Tag Archives: Tim Meitzen

P4P, Think Like A Pro, Write Like A Pro

Writing A Hit Song Without Living In A Music Town

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You don’t have to live in Nashville, New York or LA to write a hit song.

You don’t even have to live in a major music city to get that song recorded by a major artist. At least, that’s my story.  And I’d like to share it with you- along with a few lessons which might help you on your songwriting journey.

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As a songwriter living outside of Nashville, you may think it’s impossible to get a song recorded by a major country star. You’d be wrong.

Just because you may have a family, job, or other responsibilities that keep you from making a move to Nashville or one of the other major music centers, New York or LA, doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get a song recorded. It just means you have to…

…grow where you’re planted.

Now, don’t get me wrong, songwriters in Nashville have a decided advantage over those living elsewhere. They are close to the industry, it’s easier to make those all-important personal contacts in the business, and Nashville is a great place to learn the craft of songwriting. However, just because it’s harder doesn’t mean it’s impossible. At least not in my experience.

In 2000, after graduation from Arkansas State University, I was looking for jobs in Nashville, which, I hoped, would help in my pursuit of a songwriting career. However, the job offer came from a company in Little Rock, Arkansas, so Nashville would have to wait. But I knew I couldn’t afford to be idle in the meantime.

I couldn’t waste time waiting on an eventual move to Nashville.

I dove into the local music and songwriting scene in Little Rock, which by no means qualifies as a major music center. But my main cowriter from back home in Batesville was living there, too, so that was a start. Since I’m a lyricist and not a singer, I helped get my friend, Tim Meitzen, some gigs in town.

Now, what follows is a string of steps that by themselves may seem insignificant. But in the end, each of those forward steps led to my big break.

I was downtown one day and saw a flier for an upcoming songwriter’s night. Well, that was pretty rare in Little Rock, and I immediately signed up my co-writer, Tim. (That was part of my job as the non-singing half of our cowriting team.)

Tim played the writer’s round, and we met a few guys who were starting a publishing company based out of Little Rock. Through the course of that relationship, one of ‘em gave me a cd of songs by Erin Enderlin. Erin was a songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, who was currently in college at Middle Tennessee State University outside of Nashville.

Being active in the local music scene helped create my network.

Months later, I saw that Erin was going to be performing in Little Rock. She was in over her spring break, and I went out to catch her show. She’d been writing songs in Nashville and was having some success making contacts in the music business. I gave her a cd of some songs, and she liked them.

Well, when Erin came back over summer break, we started writing together. Then she went back to school and continued making music business contacts. Then, over Christmas break of 2001, I gave her a lyric I’d had for a few years for a song called, “Monday Morning Church.” She liked it and wrote a great melody for the lyric.  She also made some tweaks to the lyric.  Then she was back off to Tennessee.

Now, I ended up finally making the move to Nashville myself in March of 2002, but it was Erin’s contacts that made the cut of that song possible. She brought the song back to Nashville, where she had begun working with a publisher. He demoed the song, played it for Keith Stegall, and it was eventually recorded by Alan Jackson in March of 2004.

It all went according to plan.  Kind of.

Looking back on it now, it might seem like a straight line to the record store, but that’s only in retrospect. At the time, I was plugging away, just trying to take advantage of every opportunity that I could either find or create. I chased several rabbits along the way, not knowing which one would lead somewhere.

And that’s the point. You don’t know which small step will eventually lead to where you want to go. No, the writer’s night at Starr’s Guitars wasn’t the Bluebird. No, Little Rock wasn’t Nashville. But taking those small steps, growing where I was planted, led to a hit song and the ability to do this for a living. At least for a while.

I wouldn’t presume to know exactly which steps you need to take. And I certainly don’t think I was so talented that Nashville couldn’t help but notice me. No, I know ultimately, it was up to God to open those doors. He had me in Little Rock at that time for a reason.

God has you where you are.  And He has you there for a reason.

If I’d been idle, just waiting to get to Nashville, I might never have gotten here. But God had me there for a reason. And God has YOU were you are for a reason.  Maybe it’s for music, maybe not. But I do know that where ever you are, it’s important to grow where you’re planted.

I hope my story encourages you to keep chasing your passions.

What about you?  Do you live in Nashville, or are you chasing the songwriting dream from out of town?  I’d love to hear from you!

Also, if you want to connect to a legit, real-deal music publisher- from anywhere in the world, I have a great opportunity for you.

