When Is Your Song “Done”?

How do you know when to push away from the table? When do you say no mas, enough is enough, reach the finish line… when is your song …”done”? This is a tough one especially if you write on your own. You can endlessly tinker or just trust your instinct and stop. Unless you’re  writing with an artist or for a deadline, the world isn’t waiting for your song, so common sense should tell you to slow down, make it the best it can be before you let other people hear it.

No listener will know how hard you worked and truthfully, if it shows, the song usually suffers.

Some of the songs written by committee just “sound ” like work to me .

I love being able to feel like something’s completed but it’s tough to get that workmanlike sense of ” job done” with songwriting . You usually can’t see it, touch it or feel it not to mention get affirmation.

Affirmation for  me has to come from inside, the kind of song experience that just feels right, you keep playing it over and over but you don’t feel the need to re-write it. Some writers feel it’s a gift and once you get the idea down you need to just let it go while others feel hard work will reveal diamonds in the dirt. I think you just know and IF.. you’ve captured whatever it is, done all the editing , used all the combined knowledge you’ve built up and trust your gut….you’re done!

I’d love to hear from other songwriters, how do you decide you’re done?

Songwriters, Time To Change Time?

Miles Copelands writers retreat in the south of France 1992. I'm 3rd from the left, bottom row. 

I was talking with a songwriter friend who had asked me to listen to a few songs he had been working on, more starts than fleshed out ideas , but some good stuff in there. He writes a lot, not too precious about every nugget but was at a stage where his ideas were boring him. Listening to the songs as a group it was easy for me to suggest one big change in the writing process.Tempo.

This is an age old problem from songwriters in the basement to Music Row. Pick up an acoustic guitar to write and we get all melancholy . Can’t help it! You can start off trying to rock and end up sensitive . It happens. In my friends case he writes alone, acoustic only, and every song tends to end up in the same ballad to mid-tempo mode.

One excuse was that he felt he didn’t have the chops to play fast and fluid. He would tend to get frustrated and slow the whole thing down until James Hetfield morphed into Sweet Baby James.…. every time. I completely  get this and over the years went to great lengths to avoid it. Working from home studios or even traveling to co-write for projects, the solution for me was to gear up for the session. As soon as Macs became portable I was one excited writer. Even in the very beginning you could bring a few loops with you to the writing session, start uptempo and stay there for the duration. You could actually be forced to keep it up!

The first experience I had with this was at one of Miles Copelands ( Sting, IRS Records) writer retreats in the South Of France around ‘ 92.  The artists and writers invited were encouraged to just show up and see what developed. Most brought a favorite guitar but it was basically acoustic and organic. It was amazing but….. hard to summon the groove. The next one I went to I was paired with a great writer and now producer ( Eric Clapton) named Simon Climie. Simon brought a brand new Mac with all of his favorite loops and patches . Whole new game and everyone wanted to hang with Simon! The next time I went I brought a state of the art Kurzweil keyboard with everything pre- loaded and a PowerBook , primitive by today’s standard but the party was on! Up tempo , groove songs, new energy and a great vibe. Everyone was hanging in my part of this old castle .

Glenn Tilbrook, Kye Fleming and myself at the very first Castle retreat.

A side note, I attended the first 3 of these events with guests ranging from Cher ( mind boggling to come down to breakfast and see her every morning) to some of my favorite off the wall writers like Glenn Tilbrook  ( photo with Glenn and Kye Fleming) and everything in between. I know that after the first  4 or 5 events they installed a portable studio to demo ASAP as well as inviting some well known producers. Probably a good idea but might have brought a professionalism to the event that was at odds with the original plan, I dunno.

Eventually I started bringing the same set up to every writing appointment and on every writing trip. Carting the Kurzweil from Franklin Tennessee to London, Paris and Stockholm created some long conversations at customs but..it made a huge difference in the session by allowing us to feel almost like we were in a band and that small sound just got bigger!

Of course now it’s even easier, I use IPad 3 with GarageBand to bring some vibe to the room and stay uptempo .I know not everything has to be written with a groove or ” uptempo positive” (an overused pitch plea) but it can keep a writer from turning into “coffeehouse guy.”

You can still be sensitive while you’re bringin the funk :-) What I advised my friend was from time to time, use an uptempo loop ( GarageBand is well stocked) and just lock into it … all day. Doesn’t matter if you can’t execute the idea you have on guitar at that tempo, it’s all about the energy . Oh… and publishers love, love, LOVE uptempo … I’m positive!

