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This was an interesting year. One night as I was checking my email, I saw a message from a co-writer about how I was going to be really mad and a link to a site that contained a sound clip of one of our songs. Mad? I was happy that the music was getting out. The happiness lasted about ten seconds. Thats when I saw that the title had been changed and that a stranger said that he wrote it. I was mad all right. Also revealed was that the song was released into an independent film where the director was the same as the phony songwriter.
I called the publisher who controlled the song at the time because I had saved an email he wrote about having a connection to the artist in question. It was funny how the connection was singing harmony on the sound clip.
I was told that to pursue such an insult would be costly and the best course of action would be to forget about it, not waste time or energy, A mass email to my musician friends was sent out like a survey to ask what they would do if this situation had happened to them. The responses were divided into two categories. One- dont bother, keep writing and two- Go get em.
I weighed out my options and because I cant write if Im really mad, decided to pursue a course of action.
During the research portion of my week I discovered that registering your songs with the copyright office and even your PRO (ASCAP) does not protect you from such violation. Attorneys fees dont make the time involved worthwhile unless a megastar or a box office hit releases the song. On a positive note, there are also organizations like Lawyers for the Arts that will look into your case and a special button on the FBI copyright violations page that you can push if your music is stolen in any other way but illegal downloads and file sharing. Copyright violation is a federal crime.
The main two things that warrant an actual case are similarity (they even used the co-writers guitar solo, same lyrics, etc.) and accessibility ( I knew the publisher had been in contact with them because of the email) Save your music related email-always!
The great thing about the Internet is how information is readily available to anyone who Googles a name. This works in a few directions. It allows you to find information on people AND lets you post information about people. MySpace allows you to post comments directly on peoples pages and blogs that contain names will appear on demand.
Having armed myself with this information, the violators were contacted and a modest settlement was made. Enough to get some demos made. The funny thing is that if the director just paid the artists and gave credit, the cost would have been minimal. We made six times more in the settlement. We were told that the artists in question felt really bad about what happened. I didnt fail to mention that they didnt feel bad until they got caught and that no company wants to be involved with artists involved in a federal lawsuit. Especially when it involves musicians stealing from other musicians.
While many songs are same sounding, and chords are the same, and ideas are universal,
if you are right in your pursuit, arm yourself with info, and never allow your intellectual property to be violated. That stolen GPS came from Best Buy- that stolen song came from the core of my being
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Hey to everybody who voted for me and spent an abnormal time on their computer.I appreciate all your support and feel truly blessed that so many of you came out and rallied for me. I did manage to make it as one of the 5 finalists which promises a publishing contract, so I guess an open door was what I was going for ultimately. I have to say that by being able to vote more than once tainted the contest for me.
My husband put it best when he said that when I won the Broadjam contest, he was proud of me whereas if I had won the Listeners choice, he would have been happy for me. There's a big difference there. One was a measure of songwriting skill while the other was a measure of marketing and strategy skill.
The problem with the CMT site was that no one could access the contest from the main page. If the finalists didn't reach out and direct friends and fans to the link, no one would be able to find it.
I am tempted to send Sudafed a bill for airing their product before each song.
As I listened to the other finalists, I was forced to watch that 30 second commercial 15 times. YUK!
I am proud to be in the top 5 judges finals with fellow favorite Broadjammers Will Hopkins and Claire Ulanoff. When I go to Nashville, I plan to hook up with a few people I have met on Broadjam's site and that's so cool.
The Christmas song that won the Christmas.com contest, Christmas Magic, was picked up by a publisher as well as Season of Giving. I hope to hear it around December. Now THAT would be a great present!
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I finally did it. After many months of deliberation, I brought home a new Baby- a MAC G5. It seemed like the logical next step after all the great stuff I won on Broadjam. Now, I forsee many, many months of study and a learning curve challenge. PCs seem easier but I guess it's what you know.
For me, writing music and playing is easy, recording is hard. But, I am a pit bull when it comes to determination and I give myself a couple of years to get this right.
Because being a pit bull is sometimes not enough, I also have a great resource at the Guitar Center named Phil Rowland. Phil, realizing I did something wrong when my sad face went to return the Mac, came over to my house on his day off, to start me up. He reviewed basic ideas behind the workings of these Mac and Pro Tools systems. He was patient and kind. God Bless Phil. If anyone in the Philadelphia/ Delaware area needs gear, see Phil at the Plymouth Meeting Guitar Center. He always asks what I'm buying something for and in this way he prevents me from buying the wrong cable, mic stand etc. Everyone needs a gear guy!