Songwriting Pro’s next Play For A Publisher event is coming right up!  Our guest is Tim Hunze of Parallel Music in Nashville, Tennessee.  Tim has worked closely with several #1 hit songwriters, and he’s been getting songs recorded by major artists for years.  If YOU have the songs, HE knows what to do with them!

CLICK HERE TO GET ALL THE DETAILS AND SEND IN YOUR SONG!

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, a #1 in Canada and a top 10 in Texas… so far.SWP 4

Write Like A Pro

There’s only ONE day left!

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SWP 4

The deadline for submitting a song to Songwriting Pro’s “Play For Publisher” event is TOMORROW (Saturday)!

If you’ve thought about submitting a song (or two or three) for the Play For Publisher event, you have until the end of the day tomorrow (Saturday the 24th) to purchase your ticket and reserve your spot.  Details and a link are at the end of the post.

In the meantime, here’s a encore of a recent blog post on the topic.  Thanks!

God bless,

Brent

I used to think my songs were pretty dang good.  Then I played them for a pro. 

Back when I was in Arkansas, writing songs and dreaming of getting cuts and hits, I thought I was a pretty good songwriter.  After all, my main cowriter, Tim Meitzen, liked our songs, and so did many of the people who came out to Tim’s gigs.  Tim just finished an album, and the studio owner / producer had good things to say about the songs – most of which I cowrote.  So I was feeling pretty good about myself.  (The phrase “as good as the stuff on the radio” might’ve been said once or twice.)

Then I played my songs for a pro.

I knew Danny Tate (a little) from back home.  His dad was the minister of music at my church.  Danny was a pro singer/songwriter who’d spent time in both Nashville and LA.  He’d gotten several cuts, his biggest being “Affair Of The Heart” for Rick Springfield in the ’80’s.  He’d also had a record deal and landed at least one video, “Dreaming'” on VH1 during my college days.  So he was no rookie.

Rick Springfield

I sent him some songs, and he was kind enough to listen.  He was also kind enough to be honest.  He gave me some valuable feedback, basically saying that “there’s a whole ‘nother level of songwriting” in Nashville.  Be told me my stuff was okay, but it didn’t meet professional standards.

Ouch.

By Little Rock, Arkansas, standards, Tim and I were doing strong work.  But by Nashville standards, we had a long way to go.  A later trip to meet Mike Doyle at ASCAP confirmed this.  I left that meeting encouraged but  reminded that the bar was set higher than I was reaching.

Those moments were NOT fun, but they were NECESSARY.

I appreciate Danny and Mike.  Their feedback was sometimes frustrating, but it helped me to reach higher.  Their feedback helped me turn pro.

It’s easy to let “the bar” slip down lower than it should.  It’s easy to start judging your work against what your cowriters or other amateurs are writing.  Having your friends and family like your songs and request them can lower the bar.  But “friends and family” is not where the bar is really set.

If you want cuts and hits, you can’t set the bar at “what mama likes.”

Set The Bar

So… how do you “re-set” the bar?  How do you raise your songwriting standards?  Here are a couple ways.

Go to great songwriter rounds.

Open mic nights don’t count.  I’m talking about hitting the later rounds where the pros play.  Yes, it’s fun to hear their cuts and hits.  But pay special attention to their songs that haven’t gotten cut yet.  You’ll hear songs that blow your mind- and it’ll blow your mind that those songs haven’t been recorded yet.  Those great songs?  That’s your competition.

Get professional feedback.

There are some places that offer song evaluations and coaching, and that’s great.  But I’ll be honest- I used to do a bunch of coaching sessions, and it’s easy to start grading on a curve.  A song may sound pretty good when it’s in the middle of a bunch of beginner coaching sessions.  That same song might sound very different if you’ve been listening to pro demos all day.

Your best bet to get an accurate assessment of your song is to get it in the ears of someone who is actively in the trenches.  Play it for someone who has their own songs (or the songs of their writers) judged by the highest standards on a regular basis.

Having a pro re-set your songwriting bar can be uncomfortable.  But it’s worth it.

If you’ve never played your songs for a pro, I encourage you to do it as soon as possible.  If it’s been a while, you’re due for a tune up.

So, how do you get to one of these pros?  Well, there are a few ways… but let me tell you about an event I have coming up.

In October, I’m hosting the first Songwriting Pro Play For Publisher (“P4P”) event.  This is YOUR opportunity to get YOUR song heard by a successful, active music publisher.  And we’re kicking off our first P4P event with a great guest: Chris Oglesby of BMG Chrysalis!  Chris is a 25-year music biz veteran, and he works every day with hit songwriters like Tony Lane, Brett Beavers, busbee, Hillary Lindsey, and more.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS AWESOME OPPORTUNITY.

