Archive | August, 2016

A John Braheny Songmine column from the archives…

Accession Number: C000000137-028-001 Document/Digital File, “Songmine: Collaboration Part II: Meeting Your Match”, OCR converted text under same Accession Number

(Digitally converted text. Some errors may occur)

Songmine BY JOHN BRAHENY

COLLABORATION PART II: MEETING YOUR MATCH

Last time I talked about some of the reasons that people look for co-writers. This time it’s how and where to look.

At best, no matter how you go about it, you’ll have the same odds on finding the perfect collaborator right away as you’d have walking into a singles’ bar and finding someone you’d end up marrying. The two situations have a lot in common. You’re dealing with a whole range of personalities, personal habits, expectations, previous experiences, egos and lifestyles. With collaborators you can add musical and literary influences, business know-how and aggressiveness. There are a few ways to get started and narrow the odds. Like a singles’ bar, you go to where other people are looking too. You put an ad in a music-oriented periodical like Music Connection, Songwriter Magazine or The Overture (Musicians’ Union.) Putting an ad in a city paper or the Recycler or similar papers is getting one step further away. Another good bet is to make little signs that you can put up on bulletin boards in music stores, record stores, the Musicians’ Union or clubs that feature your kind of music. It’s also not a bad idea to put your signs on college music department bulletin boards, particularly if you’re a lyricist.

The ad or sign should include the styles you’re most at home with, the instrument(s) you play, your favorite lyricists/composers and your credits, if any. If you’re looking for a lyricist and you’re in a working band, have a production deal, your own publishing, or have an exclusive publishing deal, mention that too. This tells the pro lyricists that the lyrics aren’t going to lie in limbo indefinitely.

Another approach is through professional organizations. SRS (Songwriters Resources and Services-213 463-7178) has a collaboration service for members. ACSS (Alternative Chorus Songwriters Showcase-213 655-7780) has a “lyric shelf” where lyricists can leave copies of their work and composers can look through them. They’re not allowed to take them but may write down names and numbers of lyricists they’d like to contact. This gives the composer an opportunity to see the lyrics first and avoid the face-to-face rejection process which is always one of the discomforts involved in trying to find both a mate and a collaborator. MCS (Musicians Contact Service-213 467-2191, 714 776-8240) now has composer/lyricist listings in addition to putting musicians and groups together. There’s a fee involved. AGAC (American Guild of Authors & Composers-213 462-1108) also has lyricist/composer listings for different regions of the country. They; re for members only.

Workshops, showcases and clubs are also good ways to meet collaborators. You have an opportunity to hear someone’s lyrics and music without any kind of commitment. You may hear a singer/songw.riter whose music is excellent but the lyrics are weak or vice versa. You might, without being critical, ask them if they would consider collaboration. There’s definitely an advantage in writing with someone who’s out there exposing those songs to the public and the industry.

Try to meet as many people in all areas of the industry as possible. Publishers, though they seldom sign staff lyricists, often like to know of good lyricists that they can hook up with good composers they know of or with other writers on their staffs. Producers may be working with groups that are lyrically weak and would like to know how to find an appropriate lyricist. Recording engineers are also good contacts. Try to meet people personally. Lyrics or music alone sent in the mail are almost never listened to.

If you’re going to be leaving tapes, lead sheets or lyric sheets with anyone, make sure they’ve been protected by registration (try SRS) or copyright, and include the SRS label or copyright notice with the date on each page ( ©or copyright 1980, John Doe.) If you later have the song published, the date should be changed to the publication date. Don’t ever let a tape, lead sheet or lyric out of your hands without your name, address and phone number on every page. You should also keep a list of everyone who has copies of your work.

Next time we’ll discuss how to make a collaboration work and some possible legal problems.

