Everything you need to know about Music Publishing

Watch this video for a pretty solid education about music publishing - that is how your songs (not the recordings you make) make you money.

It's very good.

And when you've watched it you can do yourself another favour.

As an unsigned or indie musician, there are 2 great companies that offer a great music publishing service. In the UK you should look at Sentric Music - they will, in fact, collect your royalties worldwide and you don't need to be UK based to join. Their service is free to join and they only take a small percentage of the royalties they collect.

They have a great article on the basics of music publishing here as well.

And then in the US, check out Song Trust. Their model requires an annual fee instead of a share of royalties.

Both companies are great options for new and unsigned bands - they offer short term deals and they take no ownership of your songs so you are free to go and do a deal with a larger publisher should that day come.

Oh, and they can be trusted!

Exactly what makes a hit song today?

This is brilliant and scary at the same time.

Might be that the very last thing you want as a DIY musician is a so-called 'formula' for a hit.

There are many other factors causing you to be a musician and pursuit of pop fame may well not be amongst them.

Good for you.

But, people, such as Jay Frank whose work I love, are putting songs under the microscope and working out what they can about how measurable factors affect their hit potential.

This may miss the point as far as lyrical, musical and emotional nuance is concerned but at the very least this data tells you what radio wants to play and therefore make a hit.

Read Jay's book - Future Hit DNA - and check out this post about the latest US data for this year.

Here's some of their up to the minute conclusions:

• The current song length average is 3:51.

• The current intro length average is 0:13.

• The average time that it takes for the first chorus to hit in top 10 hit Pop songs is 0:39.  This number has been stable over the last two quarters.

• Love/relationship themed songs have been in a steep decline since Q3-2010 (where they accounted for 63% of all songs), and now account for just 17% of all top 10 hit Pop songs. Hooking up themed songs have been on the rise since Q3-2010, and how account for the majority of top 10 hit Pop songs at 38%.  Inspirational themed songs have also been seeing a steady increase in number, climbing form 0% of songs in Q3-2010 to a now second place 25% of songs in Q2-2011.

I'd maintain that 'hooking up' is essentially the same subject material as 'love', but you get the point!

Read the whole thing here.

 

 

 

Great Songwriters

There's lots of little gems of advice in this piece from the Guardian where 5 songwriters pick their own favourite songwriter.

In each case there's a bit about what they think makes the other great - technique, subject matter, etc.

For example, Dianne Warren on Paul McCartney:

As a songwriter you need a gift for melody, and for saying something you've heard a million times in a different way. There are only so many notes and ideas, but you twist it and turn it and make it new, by the chords or melodies or a weird key change. In just a few years, the Beatles created this genius body of work, and those songs will never go away.

Well worth a read.

How to write great songs

And, from the same series as the previous post, here's very good advice on how to write great songs from people who have actually done it.

Like I said in the post on the main site yesterday - A song a day - one of the key steps to success as an aspiring musician is learning the skills you need. Learn them from experts and model your efforts on the techniques they use.

You can get some of that training in songwriting from this video.

Write a song a day

Here's a video from Jonathan Mann whose dedication to his art is unreal.

Read our new post on the main site about what writing a song a day can do for you.

 

Hit song metrics for 2011 - so far

I am very impressed by the data crunching that Jay Frank does in his book Future Hit DNA - we've looked at his stuff before here.

So, when he analyses all the hits of THIS year so far and tells you exactly what the science tells you about what is making a song a massive hit right now, I would take the time to take notice.

THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF INTROS IS 4.88 SECONDS
Intros are getting significantly shorter. Compared to last year, the average intro decreased by 37%. The Top 25 had an average intro length of 2.96 seconds. In fact, there were only two songs with an intro over 7 seconds. Last year, it was 2 of the Top 10. Now it’s 2 of the Top 25. And sales increased as a result. Expand to the Top 50 and it’s only 20% of the titles with intros longer than 7 seconds. That’s down from 48% last year. The chances of a song with a longer intro succeeding continue to decrease every year.

See what else he says here.

 

What makes a hit song - is it science?

We've had a few of these posts lately about what makes a song a hit - look back at the posts over the last few weeks to find them if you missed them.

Here's another one - and this time it's about whether you can use all the data that now exists about songs themselves and their commercial success to make any judgements about what it is that makes a hit.

In some ways it's similar to Jay Frank's findings (although, for me, his data delving is way deeper and his conclusions more thorough), but it has some interesting facts that might help you when you're penning your next global mega-smash.

What do hit songs have in common over the years, and how are they changing? And what does it all say about who we were, and who we’re becoming?

Two Rutgers master’s degree candidates delved into this with a presentation called “Visualizing a Hit” that maps popular songs against some of their musical attributes in an effort to find out what they share, and how they have changed over time.

Read it here.

How to write a great song

I get the PRS magazine and waspleased to discover that they have an online version of it where they post the advice articles.

And, here's two great short ones on songwriting - one from one of Adele's co-writers and the other from a veteran with 30 years experience.

