john

Hey gang I'm doing some board house keeping this week. The Draft Song Critique board is now closed and the posts are moved to the Song Critique board. The Song Critique board description includes a request to use tags, including draft song posts. Please start applying tags to your new topics. It makes it much easier to find and manage topics of a similar type within broader ranging boards. Any issues, please just let me know! Cheers John

Hey gang I'm doing some board house keeping this week. The off-topic board seemed like a good idea, but it hasn't really taken off. So,... off-topic posts now all have the tag off-topic and are moved to the Musician's Lounge (the description is updated to make it clear that off-topic posts are now to be posted there). In addition the description includes a request to apply the off-topic tag to new off-topic posts. As we move forward I would ask members to start applying tags to their new topics. It makes it much easier to find topics of a similar type within broader ranging boards. Any issues, please just let me know! Cheers John

Awesome Steve! Good to see that you are ready for this. It’s pretty essential for artists, producers, labels etc. and an inevitable step for your desired trajectory. It says a lot about your progress on your journey! Happy for you my friend.

Hey Chris Glad to hear you are taking your approach to your music and our community seriously. It takes a lot of effort to improve at your craft, and if it is worth that investment in your music, then your music has to be worth significant effort in the other areas necessary to make it viable. For example, learning to promote yourself properly, learning about typical contracts, or different income streams. Even music remains a hobby, it can be an expensive one. The way I see: it, I kind of owe the people who believe in me, my partner for her willingness to let me invest so much of my money and time in my music, my friends for support and for years of listening to me talk about it. I owe them at least the respect that I work hard and take it seriously. To my partner particularly I owe at least me trying to earn some money if only to offset the costs of getting gear. The truth is, if you make money above basic costs, a lot goes on extra gear. Especially in the early days. It’s like the Theory Of Guitars: x = y + 1 Where: x is the ideal number of guitars and y is the number of guitars you have now Personally, I have grand ideas for making and performing music. The studios I want to work in, the players I’d like to work with, my home studio set up, my own instruments etc. it all costs money. It’s a lot easier to justify all that, even to myself, If I am earning from my music. Even if I wasn’t going to earn, I owe it to myself, to my music, to at least do enough to give my music a fighting chance.

You can do it either way, though there are pros and cons with each. You don’t need to be a member of royalty collection agencies for each country you play in or your music is played in. Most PROs have reciprocal agreements with foreign PROs specifically to avoid the need for this. The idea is simple. Say you are a member of ASCAP and your music plays in the U.K.. PRS for Music (U.K. PRO) will collect U.K. earned royalties and send those fees to ASCAP for distribution. That said, there can be huge delays in foreign territory collections. If you are a member of ASCAP and want to deal with PRS directly, you simply join PRS, and sign some paperwork with ASCAP to opt out of royalty collection in the U.K. This option was available pre-internet, though there were less reciprocal agreements in place. Probably more of an issue in each country was the effectiveness of collection as reporting was a manual process. Some countries still rely upon manual reporting. The trouble is that that manual reporting affects the collection of fees etc. no matter who you are registered with. This is because the foreign PRO collects the money no matter if registered with them directly or they are doing it to honour a reciprocal agreement. Distribution, however, is a very different matter. Every company has different policies. There’s a lot who swear by their local collection agency, and a lot that go by territory specific PROs, but I don’t know that there is a universal right way to do it. It kind of depends on who your home PRO is and who the foreign PRO is. … and I agree with Clay, great post.

hey William Wow. An interesting toe dip. For me it has a mix of a few genres going on, but a strong flavour of that post-punk early new romantic feel… New Order meets Joy Division and The Damned, with some distinctly more modern elements. I like it! Cheers John

unfortunately it doesn’t embed Emily. I’ll see if there is a way to add support. A nice piece again! A couple of weeks will go by and this will be gleaming. We really should update your interview / feature and maybe do the same on our other sites over time?

I’m intrigued. It’s early days, but I know you will devotedly carve something really great from this. Just now it still has to reveal it’s form. I’m looking forward to hearing more Steve.

Thanks Steve. I wrote a lengthy reply exploring and explaining, but it read like pretentious drivel. Annoying when sincerity makes poop pies of your truth! I tried a briefer, less complete version. Same result, so… To sum it up, the way you put your question lead me to explore my own thinking and journey. Yes there is something to what you say in terms of searching. Interesting!

Hey great to see you back on the boards Hari! You can't go wrong with iZotope Ozone.

All drafted at the same time. Though, verse 3 was the longest to settled into it’s finished form. I tried to approach it like a lay up. Verse 1 & 2 helping establishing an emotional space ready for the contrast of verse 3 hopefully having that bit more punch. As for the rhythm… I’ll take a look at that. Thnx MP!

Thanks Peggy, Just a straight phone recording with a little EQ, compression and reverb.

Thanks Mahesh! Not too dated in feel?

Thanks Jim! I wanted it to be apolitical. Hopefully where it touches on politics it is about things politicians commonly share.

Thanks Clay. Sorry for the late reply. It’s flattering to have a comparison with Terry.

Great to see your working process MP! I’d love to see this as it evolves. What’s your next step?

Hey I started writing this on Tuesday. It’s still very rough, just a verse and chorus but It’s a wee experiment. The title is very much a working title. I had to call it something! The chorus isn’t complete. I hate wasting song real estate! So I’ll probably change the lyrics for chorus line 3. So far it doesn’t really reveal what it is about. I’m not going to tell you yet! It’s not a grand reveal or anything, but I want the song to reveal what it’s about, and I want the emotional journey/connection to be there. If I just say, it might rob the song of any power it might have. Walk With Me Verse I watch TV just to feel another moment passing blindly It’s so unreal I close my eyes and start to cry Each shame I carry with me Until I die Chorus A heart that’s bleeding passion Walk with me now A heart that’s bleeding passion Walk with me Cheers John

Hi Gang You guessed it.. it’s time for New Music Friday! Please post up your current music projects. Anything from a melody, to a 1+1, through to a full production. Be as experimental as you want. As is now my usual I will post up another 1 take song I recorded on my phone a little later. Cheers John

Hey There are many answers to this question from many people. What is the most important aspect of your songs/music? For example, is it: the emotion the expression of your creativity a sense of accomplishment your connection to the listener hoped for adulation of fans the recognition by your peers money a long string of sexual partners the opportunity to see the world because you get to party. A lot. something else?

Hi gang We’ve a new trailer for Songstuff, created for the site by @GregB! Many thanks Greg!

Thanks Randy. Still writing, so it's still a long way from performance ready!

What kind of creative consultant and for what purpose? (I almost wrote porpoise, channeling some previously unknown New Jersey part of my being?)

Hi Cameron! Welcome to Songstuff. Have you made music for many games?

Hey Harry, welcome to Songstuff!

Thanks Steve! I like where this is going myself. I’ve more to post and several to write words for, including this!