FEBRUARY 21 – MARCH 5

Previously in the Songmine Collection:

• Songmine: Collaboration: Why two heads are better than one by John Braheny
• Songmine: Tips for the Hard Core Showcaser by John Braheny
• Songmine: Looking at the 80’s Part Two by John Braheny
• Songmine: Looking at the 80’s Part One by John Braheny
• Songmine: Publishing Yourself: Developing a Filing System by John Braheny
• Songmine: Administration Deals & Starting Your Own Company by John Braheny
• Songmine: Tough Enough To Publish Yourself? by John Braheny
• Songmine: The Nashville/LA Barrier Crumbles by John Braheny
• Songmine: Message Songs Part 2 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Message Songs Part 1 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Rhyme by John Braheny
• Songmine: “The Knack” A 3rd Point of View by John Braheny
• Songmine: For the non-writing artist: Where do you find original material? by John Braheny
• Songmine: For the non-writing artist: Why you need original material by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 6 by John Braheny
• Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 5 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 4 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 3 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 2: Research and Spotting
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 1
• Songmine: The Chances for Advances by John Braheny
• Songmine: What a Record Company Needs to Know – Part 6: Attorneys by John Braheny
• Songmine: What a Record Company Needs to Know – Part 5: The Professional Team by John Braheny
• Songmine: What a Record Company Needs to Know – Part 4: What Makes This Act Marketable? by John Braheny
• Songmine: What A Record Company Needs to Know : Part 3
• Songmine: What A Record Company Needs to Know: Part 2 by John Braheny
• Songmine: What A Record Company Needs to Know: Part 1 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Getting the Most from the Trades Part 4 
• Songmine: Getting the Most from the Trades Part 3 by John Braheny
• Getting the Most from the Trades
• Songmine: Publishing III 
• Songmine: Leave Your Ego at the Door
• Songmine: “Feedback: Why some publishers won’t give it”
• Songmine: Dealing with Rejection by John Braheny
• “Music in Print” – A Songmine Column from Music Connection Magazine March 19-April 1, 1981

About Songmine and Music Connection Magazine:

John Braheny met Eric Bettelli and Michael Dolan right before they were going to publish Music Connection magazine. Eric and Michael wanted to get their publication out to as many songwriters as they could. They had already heard of the LA Songwriters Showcase, and of John and his partner, Len Chandler. John’s goal was to advertise the schedule of guest speakers and performers at the weekly Showcase… so they made a deal. 

They published John’s Songmine column (he had never before written a magazine article!) in their very first edition, in November 1977. Trading out the column for advertising, this arrangement continued for many years. Plus, Eric and Michael came to the Showcase each week and distributed free copies to the songwriters!

Those articles became so popular that (book agent and editor) Ronny Schiff offered John’s articles to F&W Media, where they became the backbone of John’s textbook, The Craft and Business of Songwriting. As a follow-up, Dan Kimpel (author, songwriter, teacher), who had also worked at LASS, took on the Songwriting column at Music Connection magazine which continues to this day! You can subscribe to get either hard copies or online.

A John Braheny Songmine column from the archives…

Accession Number: C000000137-027-002 Document/Digital File, “Songmine: Collaboration: Why two heads are better than one by John Braheny”, OCR converted text under same Accession Number

(Digitally converted text. Some errors may occur)

Songmine by John Braheny

Collaboration: Why two heads are better then one

A substantial number of the world’s greatest songs are the reult of writing as a team. There are some very good reasons why writers choose to collaborate.

1. A writer may have more talent as a lyricist than a composer vice versa. The big question is, “How do I know?” Obviously, if you’re a good lyricist but only marginally musical you should look a composer. Less obvious are situations in which you know you have a good lyric but have fooled yourself into believing that you can write a good melody. Your ego may need to see that “words and music by…” line at the top of the page, or maybe you’re just greedy. You need to look for feedback and pay attention to it. Many talented musician/arrangers can put together the music but don’t feel the lyrics are important enough to warrant a collaborator. This may work in a situation where the writer leads a group with a record deal and a unique sound. This was, in fact, the norm with disco, however we also saw that disco tunes like “I Will Survive” ade a lot more money as a song in which the lyric had a universal peal. Even Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White, to his credit, decided to collaborate with lyricist Allee Willis to increase the aleady fantastic appeal of his records.

2. Writers often tend to get trapped in their own musical and lyrical cliches and a collaborator can supply fresh ideas. You pick your guitar and your fingers automatically go through a familiar, comfortable set of changes, type of chord, picking style or rhythm pattern. Out of these established patterns come melodies much like those you’ve written before and at times you realize they’re exactly the same. You’re now in a rut. You either decide to get a chord book and work out some new chords and progressions, listen to the radio and cop some new rhythm feels or find a collaborator whose style you like.

