Splits Before Hits
How do you measure a contribution — a catchy title vs. an entire first and second verse? What if Jack writes 90% of the lyric on the hook but the room was stuck on the pay-off line until Will spouted it in one fell swoop after being verbally MIA the whole session? Suddenly the whole song comes to life. Is there some objective scale on which to weigh a song? Let’s discuss.
Songwriters: Where Are You?
Nobody stays on top forever. That’s why they call it “15 Minutes.” And when your shelf-life has diminished you might wish you did something about the future of your bank account back when you had the chance to change the system. So when the younger gens have taken over you’ll have savings. And you can stay in your house. Perhaps even buy another.
Deciphering The Spotify Spin
Spotify professes to be our friend — a champion of the creator — the birther of the “Spotify Secret Genius” — a manufactured honor conceived to pander to our egos and a title that is now so laughably transparent. For a service that preaches the value of music and the people who create it, they sure are trying pretty hard to f*ck us over…as covertly as possible.
Record Store Re-Imagined
Is there room for a new Music Space in a digital world — where enthusiasts can still convene and discover…not just their favorite bands but each other. A space where common ground brings people together physically and passionately under the same roof. Like food in a restaurant. Film in a theatre. A space where hardly anyone knows your name but we all know we came for the same reason.
Songwriters Vs. Spotify
Spotify strokes the creative community with writing camps and lavish parties. They blast our faces on Sunset Boulevard Billboards proclaiming us a Secret Genius for writing such big hits and host award shows in our honor. Very nice. But what they don’t want to do…is pay us.
Spotify Secret Genius Awards
In light of Spotify coming to the table and negotiating a more equitable distribution of income with the songwriting community, Michelle Lewis and I, after receiving personal invitations, decided we’d go to the awards show this year. She called a babysitter, I got eyelash extensions, and off we drove to the Ace Hotel for what turned out to be an interesting evening…
Mayday Mayday: Calling ALL Songwriters
Unless you live under a rock, you must have heard of the MMA —The Music Modernization Act—the copyright reform legislation so desperately needed by songwriters. It’s the one we’ve been fighting for for years. Well, it’s being blocked by SESAC. That's right, the PRO SESAC. So roll up your sleeves.
Join The Noise
If the business model of 20 years ago was as it is today, that favorite song of yours...the one you sang to your baby at bedtime ("Surfer Girl" for me), or danced to at your wedding, might never have been written because the writer who wrote it might not have been able to sustain themselves long enough to stay in the game. Well, things are about to change. Hopefully!
For Love Or For Money
There’s plenty of talk about how the music business is thriving and worth billions. It's all true except that those billions aren’t making their way to the pockets of the writers who create the product that make a music business possible.