What works for you as a writer to get you out of the same old groove?

Home Schooled Songwriter

If you don’t already read the Lefsetz blog I want to recommend it. Bob has been a must read for industry folks for years and has the distinction of being a voice of reason for the old and new school of artists and writers. He’s a fan of classic rock but also a harsh critic of those who are stuck in the old ways of doing  business.

This week an old friend , Bonnie Hayes wrote to Bob to voice her views on the changes she  saw during her recent summer guest teaching slot at  the Berklee School Of Music in Boston. I’m including a link so you can follow the dialogue between Bob, Bonnie, pro and amateur songwriters and musicians . Obviously a hot button, pay for a music education these days or follow the  Malcolm Gladwell, Beatles /Hamburg 10,000 hours of work example.

It was especially interesting to me because I attended Berklee briefly, but would have to credit any success to my 10,000 hours. Hard earned  (dropping the needle and playing along with every record I could find and gigging for years) and more along the lines of paying my dues than paying tuition. Home schooled I guess.

I’ve also written songs with Bonnie and a  few of the artists who have weighed in here and can see both sides of the argument . I lean toward the experience side but still look back and wish I’d been more patient and stayed at a place like Berklee a little longer . Not for the piece of paper but for the expertise that was available to any kid who wanted to learn. I left at the first opportunity because I thought fame was calling and I had no time to spare ..ahh..youth!

What I do agree with after reading the responses  is that we are in a different time and as musicians , writers and artists we need to adapt. We can bitch about it all we want or we can take advantage of the things available . I’ve had to. And I’m happy to be coaching writers and artists around the US and Europe.

I’ve gone from artist deals (didn’t go all that great) to publishing deals (went much , much better) to the last few years of dealing with the decline of music as a business. Luckily for me I was at a point where I was hoping to  find a new creative outlet, give back and basically find a new model of teaching. I could still be involved with creative people but in a supportive role. Point is, I think we all need to have a few things to offer and our chosen path is not so different from other jobs in that there will be ups and downs, layoffs and setbacks but if you really want to do what you do, you have no choice but to find a way.

Old school, real school or home school ?  I’d like to hear what you have to say here. Opinions? Stories?

Seamless Songwriting

I’m talking more lyric pruning than auto-tuning. In coaching writers these days one of the most common topics is , once you’ve found the idea, writing a lyric that keeps the thread and stays consistent with meter, rhyme scheme and structure.

Some of the best publishers I’ve known over the years, Mary Del Scobey, Kye Fleming and Chris Ogelsby come to mind, are able to point out to a writer things that we just don’t see. Places where the seam is torn.Usually because we’re too close. Especially if you write on your own. It’s so easy to work on a lyric and depend on a title, great first verse, chorus or a clever rhyme here and there. Much harder to stand back and “scan” a lyric to see if we’ve lost it in the third verse or bridge.

I know I have been guilty of sitting with a publisher or producer over the years and going..”hey just get through this part and wait until you hear the chorus!!”

The songs we all love don’t do that. Even if the writers weren’t thinking about it at the time, they were probably so damn good they couldn’t lie. No fluff, top to bottom! It’s been one of the best lessons over the years of writing with and hanging out with great music people. They’re fans just like the listener in the car and they’re thinking.. “I’m wanting to love this..don’t let me down! “

One of the best tools for checking yourself is talking the lyric out. I mean “out loud”…and often. I’ve written in the past about the value of just letting someone else read a lyric or hear your song and be able to tell you what it’s about . If they can’t, you’ve probably lost the plot.

Think Seamless.

You may agree or have a totally different view on this, love to hear from you!

STRONGwriters

 STRONGwriters

Do you know your strength  as a writer or artist and can you identify your weakness? I mean honestly … Can you?

Over a bunch of years writing for artists and working with publishers in the US and UK it got easier for me to get real with myself and answer this question. A great publisher will answer it for you, so will a really good co-writer but deciding for yourself is huge especially if you’re writing without a net. You’re competing with the best there is trying to get a piece  of an ever shrinking  pie. A song on a record.

Your best chance is to play off your strength. What makes you unique?