3. It disciplines your writing habits to plan to write with someone else. Lots of people seem to function best on deadlines and always wait until the last minute, meanwhile thinking up all kinds of other projects like cleaning the house (“I can’t possibly create in a dirty house,”) restringing your guitar or tuning your piano. Len Chandler refers to these diversions as “sharpening pencils.” I think that in some mysterious way, this common avoidance syndrome is a way of signalling and priming the subconscious to start getting to work on the project at hand. At the eleventh hour when you have to do it, there’s a signal to the subconscious from the brain that says “now give it to me!” and you start doing it. The problem is that many writers will avoid it together if there are no deadlines. Those who function best on that kind of ‘crisis’ basis but want to be productive, make sure to create real deadlines. They promise a producer they’ll write him/her a song by next week and set up an appointment to play the song. Or they find a collaborator and plan on a regular day to get together and write. They know that they’ll have to come up with some ideas to work on before that deadline and, that subconscious preparation process will even have a longer time to operate if it knows that every week (or every day) that deadline will arrive.

4. A partner will furnish constant feedback and critique. You’re stuck for a rhyme and you’re anxious to finish the song. You put together the first thing to come into your head so you can start playing the song. You say What the hell, it’s okay, I’ve hear stuff on the radio that rhymes ‘rain’ with ‘again.’ Maybe some British guy will cut it.” A conscientious collaborator is there to say “WRONG! Let’s see if we can find something else.” Maybe you’re a lyricist and your collaborator is a singer and can say, “I’ll want to hold this note in the melody so could use another word instead of ‘garbage?'” Obviously it can keep your quality high and help you both grow commercially and artistically.

Next issue: Finding a collaborator

Previously in the Songmine Collection:

• Songmine: Tips for the Hard Core Showcaser by John Braheny
• Songmine: Looking at the 80’s Part Two by John Braheny
• Songmine: Looking at the 80’s Part One by John Braheny
• Songmine: Publishing Yourself: Developing a Filing System by John Braheny
• Songmine: Administration Deals & Starting Your Own Company by John Braheny
• Songmine: Tough Enough To Publish Yourself? by John Braheny
• Songmine: The Nashville/LA Barrier Crumbles by John Braheny
• Songmine: Message Songs Part 2 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Message Songs Part 1 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Rhyme by John Braheny
• Songmine: “The Knack” A 3rd Point of View by John Braheny
• Songmine: For the non-writing artist: Where do you find original material? by John Braheny
• Songmine: For the non-writing artist: Why you need original material by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 6 by John Braheny
• Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 5 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 4 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 3 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 2: Research and Spotting
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 1
• Songmine: The Chances for Advances by John Braheny
• Songmine: What a Record Company Needs to Know – Part 6: Attorneys by John Braheny
• Songmine: What a Record Company Needs to Know – Part 5: The Professional Team by John Braheny
• Songmine: What a Record Company Needs to Know – Part 4: What Makes This Act Marketable? by John Braheny
• Songmine: What A Record Company Needs to Know : Part 3
• Songmine: What A Record Company Needs to Know: Part 2 by John Braheny
• Songmine: What A Record Company Needs to Know: Part 1 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Getting the Most from the Trades Part 4 
• Songmine: Getting the Most from the Trades Part 3 by John Braheny
• Getting the Most from the Trades
• Songmine: Publishing III 
• Songmine: Leave Your Ego at the Door
• Songmine: “Feedback: Why some publishers won’t give it”
• Songmine: Dealing with Rejection by John Braheny
• “Music in Print” – A Songmine Column from Music Connection Magazine March 19-April 1, 1981

About Songmine and Music Connection Magazine:

John Braheny met Eric Bettelli and Michael Dolan right before they were going to publish Music Connection magazine. Eric and Michael wanted to get their publication out to as many songwriters as they could. They had already heard of the LA Songwriters Showcase, and of John and his partner, Len Chandler. John’s goal was to advertise the schedule of guest speakers and performers at the weekly Showcase… so they made a deal. 

They published John’s Songmine column (he had never before written a magazine article!) in their very first edition, in November 1977. Trading out the column for advertising, this arrangement continued for many years. Plus, Eric and Michael came to the Showcase each week and distributed free copies to the songwriters!

Those articles became so popular that (book agent and editor) Ronny Schiff offered John’s articles to F&W Media, where they became the backbone of John’s textbook, The Craft and Business of Songwriting. As a follow-up, Dan Kimpel (author, songwriter, teacher), who had also worked at LASS, took on the Songwriting column at Music Connection magazine which continues to this day! You can subscribe to get either hard copies or online.

