HERE or on the image below!

Songplugging

6 Songwriting Tiebreakers

April 20, 2015 Brent Baxter 18 Comments

Let’s say you’ve written a very, very good song and it’s on hold for an artist named Luke Paisley. It’s down to your song and one other as what they’re gonna cut. The artist likes both songs, so it’s basically a tie going in. That’s when the tiebreakers might kick in. These tiebreakers may include…

Personal relationships.

Is one of the songs written or published by a friend of the artist? It’s more fun to call your buddy and say you just cut his song than it is to explain that you didn’t.

Business interests.

Would a publisher, manager, or someone else owe the artist or feel thankful if the artist cut one song over the other? Is there some hidden long-term advantage to be gained? Or would the artist or producer be returning a favor by cutting a particular song?

Financial interests.

If the artist is a writer or publisher on one of the songs, he makes more money by recording that one.

Safer bets.

If one song is written by a proven hit songwriter and the other isn’t, the artist (and his team) may lean towards the hit writer’s song. Since it’s always a bit of a guessing game as to which songs are hits, a song written by a hit writer feels like a safer bet.

Branding.

Does one song fit the artist and his brand a little better? Will it speak to his audience in a way that’s a little more “on point?” That can make the difference. Or is one song too much like what he’s already recorded, and it doesn’t take him anywhere new?

Singability.

Is one song more easy and/or fun to sing?

Now, you obviously can’t control which songs are your competition. You just have to do what you can to give your songs the best chance to win.

Write the very best song you can. Always. But also spend time thinking about the tiebreakers and how you can turn them in your favor. It’s not easy, and it won’t happen overnight. But as you are mindful of this stuff as you build your career, it’ll pay off big time down the road.

What do you think? What are some other tiebreakers I might’ve missed? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

God Bless,

Brent

A GIFT FROM BRENT

Thanks to those of you who have already downloaded my book, Hit Songwriting: How A Songwriting Coach Can Fast Track Your Success! You made it an Amazon bestseller in both the Songwriting and Music Instruction categories, and I really appreciate it! However, if you haven’t downloaded your copy yet, you can get it FOR FREE at www.GiftFromBrent.com or by clicking on the image below. Enjoy!

Biz, Cowriting, Songplugging

The Artist Camp: Multiple Points Of Contact

May 19, 2014 Brent Baxter 4 Comments

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.

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Hey, ya’ll! At the bottom of today’s post, I’m going to let you know about some free stuff I’m giving away to all of you great Man vs. Row subscribers. Now, on to today’s post…

Gaining access (and keeping access) to an artist is kind of like rock climbing- you always want to have more than one point of contact with the mountain. It’s a dangerous thing to be hanging by one hand- if that one rock gives way or that hand slips… bye, bye.

Likewise, if your only point of contact with an artist is her producer, what happens if she switches producers? What happens if you have a light point of contact with the artist herself, but she starts letting her A&R person book all her cowrites because she’s too busy out on the road? Bye, bye. You might’ve just fallen off the mountain.

This kind of stuff has happened to me, so I’ve learned the hard way not to rely on only one point of contact with the artist. Nowadays, if I’m targeting an artist or a project, I try to secure multiple points of contact. If I know the A&R person, I try to develop a contact with the producer as well. If I’m writing with an artist, I’ll suggest a 3-way cowrite with one of her other regular cowriters. Bascially, I want to surround the artist. I want to dig in deeper than a tick in a dog’s ear so there’s no way they can scratch or shake me off!

Of course, you want to balance the time you spend surrounding one artist with taking time to develop other points of contact in other artists’ camps. Just like you want to have more than one point of contact with an artist, you want to be in more than one artist’s camp. Think of it as diversifying your portfolio. After all, most new artists aren’t very successful. What happens if the ONE artist you’ve invested all your time in fails? Bye, bye.

God Bless,

Brent

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I’m excited to be speaking on song idea discovery and development at the 2014 Songwriting And Music Business Conference in Nashville, TN! Click the image below to find out more. I’d love to see you there!

FREE GIFT

As a way to say “thank you” to all of you who subscribe to Man vs. Row by email, I’m going to give away some cool stuff in July (2014). If you subscribe to MvR, I’ll send you a free report, “10 Things The Pro Knows.” I’ll also send you the guitar/vocal of “Crickets,” which is the title track of Joe Nichols’ current album. You’ll get to hear the song as Joe heard it when he decided to record it. You’ll also receive the lyric file of the song- and this lyric file includes “Baxter’s Boneyard” – all the lines that DIDN’T make it into the song (see if you agree with our choices). It’s something nobody else has seen, and I think it’s pretty cool. But, again, this gift is only for those who subscribe to Man vs. Row by E-MAIL. These gifts will be sent by email, so if I don’t have your email address, I can’t send it to you. God Bless!