Focusing on your strength doesn’t mean you can’t hone your other skills, it just means being honest with yourself when  it comes to putting yourself out there. I always felt one of my strongest attributes was being versatile. I could switch genres and write a country song, pop song, R&B song, just the track, just the music/ melody and this is still what does it for me. I’ve had songs cut in all these styles but… and  it’s a big but..   what do I really bring to the table as a songwriter that one hundred other writers can’t?

I’ll give you a good example. I live in Nashville and for years was signed to publishing deals that were either based , or had offices in the UK. Lot’s of pop music. I would still work with the Nashville office and write for country artists and had a great publisher in Steve Markland at Windswept Pacific in those days. He would set up some wonderful co-writes with people like Marcus Hummon, Neil Thrasher, Craig Wiseman and more. Some worked, some didn’t ,but the common denominator was being comfortable enough to try and bring whatever was different about my writing to complement their strengths.

Just because I had some ideas for a country song didn’t mean I could write it as well as they could. Hell… I couldn’t come close because they live it and breathe it. They KNOW it! What I COULD bring was the stuff I was raised on , Motown and the British invasion style of pop music. When I gave up trying to complete and just add my thing to the mix it  stood the best chance of being unique and in the end, being unique is always your best shot. The guys and girls writing songs about trucks, high school and drinking parties are living it. No way I can talk about  it as well as they can. It will always come up second best or worse, phoney. I talk with 40 something writers who are trying to write about Taylor Swifts world because they think that’s current.

It’s like a ticket on the Titanic.

Sorry if I’ve gone on here but it’s such a huge point and one that took a long time for me to learn. To be able to say I can do a lot of things but THIS is what I do best, THIS is my strength was a real turning point.

What is your strength? Weakness?

Songwriting Saboteurs

As songwriters we all have this ongoing battle with our inner critic. Bring him in too soon and you’re done. This guy is the most evil of the saboteurs out there. I like John Brahenys idea that writing is like a trip and you lock the inner critic in the trunk until you get there . In coaching songwriters over the past few years it’s easy to identify the things that sabotage their writing but sometimes harder to see my own.

The voice inside my  head that says ” who’s ever gonna cut this?” before the idea has had time to develop. Sometimes it’s impatience, rewriting is too hard! Or the little things I do to not have to sit down with a blank page . For me the Internet is one of the main culprits. So easy to start a lyric and check last nights baseball score, email, Facebook , Twitter and every device I own hoping some communication is gonna keep me from having to actually… start!

I heard a great story about Winston Churchill and his love for painting . The old boy got pretty good at it later in life but always had trouble tuning out and getting started. Sure he didn’t have the Internet and only had the pesky WW2 thing to distract him ,but he found a simple way to push the voices down. He just threw some paint against the canvas. Simple but once he did that he was in.

There are Saboteurs around every corner , some don’t want you to start , some don’t want you to succeed, self doubt, too much analyzing , too much information , feeling like you have too little information, even too much experience  at times. Always wondered why kids create so fearlessly. Could it be because they don’t know enough to over think it? It’s a great goal to approach writing more like a child and I’m still trying to learn how. They don’t know from Saboteur , I’m betting they can’t even spell it. I can …well…I can now .

What are some things that sabotage your writing?

State Of The Artist and Songwriter

With my blogs and coaching I’m always hoping to inspire, share stories and always, always tell the truth at least as I know it.  The truth is a pretty valuable thing to hear in a business of dreams. So with a backward nod to Clint Eastwood here goes.

“The Ugly”

If you’re an artist or writer and you’re still working a plan based on an outdated model, you have to adapt or die. It’s the ugly truth. Somehow the artist in us wants to be above the businessman and let someone else deal with it. That time is long gone and time to embrace what IS working.  This is not breaking news to most people reading this but I still have lots of writers and artists coming into my coaching with unrealistic goals  like landing a major publishing deal with a big advance . There are a few exceptions but for the most part that hasn’t existed in Nashville or anywhere I know of for a long, long time. Same for a major label deal.

“The Bad”

There are so many really good writers and artists falling by the wayside because nurturing a “baby writer or artist” costs too much these days. It makes perfect sense though. If you’re a publisher or label and the pie has shrunk, you just don’t have the money to gamble with. If you give that big advance how are you going to make it back in an era of free fall music sales? This is why you’ve been reading about things like 360 deals for the past few years as well as seeing projects stay “in house” as much as possible. Reading Bob Lefsetz letter is a good way to stay up with the conversation. He’s read by most industry people as well as artists.

