Songwriter's Corner|

Reminder: Deadline for early bird discount to pre-register is Friday, July 31st (tomorrow). Get on it and email lee@leejohnsonsongs.com with your choices, available a la carte for 1) daylong workshop; 2) house concert; 3) one-to-one mentor sessions. See details below. Get your reservations made immediately to save $!!!”

We are excited to announce a weekend with Steve Seskin including a Daylong Workshop, House Concert and One to One mentor sessions, August 8 and 9!!!

When: Saturday, August 8th to Sunday, August 9th
Where: Weekend at Lee’s House – 3873 Bosque Court, Boulder, CO 80301
Time: 10:00 a.m. Saturday until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday
Cost: See below for full explanation

1) DAY LONG WORKSHOP: Sat., Aug. 8th – 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Packed with song craft skills, tips, techniques. Steve is a multi hit song writer and world class instructor!

Cost Day of Event: $75 for Non NSAI Members, $60 for NSAI Members. OR Pre Register by July 31 and SAVE $15 OFF!!! Cost Pre Register: $60 Non-NSAI Members, $45 NSAI Members.

Location: Lee’s house, address below. Please park out on Corriente Drive and walk approx 50 yards in the south Bosque Cul De Sac to Lee’s House.

2) HOUSE CONCERT: Sat., Aug. 8th, – 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Steve and his songs, some great stories and humor to go along with it, intimate House Concert setting. Pay at time of. RSVP lee@leejohnsonsongs.com

Cost: “suggested donation” $20 Non-NSAI Members, $10 NSAI Members

Location: Lee’s House, address below. Please park out on Corriente Drive same as workshop.

3) ONE-TO-ONE MENTOR SESSIONS: Sun., Aug. 9th, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Book in Advance! Steve is a true expert at all aspects of song craft and he breaks it down and makes it simple!

Cost: $100 per hour, $60 per ½ hour

Register: By appt only, BOOK NOW to get your spot on Sunday!!!

Location: Lee’s House, address below. Park any available spots.

REGISTRATION: For Daylong Workshop, House Concert, and One on Ones, email lee@leejohnsonsongs.com with questions and or to register.

Make Checks to STEVE SESKIN and mail to LEE JOHNSON.

For info on Steve see: http://www.steveseskin.com

Lee Johnson
3873 Bosque Court
Boulder, CO 80301
303-442-2379
lee@leejohnsonsongs.com

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MUSIC SUPERVISORS SOUND OFF ON GETTING YOUR MUSIC INTO FILM/TV

Getting your music into film and TV can be a golden ticket for building momentum for your music career. Yet that same momentum is needed to grab the attention of music supervisors — some of the busiest, most influential players in the industry. We asked our friends at the Guild of Music Supervisors to give us one piece of advice about getting your music into their world of film, TV, advertising, trailers and video games.

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1. Gabe Hilfer Music Supervisor (Black Swan, The Drop, Fury, Sleeping with Other People)

“When submitting music by an unknown act, I find it helpful when people put some bands that they may be compared to. Even though every artist is unique, I am more likely to check something out if I am a big fan of one of the bands they are similar to. Always put as much contact information into the metadata of the songs as possible. Often times we download music, but won’t get a chance to listen to it for weeks or sometimes months. If we love it and it works for a spot we are trying to fill, we need to know how to get in touch with you!”

2. Sean Fernald Music Supervisor (Maggie, Wishmaster, Forever Strong, Rage)

“Get to know the music supervisor. Make an effort. Cold calls never get noticed. It’s important to develop a friendly relationship with the supervisor. Get out and meet them at industry mixers, conferences, panels, movie premieres and screenings. Make sure your music is unique and make yourself real. Like the fox says in The Little Prince, “But if you tame me, then we shall need each other.”

3. Amanda Thomas Music Supervisor at Format Entertainment

“Make sure there are builds and changes in the music; a song should feel like it goes somewhere, even if only the instrumental is used. Always have instrumental versions and stems at the ready (and send them fast if requested!)”

4. Madonna Wade Reed Music Supervisor (American Crime, Reign)

“Make sure your music is appropriate for the project. Speak to friends who do have representation with reputable third party agencies. It’s smart for the artist, it’s smart for the supervisor. Songwriters are entering into legally binding agreements with strangers, so they need to protect themselves. It protects both parties.”

5. Jason Kramer Music Supervisor at Elias Arts, DJ at 89.9 KCRW, Instructor at UCLA

“I look at it a little bit differently. I want music that is familiar to the masses. If you want to get your music into a commercial, you should really consider pushing yourself out there as an artist. You need to have an audience when you pitch to a brand. We have to find stuff that already has a ‘like’ for other people.”

6. Vanessa Jorge Perry Music Supervisor (Aspect Radio, Apollo, Final Destination, Kung Fu Panda 2, Monte Carlo, Spy Kids)

“Make sure your music is awesome…sound quality and all! If you’re finding it hard getting your music placed maybe find a third party company or music library that can rep your music.”

