Songwriting Pro is a community for songwriters who are ready to WRITE like a pro, DO BUSINESS like a pro and CONNECT to pros. Hundreds of songwriters from all over the world use Songwriting Pro to get their songs in front of music industry professionals, find collaborators and gain real-world, real-time knowlege about the music business. We'd love to have you join us... so what are you waiting for? Join today!
If you get a publishing deal, can you just sit back, sip coffee, write songs and let your publisher get them recorded by major artists? Think it works this way? Here's the truth in just about 3 minutes. Listen up!
You can listen to all of our latest episodes with a CLICK HERE!
Songwriting Pro Membership allows you to connect to the real music business- no matter where you live and even if you don't "know anybody." Get all the details at the link below... and take the next big step in your songwriting career!
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS!
TRANSCRIPT:
Today, I want to talk about the truth about publishing deals. The sneaky thing about publishing deals is that they are NOT an easy button. They are not a magic bullet.
A lot of writers aim at publishing deals thinking, hey, if I can just get a publishing deal, I can sit in a room, drink their coffee, write songs, and then the magical publishing fairies are gonna run out and get my songs recorded by Maroon Five or Miley Cyrus, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, or whoever.
But the thing is, that's not really the case these days. And I'm not sure if it ever has been the case. I know when I moved to Nashville, that was my goal. I didn't go to get into music publishing, I went to get a publishing deal, have a team that does all the magic, and I just sit back, write songs all day,cashing checks and listening to my songs on the radio on the way home.
It doesn't really work that way. So obviously, writing songs is an important part of the business, that's part of the business only you can do. Nobody else can write your songs for you. But the publishers, they're working hard, too. It is not easy for them to go out and get cuts.
they're out there hustling, trying to build relationships, trying to get songs into the right hands, and trying to get their songwriters into the best rooms possible. These days, a lot of publishers are really matchmakers, they're calendar-keepers, they're trying to get you in the right rooms, they work your calendar, trying to get you in the rooms with artists, producers, and other well-connected writers.
They're trying to put you in the rooms where you have the best chance to win. And that's smart.
But it's important for you to go out and build your OWN relationships, to get to know people to get yourself in some of those rooms, because a publisher may not be able to do that all the time for you. And definitely, if you're both working to get yourself in the right rooms, that's going to help a lot, and it's going to be a major advantage for you.
So you have to be knowledgeable about the business as a whole. It's not a good long term game plan to go, "I'm just gonna sit in room and I'm just gonna write songs with kind of whoever ends up being in my room. I'm not really gonna think about how we can help each other put our songs in positions to win. And I'm not even thinking about what's on the radio, what works. I'm just not gonna think about any of that. I'm just going to sit in the room and write and let my publisher make magic happen."
First of all, with that attitude, you probably won't get a publishing deal because they'll be able to sniff that out that you're not playing on all the levels you need to, but even if you do land one, it's probably going to be a short lived one. Because they're not gonna be able to push that boulder up the hill alone. They need you pushing. So it's important for you to understand other parts of the business and what your role as a professional songwriter really is.
This has been 3 Minutes & The Truth.
God bless,
Brent
PS- Thanks for stopping by Songwriting Pro! I appreciate it. As a matter of fact, I want to give you a gift just for your visit. It's my FREE PDF e-book, "6 Ways To Make Your Songs More Commercial." It'll help you write songs that artists want to sing and fans want to hear. You can get this awesome gift at 6simpleways.SongwritingPro.com.
Who is Brent Baxter?
Brent is an award-winning songwriter with songs recorded by Alan Jackson (the top 5 Country hit "Monday Morning Church"), Randy Travis, Lady A, Joe Nichols, Ray Stevens, Steve Cropper, Andy Griggs, Buddy Jewell, Lonestar, Gord Bamford (the #1 hit and CCMA Single Of The Year "When Your Lips Are So Close"), The Sound (the #1 hit and Dove-nominated Southern Gospel Song Of The Year "Can I Get A Witness"), Wilburn & Wilburn (#1 hit "Hallelujah Homecoming"), The LeFevre Quartet and more!