YOU VS…

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Biz, Cowriting, Songplugging

The Artist Camp

May 14, 2014 Brent Baxter 7 Comments

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Hey, ya’ll! At the bottom of today’s post, I’m going to let you know about some free stuff I’m giving away to all of you great Man vs. Row subscribers. Now, on to today’s post…

You may hear about songwriters trying to get into an artist’s “camp.” What does that mean? Well, it’s not a place to unroll a sleeping bag and sing your songs around a campfire, that’s for sure.

An artist’s camp is made up of the people in the artist’s inner circle- those who have access and influence. For each artist, the mix may be a little different, but an artist’s camp usually includes the artist, producer, A&R point-person, and favorite cowriters. The camp may also include the artist’s publisher or other friends in the music biz.

Each artist has his or her own camp, and it’s often hard to know who really has the artist’s ear. For example, the A&R person for Artist A may be a big influence on what gets cut, but Artist B may not care at all what his A&R person thinks.

Think of it like a dart board. The artist is the bullseye (usually- though sometimes the producer or label head REALLY makes the final decision on what gets cut). The members of the artist’s camp occupy the various concentric circles around the bullseye. The closer to the bullseye, the more influence that person has over the project.

If you’re looking to get into an artist’s camp, it’s good to figure out the layout of his dartboard if possible. And remember, nothing gets you in a camp like GENUINE friendship. If you’re just using the artist, it’ll be really hard to get past the outer edges of the dartboard. Good luck!

God Bless,

Brent

MAN VS. ROW… LIVE!

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If you want your songs to get recorded by major artists, you need to understand those artists.

Artist: Eric Church

Album: Mr. Misunderstood

Producer: Jay Joyce

Label: EMI Records Nashville

“Mr. Misunderstood”

“Mistress Named Music”

“Chattanooga Lucy”

“Mixed Drinks About Feelings”

“Knives Of New Orleans”

“‘Round Here Buzz”

“Kill A Word”

“Holdin’ My Own”

“Record Year”

“Three Year Old”

TAKEAWAYS:

Nashville is a cowriting town.

1. More relationships.

2. More pitch / promotional power.

3. More ideas.

4. Less creative ruts.

5. Less excuses, more productivity.

6. Faster learning curve.

7. Complimentary strengths.

Writing with great imagery has helped my songwriting career and helped get my songs cut.

1. The Cowriters.

2. The Songpluggers.

3. The PROs.

4. The Recorders.

5. The Administrators.

6. The Sharpeners.

7. The Believers.

Recently, I posted a lesson called, “Here’s Why Music Biz Professionals Aren’t Emailing You Back” (read it here). Today, I want to look at an email that resulted in a phone call, a hold, and eventually a Joe Nichols cut.

I was proactive and pitched my own song.

I used an appropriate communication channel.

The subject line is very clear and professional.

I kept the message very brief and to the point.

I presented pro credentials briefly and in the beginning.

I provided contact info both in the email and on the lyric sheet.

I provided both the mp3 and the lyrics.

The song was well-written and a good fit for the artist.

Songwriting is a team sport. I’ve said that a thousand times if I’ve said it once. But, until now, I don’t guess I’ve written about who makes up a pro songwriter’s team. Well, here ya go.

1. The Cowriters.

2. The Songpluggers.

3. The PROs.

4. The Recorders.

5. The Administrators.

6. The Sharpeners.

7. The Believers.

If an A&R rep, manager, or whoever doesn’t have the authority to tell you, “Yes, my artist WILL cut your song,” then that person doesn’t have to power to tell you, “No, my artist WON’T cut your song.”

The point is, don’t quit on a song you believe is right for that artist. Keep going until you’ve exhausted every avenue to that artist.

If you believe in a song, keep pitching it. And never take “no” from someone who can’t say “yes.”

And it quickly becomes pretty dang painful.

Now you’re not quite the beginner you were. Now you have a little “pro” about you.

You need calluses.

And the publisher is probably right. And it hurts.

The disappointment stings.

Like playing guitar, if you stick with it and don’t give up, you’ll be rewarded for it.

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Personal relationships.

Business interests.

Financial interests.

Safer bets.

Branding.

Singability.

A GIFT FROM BRENT

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Helping songwriters turn pro.