Flipside - BLOG

THE EXCUSE MAKERS AND THE OTHER PEOPLE

9/17/2019

In the music business, I see two general categories of people – the excuse makers and the other people. The excuse makers always seem to have a lot going on. So much, in fact, that they can’t ever seem to get around to doing the things that would cause them to succeed as a songwriter. They are doing LOTS of things and appear to be busy, but somehow there’s always a reason why they don’t have time to do the things that would help them get ahead.

QUANTITY LEADS TO QUALITY SONGWRITING

9/13/2019

When I got my first songwriting deal, my publisher and our other songwriter, would write 2-3 times a day. Every day. The volume of out put from our office was crazy. We were cranking out between 30 and 45 songs per week between the three of us. I had nothing to compare it to, so I didn’t think much of it. I thought every writer in town was working that hard and writing that many songs. As time went by, I discovered that most writers were NOT writing that much. I asked the other writers from our team why they wrote so much. They told me that they wrote a lot because they wanted to increase their chances of getting a cut AND because they wanted to have songs to pitch to every artist. And, they believed that writing more improved your writing exponentially.

REACHABLE GOALS FOR SONGWRITERS

9/10/2019

I was talking to someone recently about their songwriting goals. He expressed frustration over their lack of success in achieving any of them. So, I asked for more details. He laid out a list of goals that would be ambitious even for a seasoned pro. In fact, I had only achieved one of his goals. His list read something like this:

THE LITTLE VICTORIES

9/6/2019

I couldn’t possibly count the number of beginning songwriters, when asked “Who would you pitch this to?”, give answers like Keith Urban, Katy Perry, Blake Shelton, Garth Brooks, Rhianna, etc.
I’ve been writing professionally for almost 15 years, I have had multiple #1 songs and over 3000 songs recorded, yet I have never had a song recorded by any of those artists. What does that tell you about the realistic (or not) nature of those goals?

EXERCISES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR SONGWRITING MUSCLES

9/2/2019

I have to agree 10,000 percent with this quote. I have often read, mostly in interviews with recording artist, things like “I only write when I’m inspired”. I believe this is a myth that some writers and recording artists perpetuate that great songs simply fall from the heavens and only a few chosen ones, like them, are given these gifts. But the real truth is that songwriting is no different than any other skills in life. The more we do it, the more we exercise the muscle, the better we get at creating. Songwriting to me is not really that much of “talent” it’s more of “hard work”. What you need to become a great writer is to practice constantly. The more we play with words and notes, looking at all the possible meanings and emotions, the deeper we understand the possibilities.

THE REASONS I WRITE SONGS

8/30/2019

I once had a friend who told me he was going to write a book. Here is how our conversation went:
Him: “I’m going to write a book”
Me: “What will it be about?”
Him: “I don’t know. Anything.”
Me: “What do you feel like you have to say?”
Him: “Nothing. I just want a boat.”
Me: “You’re going to write a book about nothing so you can buy a boat?”
Him: “Don’t you think that will work?”
Me: “Not sure that’s the best plan to get a boat.”

WAYS TO MAKE A PUBLISHER LIKE YOUR SONGS

8/27/2019

Here are five ways to catch a publisher’s attention with your music. These techniques will really increase your chances of succeeding with a publisher IF you write a great song.

Write strong up-tempo songs. They always need more. It is much easier to get a great up-tempo song cut than it is to get a great ballad cut. So, writing a great up-tempo song makes the publisher’s job easier. Making their job easier makes you more attractive to a publisher.

HOW TO BLOW A POTENTIAL PUBLISHING DEAL IN 3 COMMON MISTAKES

8/23/2019

You’ve got the song. So, you’ve been writing and put together a nice collection of songs; And you’re ready for that next step, finding a publisher. That person who believes in your writing and has the connections to make things happen. Here are 3 common mistakes that can kill your chances of working with a music publisher:

THE DOS AND DON’TS OF PITCHING YOUR SONGS IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS

8/20/2019

Pitching your songs. It means playing songs for publishers, artists or record label people in hopes of getting them to record or help you get a song recorded and it is one of the most important steps of being in the music industry as a writer – otherwise your songs without being pitched basically means nothing – yet, pitching is one of the areas where songwriters make the most mistakes. And, those mistakes can be costly. Sometimes the cost can be losing all your credibility as a writer while maybe your songs are actually pretty good, but you’ve already ruined your reputation by making these simple mistakes. You don’t get too many chances to make a good impression before you are put on the “burned bridge” list. Here are some of the important dos and don’ts to remember when you pitch songs.

