COUNTRY NOTES

• Feature Article - Taking Care of Business
• January-February '98 Workshop Schedule
• Workshop Location **NOTE: Workshops are now held from 4-7pm unless otherwise specified!**
• Member News
• **Attention Los Angeles NSAI Members** Submit your stories/news to Country Notes!
• NSAI Los Angeles Workshop Volunteers
• Nashville Songwriters Association International official home page!

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Taking Care of Business

    We write songs because it’s what we love to do, and we dream of being able to earn a living from our music. We’ve all been told how important it is to take care of the business end of being a songwriter, and many of us have put considerable time and expense into demoing and pitching our songs.

     The music business can seem like a big, intimidating, mysterious entity even to those of us who make regular visits to Nashville, have signed publishing contracts, and have had some of our songs recorded. It often seems like a lottery, a game of who you know, and how well you can schmooze.

    We spend a lot of time thinking about what kind of demos we need, where to make them, and how much money to spend. We hear conflicting advice from industry experts and from each other.

    We know about the politics involved in getting songs cut, and we strategize on how we can make the right contacts that can help put us into the position of the insider. We ponder moving to Nashville and wonder if it’s a necessary step in our careers.

    The business side certainly can absorb a lot of our energy. It can be exhausting and even discouraging. It seems that taking care of business leaves little time for the creative side of songwriting.

    While there’s no denying the importance of getting ourselves and our songs out there, the good news is that there’s a lot we can do that doesn’t involve publishers, travel, or expensive demos. It involves continually working to improve our craft and our songs.

    The truth is that the business is extremely competitive, and the best schmoozing, contacts, and demos in the world aren’t going to help if the songs aren’t strong enough. On the other hand, if we have songs that are truly great, much of the business will take care of itself.

    The workshop provides an opportunity to help each other learn and grow as writers. I look forward to a lot of growth in 1998.

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• Sunday, January 11, 4-7pm at Musician’s Institute - Goal Setting for the Organizationally Impaired.  Do you love the creative side of songwriting and hate the business part of your career?  Do you sometimes realize that two weeks or two months have flown by and you haven’t written a thing? Perhaps you know you should be networking and pitching your songs, but you just never seem to have the time.  If this sounds like you, make a point to attend this workshop. It will help you develop tools you need to boost your songwriting career to the next level while balancing income, family, community, and personal goals. Craig Lackey, Workshop Coordinator Emeritus, will be our guest host.
• Sunday, January 25, 4-7pm at Musician’s Institute - Group Song Critiques.  The process of giving and receiving critiques helps you to improve your latest song and to write better songs in the future.  Bring one song (on cassette or play it live) and 20 copies of your lyric sheet.  We also critique lyrics only or music only.
• Sunday, February 1, 1997 4-7pm at Musician’s Institute - Build a Better Song with Guest Speakers Pete and Pat Luboff.   Pete and Pat Luboff are songwriters with cuts by such artists as Patti Labelle, Bobby Womack, the Ray Charles Singers, and more.  They are also well-known songwriting teachers and authors of the book “88 Songwriting Wrongs and How to Right Them”.  Pete currently teaches the Monday night workshop at the National Academy of Songwriters (NAS) that the couple founded 19 years ago, and he serves as the NAS. Secretary of the Board.  In this seminar, Pete and Pat will teach us to build better a song starting with a strong foundation. They will discuss what distinguishes hit titles and ideas from those that are run-of-the-mill. From there, they will talk about how to develop the concept into a song that stands out from the rest.
• Sunday, February 22, 4-7pm at Musician’s Institute - Group Song Critiques.  Bring one song and 20 copies of your lyric sheet.

 

Workshop Location

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• Bill Bliss is starting an Artist's Way workshop. Call (213)939-2805.
• Cathy Carlson recently returned from Ireland where she participated in the Celtic Harmony project, writing with successful recording artists and songwriters.  She also toured Japan as a backup vocalist for Elvis Presley, Jr. and Route 66.
• Michael Crawford has signed a co-publishing agreement for five songs with Dixiana Music in Nashville, plus an exclusive writing contract. Three of the five songs were co-written with Gene Kinzer.
• Lisa Blue Fasman's song "On the Wings of Tomorrow" recently appeared in the #1 hit movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer". The song was produced and performed by Lisa as well. "I usually write country, and this is my first  song ever for a horror film, but whatever works!"
• Rob Meurer has a friend who is looking for country musician/actors for an original musical theatre production. Call Rob at (818)980-0358.

 

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Los Angeles Area NSAI Members - DO YOU HAVE:

• News about your songwriting career?
• An announcement?
• An event?
• A story of interest to songwriters?

Items will be printed subject to space and editorial limitations. 

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