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WAYS TO KNOW IF A SONG IDEA IS WORTH PURSUING

11/22/2022

A lot of people DM me asking if I can tell them whether an idea is good and worth pursing. Though I’d love to give an answer, I generally believe it’s better to teach a man to fish, than hand him a fish. This is what my mentors did for me and I’m lucky they didn’t give me the answers for every time I asked the question and instead, they gave me questions! So, I’d like to share with you some questions I ask myself before spending too much time on an idea:

Does your song idea feel real or clever? Real always trumps intellectual or clever in my book! I like to find a lot of ideas that happen naturally in conversation. Like when I, or the person I’m talking to, says something with conviction. I’ve gotten some of my biggest songs this way. Especially with artist co-writes. Artists are great at expressing themselves. That’s their job! So, I like to take things they say and feel — and then write it! And that’s our job as the writer.

COMMON SONGWRITING MISTAKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM

9/20/2022

Are your songs not getting results? Is that latest greatest song you’ve written not having the impact on your audience that you were so sure it would. Often the difference in a good song and one that moves the listener is a simple quick fix.

Keep your intro under 15 seconds. One of the most common mistakes in commercial songwriting is the long intro. As a rule, intros should be 15 seconds or less. You will only have the listeners valuable attention for a short time. It’s important to keep that attention and get to the meat of your song. 15 seconds gives you enough time to set the mood and groove of your song and wet the listeners appetite for more to come! Basically your first 30 seconds of your song is the time you have to attract listener’s attention and make sure they are going to sit there and listen to your song. Don’t waste much of this precious time on a long intro.

SIMPLE WAYS TO UNLEASH YOUR OWN CREATIVE SONGWRITING POWER

9/6/2022

As a professional songwriter, I am asked often how I walk into a co-write with superstars create songs “on-demand?” Well, I didn’t start out doing this, but I’ve learned a few tricks over the years that’ve allow me to train my creativity and tap into it anytime, anyplace. The good news is, you can do the same too! These simple strategies go a long way in the songwriting business.

Make it clear that you mean business. Developing a writing routine shows yourself and others that you are in your creative zone. By sticking to a fixed scheduled you remind yourself and others around you that you are doing it professionally and not for fun. Not only do you need to show others when it’s okay to interrupt your writing and when it’s not, but also, your own creativity needs trained as well. Studies show that writing at a regular time each day allows the subconscious to be prepared to create more easily “on demand” than when you have no set routine.

LAST MINUTE RE-WRITING QUESTIONS FOR SONGWRITERS

8/23/2022

I have found that going back to my songs with a clear mind a week or two after I write them and running through this quick checklist helps me catch and fix many of the major flaws that can exist in a song. Print this one out and hang it in you writing or re-writing room to remind yourself to check these issues before you consider your song done. They are some minor points, but they have a huge impact on your song’s overall quality. Paying attention to these little details is what makes a difference between a good and a great song.

Is my message clear? I like to run my song by someone else and get their feedback. I ask them to summarize the message they understood from the song. If they don’t get out of it what I intended means I didn’t deliver the message very well, I work on it some more and check with them again until they exactly tell me a summarized version of what I was trying to say in the song.

THE SONGWRITER’S BUSINESS PLAN

7/19/2022

One of the things I discovered when I started mentoring songwriters is that very few of us have a plan for where we want to be in future and how we want to get there. That may be the curse of the creative mind – we get so lost in making stuff up that we lose sight of the business side of things that must be tended to as well. And it’s a big mistake for people who want to make a living in any aspect of creative industries. There is two words in “Music Business”. There is music and there is business and they both are equally important.

None can work without the other one. In mentoring sessions, we often work on a customized plan for the specific person. But, in general, there are some steps I recommend for every songwriter who is trying to turn their songwriting passion into a business.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT SONG A HIT SONG?

7/12/2022

I can’t count the number of times I have had this question asked of me. Someone will play me a great song and express their confusion over the lack of interest they are getting from the industry when they play it for people. It’s anything strange in this industry to see that a great song doesn’t become a hit song. I am not going to brag about any of my own songs here, but I know countless unbelievably great songs written by people I know that they all – and sometimes myself included – were very sure that this song will become a massive hit and when it was recorded and released, we were just waiting to see it in top of the charts, and waiting, and waiting, and nothing was happening. After a few disappointing experiences like this, I started trying to find out why such great songs are not becoming hits. And after putting the pieces of puzzle together, I came to some conclusions that explain why not every great song will become a hit.

