5 Things Songwriters Need To Know About The Consent Decree

What is the Consent Decree, and why are people talking (and so upset!) about it?

While the music industry can seem glamorous, it does have its “unsexy” parts just like any other business sector. For songwriters, one of the least discussed (yet most important topics) is music licensing. But major changes to the consent decree – the federal agreement that governs how ASCAP and BMI operate – is bringing this topic to the surface.

The truth is, these changes could be the biggest in the music industry in 75 years and greatly impact your career.

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Lessons In Nonsensical Songwriting From Elvis – The King

Do you write lyrics that could be considered unintelligible or nonsensical based on the laws of English? If so, you’re certainly not alone. Elvis Presley, who is undoubtedly one of the greatest artists to have ever lived, is famous for spitting lyrics that defied natural language or comprehension, but resonated with millions of fans around the world.

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How The Right Lyric Can Fortify The Listeners' Creative Mind

The lyrics in a song are much more than just content. Constructing well-timed and well-placed lyrics is an art, which can set apart great songwriters from the average.

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4 Ways to Spark Inspiration And Break Through Writer’s Block

When you write for a living, every now and then you will fall into that infuriating slump known as writer’s block. Writer’s block isn’t only for authors or bloggers; musicians can also find themselves lacking words and inspiration.

Inspiration doesn’t always easily fall into your lap, and sometimes you have to seek it or recognize it in different ways. Next time you find yourself lacking the words you’re looking for, try one of these solutions to spark that next song.

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Co-Writing: Two Pens Are Better Than One

There’s sometimes a stigma associated to co-writing – as if there’s a purity to the “solitary creator” in music. We’d like to dispel the bad reputation of co-writing and say, categorically, these lone geniuses are a dime a dozen. All you have to do is look to some of your biggest musical idols like Bowie, who knew that good creation comes from good collaboration.

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10 Reasons Why You Should Not Enter A Musical Reality Competition

Today we’re going to look at a contract to enter a new musical reality competition called Songland, which is being produced by NBC. It’s supposed to be similar to The Voice (even includes Adam Levine), but this time it’s for songwriters of all genres. You can check it all out here: http://songlandcasting.com.

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3 Memorable Tips For Writing A Chorus

In any song, the chorus is often the part most anticipated by the listener. However, it is also one of the most difficult parts of a song to compose for many songwriters, as it has to sound just right to complement the rest of the song, while at the same time leave a lasting effect on the listener.

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Legal Issues With Songwriter Collaborations

Under the US copyright law, an author or creator owns a copyright in his or her work the moment it is “fixed in a tangible medium” (i.e., the moment the expression of an idea is written down or recorded in some manner). When it comes to the recorded music business there are two primary copyrights of interest: one in the musical composition or song; another in the sound recording of that song. A copyright extends for the life of an author plus 70 years, and in the case of collaborators on a copyright it extends for the life of the last surviving collaborator plus 70 years.

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Six Steps To Successful Songwriting: 45 Tips From 45 Famous Songwriters (And One Not So Famous)

My ongoing music blog has carried the overarching moniker of IT ALL STARTS WITH THE MUSIC for some time now. It’s a lofty notion, touched with just the right amount of vagueness to seem proverbial.

 Recently, however, I’ve had to take that notion off the shelf and boil it down to its granular form. The result? It actually all starts with the song. Music is a wonderful thing, granted, but what really brings the emotional reaction home to us all is THE SONG. Music is way too general a term and it’s incredibly subjective; but a great song is a great song. There are thousands of talented musicians and composers in Santa Monica alone making great (OK, maybe just good) music, but only a handful of great songwriters.

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Join SongwriterLink's Free 30-Day Co-Writing Challenge (Starts February 1)

Did you set a New Year’s resolution to become a better songwriter? If you’re serious about achieving your songwriting goals this year, there’s no better way to turn words into action than by joining SongwriterLink’s FREE 30-day co-writing challenge, starting February 1.

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5 Things You Need To Know About The Business Of Music And Songwriting

Everyone harbors a dream to become a rock star at some point in his or her life. It is easy to get caught up in fantasies of flying all over the world and living a lavish lifestyle. These fantasies do not always include the songwriting and recording processes, which are arguably the most important aspects of a career in music. Here are some things you should know about these parts of the music industry.

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Why Your Current Songs Probably Won’t Work For Film/TV

You’re a songwriter.  You’ve got dozens of songs that you’ve written and recorded.  Maybe you wrote them for yourself hoping to perform them one day.  Maybe you wrote them to pitch to other artists.  Either way, these songs have been sitting around for some time now and you want to do SOMETHING with them -  ANYTHING.  So, you think to yourself “Maybe I can get this song placed on a film or television show.

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Yes, There ARE Rules for Songwriting

Professional songwriters are not “artists.” They are craftsmen. They know the rules and play by them. I understand this might sound a little icky to a lot of people, but remember this one thing: every song that has made a lasting impact on the career of its performing artist has been carefully crafted to have this exact effect.

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Beware Of The Controlled Compositions Clause

Under U.S. Copyright law, Congress has seen fit to legislate a minimum statutory mechanical royalty rate for songwriters and their publishers.  Based on an upward-sliding scale tied to a cost-of-living index, the minimum mechanical royalty rate is set by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal on a per song per record basis. The current rate in effective is $.091 per song.  However, most record companies use their substantial leverage over fledgling recording artists to cause them to enter into record contracts which purport to reduce this minimum rate pursuant to the “controlled composition” clause - and this provision might also be made to apply to producers and songwriters who do work for those artists.

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