“The Good”

There’s help. Writers, artists, producers, industry pros  and publishers are making themselves available in unique ways these days though workshops, online seminars or, as in my case, coaching . There is some real crap out there, so do your homework, but if you dig you’ll find experts  who have actually done what you want to do and are willing to share.

I’ve  been reading a terrific book called Platform by Michael Hyatt recently and it’s perfect info for any songwriter or artist looking for ways to get noticed. Michael has been the head of Thomas Nelson Publishing here in Nashville dealing mainly in Christian books but has a music business background as well.

One of the things that struck me was a section about turning really good authors away because they weren’t willing to use social media. They want to write and be left alone. Let someone else promote. These writers in his world and in the music world are going unpublished. Michael wrote the book as sort of a “how to” to help them navigate the new model of self-promotion.

The point is there are resources to help you adapt to newer models. Facebook fan pages, blogging and tons of other ways to be heard and create and nurture a fan base. The Internet is your marketing person and you can do it… by yourself and …it works. It’s not near as romantic to think about tweeting and blogging to let people know what you’re creating but none of us wants our music to exist in a vacuum so… we promote and network. We ARE the business and that’s a great thing!

One last note..if you play live go out and do it, everywhere, every night!

A Songwriter's Best Friend

iDoCoach Blog

You’ve got a friend.

You must have one. Your musician buddy, girlfriend, boyfriend, somebody you go to for confirmation or affirmation . Let’s put ‘em to work as your new publisher. The idea is to work on your lyric until you feel it’s the best it can be. You’ve written it as prose first and, if it’s a story type of song , you have a beginning, middle and end. You’ve done all the stuff you know you should…painted a picture with color and detail and you’re “showing not telling”. These are all things I spend tons of  time on in my coaching because they’re huge!

Most writers starting out don’t have the luxury of having a publisher to bounce ideas off. A good publisher can be the voice of reason. The one who really can tell you if those pants make your butt look big :-)!!

We all get attached to our ideas but can tend to think what’s in our head is on the page when in fact it’s where we tend to disconnect the quickest . So…what I ask writers to do is to take the lyric to someone they trust, don’ t hype them, don’t even tell them anything other than you’d like them to read the lyric and tell you what it’s about. Simple. You’re not asking for a critique , you’re just hoping they can tell you what the idea is. If they come back to you with a few different ideas, confused about characters, situations or messages then chances are you’ve lost the plot.

A friend can act as your publisher or even better, the average listener. Did they get what you’re trying to say? My favorite example of boiling an idea down came from a book about screenwriting. Producers are notorious for wanting the pitch to be as short as possible. The writers of Alien got a green light by telling the studio it was ” Jaws on a spaceship ” . If your friend can tell you your lyric is about Jaws on a spaceship you’re writing with clarity. Look back to classic songs like ”Strawberry Wine” to see how a lyric can be one persons story but make you think of your own. Written so seamless and clear that you know it’s about one thing ( in this case)  losing your innocence .

Not enough for you to know what it’s about…you want everybody to know. You may not have a publisher yet but ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend . Use ‘em!

Hey Songwriter…”Ya Gotta Move…Yourself!!”

Mark Cawley iDoCoach.com

One of the most valuable lessons I learned over years  writing for artists, writing with artists and taking direction from my publisher was to not study too hard.

I learned this the hard way! I’ll go way back for some examples. I was writing for a major publisher during the 90’s, and I knew that part of my job was to stay current. I would shoot for the biggest artists of the day and usually had a heads up on direction from my publisher, other writers and even producers.

I’ve always loved great singers and found it easy to hear their voice in my head when I was working on something to pitch for them. Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Aretha Franklin, Wynonna, Chaka Khan…I was a channeling fool. For years cuts were coming along but the ones I really wanted were eluding me. I would listen to everything they’d done, groove, key, subject matter and try to nail something I could hear them doing. What I didn’t think about is a really, really great artist isn’t looking for “something that sounds just like them”.

During these years I can’t tell you how many songs were put on hold by the powers that be thinking the song ( and demo) sounded exactly like their artist. At the 11th hour something would usually go amiss. You may have been there. Everything looks perfect, time to start spending the money you’re going to see…nothing to it, I’ve done my homework, my 10,000 hours and damn it…I deserve it!

As you know you need a thick skin and crazy confidence to take the rejection this career will hand out so I would grieve for a time and then jump back in. Then a funny thing happened….