And on another note, Colleen at Broadjam is so great helping out with customer problem solving that I actually thought about signing her up for next season of The Apprentice. But after thinking about it, I realized that if she got on, she wouldn't be at Broadjam for me! No way Colleen- We can't lose you! I ripped up the application.
It seems that the voting mechanism for the CMT site is still not up and running. I received a lot of calls asking if people had done something wrong because they were unable to access that particular item on the huge, War and Peace of websites, CMT. This was supposed to be up and running by March 1st. Whoops.I'm just glad I wasn't organized enough to target my email blitz until after the site posted (or was I). I bet I'd be getting a lot more calls...
Fellow Broadjammer Will Hopkins is also in the running. I hope I win but if I don't, I hope he does. Best yet, one wins grand prize, and one wins Listeners Choice! I had a chance to speak with Will on the phone. He is a generous friendly person who has offered to show me around when I go to Nashville. I can't tell you what it means to go somewhere new, totally alone, with just songs in your pocket. Will- I can't wait to meet you.
Congratulations to my co- writer Tom Stipe on his first Earth Top 10 placement.
It's so cool.
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Southern hospitality just lived up to it's reputation. I submitted a cd to the NSAI contest and got a call from the event director telling me my cd was blank.
I must say that coming from NYC where impatience rules, I was stunned and relieved when she told me to send it back.
Fast forward a few weeks and I got another call while at work. My husband told me that Nashville called again. Seems I placed 2 songs in the Final 15 slots.My favorite is The Love You Can't Have which I have gotten more enthusiastic emails about than any other song.When I asked about the word 'bitchin' (as I have gotten more flack about that word making the song prohibitive)I was told that they LOVED that word. Go figure.
I have been told by every professional that I need to go to Nashville. Well, it sure would be nice to have a door open when I get there.
One of the best parts of this contest for me is that I have connected with fellow Broadjammer Will Hopkins. He is also a finalist and his song is beautiful. After talkng on the phone with will, I now feel like I have a friend in Nasville. It's ucanny how alike we are. We both wrote musicals, we'll both die happy... Who knows! We may come up with a brilliant song over lunch.
I am also co- writing with a Southern gentleman Broadjammer from Alabama named Tom Stipe. We have 2 cool new tunes- 20 Toes and When Did Hell Freeze Over. Check them out on his site. I had a chance to meet Tom when he covered the Philly- Bama game in Dec. Very cool.
For all you web surfers, Bobby Caputo has a great podcast going called Songboys. His voice sounds inviting and he has wonderful taste in music (OK so I'm on there)Give it a listen.
I have to say I have such a great husband.How many men are secure enough to let their wives hang out with many different guys with guitars!
I love you- Wayne
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Greetings Broadjammers.
I would have posted this sooner but I had to actually decompress for a few days like an astronaut back from the Moon.
I know what Dorothy felt like when she came home from OZ, or Alice, back through the looking glass, or Jodie Foster in the movie Contact, when after a visit to a new dimension, is hurled back through the wormhole to normalcy. Each character experienced an incredible adventure and became altered in a present reality.
As part of the 6-Pack songwriting challenge, I got invited to the West coast to attend the Namm festival. As a non- performing songwriter who barely leaves the comfort zone of her studio, just flying out there, alone, was a giant step.
This experience is multi-layered so I will peel it, like an onion.
Layer 1
First, I met a few of the Broadjam staff. I don't think I've ever met a more courteous, professional, and good-looking bunch of serious business minded folks at one time. In one evening over late- night pie, and one breakfast buffet, I felt as if these people were related to me. They couldn't have made me feel more welcome and comfortable. If this was a sample of mid-western charm, then I want to move to Wisconsin. I was so impressed with how casual and easy they made their motivated, savvy, business acumen appear. The best part is that they are all musicians!
At face value alone, the Namm festival is very exciting. I got to sit in on many seminars to see the latest in musical instrumentation and technology, demonstrated by the top musicians, producers, and performers in the fields.
One plug-in seminar was so great, I watched it twice! One Roland demonstration had a keyboard player route his mic through the synth and as he sang, he became a full choir. Truly amazing. Software gets better and better... As I moved from one sound field to the next,I couldn't help but be blown away by the advancing music capabilities..
Another layer...
While all this external stimulation was taking place, I was made aware of all the business being conducted by Jedi networkers. I watched deals get brokered and meetings set up. Because the president of Broadjam had taken me under his wing,I was privy to the awesome up and coming opprtunities that will be made available in the future. As a registered nurse, I am bound by a confidentiality oath to not reveal anything I witnessed. But I can tell you that there are a lot of really cool things down the road.