WIN OR LEARN

8/16/2019

Songwriters tend to have this “win or lose” mentality. When I play my songs for someone, I either “win” and they take a copy, or I “lose” and they reject my song (and by default, me). I would suggest that we look at those opportunities as “win or learn” opportunities. Again, if they love my song and take a copy, I have won! But, if they don’t, I have a chance to turn my “loss” into a “learn”. Here’s how I do it.

REASONS PEOPLE SHOULD PAY FOR MUSIC

8/13/2019

As the music economy continues to move toward a streaming based model, people are drifting rapidly toward the idea that music should be free. I think it’s vital to remind ourselves (And our friends) from time to time WHY it is important to pay for music:

For my song to get out to the public, I have to demo it. A conservative estimate of the cost of that demo is $800. I make approximately 9 cents per sale of the song. So, I need 8,888 people to buy the song before I even cover the cost of my demo.

WRITING SONGS WITH ARTISTS

8/9/2019

Writing songs with artists is a completely different game. Writing songs with artists is a completely different game than writing songs FOR artists (which we already talked about) or simply writing with another writer to try and craft the best song possible. When you write with an artist in the room, the goal is to help that artist find their voice. In order to do that, you have to ask a lot of questions.
When I’m writing with an artist, I am doing everything in my power to find out what they want to say. In an easy artist co-write, the artist KNOWS what they want to say, and you just help them write it. In an artist write I had with Sam Veil (Singaporean artist), he walked in and said “I need a big stadium song. I have this chorus started and here’s the title.” Most of them aren’t that easy. Many times, an artist just walks in and says “I need a hit”. That’s not much to go on.

WRITING SONGS FOR ARTISTS

8/6/2019

Writing songs for artists is a guessing game. When I’m shooting for a particular artist as I write, I’m trying to guess what that artist wants to say. Not only that, I’m trying to guess what they haven’t already said so that I can help them say something new. I look at it this way. If I just started dating someone, and valentine’s day rolls around, it’s hard to know what they might like. But, if I’ve been married 10 years to the same person, I’ve got a pretty good idea what kinds of gifts they would appreciate. The key is history and knowledge of the other person. How do I get that kind of knowledge about artists? It’s not as hard as you think!

PEOPLE SONGWRITERS NEED TO THANK

8/2/2019

Most songwriters I know have a lot of people who have helped them get to whatever level of success they are enjoying – even if it is simply being able to write regularly. Here’s my list. I’m guessing many of you have similar lists.

HOW TO BEHAVE IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS: DON’T BE A SQUIRREL!

7/30/2019

This is one of the questions I get all the time. People will say, “I called COMPASS and they never called me back. Why are they so rude?” Or, “I went to five publishers and none of them would listen to my music”. Or I even get Facebook messages from people I don’t know saying “Here are links to three of my songs – listen to them and let me know what you think.” All of those questions or statements reveal a lack of knowledge of the way the music business works. And that is precisely why the people involved aren’t giving their time to the people making requests.

THE CRAFT OF SONGWRITING

7/26/2019

When I’m teaching or mentoring someone, I often get asked what I mean when I talk about the “craft” of songwriting. I think of songwriting as a trade that has been passed down through the years much like a silversmith, a painter, or a sculptor would do. Most songwriters I know were mentored by a more experienced writer whether it was in a formal setting or informally through simply co-writing together.
So, when I speak of the “craft” of songwriting, I am talking about those things that have been passed down through the generations from songwriter to songwriter. I thought I would share with you the essential elements of the craft that my mentors have shared with me. These elements hold true whether you are trying to write commercially, or you just want your songs to be enjoyed and understood by your friends and family.

SONGWRITERS: ARE YOU READY TO “WRITE”?