They know their stuff.

Five ingredients of a hit song

Fraser T Smith on hits and co-writing

And, for good measure, check out our blog section on songwriting tips.

Finding your 'hit zone'

I thought that we might've posted this already but I can't find it, and it's excellent and well worth reading - so here goes.

What I like about this piece is that it states that you need to be trying to write hits, but not by selling out - and, the best way to get to a hit is by being true to your convictions and your art.

Finding your Hit Zone is essential if you’re an emerging songwriter, artist or producer, because without it:

• Most or all of your marketing, online networking and live shows will be useless;
• You’ll have a hard time building a fan base;
• You’ll probably only sell your music to your friends and family;
• You won’t get TV/film licenses;
• You’ll have a hard time getting signed;
• And so on…

Yes, your Hit Zone is that important.  It’s the most important thing you can do as an artist to attract fans, make more money and achieve success.  It’s like the g-spot: if you haven’t found it, you’re just flailing around and wasting your time.

Read the piece here.

5 ways to crack writer's block

This links to a post that specifically deals with writer's block for songwriters and it's got 5 great tips.

But, the post is part of a set of posts from a group of bloggers all writing on the same topic on the same day - a 'synchro-blog' (in itself, a great idea that you could get a group of local or niche-related bands to do on a shared topic).

So, check out the post but the one's that it links to have some great ideas as well.

Here's the first tip:

1. Stop listening to music that sounds like yours.
This would seem like a no brainer. But it is not. When writing a song, if you want to sound like John Legend, don’t listen to John Legend.
Why?
Because your natural tendencies will ALREADY take you that direction. Let those tendencies flow while allowing other influences to seep in and make you unique.

Read the post and the other links here.

How to write a hit rock song

I found this post on a new service which is set to be like a Digg for music (I would tell you what it is, but I'm not sure I'm supposed to, but I will when it's out of Beta)

This post is an old one that has turned up there as people like it - and it's full of tips on how to write a hit rock song.

Whether you think it's all great advice or not, it's a very useful piece as it follows the writer through the stages of crafting the song with videos of him playing the sections. If you're new to songwriting it's going to give you, at the very least, a reference to how someone else gets from idea to song.

I remember being a kid listening to my favorite bands of the day and wondering, “how do they do that?” It seemed totally amazing to me that someone could take an instrument and create this piece of music that made me have so many strong feelings be it happiness, anger, joy, and write these words that seemed to speak to me.

I still have that same feeling sometimes when I hear great new bands, except now I understand after my many years of studying music, writing music and performing it in front of people there is more to it then just writing for writing’s sake.

Read the piece here.

10 seconds is all you have

I went to a talk by Jay Frank last night put on by @thisisnewmusic.

It was very revealing.

Jay is a respected authority on what makes a song a hit in the post filesharing, online music dicovery world. This is all revealed in his excellent book - Future Hit DNA.

I encourage you to go and check out Jay's site and if you're serious about writing hits, try and see him speak or buy the book.

Here's a few nuggets from last night. Apologies to Jay if I miss the detail!:

• All music discovery online occurs at 0 seconds because an embedded player, YouTube video etc starts at the beginning. This might seem obvious but it was never like this before when you would usually switch on the radio and maybe hear a song halfway through.

• About half the people only hear the first 10 seconds of the track, no matter how they discovered it. But, if they get past 10 seconds they are likely to listen to the whole thing. Possible exit times are at about 2 minutes (normally after the second chorus, in the bridge) or towards the end, where you may have a fade that bores them. Abrupt endings are better.

• The first listen is easy to get these days - there are vast numbers of ways to be discovered whereas in the past, the first listen meant a very hard to come by radio play - but it takes 5 - 7 plays to embed a song with a listener and the repeat plays will only come if the first play hooked them and made them listen all the way through.

• After the birth of Napster the average length of Intro dropped from 14 seconds to 7.

• If people jump out of listening to a track at any point this sets a negative connotation in their mind that makes them exponentially less likely to listen again. Avoid this!

• There is some evidence that the communal experience in listening to songs and discussing them is declining in the web 2.0 world. Perhaps enhancing the communality of the song itself can help - eg - gang singing or 'call and response'.

Seriously, check out the book!

Song Swap - an awesome idea

Bosco and Peck, the dudes behind this idea, sent me a link to explain it yesterday.

What a great way to get your name and material spread across the net!

It's a simple idea - and I won't spoil it. Just go and read about it on the link.

Maybe you can get involved or maybe you can see the potential in coming up with a plan like this.

 

Songs that made the musician

Not sure what you can take from this, but I was simply fascinated.

A slew of musicians tell us what song changed their life and why.

We all have these moments in our life and can't turn back once the lightning strikes.

Can it be as simple as Adam from Hurts says - that hearing an album blew his mind so much that he had to become a musician?