7. Cybele Pettus Senior Music Supervisor at Electronic Arts

“Keep it short. Pick one song to send me first and make it your best. It should be new, preferably yet-to-be-released. Take the time to know our company. Familiarize yourself with the kind of music [we use] and how. Include a short (short!) blurb in the body of the e-mail about the artist (country of origin, label affiliation, tour plans, etc). Bottom line: if you make it simple and specific, you make it easier for us to recognize your masterpiece.”

8. Mathieu Schreyer Music Department (Chef, Hotel Noir), DJ at 89.9 KCRW

“Always try to place to songs you love first and foremost. Always seek advice from more experienced supervisors if you can.”

9. John Houlihan Music Supervisor, President of Guild of Music Supervisors

“Don’t lead with songs that are centered on specific names or specific year references. Specific city names in a lyric can sometimes limit the licensing potential. It is great to have these songs in your personal catalog, but the media licensing community needs songs that say ‘I love you,’ not songs that say ‘I love you Betty.’ The specificity of names and places can limit our ability to apply the song in a wide variety of scenes. Even if a character is coincidentally named Betty, any use would likely be too ‘on the nose’ to ever put in a scene.”

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Visit the Guild of Music Supervisors online: http://www.guildofmusicsupervisors.com

Now that you know how to get your music placed, find out how to make ASCAP royalties from your placements at our Cue Sheet Corner. [http://www.ascap.com]

By Rachel Perkins, ASCAP Film & TV Department

http://www.ascap.com/playback/2015/06/action/getting-your-music-into-filmtv.aspx

[Thanks to J. Michael Dolan for letting us know about this article.]

http://www.jmichaeldolan.com/aboutnew.php

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COMBO’s Third Annual Songwriting Contest Now Open – Ends August 31st

Hear ye, hear ye: The Colorado Music Business Organization announces its Third Annual  Songwriting Contest! Winning songs will be submitted to *REAL* publishing companies, music supervisors, and more. We’ll also be putting all entrants names in the hat (literally) and will be drawing one name for a FREE ENTRY to this year’s DURANGO SONGWRITERS EXPO at the Omni Interlocken Hotel & Resort in Broomfield, October 1st – 3rd. Do you have a song you have written and Ten ($10) Dollars laying around not doing anything? Read on because this contest is for YOU!! Individual members who are currently up on their dues may submit one song at no charge; bands get free entry for two songs. The contest starts May 1st and will end on August 31st, 2015.

COMBO will put the top scoring songs on a compilation CD and hand deliver to publishers, music supervisors, record company people, and producers that have agreed to accept them, along with a cover letter telling a little about COMBO and about each of the songs, like who the writers thought the song might be good for, i.e., this country song is good for Carrie Underwood.  One compilation CD will be given out for each song to the songwriter(s). In other words, if you have five co-writers on the song, one of you will receive a CD which you may copy for the other writers. However, be cautioned – making copies to sell or to give out to other friends and/or family will be in violation of copyright laws. Please do not do that.

No songwriter judges – just people who might buy your music. The panel will be made up of a variety of people who still buy music. A Committee of five (5) judges, none of whom write songs but are music lovers will have the final decision. The reason for this is so that there will be no conflict of interest or an off-chance that someone will steal your song. These people have experience in the music business – they are just NOT songwriters.

Failure to follow the following will disqualify your song: No “bad” words! If you wrote your song with a “must have” naughty word, please mute the word on the mp3 track and write (bleep!) on the lyric sheet (i.e. we will only accept songs for the contest that are “Radio Ready”), etc. Also, the entry fee must be paid by the end of the contest and received by September 5th, 2015.

Examples of judging criteria will consist of, but not be limited to: Do the lyrics ‘hit you in the heart? Does the melody bring out some emotion such as passion, solitude, love, excitement, danger? Do the lyrics make sense? Or make sense in the context of the melody? Are the lyrics different? Or do the lyrics copy lyrics from other songs that are already well known (you really don’t want to do that)? Would the song have a good chance of being placed in a movie, a television show, or in a commercial? Instrumentals are welcomed as many of the aforementioned shows are seeking music only songs.

The songs will be presented for judging “anonymously” – the judges will not know the name(s) of the songwriters, and will not know even the name of the song. Song submissions will be presented to the judges as a number. That way a judge cannot “play favorites”. Email confirmation of accepted entries will have our song number registration (i.e. Song #113). Names of the judging panel are confidential and will not be shared even with each other so that the judges can not communicate with each other to get opinions.

Songs are to be submitted as attachments to songcontest@coloradomusic.org in MP3 format so that contest staff may place the songs on Dropbox for each judge to listen from the privacy of their own homes. Please also attach a Lyric Sheet for each song.

The top rated songs will then be placed on the compilation CD. We will try to get 20 songs on but cannot promise that due to the length of the songs total.

songcontest@coloradomusic.org
Send your payment checks to:
COMBO
P.O. Box 18186
Denver CO 80218

Remember: If you are currently paid up on your dues, you get one song entry at no charge! Bands get two free entries!

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