5 ROOKIE MISTAKES SONGWRITERS MAKE

6/14/2022

Act Like You Know! In the music business, your best bet is to try and ACT like you know what you are doing, even if you don’t. I don’t mean you should lie or bluff. But you want to come across to people like you know how things work in the big leagues even if you are just trying out for the farm team at the moment. The reason for this is that usually you only have one shot with each person in this industry and once they see you and feel you don’t know what is going on, that’s it. They will not remember your name or your face, or even worth, they will remember you as a person they don’t need around themselves.
Making these mistakes can tip people off that you DON’T know what you are doing, so don’t make these rookie mistakes:

TIPS TO HELP SONGWRITERS GET BETTER SONG CRITIQUES

5/24/2022

sometimes, people get frustrated with the kind of feedback they get on their songs, but when we dig into the issue, we discover that they really didn’t give the feedback giver much to go on. Here are some tips to help you get accurate, helpful feedback on your songs. The kind of feedback you can count on, and use them to grow your work.

Don’t submit finished demos if you can help it. It’s hard to give people feedback on a finished product. If you’ve already spent $800 on the demo, it breaks my heart to tell you that your second verse is ALL messed up. I’m probably going to go easier on you, because I don’t want to crush you and make you feel like you wasted your money. I’d much rather give you feedback on a work tape or a work in progress. Then, I feel like we can fix everything that needs fixing before you spend your money. Unless you send me the finished product and tell me that you don’t have problem redoing it. Then I’d know you have enough money to waste and I don’t need to feel guilty about being honest,

SONGWRITING IS ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION

4/12/2022

Communication vs. rules. I had a songwriting session with someone recently who was very frustrated with trying so hard in the business and getting no signs of success. He had read a book by a leading songwriting teacher and had tried to apply all of the songwriting “rules” that the book taught. The end result was that he felt he was writing worse and worse songs the more he tried to follow the rules. I told him a story about going for playing snooker as a teenager. Neither I nor my friends were good snooker players, but one friend was getting strike after strike. Being the competitive people, we were, my other friends and I kept trying to mess him up. Nothing was working. Finally, I said “I need to learn to play like you do! How do you concentrate your breathing while aiming before you hit the ball?” The next time he was up, he counted the time for his breathing and guess what happened? He messed up. When he started trying to break down what he was doing, it messed him up.

WHAT REALLY MAKES A SONG A HIT?

3/22/2022

People often ask me if I KNOW that I’ve written a hit song when I finish it. The answer to that is a resounding “NO”. I generally know when I finish a song whether it is great or just good or it just simply have to get more time spent on it. Beyond that, so much goes into making a song a hit that is out of my control. So, all I can do is try to write a great song every day and then get it into the right hands. After that, it’s up to other forces to make it a hit.

In my experience, here is what makes a song a hit:

The songwriter writes a song that is catchy, compelling and commercial. That means the song is well crafted, it connects to a broad audience and it causes action on the part of the listener. It may make them cry, laugh, dance, tap their feet, or go purchase the song. In any case, it causes them to react. It also has to be commercial in the sense that an artist would want to sing it and an audience would want to hear it.

USING LOOPS FOR CREATING THE #1 SONG

3/15/2022

One great tool every songwriter has at their disposal today are drum loops. Whether you have a computer handy or a smart phone, there are amazing apps for beats that were not available even a few short years ago. Loops are a quick way to add energy and style to your new music creation but there are some pitfalls to be mindful of and avoid. Even as a professional producer, I sometimes use these loops if I want to quickly write down some ideas, and not to spend any time on any other part of the song else than just writing the lead. The biggest reason I use a drum loop is that it sets a mood. Whether I want to write an R&B groove ballad or an up-tempo heavy metal song, that instant drum beat, and sound takes me to that place where that song can begin.