A John Braheny Songmine column from the archives…

Accession Number: C000000137-027-001 Document/Digital File, “Songmine: Tips for the Hard Core Showcaser by John Braheny”, OCR converted text under same Accession Number

(Digitally converted text. Some errors may occur)

Songmine by John Braheny

Tips !or The Hard core Showcaser

The first thing to ask yourself in preparing for an audition or showcase is: What’s the purpose of this performance? If it’s to get a gig in a club, here are the questions to ask. What does the club owner want? All current Top 40 stuff? Top 40 standards? Top 40 with some originals? Who is the club’s audience? Under 18? A singles’ bar drinking crowd? Pick a club that wants the kind of music you enjoy playing or you’re wasting your time. The audience won’t like you and the gig will get old very fast. The attitude “we’ll make them dig what we do” is admirably ambitious but chances are the owner knows the audience better than you do.

If you’re auditioning for record companies, it’s imperative that you perform primarily original material. They’re not interested in the way you do “Proud Mary.” If you’re working a Top 40 gig, make sure to check with the owner to see if you can throw in a set made up predominantly of originals to play when you know the company reps will be there. Make sure the companies know what time you’ll be doing your original set. Hopefully, you’ve developed a mailing list of music industry people who should be invited. Get handbills printed. If you’re workirig a regular gig at the cluI, try to get the owner to kick in some bucks for the handbills. Tell him you’ll distribute them. Hopefully, you’re working at a club that has a mailing list of it’s own. If not, try to get the club owner to put one together by having his patrons sign a list. If they like you, they’ll then know when you’re playing there again.

If you’re doing a one shot, one night showcase at a club you haven’t played before: 1)Make sure your appearance is listed on their mailer if the club has one. 2)Check with the people who run the showcase for any tips that will help you come off well in their club. Remember, they’ve seen lots of acts win or lose in their place and that perspective can be very valuable to you. 3)If there is a house P.A. system, speak to whomever runs it. Generally, if you have a sound person you work with regularly (who knows your music) and the house system is adequate, it’s better for him or her to work with the club’s sound person who’s used to getting the best sound out of the room. If the house sound system isn’t adequate and you bring in your own, the procedure is riskier. Your sound person had better be one who doesn’t operate by rote and can tailor the sound output to the room with the right E.Q. (treble/bass adjustments) and speaker placement and who is willing to accept advice from the club’s sound person. I’ve seem some good groups empty the house because they wouldn’t listen to advice and played too loudly for the room. Volume must be tailored according to the size and shape of the room and whether the walls are reflective or absorbent. If you’re doing a record company showcase, being able to hear clean vocals is important, so start there and mix around it. 4)Make sure you have a sound check to work out all the problems and to set your instrument levels. 5)Show up on time for sound checks and performances. 6)Be cooperative to everyone at the club, including the waitresses. It’s the difference between coming back to the club or not, and having the employees tell everyone to come and see you or telling everyone you’re losers. 7)Talk with the owner about guest lists and guest policies beforehand so you’ll know where you and your guests stand. This will avoid bad scenes created at the door with your guests who you want to be in a receptive state of mind toward your group. 8)Dress with some conscious thought about how you look as a group, on stage. No matter what you decide to wear, make it a calculated choice rather than looking like you just got off work as a mechanic and didn’t bring along a change. 9)Plan your sets carefully, considering the length of the set, pacing, and where you should place your strongest material. Generally, if you have a potential hit single or other very commercial material, begin and end with it. If you’re going to be the last set, put it at the beginning of your performance. Record people frequently have other places to go and are anxious to leave. If you play a couple of less commercial tunes to open with and think you’ll ‘finish strong,’ you’ll find when you hit the heavy ones that they have already gone. 10)Make sure all information concerning the showcase is conveyed to the whole group. Good luck!!

