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The Top Ten FAQs On The Business Of Songwriting: #2
By Mary Dawson
QUESTION 2: I know I have talent, but I have no contacts in
the Music Business and no money. How can I get discovered?
It's all Walt Disney's fault!
Because of old Walt, most of us grew up watching animations of
stories like Cinderella and Snow White where the beautiful, but
poor and mistreated maiden, is discovered and swept away by the
handsome Prince. And we took as Gospel the lines from that
Cinderella song that say "the dream that you wish will come
true!" 1
We all grow up and somewhere along the line, we acknowledge that
these are just fairy tales. But it is my belief that somewhere way
back in our brain development, these magical stories have permanently
programmed our hard drives. We may not still be waiting for a
handsome Prince in the literal sense, but we tend to cling
tenaciously to the idea that if we just dream something long enough
and hard enough, Destiny or Fate will find us and make the dream a
reality.
Nowhere is this fantasy more active than in the world of aspiring
songwriters and artists. I think it may be because the Entertainment
Industry is what gave us Cinderella in the first place.
Subconsciously, we think that the rules which apply to success in
other industries do NOT apply in the world of Entertainment.
Think about it: if we aspire to become a lawyer, we automatically
realize that the field of Law will require lots of hard work and
preparation -- and a sizable financial investment -- to bring us
to the place where we can actually "hang out our shingle" and be
acknowledged as an accredited member of the legal community. The
same is true for almost any other career field we should choose --
from Medicine to Mechanics. But ... when we think about success in the
Entertainment Industry, we immediately step into Fantasyland.
Subconsciously, we believe that everything about the business of
Entertainment is larger than life -- like the movies, concerts and
theater productions we have seen over the years. All our lives we
have associated the concept of Music or Entertainment with
relaxation and fun, so it's easy to make the mental leap to the
assumption that success in the business should be magical and
fun as well.
This fantasy is fueled by stories we hear about artists and musicians
who have become "overnight sensations" -- living out of their cars
one day and making millions of dollars the next. While such stories
may have some truth in them, the reality is much more like what
Huey Lewis said when a reporter asked him how it felt to be an
"overnight success." Huey replied: "Sure was a hell of a long
night!"
Not a day goes by that I don't receive letters and emails from
aspiring artists and songwriters who are literally begging me for
a "chance" to make it in the Music Business. A typical letter goes
something like this:
Dear CQK Music:
I am a young songwriter (singer, artist, musician) and I know I am meant to be a star, but I have no money to do a demo and I have no contacts in the Music Business. I just need
someone who will believe in me and help to promote me. All I
need is a chance. Please help me…..I KNOW you will not be
disappointed.
Sincerely,
Helen Hopeful
The really sad part of letters like this is the simple fact that most
of these aspiring artists ARE truly very talented -- and they are also
savvy enough to know that they have a gift that should be used. But,
at this point the Cinderella Fantasy starts kicking in, convincing
them that unless an individual or a company with lots of money and
connections comes along to discover and promote them, they will
never succeed. They wait expectantly for their dream to come
true --
instead often waking up to disillusionment and depression. Rather
than enjoying their gift and sharing it with others, they literally
become "victims of their own fantasy," usually burning out,
becoming cynical and giving up altogether!
I would like to suggest a different perspective. While it is not
nearly as magical as the Cinderella Fantasy, it is
definitely more
practical and realistic -- and, most importantly, it works. The
basic premise is simply to take off the rose-colored glasses and
start approaching the Music and Entertainment Industries as you
would approach any other business or career choice. Here are a
few points to consider:
- Becoming a credible and recognized member of the Music or
Entertainment Industry will take as much study and preparation as
any other career. Believe it or not, there are rules to this
game that must be understood and applied before you can become
recognized as a professional songwriter or artist. Many songwriters
who contact me definitely have talent, but they write songs from
inspiration only! They have never studied the craft of songwriting
and they don't have a clue that there are crafting techniques such
as song form, cadence, prosody, rhyme scheme, and hook placement
which are as essential to effective communication in music as
proper grammar is to effective speech. Many don't even know that
there are books and seminars -- and even correspondence and internet
courses -- on the subject of songwriting that can provide
instruction and turn a writer's "natural talent" into a real
skill.
Think about it this way! What if you have just told your friend
that you are scheduled to have surgery soon. Your friend is
incredibly talented with her hands -- has amazing manual dexterity
-- and is also wonderful at taking things apart and putting them
back together. She is intelligent, creative and very good at
reading and understanding "how-to" manuals. However, your friend
has never had the time or the discipline to go to medical school.
When she hears that you need surgery, she graciously volunteers
to do it for you for free! She is sure that she will intuitively
know how to perform your operation and will be guided by the
inspiration of her heart. How would you feel about such a person
cutting on you? If you are anything like I am, you would politely
tell her, "No thanks," while internally thinking, "...she must be
nuts!"
