Congratulations to our newest “Play For Publisher” Top Ten songs and songwriters!
First of all, thank you to each of you who took a chance, took positive action, and submitted one or more songs to the “Play For Publisher” event with Tim Hunze of Parallel Music. Ya’ll are just plain awesome.
Out of about 200 songs, it took a while to whittle it down to just 10. We have a few country songs, some gospel, male songs, female songs, somebody raps, there’s a second-time submission (way to not give up), some solo writes, and even a work tape!
There were a lot of worthy songs sent in, and I felt bad about leaving so many out. So just because your song wasn’t chosen this time doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good song.
You know, one time I turned a song in to my publisher, and they didn’t know what to do with it, so they didn’t want to do anything with it. My cowriters wanted to demo it, and the publisher said they wouldn’t pay for a demo.
The song was called, “Crickets,” and we got it cut by Joe Nichols. It’s the title track to his current album.
That’s right. The song my publisher wouldn’t even pay to demo got cut anyway. (My cowriters did an out-of-pocket guitar/vocal, and we pitched it ourselves.)
Welcome to Nashville. So while I listened to each and every song and did my best to pick the ones that have the best chance of catching Tim’s ear… I could be wrong. That’s just the way the music biz works. So if your song wasn’t selected, it doesn’t mean you should give up on it.
Okay, here are the Top Ten (in no particular order):
“Steam” by David Hill, Gelman, McKinney
“Never Be Tennessee” by Curtis McCabe
“Some Days” by Barry McGuire
“Drink You Up” by Leslie Bowe, Karen Kiley
“Jesus, The Beatles & Me” by Donna King, Lee Black, Gina Boe
“Bent” by Mindy Gars Dolandis, Amanda Williams
“Leavin’ Town” by Chris Smith
“Girl In Every Song” by Jim Logrando, Sean Spollen
“Santa Fe Rain” by Roy Semlacher, Allen
“Grass Stains” by Pat Aureli, Todd Dickinson, Marty Dodson
The Songwriting Pro community would LOVE to hear your songs, so if you have a link you’d like to post to your “Top 10” song, please post it in the comments below!
Congratulations! Tim and I look forward to hanging out with you on December 6. (I’ve already emailed the winners the instructions about the online meeting. If you didn’t get the email, please let me know!)
Like I said, the 10 songs above aren’t the only good ones I had the pleasure of hearing. There are several more that were put “on hold” for the top 10 songs. This list could be quite a bit longer, but I’d like to spotlight them, too. (Ya’ll feel free to link up your songs in the comments, too!)
“ON HOLD” songs…
“One More” by Marialaina DiFalco
“Hang Ten, My Friend” by Pat Aureli, Danny Myrick
“That Old Screen Door” by Pamela Lack, Jean Nolan, Bobby Earl Ray
“I Am Blessed” by Mindy Gars Dolandis, Chris Castle
“Blue Kisses” by Daniel Leathersich
“I Think My Buddy’s Broken” by Jason David Hiatt
“Mid Western Civilization” by Ed Daniels
“Favorite Shirt” by Rich Mahan
“Better Get Used To It” by Dave Quirk, Sherrie Austin, Will Rambeaux
“Just A Little Broken” by Allister Bradley, Dean McTaggert
These songs, along with others, were in there battling it out with the top 10, so be encouraged!
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.