JANUARY 24 – FEBRUARY 6

Previously in the Songmine Collection:

• Songmine: Looking at the 80’s Part Two by John Braheny
• Songmine: Looking at the 80’s Part One by John Braheny
• Songmine: Publishing Yourself: Developing a Filing System by John Braheny
• Songmine: Administration Deals & Starting Your Own Company by John Braheny
• Songmine: Tough Enough To Publish Yourself? by John Braheny
• Songmine: The Nashville/LA Barrier Crumbles by John Braheny
• Songmine: Message Songs Part 2 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Message Songs Part 1 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Rhyme by John Braheny
• Songmine: “The Knack” A 3rd Point of View by John Braheny
• Songmine: For the non-writing artist: Where do you find original material? by John Braheny
• Songmine: For the non-writing artist: Why you need original material by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 6 by John Braheny
• Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 5 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 4 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 3 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 2: Research and Spotting
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 1
• Songmine: The Chances for Advances by John Braheny
• Songmine: What a Record Company Needs to Know – Part 6: Attorneys by John Braheny
• Songmine: What a Record Company Needs to Know – Part 5: The Professional Team by John Braheny
• Songmine: What a Record Company Needs to Know – Part 4: What Makes This Act Marketable? by John Braheny
• Songmine: What A Record Company Needs to Know : Part 3
• Songmine: What A Record Company Needs to Know: Part 2 by John Braheny
• Songmine: What A Record Company Needs to Know: Part 1 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Getting the Most from the Trades Part 4 
• Songmine: Getting the Most from the Trades Part 3 by John Braheny
• Getting the Most from the Trades
• Songmine: Publishing III 
• Songmine: Leave Your Ego at the Door
• Songmine: “Feedback: Why some publishers won’t give it”
• Songmine: Dealing with Rejection by John Braheny
• “Music in Print” – A Songmine Column from Music Connection Magazine March 19-April 1, 1981

About Songmine and Music Connection Magazine:

John Braheny met Eric Bettelli and Michael Dolan right before they were going to publish Music Connection magazine. Eric and Michael wanted to get their publication out to as many songwriters as they could. They had already heard of the LA Songwriters Showcase, and of John and his partner, Len Chandler. John’s goal was to advertise the schedule of guest speakers and performers at the weekly Showcase… so they made a deal. 

They published John’s Songmine column (he had never before written a magazine article!) in their very first edition, in November 1977. Trading out the column for advertising, this arrangement continued for many years. Plus, Eric and Michael came to the Showcase each week and distributed free copies to the songwriters!

Those articles became so popular that (book agent and editor) Ronny Schiff offered John’s articles to F&W Media, where they became the backbone of John’s textbook, The Craft and Business of Songwriting. As a follow-up, Dan Kimpel (author, songwriter, teacher), who had also worked at LASS, took on the Songwriting column at Music Connection magazine which continues to this day! You can subscribe to get either hard copies or online.

A John Braheny Songmine column from the archives…

Accession Number: C000000137-026-002 Document/Digital File, “Looking at the 80’s Part Two”, OCR converted text under same Accession Number

(Digitally converted text. Some errors may occur)

JANUARY 10 – JANUARY 23

Songmine
Looking At The 80’s by John Braheny

PART TWO

Last issue I wrote about the effect of audio-visual technology on performers. There are some products and developments we can look forward to in the 80’s that will influence both our time and ability to be creative.Mass manufacture of miniature electronic circuitry has given us progressively more compact and less expensive toys. We see capitalism at its best in the intense competition to bring us the smallest, most versatile, high performance, reasonably priced electronic gadgetry the world has seen,and it’s only beginning.Here are some more innovations:

Personal computers — Fifteen years ago if someone said they had their own computer at home I would have visualized an enormous machine costing a million dollars with lots of people feeding it programs and data. Now you can go to Radio Shack and get one the size of a typewriter for $600.00 (last time I looked) and the competition among manufacturers is heavy. People are now learning computer programming like they learned to type and are turning out lots of valuable programs (software) for every conceivable use. Among the musicians developing computer programs is Jim Gordon who will be interviewed at the Songwriters Showcase on February 6. Jim has created a program to help in composing film scores which does the conversions from feet and frames to seconds and computes click track timing and bars of music necessary. He’s also created one to figure out recording budgets. If you can’t type and have difficulty in math it will save you hours of work. There is a music writing program available that plays the notes as you press the typewriter-styled keys so you can hear and see the note simultaneously. This would allow writers to store melodies they create — a definite advantage if you’re a terrible singer. There is another side benefit to this type of program. As you continue to use it you gradually learn to write the music yourself and don’t have to wait to get to your computer.The range of possibilities for useful programs is limited only by your imagination and programming skill.