WAYS TO MAKE YOUR SONGWRITING MORE COMMERCIAL INSTANTLY

2/22/2022

Write a better first line. The first line is literally the very first thing one would hear when they are listening to your song. So, it is the super important how you want to start your “conversation” with your listener – from the listeners to the artists and label people – and convince them to sit through and keep listening and waiting for your hook and punch line to come up. It’s all about the first line, specially when professionals are listening. With the very first line of your music they hear, they already start judging your song and for sure you don’t want them to stop listening. Because if the first line is too weak, there’s a good chance they might stop listening. Interesting first lines grab the listener and make them want to hear more. They can be the difference in an artist or A&R person listening all the way through or passing on your song right away. And they can be different through the listeners when the song gets recorded.

CREATIVE VS. COMMERCIAL SONGWRITING

1/4/2022

One of the big areas of tension when we write is the battle between commercial and creative. This had been going on between the artists since the whole concept of art is created, to create art for art or art for people. The “artistic” community has often propagated the idea that you can’t be both. Typically, those putting forth this idea are not being successful commercially, which makes one wonder if, just maybe, they are a little bit bitter because no one is buying their music. So, to make themselves feel better, they try to convince the world that their “art” is on a higher plane than the “so-called” art that people are rushing out to buy. I beg to differ. I don’t think there’s anything noble about writing songs that no one wants to purchase. If someone chooses just to write for their own pleasure, that’s awesome. If they float those songs out there and people don’t care for them, it really doesn’t matter. But that doesn’t make them better songs or more “artistic”. If you are trying to write commercially, I would suggest the following thoughts for making your songs both creative and commercial.

SONGWRITING GOALS 101

12/28/2021

Songwriters have all kinds of goals. Depending on what they are trying for, each songwriter has their own goals and although the goals can be very similar but it’s hard to find two individuals who are sharing the exact same goal and exact same approach for getting to their goal. I do a lot of mentoring sessions. One of the big discoveries I have made in those sessions is that people have all kinds of different goals for their music. And they have very different approaches for reaching to their goals. I have discovered that almost every answer to every question people ask us depends on their answer to the question “What are you shooting for?” as soon as they can answer that one question, they basically had answered any question they might think I should answer for them. Some are just writing for themselves, the joy they find in writing makes them happy enough that they are not really looking for getting into the commercial world and want to get better for their own satisfaction. Some other have different dream and they want to hear just one of their songs on the radio someday. Many others are hoping to make a living writing songs and sky is their limit. Your end goal, your target determines so much about what you need to do to improve.

SONGWRITING TIPS YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE THOUGHT OF

12/21/2021

Your songwriting rhyme scheme helps the listener keep up with where they are in the song. You want to keep the rhyme scheme consistent across all of the verses and consistent across all of the choruses if the choruses change. Not doing so makes the listener feel unsettled. They will feel lost and no human being enjoys being lost, therefore, there is a little chance they will come back to your song to listen to it again, and that’s not what you want, right?

Your hook or title has to appear in one of the following places or you risk the listener not being able to tell what your title is, and this would happen perfectly when you repeat the song title (which is good to be same as your hook) in various places. There had been researches about it and as a result, the title is best to be placed at:
1. The last line of the verse.
2. The first line of the chorus.
3. The last line of the chorus.
4. The third line of the chorus if it’s also the first line.

5 KEYS TO BUILDING A BETTER SONG CATALOGUE

11/23/2021

Several people have asked the question, “What’s the best way to build a song catalogue?” Here are some key factors I’ve learned over the years after writing for several major publishing companies and building a new catalogue at each of them.

Write, write, write! There is no substitute for this. A catalogue is a collection of songs. You need to write everyday if possible. But at least as often as you can! This not only helps you become a better writer, but also gives you more variety material which increases the odds that you’ll have the right song for a particular project. The more your write, the bigger your catalogue would be and the more you have available to provide when needed. Plus, keep writing is always a great practice for your skills to get better and better. No matter how good you are, you always can get better.

Recently I was watching one of very interviews of Max Martin and they asked him why for the past few years he wasn’t as active as he used to be in late ‘90s and early ‘00s. “Because I needed time to practice and get better.” He replied. Remember, this is MAX MARTIN saying these words. At peak of his career, when he was knowns as the biggest songwriter alive, he felt he need to take some time off and practice to get better. Let alone you and me!