If you hope to be taken seriously as a music professional, you
must be prepared to do some in-depth study and lots of songwriting
exercises before you can legitimately call yourself a real
songwriter or artist.
- Be prepared to make wise but considerable financial investments
in your songwriting. While I certainly empathize with songwriters
who work a full-time "day-gig" and have little disposable income,
I also believe that you can and will find money for the things that
are really important to you. Developing a music career will require
that you place consistent priority on experiences and tools that
will advance your efforts -- and that means budgeting money to
invest in those things.
I'm not suggesting that you become foolish or extravagant in what
you spend. On the contrary, I am of the firm opinion that if you
are wise and learn to know your own music community, you can
develop yourself and your career in a very affordable way. (See
FAQ 8 on how to do a professional demo of your songs without
breaking the bank.)
The name of the game here is balance and common sense. Unfortunately,
aspiring songwriters often end up at one of two extremes:
- Either they spend far too much on their songwriting --
often becoming victims of overpriced and unscrupulous song sharks...
- Or, they refuse to spend anything at all, choosing instead
to wait for "their Prince to come" in the form of a record
company with unlimited cash and unlimited willingness to invest
it all in them. (Incidentally, in case anyone should still be
fantasizing...there ain't no Record Company Prince. But that's
the subject of another article.)
OK! You may be asking, "What exactly are some legitimate
expenditures for the aspiring songwriter?" I would suggest that
your first investment should be in educational tools -- books and
seminars on the craft and business of songwriting and membership
fees to your local songwriters' association. These are invaluable
resources to equip you with knowledge about music and songwriting
in general, and about your own music community in particular. Even
if you live in Boondocks, Montana -- or somewhere in the unpopulated
reaches of Alaska or Asia -- you have access to songwriting
communities and books through the internet. If you are reading
this article online, you have NO excuse for remaining alone and
helpless!
Next, I would suggest that you budget money for professional
critiques of your songs -- BEFORE you invest in demo production.
There are many good critiquing services -- including my own (please
indulge a little shameless self-promotion here!) For more
information on my song critiquing services, please visit our
website at http://www.cqkmusic.com.
The next necessary expenditure will be for demo production of your
songs. Demo recordings are the essential "calling card" of the
songwriter. These days, especially, you MUST have clear and
well-produced demos in order for your songs to be seriously
considered by publishers or music industry professionals. Shop
around for the best prices -- you don't have to spend a fortune,
but you should be aware that demo production can range from
$150-500 per song and you should budget accordingly.
- Remember that the Music Industry is not so much looking for
talent as it is looking for success -- Talent is certainly a
necessary part of long-term achievement in music, but it is usually
not enough! What draws the attention of Music Industry "movers
and shakers" is to see talented people creating a buzz where they
are -- with what they have! Don't sit around waiting for Destiny
to find you...go out and create your own Destiny! Bloom where you
are planted. Sharpen and hone your talent and your skills as you
share your music locally. Like ripples on a pond, the word about
your music will spread and your fan base will grow. One day as
you are busy, satisfied and succeeding in your songwriting and
performing, you may find that you are "discovered" after all.
Hey, Listen! I don't hate Walt Disney. Who can hate Mickey Mouse's
Dad? I LOVE Cinderella and I wish I had written A Dream Is a Wish
Your Heart Makes. But when it comes to success in the Music Industry,
I think it's far more profitable to remember what Nobel Prize
winning cholesterol researchers, Brown and Goldstein, say about
success. When asked by a reporter how they had been able to achieve
such amazing results in their research, they said: "You know, it's
the funniest thing...the harder we work, the luckier we get!"
Your dreams can come true. You just have to buckle down
and make them happen!
1
A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes
Words and Music by David Mack, Al Hoffman & Jerry Livingstone
©Disney Music Publishing/ASCAP
**From her earliest childhood years writing simple songs
and poems with
her father, through her twelve years as an overseas
missionary, to her present,
multi-faceted
career as an author, lyricist/songwriter and conference speaker,
Mary
has always been adept at using words to communicate her heart to
others.
She is the President of
CQK Records &
Music of Dallas, Texas, a company which creates and
produces songs in a panorama of musical styles for a
variety of audiences,
She is the host of "I Write the Songs,"
a nationally syndicated radio talk show,
especially created to
inspire and instruct the more than 40 million aspiring
songwriters in the U.S.
Mary is a frequent public speaker and seminar lecturer
and teacher of songwriting in her popular Living Room Seminars.
She is a Contributing Editor for The Internet Writing Journal
®. You can visit her website at:
www.cqkmusic.com. You can reach Mary
by email.
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