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.

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P4P, Write Like A Pro

Is your songwriting bar set high enough?

16 Comments

SWP 4

I used to think my songs were pretty dang good.  Then I played them for a pro. 

Back when I was in Arkansas, writing songs and dreaming of getting cuts and hits, I thought I was a pretty good songwriter.  After all, my main cowriter, Tim Meitzen, liked our songs, and so did many of the people who came out to Tim’s gigs.  Tim just finished an album, and the studio owner / producer had good things to say about the songs – most of which I cowrote.  So I was feeling pretty good about myself.  (The phrase “as good as the stuff on the radio” might’ve been said once or twice.)

Then I played my songs for a pro.

I knew Danny Tate (a little) from back home.  His dad was the minister of music at my church.  Danny was a pro singer/songwriter who’d spent time in both Nashville and LA.  He’d gotten several cuts, his biggest being “Affair Of The Heart” for Rick Springfield in the ’80’s.  He’d also had a record deal and landed at least one video, “Dreaming'” on VH1 during my college days.  So he was no rookie.

Rick Springfield

I sent him some songs, and he was kind enough to listen.  He was also kind enough to be honest.  He gave me some valuable feedback, basically saying that “there’s a whole ‘nother level of songwriting” in Nashville.  Be told me my stuff was okay, but it didn’t meet professional standards.

Ouch.

By Little Rock, Arkansas, standards, Tim and I were doing strong work.  But by Nashville standards, we had a long way to go.  A later trip to meet Mike Doyle at ASCAP confirmed this.  I left that meeting encouraged but  reminded that the bar was set higher than I was reaching.

Those moments were NOT fun, but they were NECESSARY.

I appreciate Danny and Mike.  Their feedback was sometimes frustrating, but it helped me to reach higher.  Their feedback helped me turn pro.

It’s easy to let “the bar” slip down lower than it should.  It’s easy to start judging your work against what your cowriters or other amateurs are writing.  Having your friends and family like your songs and request them can lower the bar.  But “friends and family” is not where the bar is really set.

If you want cuts and hits, you can’t set the bar at “what mama likes.”

Set The Bar

So… how do you “re-set” the bar?  How do you raise your songwriting standards?  Here are a couple ways.

Go to great songwriter rounds.

Open mic nights don’t count.  I’m talking about hitting the later rounds where the pros play.  Yes, it’s fun to hear their cuts and hits.  But pay special attention to their songs that haven’t gotten cut yet.  You’ll hear songs that blow your mind- and it’ll blow your mind that those songs haven’t been recorded yet.  Those great songs?  That’s your competition.

Get professional feedback.

There are some places that offer song evaluations and coaching, and that’s great.  But I’ll be honest- I used to do a bunch of coaching sessions, and it’s easy to start grading on a curve.  A song may sound pretty good when it’s in the middle of a bunch of beginner coaching sessions.  That same song might sound very different if you’ve been listening to pro demos all day.

Your best bet to get an accurate assessment of your song is to get it in the ears of someone who is actively in the trenches.  Play it for someone who has their own songs (or the songs of their writers) judged by the highest standards on a regular basis.

Having a pro re-set your songwriting bar can be uncomfortable.  But it’s worth it.

If you’ve never played your songs for a pro, I encourage you to do it as soon as possible.  If it’s been a while, you’re due for a tune up.

So, how do you get to one of these pros?  Well, there are a few ways… but let me tell you about an event I have coming up.

I’m hosting the next round of Songwriting Pro’s “Play For A Publisher” soon!  We have these awesome events- with legit hit music publishers- every quarter, and the deadline to submit your song is coming up quickly!  CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

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.

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Biz

The Power Of Community

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Man vs Row 

Even LeBron has a coach and a team.

Even Springsteen has The E Street Band. Even Han Solo (yep, a guy with the last name “Solo”) has Chewy.  Scooby Doo has Shaggy and the gang. Heck, Kool has The Gang.  And I have too many examples.

Here’s the deal.  There’s a romantic notion about being a creative island- of being an artistic hermit  who produces great art and sets the world on fire while never leaving their cabin in the mountains.

That might be fine if you just want to create for yourself or for the sake of creating.  That’s great.  But if you want your art, your songs, to connect with a larger audience… if you want your songs to get on the radio… you can’t be a lone wolf.

You need a community.  Just like I do.

Community

Over the years, my community (friends, cowriters, and music biz peeps) have introduced me to great cowriters that have become close friends.  They’ve opened doors for me to get jobs and publishing deals.  They’ve gotten record deals and have recorded my songs.