7/23/2019

“How do I know when I’m ready to write with a pro songwriter?” – I get this question very often. Here’s what I would call my “Ready To Write Checklist.” If you can check these off, you are probably as ready as you’ll ever be:

I am armed with lots of ideas. You don’t want to go into a “writing session” and hope to wing it. The better prepared you are, the more confident you will be. Go in with as much ammo as you can prepare in advance.

YOU’VE GOT THIS!

7/19/2019

One of the most common questions people ask me is “Do you think I have what it takes to do this?” They are usually referring to their music. In reality, the current quality of their music is not the primary factor in answering that question.

When I got my first writing deal, I didn’t have any songs that my publisher wanted to pitch. And, none of the songs I brought in ever got cut. Zero. I got signed on potential. My publisher told me that he signed me because:

KEY HABITS OF EXCEPTIONALLY CREATIVE PEOPLE

7/16/2019

Over the last decade of working with some of music’s top producers, recording artists, and songwriters, I started noticing similar personality traits and habits of highly creative people. These professionals possessed a certain mindset that allowed them to perform at a high level and do it effortlessly. Their personal habits funneled their energy into a kind of creative vortex. I’ve listed 7 of these habits here. There are certainly more, but these are the 7 that almost all of these pros had mastered.

Artist Interview - Roger Penkethman

7/12/2019

It was about a year and half ago, I had the chance to get in touch to one of the most interesting songwriters I know via internet. His name is Roger Penkethman, a very strong songwriter, specifically a lyricist from England who literally uses his pen as a weapon. His songs have very interesting stories behind. Long story short, we spoke for a while and we came to the conclusion that we want to have a long-term collaboration, resulting him to join our Flipside family.

Recently when we started our artist interviews again, he was the first person I invited for an interview and he gave me the honor to accept it. I hope you enjoy his interview, sharing his experiences.

BRIDGES: A SONGWRITER’S RULE OF THUMB

7/9/2019

One of the most difficult moments in the process of writing a song is “bridge time”. I have been in many co-writes where we agonized over whether or not we need a bridge. At one point, early in my career, I came to my mentor to ask him if I needed a bridge in a song I was working on. He asked, “Is there a river to cross?”. I had no idea what he meant, so he said “Don’t build a bridge if there’s not a river to cross.

ARTIST INTERVIEW - CAMILLE MILLER

7/5/2019

Earlier this year we had organised a music festival in Singapore named "Sing For Kindness" in collaboration with Uncle Ringo and Singapore Kindness Movement. That was where we first had the chance to meet Camille Miller, an amazing Canadian singer, songwriter and performer who had just moved to Singapore a couple of weeks earlier.
She truly is one of the best musicians we had ever worked with and we recently had invited her for an interview for our blog, sharing with us about her music, her history and her current activities including her latest EP album, named "Cover Me".
Hope you enjoy the interview.

DON’T FALL FOR THESE URBAN SONGWRITING MYTHS

7/2/2019

I can write only 10 songs and have several hits in the bunch. Songwriting is a craft that takes years to develop. No painter paints a masterpiece within his first ten pieces of art. Most people have to write hundreds of songs before they write a hit.

I can move to LA or New York for a year and get my songwriting career going and then I’ll move back home. Most people I know spent 5-7 years trying to write full time in a music centre before they succeeded. It’s not going to happen in a year.

QUESTIONS PRO SONGWRITERS ASK WHILE THEY WRITE

6/28/2019

The line between pro songwriters and aspiring pro songwriters is primarily a line of thought. Pro songwriters learn to think differently as they write. That different line of thinking usually involves a series of questions that they keep asking as they write. Those questions cause the song to be more commercial than it would have been without them. Here are some of primary questions a pro asks while songwriting.

KEYS TO FINDING THE PERFECT CO-WRITER

6/25/2019

Music History is filled with great songwriting collaborations. John Lennon-Paul McCartney, Elton John-Bernie Taupin, Mick Jagger-Keith Richards, and the list goes on. Two heads can truly be better than one when writing a song, but only if it’s the right match! And finding that right match can seem impossible at times. Over the years I have written with many artist, producers, and writers; some went great and spawned multiple hits while others were a dud. Here are some of the qualities I look for in a co-writer.

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