Get Your Career in Gear for 2016 With a Look Back at MusicWorld’s Top 10 Stories of 2015
BMI’s MusicWorld Online is filled to the brim with expert advice on career development and the business of songwriting. It’s also your guide to what’s happening in the industry, whether it’s an interview with a top songwriter, an update on how BMI is protecting the creative process, or a valuable tip that you can use when getting your music out into the marketplace.
Take a look back at the top 10 most popular MWO articles of 2015 and you’ll see how BMI’s MusicWorld can impact your world. And, if you haven’t already subscribed to MusicWorld, do it now! Enjoy!
Final Ruling for Air Travel With Musical Instruments
As of March 6, 2015, it’s official and no longer at the discretion of the various airlines. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, musicians who board planes must be allowed to carry on their instruments provided they fit in the overhead bin. If this space isn’t large enough, the musician is also permitted to purchase a second seat in which to stow their musical companion. Read more…
How to Start Your Own Music Publishing Company
Some songwriters establish a music publishing company with the intention of publishing only their own material. Songwriters who retain their publishing rights earn both the writer’s share and the publisher’s share of any income their songs generate. In addition to earning twice the money, the other major benefit to self-publishing is that you control all creative and business decisions regarding your songs. Read more…
BMI Wins Pandora Rate Court Battle
In a victorious ruling for all BMI-affiliated songwriters, composers and music publishers, Broadcast Music, Inc. received a favorable decision from a New York Rate Court after a lengthy legal battle over the value of the BMI repertoire to the Pandora digital music service. Read more…
7 Tips for Instantly Better Lyrics
At its best, lyric writing is a magical mixture of creativity and storytelling that can bring your listener into a world you’ve created and hold them there for the length of your song. However, in order to create the perfect, tightly-scripted narrative that great lyrics possess, countless hours of writing and re-writing are often necessary. Read more…
It’s been said that great songs are rarely written—they are rewritten. Sometimes magic happens and we get a “gift”—a first draft of a song that truly needs no polishing. But more often, successful songwriters have to dig to find those gems. Read more…
Show - Don’t Tell: 3 Steps to Writing Better Lyrics
Our goal, when we share a song, is to evoke emotion in our listeners—to have them not only know what the singer is feeling, but to empathize—to feel the emotion. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by bringing your audience inside the world of your song—showing them a scene unfolding—instead of simply telling them how the singer feels. Read more…
A Conversation With Rhett Akins and Thomas Rhett
It’s the Monday after CMA Fest, and Rhett Akins and his son, Thomas Rhett, are taking a road trip to look at some land outside of Nashville. Thomas Rhett, who performed before thousands of fans at LP Field just days before, is coming off a hot streak of three back-to-back number one singles from his debut album, It Goes Like This, and is set to release his sophomore effort, Tangled Up, on September 25 on Valory Music Co. His current single, “Crash and Burn,” is climbing the charts. Akins, who built his career as a country artist in the mid ‘90s — peaking with the number one hit with “Don’t Get Me Started” in 1996 — is now an in-demand songwriter on Music Row, penning hits for Blake Shelton, Justin Moore and Jason Aldean, among others. Read more…
Pitch Perfect: How to Shop your Songs Pitching songs that are exceptional is a critical part of the equation for success—whether you write those songs or publish them. No matter how well you take care of business, it’s unlikely there will be any business to take care of—unless your songs are strong. Read more…
Managing Your Digital Brand: Part 3 – Crowdfunding Your Music Project
So far this series has examined strategies for using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to maximize your social media presence and build a community around your music. This third and final installment looks at crowd source funding, a must for many independent and even signed songwriters and performers in today’s music marketplace. Read more…
What to Look For in a Demo Singer
Running a Nashville recording studio for almost twenty years, I’ve seen - and heard - an incredible number of vocalists. When it comes to demo singers specifically, I’ve found that the best ones have a very specific and highly developed skill set that allows them to deliver beautiful, compelling renditions of clients’ songs day after day and year after year. As a songwriter, choosing a demo singer goes way beyond simply finding a vocalist with a good voice. I’ve put together a list of some of the most important things to look for when choosing a demo singer in order to help you decide. Read more…
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