And, perhaps most importantly, my community has challenged me to become a better songwriter, and they’ve encouraged me when I felt like a lousy one.

There’s Mike Doyle, my first ASCAP writer’s rep, who told me that I had talent but also said I needed to keep working on the craft.  There’s Neal Coty, who has continued to write with me and tell me, “I’m gonna get us a cut,” even when I’m frustrated.  There’s Lisa Shaffer, who told Paul Compton he should consider me for a publishing deal when I was without one.  And there’s Paul himself, who sent me back to the writer’s room on many occasions to dig deeper- to rewrite even when I didn’t want to.  There’s Tim Meitzen, my first cowriter, who gave me the thrill of hearing my song played for an audience for the first time.  There’s Sheree Spoltore at NSAI who introduced me to Ruthie Collins, who ended up becoming a friend, cowriter, and an artist on Curb Records.  There’s Matt Cline, who has never failed to tell me I’m good enough- even when I’ve doubted it.

And there’s more.  There are many friends and cowriters who have prayed for me and opened their hearts, guitar cases and hook books for me.  They’ve made me a better songwriter, and they’ve made me a better person.

Do you have a community? If so, give them a shout-out in the comments or share this post with them and say “thanks.”

It can be hard to find a community sometimes- a group that understands the struggles of an aspiring songwriter.  Folks who don’t just nod and say, “sorry, bro…” when you share a wall you’ve hit- folks that can really relate because they have bruises from those same walls.  It can be difficult to find those people- especially when you live outside of a major music city like New York, LA or Nashville.  I know- I lived in Arkansas in the days before social media.

I want to help you form a community.  I’m putting together a small group to meet through a series of live, online, interactive video workshops called, “The C4 Experience.”  We’ll meet (from anywhere in the world) online for a total of 8 hours over two months.  I’ll lead our discussions, but everyone will be encouraged to participate- to share your struggles and victories, and to ask your questions.  We’ll spotlight each of the 8 group members of the course of the C4 Experience, and we’ll work together to help each other grow as songwriters.  It’s my hope that once the C4 Experience is over, you’ll stay in touch with each other, either as cowriters or as fellow travelers on the songwriting journey.

In short, we’ll start building a community.  And you know how I feel about those.

Here are the details of the “C4X.”

c4x

“C4” stands for:

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:

     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.) Read more here.

*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.) Read more here.

*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.) Read more here.

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 (for 8 hours). 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!  And the friends you stand to make- the allies and traveling companions?  What are they worth?  You can’t even put a price on that.

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.

Community

Biz, Muse

I Wrote A Hit Song Without Living In Nashville

11 Comments

Man vs Row

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.

You don’t have to live in Nashville to write a hit song. Or even to get that song recorded by a major artist. I’m Brent Baxter, and that’s my story

As a songwriter living outside of Nashville, you may think it’s impossible to get a song recorded by a major country star. You’d be wrong. Just because you may have a family, job, or other responsibilities that keep you from making a move to Nashville or one the other major music centers, New York or LA, doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get a song recorded. It just means you have to grow where you’re planted.

Now, don’t get me wrong, songwriters in Nashville have a decided advantage over those living elsewhere. They are close to the industry, it’s easier to make those all-important personal contacts in the business, and Nashville is a great place to learn the craft of songwriting. However, just because it’s harder doesn’t mean it’s impossible. At least not in my experience.

In 2000, after graduation from Arkansas State University, I was looking for jobs in Nashville, which, I hoped, would help in my pursuit of a songwriting career. However, the job offer came from a company in Little Rock, Arkansas, so Nashville would have to wait. But I knew I couldn’t afford to be idle in the meantime.

I dove into the local music and songwriting scene in Little Rock, which by no means qualifies as a major music center. But my main cowriter from back home in Batesville was living there, too, so that was a start. Since I’m a lyricist and not a singer, I helped get my friend, Tim Meitzen, some gigs in town.

Now, what follows is a string of steps that by themselves may seem insignificant. But in the end, each of those forward steps led to my big break.

I was downtown one day and saw a flier for an upcoming songwriter’s night. Well, that was pretty rare in Little Rock, and I immediately signed up my co-writer, Tim. (That was part of my job as the non-singing half of our cowriting team.)

Tim played the writer’s round, and we met a few guys who were starting a publishing company based out of Little Rock. Through the course of that relationship, one of ‘em gave me a cd of songs by Erin Enderlin. Erin was a songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, who was currently in college at Middle Tennessee State University outside of Nashville.

