The Latest Scams—and How Songwriters Can Avoid Them
Over the years, my songwriting students have often shared about being contacted by unscrupulous individuals and companies intent on separating them from their money. In some cases, they were promised a song publishing deal—contingent on their paying an exorbitant amount to have their demos “properly produced.” These were actually overpriced demo services masquerading as publishers.
Some students paid to have their songs recorded and included on compilation albums that would be sent to hundreds of music industry professionals and radio stations. These albums of poorly produced recordings of amateurs’ songs wound up in trash bins.
Other writers invested thousands of dollars to engage independent song pluggers who praised their songs and promised to deliver them to top recording artists and decision-makers. Many of these pluggers formerly held credible jobs in the music biz but now earn their living by representing amateurs. To secure representation by one of these pluggers the only writing skill required was the ability to write a check.
There are independent pluggers who pitch songs by writers who have previously had success. But to the best of my knowledge, an independent plugger has never secured a major label recording for a writer who had not previously had their songs legitimately published or recorded.
But recently, several new, particularly vile scams have emerged, and I have been bombarded with messages from writers who have been targeted. I received these messages from my social media followers:
“Jason, a couple of weeks ago I was contacted by ‘Dierks Bentley,’ asking a number of very pertinent questions about how I got into songwriting, my influences, etc. A very interesting conversation—and he offered to meet me at the Country2Country Festival in Glasgow. Then he asked how much I would pay for a ticket, and it rapidly generated into a bitcoin conversation. This was a very patient, clever scammer.”
The previous day, I had been contacted by a former songwriting student who shared that he had been contacted by a pop superstar who had found one of the writer’s songs online and planned to record it. After multiple online interactions with the artist’s manager the writer was contacted by other celebrities who requested donations to support their charities, asked for payments to cover administrative fees and shipping of prizes, and offered V.I.P concert tickets. In each instance they requested that these payments be made with bitcoin or gift cards “so they can retain their privacy and not report these transactions to the government.”
A Facebook friend wrote, “I had the most evil scam come my way. I was approached by fake management of my favorite country artist. They knew everything about me, every co-write etc., and I fell for it … a 73-year-old man’s dream.”
Another former workshop attendee was contacted by “Mick Jagger.” The aspiring songwriter was told by the artist’s manager that the Rolling Stones were going to record her song.
WOW!!! What a thrill! What a huge validation! WHAT A SCAM!!!!
These emails and contacts via social media can seem authentic and can be
quite persuasive. In most cases the email address is almost identical to the actual artist’s online address, sometimes differing by only a dash or a period.
It is easy to think that only the most gullible would fall for these schemes. But the scammers are savvy and know just what to say to hook in hungry songwriters who are eager to believe that after years of hard work, they have finally been discovered. One target of scammers shared, “It was the most credible operator I’ve encountered so far.”
I’ve personally been the target of a different type of scam that has recently become popular. In this scenario, the writer is contacted via social media and asked if they can be hired to write a song for a special occasion, i.e. their child’s birthday. They are typically offered $500 for their services. After multiple conversations the writer is told that an overpayment—for example, $2,500—has been mistakenly issued to his or her account. They are asked to refund the $2,000 overpayment. But in fact, no payment has been made. FYI, I did not take the bait.
How to Protect Yourself
If you are contacted by someone claiming to be a celebrity, remember that if it seems too good to be true—it almost certainly is. The reality is that superstars do not spend their days online seeking out songs written by unpublished songwriters. Nor would they be putting in writing that they are evading reporting their transactions to the government.
Experts advise doing an internet search on the celebrity’s name with the word “scam” to see if imposter schemes have been reported. Typos and syntax that sounds like it was generated by someone whose primary language is not English are also giveaways. But with the advent of AI it has become easier for fraudsters to generate well-crafted messages.
Phone the artist’s management office. Don’t call the number that might be provided in the email; a bit of research should yield the actual phone number. Request confirmation that your song is being recorded, and/or that any requests for payments by bitcoin or gift cards are legit. (Spoiler Alert: They are not!)
Remember: there is scum in every pond. Be careful before you dive in.
Jason Blume is the author of 6 Steps to Songwriting Success, This Business of Songwriting, and Inside Songwriting (Billboard Books). His latest book, Happy Tails—Life Lessons from Rescued Cats and Kittens (SPS/Blue Mountain Arts) combines his love of photography and cats. Jason’s songs are on Grammy-nominated albums and have sold more than 50,000,000 copies. They have been recorded by artists including Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, the Oak Ridge Boys, and John Berry (earning a BMI Million-Air award for garnering more than 1 million broadcasts) and have been in hit TV shows and movies. A guest lecturer at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (co-founded by Sir Paul McCartney) and at the Berklee School of Music, he has been interviewed as a songwriting expert for CNN, NPR, the BBC, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times. To receive a free video, “3 Things You MUST Do for Success” and weekly tips to enhance creativity click on https://tinyurl.com/yckat6fc. Join Songwriting With Jason Blume on Facebook for free events and daily tips. For information about his workshops, recorded lessons, webinars, additional articles, and more, visit www.jasonblume.com.
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