STOP ASKING THE WORLD TO LISTEN TO YOUR MUSIC AND WRITE SONGS SO GOOD THEY WANT TO HEAR THEM

11/2/2021

A few years ago, I urged a popular music forum to start a songwriting thread. The songwriters involved in it thought it was a great idea and I stop in from time to time to discuss writing and read comments. It started out really cool. Discussions about lyrics, melody, popular songs vs. classics, etc. Later on, I stopped in to read up on the discussions. I admit I hadn’t logged on in a few months. And guess what the most popular column on the songwriting thread was? “Post your demos here” 121,000 views & comments in the last 6 months. The closest column about actual “songwriting” in the Songwriting Thread was 718 views!

Now understand this was not a site where fans buy music or publishers go to find songs. It was just a forum for songwriters to discuss songwriting and to share their opinions and ideas on this one particular topic and nothing more than that.

SHOULD YOU PAY YOUR CO-WRITER TO DEMO YOUR SONG?

10/26/2021

Let’s talk about some co-writing scenarios. Sometime ago, we had a lively and awesome debate in the one of our sessions at Flipside with the young writers about whether or not a “track guy” (Or girl) should charge their co-writers for building a track/demo for their song. There truly no one’s answer is right or wrong to that question. There might be times when that is appropriate, but there are definitely times when it’s highly inappropriate. Let me illustrate some of the complex situations that occur in my writing and let you weigh in on the answer to that question.

Hit Writer/Staff Writer Track Guy. One guy I write with has had a number of hits and lots of cuts. He’s a great “track guy”. He has produced songs on some major label artists. He has a publisher, but they don’t have an office in Singapore, so we work together whenever they need to get anything done here and we let them to use our Flipside’s office and recording studio.

They are great with sync and pop pitches, but not really a player at all when pitching film music – which is my specialty in composing and in my heart, it is my personal preference to compose film music more than anything else. So, this writer and I wrote what we thought was a great pitch for one of major artists. I spent about an hour and a half the morning of our write working on ideas and found a great one that we used. I came in with it all mapped out and part of a chorus. We quickly wrote the song. Two days later, he sent me a demo. I got it pitched to that singer we had in mind and she put it on the hold. If we get it cut, we make the same amount of money since we have similar pub deals. So, what do you think? Should I have paid him to track the song? Should he have paid me to pitch it since we used my connections for pitching and he admitted, “never leaves his basement”? Is a great demo that never gets heard worth anything?

IT’S IMPOSSIBLE: MORE SONGWRITING MYTH BUSTING

9/14/2021

I don’t know how many times each week I hear the words “It’s impossible” when people get rejected to hear what they don’t want to hear. The ridiculous part of it all is that the things they are saying are “impossible” are not impossible at all. It just needs them to understand there is no such thing as impossible in this industry and to understand how they can defeat anything that might sound impossible to lots of people.

“It’s impossible to get a song cut if you don’t live in Nashville, New York or LA.” False. I am living in Singapore and every once in a while, I get a cut on an artist on a major label. Even a lot of times I wrote with the artist or other writers in the other side of the world using the magical power of technology, via Skype or even emails. Some names that you wouldn’t believe if I tell you, sat down on Skype and we came up with ideas together and wrote the song during the call!

On the other hand, I know people living in the same town as those major artists, tried to work with them and still didn’t get a cut on. Yes, I agree it’s hard to work when you are living somewhere far away from the music centers, but it also is far from impossible.

IF YOU WANT TO WRITE UNIVERSAL SONGS, BECOME UNIVERSAL

7/27/2021

During mentoring sessions, I am asked often how a writer can make their songs more universal. It’s easy to become frustrated when a deeply personal song fails to move your audience. My answer is to become a more universal musician/writer and stop focusing on the “fix” that will make your latest song speak to others. The Beatles wrote songs that touched more people around the world than any other band in history. But did you know, at one time, that the Beatles were, perhaps, the greatest “cover-band” on the planet? They played countless hours in a club in Hamburg, Germany, before they ever got a record deal or wrote “Yesterday” and “Come Together”. John, Paul, George, and Ringo were obsessed with the latest Rock music coming across the pond from America.

They learned Little Richard vocal licks, Carl Perkin’s guitar chords, and emulated the latest overseas songwriting. Students of style, they explored everything from Classical melodies to traditional Irish drinking songs.

