As manager of artists ranging from Rancid, The Interrupters and Blink-182 through to Dirt Nasty, The Glitch Mob and Elohim, Kevin Wolff has shrewdly overseen a diverse stable of music creators and helped each push the envelope and establish themselves in the competitive music marketplace. First via Deckstar and then through… Read more...
At a recent BMI Nashville Songwriters’ workshop, I heard a song that jumped out of the pile. Sounding fresh, original, and instantly memorable, it demanded to be forwarded to the ten publishers who have agreed to listen to the workshop songs I recommend. One week later, one of those publishers sent… Read more...
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 two… Read more...
Trying to navigate the music industry can be tricky, and as in any job, there are pitfalls for songwriters. The good news is, mistakes can be avoided. Here to weigh in on how to do just that is BMI’s Creative team, from LA to London. Jessa Gelt, BMI Creative, Los Angeles:… Read more...
Casting a song refers to making the determination of which artists your song is best suited for. To do it effectively requires an ability to intuit what attributes various artists are likely to be drawn to – melodically and lyrically – in the songs they choose. Just as a casting director’s… Read more...
In my experience, sometimes the best advice is the simplest. To that end, I’ve put together a few no-nonsense things to consider as you make your way in the songwriting world. Live with your songs When you finish a new song, that excitement often leads to the desire to… Read more...
Some practical approaches to using these popular tools of the trade Read more...
Every songwriter wants to develop their own voice, but not everybody knows how to go about doing it. Here are some tips from BMI’s Creative team about finding, and knowing what to do, with inspiration. David Streit, BMI Creative, Los Angeles When starting out, I believe sometimes it makes sense to… Read more...
The way that I like to describe what a music producer does is that a music producer is to a recording as a director is to a movie. In other words, the producer is responsible for everything from the musical arrangement decisions all the way to working with the vocalist and… Read more...
A songwriter recently posed an intriguing question: what can we do when we have a strong idea for a song, but realize that the song we’re writing is not turning out nearly as well as we hoped? How do we change direction? How can we switch gears when we have grown… Read more...