While at NAMM, I had the opportunity to meet Jason Scheff, the lead singer of Chicago. (Check out the Photo)I gave him a country cd at Roy's urging, because he had just told us a story about hanging with Rascal Flatts...! I also met another songwriter who places in TV and Film. He got my web site. People are very interested in meeting other people. You never know what will happen, or how...
My favorite layer...
Roy Elkins, the president of Broadjam, and now, the big brother I never had, is a class act. Though this was not part of the 6-Pack prize, Roy managed to set up a few meetings to help me place songs with top music supervisors. I felt like I was on an episode of the Apprentice. I found out that I really wasn't as prepared as I should have been because I didn't know what I needed to be prepared. I know now.
The morning was filled with TV music supervisors who offered up great submission advice. After each meet, Roy discussed the things to do and not to do. Everyone seemed to forgive my lack of experience because I was with Roy, and everyone loves Roy!
Lunch found me with an executive director of the Academy of Country Music. I swear Roy I won't tell!
The afternoon found me sitting at a conference table with the music director of a major motion picture studio who gave me solid advice and direction. He was kind, generous, and even funny as he tried to make me a little less nervous. I knew he was serious when he informed me that I didn't strictly adhere to the 6/8 time of a certain tune. Only my producer and I knew that! What ears! He informed me that a conductor would be very unhappy- Note to self, adhere more strictly to the 6/8 time.
All in all, I couldn't have gotten a better music business education anywhere. Most songwriters I know are so steeped in their art/ craft and production, they don't realize that even if you have a perfect song/ production, you are only HALF DONE. What you do with the business half of that song is what separates the men from the boys (just a metaphor girls)
And so, back in my studio, I write this blog as a changed person. Instead of avoiding the business issues I know I must face, I embrace them. I just took a double EXCEL class on Friday to make budgets and intro to a database. ( All this from someone who had over a hundred master cds with just a date, laying in places like under the car mat, on top of the fridge etc...
Organization is now top priority. Once I am organized, I will plan my strategy of networking. I'm back at the gym building up my strength. My energy bank was so depleted in LA, that I think I am incapable of getting excited about
anything again until at least March.
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Wow and Whoopee! It's over. I won the most exciting songwriting contest in the world!
Anybody can submit their songs in a one shot deal. This was an artists endurance test- like the Tour de France of music!
I was headed to Florida the same time as hurricane Wilma and went West to Las Vegas instead. I saw great shows, massive feats of architecture, and my awesome brother. But nothing compared to the news of winning the 6 pack. I was flooded by contrasting emotions. Pride and humiliation, elation and the let down of conclusion. I drank Champagne and slept and dreamed. It's hard to believe that life will return to normal.
The prizes, while magnificent, are just icing on the cake. The golden carrot is really the honor of having been in such company as Yaktuna, Glenn Kricher, Bobby Caputo, and Toby Tune. ( And Steven Judge )
I want to thank everyone who voted me to the top.
I also need to thank one of the best producers in the country, Anthony Newett, for his genius- both musical and technical. We have been working together for a long time. If you want to boost your demos dramatically, go to
www.newettstudios.com (You'll probably win the next 6 pack! )
I look forward to meeting the Broadjam staff in LA. They have been nothing short of tremendous with everything from advice to tech support. And they sound so fun! Bobby Caputo has smartly advised me to leave my credit cards at home.
Lastly, thank you Roy for the wisdom, ambition, and perserverance that led to the creation of this GOD directed idea called Broadjam.
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WOW!This has been a great run for me!
Not too long ago, I got a song on the Berghoff Blues cd and won some cash.(I always need demo loot)
When I got home from my 3-11 shift at the Hospital, I checked my email and Bobby Caputo let me in on the good news that I was a grand prize winner in the Dallas Song Competition, as well as a finalist in the Country and Jazz categories. I was so pumped that I couldn't sleep.
After getting the kids off to school, I passed out for a few hours and when I woke, the results of the Christmas challenge portion of the Six Pack were in.
Much to my surprise, I took first place. This tickles me because I love Christmas and my friend Heather has one of the largest collections of Christmas cds (around 70 and rising ) and she loved the song!
The Six Pack Challenge is almost over. The operative word here is challenge. On demand writing has always appealed to me but my adrenal glands have been thoroughly squeezed. As much as I love a deadline, I will have to recover from this.
Being a non- performing songwriter doesn't offer many opportunities for exposure. This is my shot at getting some reputable press. I just need to medicate against this non-stop chest pain , nail- biting marathon for two more weeks.
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