KEYS TO WRITING COMPELLING SONGS

7/13/2021

Let’s face it, there’s nothing better than playing a song for an audience, a publisher, or a friend and having it move them. Excite them. Make them dance. Or leave them tearing up. As writers, we want to reach out and touch people with our songs. As a professional songwriter, I have written many songs that for one reason or another, have failed to move people in the slightest. I have also been blessed to have other songs reach millions and sell millions of records. Over the years, I’ve compiled a checklist that helps me move people more consistently with my songs. On a good day, I’m lucky to get these elements firing on all cylinders.

Believability. This might be the number one thing I check and recheck as I write a song. Asking yourself, “Is this believable?”. It is essential to writing a compelling song. “Does it feel real?” This seems like a simple thing to master, but it’s perhaps the hardest.

HEART VS. HEAD: HOW TO WRITE YOUR BEST SONGS?

6/29/2021

Songwriting is beautifully complex and yet simple. I am often reminded when I’m working with aspiring songwriters how simple, and yet complex, writing a great song can be. It’s a beautiful mix of emotions, wit, determination, and being in the moment. A very common obstacle I see to great writing is what I call ”Heart vs. Head.”

Too much emotional attachment. When a song, let’s say a ballad, means a lot to the writer, they throw in a ton of feelings and emotions, and often they tend to get so close to the subject matter that not enough thought goes into the lyrics. Therefore, the song is weakened by a lack of perspective, which leads to the listener to actually feel less emotion!

Too heady. On the flip side, if the song is fun and up-tempo, often it’s too “heady.”

DON’T GET IN THE WAY OF THE SONG

6/15/2021

One morning was one of those “don’t get in the way” moments. One of my co-writers had posted on our website that very morning about “Writing The Song In The Room” and I thought of that when another co-writer came in and said “My girlfriend and I just broke up and I’m writing my way through it.” This co-writer and his ex-girlfriend are both long-time friends of mine, so I listened as he told me the story of their demise as a couple. I forgot to mention, my co-writer also just got a record deal. So, I thought, “Let’s see where this breakup train goes.” I asked him if he had any ideas he wanted to write. He replied “OH YES I DO!”. He began to play me a beautiful ballad melody and an AMAZING idea. The hook bowled me away. Within 30 minutes, we had written one of the better songs I have written in a while. Typically, after one song, we call it day. But not that day. As soon as we had finished our work tape, he said “I’ve got another one”. This time, he plays me a rocking up-tempo song with ANOTHER great hook. Thirty minutes later, we are putting down a work tape for that one. I think he just might cut the first one. I would bet the farm that he cuts the second one.

HOW TO GET MOTIVATED TO WRITE MORE SONGS

5/25/2021

Over the last couple of years, I have personally responded to thousands of emails. Many want to write better songs but can’t seem to get motivated to commit to writing on a regular basis. If this is you, you are not alone. We all feel the pull of emails, social media, answer to that WhatsApp message you wanted to answer for past 3 hours, or that new movie downtown that we just got to go see; instead of writing songs. We see videos of other songwriters and artists and we think they are doing well. We think it must be easy for them. The truth is, no writer that is doing well, does so some without struggle. When we choose to start writing songs or dedicate ourselves to writing more songs, we are really deciding to make a lifestyle change.

Think about those times you’ve decided to start eating healthier, drink less, get to the gym more often, or spending more quality time with your family. Even though these were all good decisions, the decision was the easy part. The follow-through was the real challenge.

So this is the main lesson I want to leave you with. No matter how much you desire change, you have to take action to get the momentum rolling your way. Here are a few things you can do now to help you change old habits get your writing back on track.

DID HE STEAL MY SONG?

4/13/2021

A couple of year ago, I was searching for song titles by reading through quotes on the internet. I found what I thought was an amazing quote. It said something like “How can you be old and wise if you were never young and crazy”. The next day, I threw that title out and my co-writer and I wrote an great song. As soon as we could, we demoed it and started pitching it around town. Six months later, I turn on the radio one day to hear “And here’s Frankie Ballard’s new single – ‘Young And Crazy'”. I knew right away that it had to be the same idea. Sure enough, it was – which killed my chances at getting my song cut – for a long time at least. Recently, I had just written a song with an artist that he loved. The day he turned it in, his label said, “You know that’s the title of Kenny Chesney’s next single, don’t you?” Game over for my great song.

Did anyone steal my titles? Did I steal theirs? The truth is, you can’t copyright a title. The bigger truth is that I got those ideas from someone else anyway.

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