Communications Satellites — More and more companies are either putting in orbit their own satellites or leasing access to existing ones. There is now some controversy brewing about some cable TV stations who, by virtue to their access to satellites, can beam their shows over half the earth. This is upsetting to the major networks because it’s possible for a little station somewhere in Iowa to reach as many people as NBC. They can also do it very cheaply and the cost of both the earth stations and satellites is dropping fast. There is fantastic potential for performers because there are so many unused cable channels available and therefore plenty of opportunity for new and established artists to be heard and seen. It would be possible to have a new talent channel that would continuously showcase new acts. Imagine calling a booking agent in Chicago or Podunk and saying, “I’ll be in your area in a couple of months and I’d like to play your circuit. I’ll be on the talent network at 2 p.m. your time. Have a look and call me back.” On the other end the booker checks out your show or, if he’s busy, he sets up his programmable video cassette recorder to tape it automatically, then he shows it to club owners to get you gigs in his area. You can see the possibilities are mind-boggling. Plays and musical theatre pieces could find backers and producers; songwriters and publishers could pitch songs; producers could shop acts; etc., etc.

There’s much more to these new developments than I have space to deal with here. If you’re interested I’d like to recommend a book called “The Wired Society—A Challenge for Tomorrow” by the world’s foremost systems author, James Martin. It’s a brilliant and visionary book that explores the future ramifications of the telecommunications revolution. After reading it your mind will be buzzing with ways these changes will benefit you as a performer. It will make you look forward to the 80’s with hope and excitement!

Previously in the Songmine Collection:

• Songmine: Looking at the 80’s Part One by John Braheny
• Songmine: Publishing Yourself: Developing a Filing System by John Braheny
• Songmine: Administration Deals & Starting Your Own Company by John Braheny
• Songmine: Tough Enough To Publish Yourself? by John Braheny
• Songmine: The Nashville/LA Barrier Crumbles by John Braheny
• Songmine: Message Songs Part 2 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Message Songs Part 1 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Rhyme by John Braheny
• Songmine: “The Knack” A 3rd Point of View by John Braheny
• Songmine: For the non-writing artist: Where do you find original material? by John Braheny
• Songmine: For the non-writing artist: Why you need original material by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 6 by John Braheny
• Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 5 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 4 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 3 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 2: Research and Spotting
• Songmine: Scoring Films on a Low Budget Part 1
• Songmine: The Chances for Advances by John Braheny
• Songmine: What a Record Company Needs to Know – Part 6: Attorneys by John Braheny
• Songmine: What a Record Company Needs to Know – Part 5: The Professional Team by John Braheny
• Songmine: What a Record Company Needs to Know – Part 4: What Makes This Act Marketable? by John Braheny
• Songmine: What A Record Company Needs to Know : Part 3
• Songmine: What A Record Company Needs to Know: Part 2 by John Braheny
• Songmine: What A Record Company Needs to Know: Part 1 by John Braheny
• Songmine: Getting the Most from the Trades Part 4 
• Songmine: Getting the Most from the Trades Part 3 by John Braheny
• Getting the Most from the Trades
• Songmine: Publishing III 
• Songmine: Leave Your Ego at the Door
• Songmine: “Feedback: Why some publishers won’t give it”
• Songmine: Dealing with Rejection by John Braheny
• “Music in Print” – A Songmine Column from Music Connection Magazine March 19-April 1, 1981

About Songmine and Music Connection Magazine:

John Braheny met Eric Bettelli and Michael Dolan right before they were going to publish Music Connection magazine. Eric and Michael wanted to get their publication out to as many songwriters as they could. They had already heard of the LA Songwriters Showcase, and of John and his partner, Len Chandler. John’s goal was to advertise the schedule of guest speakers and performers at the weekly Showcase… so they made a deal. 

They published John’s Songmine column (he had never before written a magazine article!) in their very first edition, in November 1977. Trading out the column for advertising, this arrangement continued for many years. Plus, Eric and Michael came to the Showcase each week and distributed free copies to the songwriters!

Those articles became so popular that (book agent and editor) Ronny Schiff offered John’s articles to F&W Media, where they became the backbone of John’s textbook, The Craft and Business of Songwriting. As a follow-up, Dan Kimpel (author, songwriter, teacher), who had also worked at LASS, took on the Songwriting column at Music Connection magazine which continues to this day! You can subscribe to get either hard copies or online.