Adam Anderson of Hurts

"Paranoid Android" or "Exit Music (for a Film)" by Radiohead

I had zero interest in even listening to music until I bought OK Computer. My family had no musical heritage... I wasn't brought up with music around me in the slightest. I honestly only bought this album to begin with because I loved the artwork; I knew nothing about the band. I was so swept away by the music, just transported away instantly... so much so that within a few days I was always going to be a musician. It was probably one of these two songs that captured me the most.

Great piece from the Independent. Read them all here.

Collect your music publishing royalties

We did a post last month that looked at how your songs make you money.

In that we mentioned two new innovative online music publishers.

The Guardian - being a month behind us! - have just done this feature on one of the companies - Songtrust, which is a great option for you if you live in the US.

If you're in the UK, you should check out Sentric Music - very good at what they do.

The Guardian say:

Songtrust doesn't just collect royalties for its users – it also helps them get their songs placed in television shows. TV stations such as ESPN, the Travel Channel and National Geographic don't have the budgets to license music on a song-by-song basis, and many independent artists can't get their songs used by these channels as they only do blanket licences with individual publishers. As Downtown Music has blanket licences with more than 300 production companies, Songtrust lets users take advantage of those licences, too.

Read the whole thing here.

5 mistakes songwriters make with demos

Image by MiiiSH

Thanks to @TQuillfeldt for this tip - worth following, as he always uncovers good stuff.

This one covers 5 points that I fully agree with and have seen many times!

When you're writing songs and making demos, bear these in mind as you can waste a lot of time and money recording stuff that either isn't good enough or that you just aren't ready to record or perhaps use.

Keep your powder dry so that you don't waste your efforts!

The professional demo-recording process is a necessary part of the equation for songwriters aspiring to get their material heard by music industry decision-makers and, hopefully, cut by successful recording artists. Despite the fact that hundreds of demos are recorded every week in places like Nashville, New York and Los Angeles, new songwriters often find themselves overwhelmed and a bit intimidated by the prospect of getting their songs demoed and ready for primetime. By highlighting some of the mistakes I’ve encountered in my years of recording songwriter demos, I can hopefully help new songwriters avoid some of the pitfalls that result in either overly expensive or ineffective recordings.

Read the post here.

 

5 ways to make a cover song great

We wrote about taking obscure but great songs and making them your own in this post.

It's a brilliant way to get a hit song and not be tarnished as 'that band with the cover', since a vast majority of people will never realise that it wasn't your own song.

There are, however, various ways to use covers that everyone knows and still make them work for you.

One of my favourites is the total reinterpretation as in the revered version of NIN's 'Hurt' by Johnny Cash that is now the version that everyone refers to. But, that's just one of 5 methods in this great article.

Check it out here.

And here's that Johnny Cash track.

 

Just try to write a hit

Short and sweet.

In this interview Gwen Stefani reveals that she tries to write hits:

Stefani, undoubtedly, aims to write songs that could potentially become hits. “Why wouldn’t you want that many people listening to the songs that you wrote?” Stefani says in the interview. “So the intentions of even the solo records were always about trying to write those guilty-pleasure albums that just get in your head and you can’t get out. I’m not cool, I’m not into the B-sides.”

She also recalls some very valuable advice she received from the iconic guitarist and pop singer-songwriter, Prince. Stefani explains, “Prince, who is one of my idols, gave me some advice when I worked with him: ‘Have you ever just tried writing a hit? Like, don’t just try writing a song, try and write a hit song.’ I remember him saying that and me thinking, Yeah, you’re right. Why would you write anything else?”

That is seriously good advice.

Clearly she followed Prince's wise words! See her proving it here.

 

How your songs make you money

I know that I owe someone for pointing me to this, but, sorry, I can't remember who!

It's a great video that sets out 7 ways that your songs can make you money - and it makes the very good point that once they are out there earning money they will do so up to your demise and beyond - meaning that a somewhat successful musician has a retirement plan built into their songs!

Obviously, they need to be good to get that kind of income.

So, watch the video and learn the 7 ways that your songs can make you money.

And then, go and check out Sentric Music if you're in the UK and Song Trust if you're in the States. Both these companies offer a great service and will publish your songs no matter whether you're signed or not or how successful you are. One takes a commission on what they collect - at a very fair rate - and the other charges a small monthly fee.

Crucially, neither takes your rights from you. So, should you get a hit record or your career takes off some other way you can finish your deal with them and do a 'big money' deal with a major publisher - if you want to.

I really like the guys at Sentric - it's a great service and very fair. I don't know the Song Trust people but I hear similar good things.

Write songs, get them published, collect money - another basic part of the plan for all musicians.

Watch the video here.

 

Diane Warren tells all her songwriting secrets

This might not be of help to all - you need to get Sky and you need to live in the UK to see it.

Well, maybe not, as someone is bound to stick it on a torrent, but then I couldn't advocate that could I?!

Next Monday Sky are screening an interview with Diane Warren, pretty much the world's most succesful contemporary pop songwriter, in their SUPERB Songbook series. It's on 28/3/11 on Sky Arts 1 at 9pm.

I always watch these as you learn something every time. Try and find a way to watch if you can - this one and any of the others in the series.