News Archive
It was an incredible evening for BMI affiliates who made a strong showing at the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which were held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The dynamic night of song and celebration was the culmination of GRAMMY weekend, where several awards were presented prior to the…
Restless to Rock: Marti Frederiksen Keeps Working & Writing
Since even before getting started in music in the mid-80’s, Los Angeles native Marti Frederiksen has been driven by a love of making music and an innate restlessness. Specializing in straight-ahead rock, Frederiksen cut his teeth playing drums in bands, finding his creative voice and realizing an inner knack for…
BMI Brings Live Music to New England Brew Summit
BMI partnered with the Maine Brewers Guild to provide the musical entertainment at the 2020 New England Brew Summit, held recently (2/28) in Portland, Maine. BMI singer/songwriter Bre Kennedy was the featured performer at the Summit afterparty, which took place at Oxbow Blending & Bottling. The Nashville-based indie artist, who…
Tips for Writing Songs About Anything…But Love
At my BMI Nashville Songwriters’ Workshops, I screen and critique songs from each attendee. When I find songs that I believe are competitive with those being written by today’s top hitmakers, I forward them to ten music publishers who have agreed to listen. After the last BMI Workshop, I forwarded…
How to Write a Song That’s Fun to Listen to—and Fun to Sing
When it was suggested I write about songs that are fun to sing, the jukebox in my brain instantly thought of “The Name Game” (recorded by Shirley Ellis, written by Lincoln Chase and Shirley Elliston). Anyone of a certain age remembers plugging his or her name into the…
Indie Spotlight: Caitlyn Smith
Raised in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, Caitlyn Smith grew up singing in the church and at county fairs. She wrote her first songs at the age of eight, and convinced her parents she was meant to be an artist, eventually landing in Nashville. She’s composed songs for Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks,…
Indie Spotlight: Caitlyn Smith
Raised in small town Cannon Falls, Minnesota, Caitlyn Smith grew up singing in the church and at county fairs. She wrote her first songs at the age of eight, and convinced her parents she was meant to be an artist, eventually landing in Nashville. Now, in a time when everything…
Take Your Songwriting to the Next Level by Adding a Twist
To grab our listeners’ attention we need to separate our songs from the competition, and one way to accomplish this is by including an unexpected twist—an element of surprise. This article examines various ways to incorporate twists into lyrics and melodies. Story Songs With Surprise Endings “Ol’ Red” (written by…
How I Wrote That Song Spotlight: Panelist Natalie Hemby
Natalie Hemby (@nataliehemby) is a driving force among songwriters, revered as one of the top female scribes in the industry. Hemby signed her first publishing deal in 1997 and has since written songs recorded by artists Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, Eli Young Band, Lady Antebellum, Rosi Golan, Toby Keith, Little…
BMI Writer Caitlyn Smith Entertains Tennessee Broadcasters
BMI artist and songwriter Caitlyn Smith was the featured entertainment at the opening reception of the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters Annual Conference held August 12th in Murfreesboro, TN. Smith’s songs have been recorded by a number of country music’s biggest stars such as: Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Rogers, Dolly…