THE LITTLE VICTORIES

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?

To think that someone without a cut is going to start with a cut on a huge artist like that is VERY unlikely. And, shooting that high is only going to leave you frustrated and disappointed. It’s kind of like buying a lottery ticket and COUNTING on seeing the winning number in your hand the next morning. You are going to stay frustrated if you count on winning the lottery to make your career in music happen.
I always encourage people to set smaller, realistic goals. Your goal could be to get your first hold on a song this year. Or, it could be to get a cut on an independent artist. It could be to write with a staff writing at a publishing company. Both are goals that can likely be accomplished if you continue writing better and better songs and you work really hard.
Another plus of setting realistic goals is that IF a huge cut comes along that you weren’t counting on, you have a bonus celebration. If it doesn’t happen, no problem. You weren’t even thinking about it. When you write a great song, think about all of the REALISTIC places you could possibly get that song cut? Then, do your best to get that song to all of those people or anyone connected to them. You’ve got a much better shot at getting a cut on a new artist, a Canadian artist, or an independent artist.  And one small cut can lead to bigger cuts down the road. Set realistic goals, meet them, and then set bigger ones. Those little victories will keep you moving down the road.

Author

Hangi Tavakoli is our in-house established and professional music producer with more than 15 years of experience in music production, mix and mastering, recording engineering, live sound designing/engineering, lyrics writing and music arrangement. He has produced more than 800 and written more than 2000 published songs to-date, including some major hits in international scale.