Many of you are active members of several different songwriters groups but there are a lot of loners out there who may not be aware of the opportunities organizations provide. From needing a local support group to involvement in national legislation, their services are rarely one-size-fits-all and there is a great diversity of services available. Here are a few: Continue Reading →
Archive | December, 2008
Taxi Road Rally Virgin?
The Annual Taxi Road Rally is a major event that no songwriter should miss. It’s free for Taxi members + one guest, so if you’re not a member, attach yourself to one and get here to L.A. , usually on the first weekend in November. Details at www.taxi.com.
These are my answers to some questions from a client who lives in New York and was attending his first Taxi Road Rally.
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Q -There might be 2000 people at this event. How do you effectively network with the “players” if you’re tripping over 100 other people to try to get to them?
A – Make sure to get there early to sign up for one-on-ones, short 10 minute session with someone of your choice. Those are generally the screeners (obviously all industry pros) so check out the bios of the screeners/A&R staff at the TAXI site and make a list of who you’d like to talk to in the order you want to. There are also many industry pros in addition to the Taxi A&R who participate as mentors. Not guaranteed they’ll all be there or that the hottest sessions won’t fill up before you get there but give it your best shot.
Q – At the lunches, who sits at your table and how is that decided?
A – Generally, the same screeners/A&R staff and other industry pros. We spend about 15 minutes each at several tables. We’re directed to tables by taxi staff or just directed to find another open table that the previous guest has just left. So there’s no way to plan it. Each table will get about 4-5 guests during the dinner and nobody knows who they’ll be. Teachers of the classes who aren’t Taxi Screeners also do the one-on-ones and tables. Rarely do the industry panelists who are major label people and writers participate in those sessions.
Q – How many CDs should I bring/prepare (if any)? How many songs on the CD?
A – Consider that you may want to give them to potential collaborators as well as industry people. Know that the odds of an industry person listening to a CD later are slim. They may walk away with 50 or more of those and they already have a stack back at their offices. So the number is up to you. Maybe 25. There’s always a huge pile of CDs left on tables afterwards and they just get tossed. You may want to pick up CDs from potential collaborators, singers, and others you vibe with during the weekend so you don’t want to be stuck taking back too many of your own.
Q – Can I mix genres or do I have to have separate CDs for each genre/person I’m pitching to?
A – The separation of genres isn’t a bad idea though you can just separate them on your CD and clearly mark them by genre, which will save you cutting new CDs for each genre.
Q – Do you bring typed lyric sheets?
A – Yes
Q – Do I bring business cards as well?
A – DEFINITELY – make sure it has your website/MySpace/Facebook etc. on it where they can hear your songs. E-mail address and phone too. Photo may help people remember you. Be sure that whenever someone gives YOU a card (like that bodacious babe) that you make a quick note on the back of her card. Otherwise, you’ll be amazed how quickly you forget before you transfer the info to your database.
Q – Is smiling a prerequisite or can I just look glum the entire time and no one will say anything?
A – Definitely no-one will say anything. You’ll be totally friendless – except for me.
Do not look depressed, dejected, arrogant or constipated. The mission is to look happy, successful, confident and RELAXED (Remember you’re in LA, not the Big Apple.) There will be a certain amount of tension and confusion on the first day as you get everything sorted out but by the 2nd day, though you’ll still be excited (Let yourself be amazed and thrilled!!) you’ll be more chilled. Smile constantly and be ready to meet everybody. Assume they’re all there to meet YOU! Make sure you have a good 10 second “elevator speech” to introduce yourself. You might want to bring your laptop and a good digital voice recorder that you can take notes on, (You’ll be bombarded with insights you’ll want to remember.) and upload it to your laptop daily. This is “information overload” time so be ready to retrieve it while you can.
Good luck, bro. This can be a life-changing experience if you let it.
Come visit us at our booth. I’ll also be teaching 2 classes, doing mentor sessions, a mentor lunch and booking private one-on one consulting appointments on an hourly basis, so book me early by e-mailing me at john@johnbraheny.com (Write “Road Rally Consult” in subject line).
John
Note: for more info about the Taxi Road Rally, go to the TAXI forum where you’ll find two great threads (First Rally?) that will provide lots of details about what to expect from and prepare for your first Road Rally.
Stefan Szemler’s Stradivarius and Me
Sometime around 1952 in a galaxy far, far away called Sioux City, Iowa, I found a violin teacher. I had been playing since I was about 10. Let’s go back to the beginning.
My mother asked me, “Johnny (She was the only one who called me that.), what’s the most beautiful musical instrument you’ve ever heard?”
I answered, “The violin, mom.”
She said “Okay, let’s find you a violin and a teacher.”
I’ve got to hand it to mom. That was an inspired approach. My first teacher was Sister Paulette at St Joseph’s elementary school in Mason City, Iowa, who, at the time, didn’t seem much bigger than me and I was a shrimp. She loved to play and she should be canonized as a saint for having to listen to all that screeching. Learning to play the violin is NOT a pretty thing to be a part of and teaching it requires a tremendous amount of patience. Mom had found me a 3/4-sized violin and every week I had a lesson. Occasionally, I actually practiced in between. Continue Reading →
Stefan Szemler’s Stradivarius and Me
Sometime around 1952 in a galaxy far, far away called Sioux City, Iowa, I found a violin teacher. I had been playing since I was about 10. Let’s go back to the beginning.
My mother asked me, “Johnny (She was the only one who called me that.), what’s the most beautiful musical instrument you’ve ever heard?”
I answered, “The violin, mom.”
She said “Okay, let’s find you a violin and a teacher.”
I’ve got to hand it to mom. That was an inspired approach. My first teacher was Sister Paulette at St Joseph’s elementary school in Mason City, Iowa, who, at the time, didn’t seem much bigger than me and I was a shrimp. She loved to play and she should be canonized as a saint for having to listen to all that screeching. Learning to play the violin is NOT a pretty thing to be a part of and teaching it requires a tremendous amount of patience. Mom had found me a 3/4-sized violin and every week I had a lesson. Occasionally, I actually practiced in between. Continue Reading →
Q&A Pitching to Music Publishers
I have found some of the writers of (hit Country group) tunes. Their publishers are listed with ASCAP. Would it be common practice to contact the publisher of that writer in hopes that they could publish and pitch another tune to the band?
Answer:
Good work. You’re on the right track. However, sending the songs to publishers, though not a bad idea on the face of it, just puts you another step from the mark. If you pitch to a publisher it should be the publishing company of the writers in the group. This puts them in a position of being a direct financial participant in the publishing income from their recording and that’s a BIG incentive for them. When it comes from an “outside” publisher the group won’t participate in that income at all. In some cases, ownership of the publishing may make the difference between an album cut and a single (from which they’ll make a lot more performance income).
That approach could work but you should also pitch to their A&R representative at their record company, to their producer and manager. At that point you stand a chance, assuming they’re crazy about the song, to keep some of that publishing income (along with your writers share) yourself. The manager, however, since he participates (usually 20% +) in ALL the group’s income, will be motivated to have the group’s publishing company own it. The old adage applies here always “Follow the money!”
John
Find more practical info in Johns Book, The Craft and Business of Songwriting. Buy it here!