The Top Ten FAQs On The Business Of Songwriting #1

by Mary Dawson

QUESTION 1: Do I have to re-locate to a major music city like LA, New York or Nashville in order to have a real chance of "making it" in the Music Business?

Could I have a drum roll please?

For the last nine months we have been counting down the most Frequently Asked Questions I receive from aspiring songwriters and musicians through my songwriting columns and my radio show, I Write the Songs. We have covered many topics -- from legal issues like royalties and copyrights to very personal issues like co-writing and getting discovered. And here we are at Number One -- the very important question of geography in the journey to success in music.

OK! I need a show of hands here! How many of you aspiring songwriters have ever heard or read something that goes kinda like this:

If you want to prove that you are really, really, really serious about making it in the music business, the first thing you have to do is sell your house, pack up your stuff in a U-Haul, and relocate to LA, New York or Nashville.

The reasoning is as follows: If you live in or near a major music capitol, you will have access to many music-related opportunities that will not only help you to learn the craft and business of songwriting, but will also give you access to industry insiders, "close up and personal," who can help you "get a deal" (meaning a songwriter's agreement, artist recording contract or staff songwriter position).

From the time I first entered the music business almost two decades ago, I have heard the Move-to-Nashville-NYC-LA Advice over and over again. It has become almost the Doctrine of Success for songwriters -- a qualification that really separates the serious and motivated from the "dabblers." According to this doctrine, if you aren't willing to pick up stakes and move to a major music city where you can work your way into the business, it simply proves that you will never really make it as a writer.

If you subscribe to this logic -- as many have -- you will either start immediately to pack up your U-Haul, or sadly decide that since other commitments require you to live elsewhere, you will simply have to give up your musical dreams. Before you decide on either option, let's just take a common-sense look at this issue.

The Music-City Myth

What is a "major music city" anyway?

every community is a music community

Before you start packing to move to Nashville, LA or New York, get to know the "music city" where you live.

music city

a city where major record labels, music companies and recording artists are located

a city where music business is done

Business-As-Usual is over

with

against

The Credibility Component -- If you are a relatively inexperienced songwriter living in Boondocks, Montana with no contacts at all in the music industry, you have to face the fact that you have absolutely no credibility when it comes to record labels and artists in the Big Three music cities. They have never heard of you and have never heard your songs. No matter how good a writer you have become, you are a complete unknown to them.

If, however, you have a career and a social life and you are not a convicted felon, you probably do have a lot of credibility in Boondocks. People know you and you know people. You know your way around town...where to shop and the best places to eat. You have history in Boondocks that has taken years to build and which can be an amazing advantage to you as you begin to extend yourself as a songwriter.

As you get to know other members of your local music community, your name will probably "ring a bell" with those you meet because they know you from your daytime profession and you will immediately have a foundation of credibility. In fact, these music people will probably find it fascinating that in addition to your other career, you are also an accomplished songwriter. Remember: you have far more credibility in the city or town where you live than you would in a distant music city where you have no history or contacts at all. You also have much closer and consistent access to music people in your own community. Become a well-known and vital part of that group of people!
Creating a Buzz -- Several times in our FAQ Series, we have reminded you that the music and entertainment industries are not so much looking for talent as for success. When a music company begins to search for new talent, they scout around the country to discover which artists and writers are creating a buzz in various cities and communities. Those who are selling lots of CD's and packing concerts and clubs attract the attention of the industry.

Now just think about it: Where would it be easier to create a buzz -- in your own hometown where you are known and have credibility? Or in Nashville, LA or New York where you are simply one of thousands of talented "wanna-be artists?" As lyricist, Hal David, wisely wrote:
L. A. is a great big freeway
Put a hundred down and buy a car
In a week - maybe two - they'll make you a star
Weeks turn into years and quickly pass
And all the stars there never were are parkin' cars and pumpin' gas¹
Once you have established a presence and a buzz in your own community, you can use your local accomplishments to open doors as you begin to make regular trips to the Big Three music cities. Your credits as a successful member of the Boondocks Artistic Community will create respectability for you and curiosity on the part of the music industry that will give you entrance to otherwise inaccessible music executives. As someone wisely has said: The definition of an expert is simply someone who is more than fifty miles from home. Use your out-of-town mystique to your advantage.
Cream Always Rises -- I learned long ago as I milked cows with my dad on the farm, that cream always rises to the top...you can't stop it! You can stir it and shake it down, but when the milk settles, the cream comes right back up.

No matter where you live, nothing will take the place of excellence! You can have all the connections in the world and live right in the middle of Music Row in Nashville, but if your songs aren't the kinds of songs people want to buy, you will not last long as a songwriter. By the same token, you may live in the middle of nowhere and have no music connections at all, but if your songs are fresh and wonderful -- and you keep exposing them wherever and however you can -- somehow, some way, they will find their way to the world!

So -- are you packing the U-Haul or not? If you're young, footloose and fancy-free and you want to chase your dream to LA, New York or Nashville...please don't let me discourage you. Many now-famous songwriters have done exactly that and have found fame and fortune in the process. The point I am attempting to make here is that while moving to a major music city may be the ticket to success for some, it is by no means the only way to achieve your goals. If you use your head and write from your heart, you can chart a journey to success from any point on the globe.

Wherever you go……Godspeed!

¹Do You Know the Way to San Jose?
Writers: Hal David/Burt Bacharach
©1967 New Hidden Valley Music (ASCAP), Casa David (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 ^®.