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...
Almost from the start, two of the most frequently used effects in recording have been reverberation and compression. And with good reason—perhaps more than any other sound enhancer, each one has the ability to transform a bare-bones demo into a pro-leaning product. There’s a flip side, however. Some of these processors… 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...
I taught my first songwriting class at Los Angeles’ Pierce College in 1991. Back then, if my car radio were tuned to a pop station, it was likely I would hear chart-topping artists such as Michael Jackson, Wilson Phillips, Janet Jackson, Michael Bolton, Poison, and Roxette. During that same era, if… Read more...
Just as genres are different, so are the musical elements that best support them on a demo. BMI’s Creative team listens to music all day every day. Here’s what they had to say about what makes them turn up the volume on a demo. MaryAnn Keen, Creative, Nashville (Country) Let’s… Read more...
As we’ve often noted, giving everyone on the planet unbridled recording capability has had at least one significant downside—that is, never having to say never when it comes to piling on the takes. As a home recordist with a penchant for nitpicking when given the opportunity, for years I steered clear… Read more...
| Jun 30 2015 | BMI Licensing Sales Job Fair: Nashville, TN |
| Sep 12 2010 | West Coast Songwriters Conference: Los Altos, CA |
| Sep 11 2010 | West Coast Songwriters Conference: Los Altos, CA |
