I use a couple of different tip sheets to help me get leads on music libraries and/or publishers that are looking for music for various projects. The right tip sheet can be very helpful, but only if you know how to read them carefully and pay attention to the details. I’ve been using Taxi as one of my tip sheets for over 10 years now, and I remember when I first started using their service I would simply browse through the listing and submit songs based on just a few lines I would read. For... Read Full Story

Last week I got an email from one of the publishers I work with (Eric) asking if I had already received my royalty payment from BMI for a song I wrote which he got placed on the CW Network. The song had gotten a pretty good amount of airplay so the payment was significant enough for him to make sure everything was in order. Unfortunately it wasn’t. I told Eric that I had not received any payment from BMI for that particular song, but that I would contact them to find out what had happened. I... Read Full Story

As a film & TV songwriter we constantly have to keep in mind exactly what our client wants and try not to veer away from it during the songwriting and production process. I use to have the problem where I would start working on a project for a client and I’ll get just the right rhythm section going, (i.e.; drums, bass, percussion). Then I’ll start playing a riff, melody or even a particular sound that I really liked a lot but it didn’t fit the idea the client was looking for. I use to waste... Read Full Story

So I’ve been debating in my mind the whole lawsuit between Viacom and Google wondering who has the best interest of all involved; ie the public, copyright holders etc. If you read a lot of the online comments and forums surrounding this discussion you’ll find that a majority favors Google and want content to be literally “free” for everyone. In a way I can understand that train of thought because after all we’ve all been taught to believe that “if it’s on the internet, it’s free”. Many people... Read Full Story

Back in late March I was the unexpected recipient of a great April Fool’s joke by Scott Dorsey of Recording Magazine. I was so fooled by the prank that I even posted a blog about it (Louder is not Better). Now, granted that if I had read the article on April 1st I probably would’ve picked up on the gag, but I got the magazine around March 27th. Read Full Story

Recently I had the good fortune to get a lot of airplay from CW Network on one of my dance instrumental songs. My wife was pretty excited about it and later asked me “how much did you make from it?” Don’t get her wrong, she is not materialistic or anything like that, but she was simply asking the same question that so many people ask when their song gets airplay. However my answer was the same as almost every songwriter has to confront with. “I Don’t Know”. At least not yet. Read Full Story

A lot of sound engineers and producers will say “never mix with headphones”. I say; “mix your music with headphones only if there’s no other alternative”. Plus I would add that you should not mix with headphones if you’re mixing for an album or for something that will become the end result with no further production involved (ie; commercially released download or streaming). With that said however, there are situations where you can do good mixes with headphones. Examples are demos for... Read Full Story

Lately we’ve been seeing a shift by established Artists who are moving away from the major record labels and releasing albums independently online. Groups like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have shown that they can sell a significant amount of albums without being signed to a major label. Even country veteran Dolly Parton has joined the new music revolution and has seen sales that have eluded her for over a decade. But what all of these Artists have in common is the fact that they have... Read Full Story

There is an editorial on the April ‘08 issue of Recording Magazine (available now to Taxi members) from Scott Dorsey which I feel highlights the lack of interest the recording industry has taken towards achieving top quality sound recordings. In the article, Dorsey talks about “how louder is better when it comes to mastering your albums”. Dorsey suggests that it’s ok to sacrifice the dynamic ranges in recording mixes for the sake of getting your mix to sound louder. This is a concept that is... Read Full Story

I think by now all of us know the impact that online communities like MySpace and Facebook have had in helping Artists and songwriters get exposure that we otherwise would not have had. There are even a few cases where Artists have found songs on these community sites in which they’ve liked enough to have them cut on their albums, however these collaborations have been with independent Artists and I haven’t heard of any major Artists finding songs for their albums through any community... Read Full Story