Months later, I saw that Erin was going to be performing in Little Rock. She was in over her spring break, and I went out to catch her show. She’d been writing songs in Nashville and was having some success making contacts in the music business. I gave her a cd of some songs, and she liked them.

Well, when Erin came back over summer break, we started writing together. Then she went back to school and continued making music business contacts. Then, over Christmas break of 2001, I gave her a lyric I’d had for a few years for a song called, “Monday Morning Church.” She liked it and wrote a great melody for the lyric. Then she was back off to Tennessee.

Now, I ended up finally making the move to Nashville myself in March of 2002, but it was Erin’s contacts that made the cut of that song possible. She brought the song back to Nashville, where she had begun working with a publisher. He demoed the song, played it for Keith Stegall, and it was eventually recorded by Alan Jackson in March of 2004.

Looking back on it now, it might seem like a straight line to the record store, but that’s only in retrospect. At the time, I was plugging away, just trying to take advantage of every opportunity that I could either find or create. I chased several rabbits along the way, not knowing which one would lead somewhere.

And that’s the point. You don’t know which small step will eventually lead to where you want to go. No, the writer’s night at Starr’s Guitars wasn’t the Bluebird. No, Little Rock wasn’t Nashville. But taking those small steps, growing where I was planted, led to a hit song and the ability to do this for a living. At least for a while.

I wouldn’t presume to know exactly which steps you need to take. And I certainly don’t think I was so talented that Nashville couldn’t help but notice me. No, I know ultimately, it was up to God to open those doors. He had me in Little Rock at that time for a reason.

If I’d been idle, just waiting to get to Nashville, I might never have gotten here. God has you where you are for a reason. Maybe it’s for music, maybe not. But I do know that where ever you are, it’s important to grow where you’re planted.

I hope my story encourages you to keep chasing your passions.

What about you?  Do you live in Nashville, or are you chasing the songwriting dream from out of town?  I’d love to hear from you!

God Bless,

Brent

KNOW THE ROW

MvR presents your opportunity to visit with new Curb Records artist, Ruthie Collins, as she prepares to release her first single to country radio.  Ruthie and hit songwriter, Brent Baxter, will give you an insider’s look at the reality of songwriting and record-making on Music Row. But they won’t be the only ones talking- you’re invited to join in the conversation, too! There are only EIGHT tickets available for this intimate get-together.  Click on the image below to find out more!

Know The Row w: Ruthie

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MvR Community

Tell Us About Your First Song

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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.

What’s the story of the first song you ever wrote?

Did a light come on, telling you, “This is what I do!” Or did the songwriting bug slowly creep up on you? Did you ever play it for anyone? What do you feel about that song as you look back on it now?

Here’s my story:

It was Christmas of 1994. I was back home in Batesville from college at Arkansas State. It was my sophomore year. My buddy, Tim Meitzen, had gotten a guitar for his birthday, and he was starting to play and sing. He was still back in high school, but we knew each other and were friends from church.

Me, I had been writing poetry since my senior year in high school. Bad poetry, mostly venting about unrequited crushes, etc. I had also been writing short stories- mostly superhero adventure stuff. It was an outlet, and fun, but I didn’t consider myself a “writer” really. Or at least, I didn’t know what to do with it.

Anyway, Tim and I got together over Christmas, hanging out at his house. He had started songwriting a little bit. I showed him a “poem” I had written called, “Waiting On Wings.” I didn’t realize it at the time, but the structure of the poem was just like the structure of a song- it had verses and a repeating chorus.

Tim liked it, and he stole the melody off something else he had been working on and applied it to my poem… which was now a lyric. It was a ballad about a girl named Julie who had always been waiting on her wings. “Julie’s just an angel who is waiting on her wings – waiting for her chance to soar above all earthly things.” Each verse told a different story from her life, and (you guessed it) ended with her old, dying, and waiting on Heaven.

Sad, sweet, ballad… does that sound like your first song?

Tim put that melody on my words, and I was hooked. It was such a great feeling to have my words sung back to me! My short stories were in a notebook at home. My poems were in a notebook at home. But this SONG… this song was being sung out into the world! Tim could play it around the campfire with our buddies- which was way cooler than me reciting a poem to a bunch of 18 year old guys out in a field at 2 in the morning.

It wasn’t a very good song. It was okay, but miles away from anything professional level. Of course, we didn’t know that- we thought it was great!

After that night, I still wrote a poem or two, but I mainly wrote song lyrics. I was hooked on hooks… and I still am.

What about you? I’d love to hear your story!

God Bless,

Brent

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