As I was writing for the market I was also getting with better and better co-writers. We had the same war stories but if we wrote long enough we would eventually say let’s forget it and just write what we want, something that we can walk away and say “ I don’t care if this ever get’s cut. Then one did.

In a short period of time Tina, Joe, Chaka and Wynonna cut songs that didn’t sound remotely like ones written “for” them. All songs I was proud of. Sometimes it was a creative publisher who had the imagination to hear a song as the next step for an artist even when all the powers that be said they were nuts for sending them a song so different than what was being asked for. Sometimes it was using one of those people in my network, whatever it took to get the artist to hear it.

So the big lesson for me was a true artist is trying to move forward, not repeat themselves. They want to be challenged and they want to challenge a listener or fan. Usually they don’t know what form that will take until they hear it but if the song moved you first maybe you can move them and hopefully they can move a few million other people and then…you can take that to the bank!

“Mark Cawley’s songs have appeared on more than 15 million records. Over a career based in LA, London, and Nashville his songs have been recorded by an incredibly diverse range of artists. From Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Wynonna, Diana Ross and Chaka Kahn to The Spice Girls, Tom Scott, Kathy Mattea, Paul Carrack, Will Downing and Pop Idol winners in the UK. He has had #1 records in the UK and throughout Europe as well as cuts in Country, Jazz & R & B. His groundbreaking website Song Journey created with Hall of Fame writer Kye Fleming was the first to mentor writers from around the world one-on-one online. He is currently writing and publishing as well as helping writers and artists worldwide with a one-on-one co-active coaching service, iDoCoach. In addition he is a judge for this years UK Songwriting Contest, a contributing writer to the US Songwriting Competition , a popular songwriting blogger and from time to time, conducts his own workshops.”

Meet The New Head Of Development…The Songwriter!

Staff deals are an endangered species. Some writers are still heading to Nashville, the last true hope for being heard as a writer and a few still land a publishing deal. It just may look different than they imagined. A tip that will serve you well: If you make the trip, be prepared for finding an alternate source of income while you wait. Your job? Find the bad puns in the last sentence.

Your real job, especially if you live outside a music center, is to find a way to get your songs heard. I coach writers and artists from as far away as Melbourne, London, Indianapolis and even a client in Warsaw, Poland which got me thinking about this topic yesterday. A new friend and client has begun developing a young artist and we spent a Skype session talking about the benefits and pitfalls but I want to focus on what artist development means to a songwriter.

If you’re a performing artist/writer you’ve upped the odds of someone hearing you and your songs. Many successful writers have risen from the ashes after the artist path crashed and burned.. but ..let’s suppose you’re not a artist/performer.

Find one. Hitch your wagon to a rising star.

You can find them in any town in the world. Look for one that will grow along with you. Find one you like as well as believe in. Co-write with them even if they don’t see themselves as a writer. Always more attractive to a listener (and one of the 3 major labels we’re down to) to know an artist has something to say. In past years I would be invited to write with a new signing and the first thing I would do is talk with them. Sometimes for days. What are they interested in? Listen to their language. What motivates them to go for it? Sometimes it may just be a good line that comes out, sometimes a story or a rough idea that you get to help craft. It’s worth the time and investment for you both.

How? At the very least the artist is out there showcasing and people are hearing songs you’re a part of. At the very best, someone views you as an integral part of the artist’s future. Maybe you end up producing the songs you co-write and nothing will get you closer to getting your songs on a project than helping create it. The artist becomes successful and you become successful and… in demand. You’re asked to work with more budding artists and bring “that thing you do.”

Maybe you don’t have production skills. Then find someone who does and build a team.

Lastly I would recommend  a development contract. Sometimes in life you have to bring in the law. Get a good entertainment attorney to help craft a fair deal for you and the artist. If you find you’re doing the heavy lifting, creating tracks, hiring players maybe even using your contacts, make sure you stand to be compensated if not rewarded. Make it fair for the artist as well. No one sided deals, you hope to have a relationship so I would even plan for the fact that maybe you don’t get there and they’ll need to move on. Make it a fair amount of time for you to give it everything you’ve got but allow the artist to still pursue their career if you’re not the right fit. If they move on without you, provide for being reimbursed. All about trust, just like all of the relationships you’ll have as a writer, co-writer, publisher, producer or “head of development”.