MUSIC INDUSTRY BLOG

Several months ago, I was interviewed for an article in Berklee Today, the Berklee College of Music magazine.

The piece, titled Healthy Competitions, studies the many perspectives on song contests and their changing role as the business of songwriting has evolved and become ever more competitive over the years.

I thought I would share some of these perspectives with you by publishing four quotes from the article which you can read in its entirety here.

“Aspiring songwriters get in trouble when they start looking for the quickest way to achieve their musical goals in the shortest amount of time by doing the least amount of work,” says singer/songwriter Dave Petrelli, the director of events for the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI).  “Less-than-legitimate song contests can take advantage of that by promising really unrealistic things.”

“I’m sure that winning a songwriting contest is a positive event, even if it’s only to boost the prestige or stroke the ego of the winner,” Songwriting Department Chair at Berklee, Jack Perricone says.  “Because more than money, songwriters need to have their songs acknowledged and to be given hope that they are not writing in a vacuum.”

“We have a proven track record in past years of winners going on to get signed to music publishing contracts, record contracts, and hit the charts,” says Eddie Phoon, the event director for the USA Songwriting Competition.  “Kate Voegele got her start by winning first prize at the 2005 USA Songwriting Competition in the Pop category; the record labels took notice.  We even placed her at our showcase at South by Southwest, where she was signed after the show by Interscope.”

Emily Shackelton entered the John Lennon/BMI Foundation scholarship competition and won, despite doubt that her song would even get listened to.  “I was definitely proven wrong,” Shackelton says.  And the win has really made a difference.  When Shackelton moved to Nashville, BMI set her up with a rep that landed her a publishing deal.  Additionally, last year she placed as a runner-up in the American Idol songwriting contest, and subsequently crowned idol David Cooke sang her song on TV, resulting in nearly 200,000 iTunes downloads and a number 15 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 charts.

What’s your take on this?

Leave a comment

I attended the NAMM show today in Anaheim.  It’s the largest industry event that I know of.

Walking from the car park to the convention center, I heard a familiar melody echoing in the distance.  As I approached, it hit me that the song I was hearing was being performed live, on stage, in front of the entrance, by one of our very own song contest winners: Michael Logen.

Michael Logen is a two-time We Are Listening song contest winner; in 2005 and 2006.  Only one other artist has won our song contest twice.  He’s an immensely talented artist and an awesome human being.

After his 45min set, we had lunch together.

Three years ago, Michael was going through a rough patch professionally.  In the last year, though, his luck changed.  He has been writing and touring with Jonny Lang and Matt Kearney, both of whom have become close friends of his.  He has a number of cuts on their records and recently became a free agent.  Consequently, several major publishers, labels and managers are courting him now.  Things couldn’t be better.

Running into Michael was my favorite part of the day.

When I returned to Santa Monica where I’m staying for the rest of the week, I was struck by something he mentioned over lunch:

Lior, most artists don’t realize how long it takes.  I’ve been doing this for quite a while and it never occurred to me to quit.  I stuck to my plan.  That’s the difference.

A plan.  Now that sounds like a good thing to have!

What is your plan?

Have you got what it takes to stick to it?

Leave me your comments.

I spend the first hour of my working day sifting through email.

I read important email immediately.  Save low priority missives for later.  Flag and filter various blog subscriptions.  Delete the rest.

A large percentage of the daily email that I receive is from budding songwriters.  Those, I don’t delete and endeavor to respond to within a few days.

Typically, I will read:

Hey! Found your website.  Looks cool.  Just got out of the studio with a great new song.  My best ever man.  Here is the link…… please tell me what you think.  I’m looking for a manager.  Thx.

So I click and listen.

In my reply, I highlight strengths and weaknesses.  If I can, I offer a tip or two.  My response rarely exceeds two or three lines.  On rare occasions, I will make an intro to a manager, promoter or label.

From time to time, I click and hear the kind of dribble that belongs on Pop Idol outtakes.

I work hard to identify strengths but there are none.  Each note is more painful than its predecessor, working their way down my spine until a lumbar vertabra pops in unison with my speakers.  Ouch.

Sometimes, it really is that dreadful.

Should I refrain from responding if I don’t have anything nice to say?

Should I be truthful?

What if the awful artist I’m describing is you?

How would you expect me to respond? How would you respond?

p.s. I wish to credit Mandy Mercier for inspiring the title and theme of this post with her comment on The Truth About Our Song Contest.

I recently sent out a newsletter under the headline Song Contests Are A Scam.

It was a big success.

Its open rate was higher than any other newsletter I have ever sent.

But it was a major flop too.  Its unsubscribe rate was higher than ever before.  I lost many readers forever.  I received a lot of angry replies.

I wrote “Song Contests Are A Scam” to convince you otherwise.  I included social proof and listed benefits.

To be honest, I don’t know about other song contests but ours is the real deal.  And that’s the truth.

So where do you think I went wrong?

Please let me know.

“What if I run a song contest where the entry fees from all the participants are awarded to the winner?”

Consider this concept for a Community Funded Song Contest:

Everyone Gets Heard By Everyone
Instead of fans or industry judges voting for a winner, the paying contest participants (you) vote for the winner.  This means that, not only do you pay, say, $10 to upload your song, but you must also listen and review every song entered in the song contest in order for your vote to count.  You must pay.  You must listen.  You must vote.  Everyone who takes part gets heard by everyone who takes part.

Winner Takes All
Your entry fee goes into a ‘cash prize pool’ for the category you entered into.  The winner for this category wins the cash.  All of it.  Mainstream categories (Rock, Pop, Country etc.) will naturally draw more entries — and cash — than niche categories such as Avante Garde and World.  Select your category carefully or…

Create Your Own Category
Some artists refuse to pigeon-hole their music into a single category (or genre) while others stick to one, defining genre and never stray.  When you enter the Community Funded Song Contest, you’ll have a choice of categories.  However, if you don’t find one that works for you, you can create your own category and hope that other participants will follow.  For example, a Nashville-based songwriter may create the Nashville Alt. Rock category which may attract other Nashville-based songwriters.

So if I don’t win, I paid and got nothing?
No!  Remember, if you participate, your song will be reviewed by everyone else who participates.  You can leave comments for one another too.

How does this concept compare with the Free Song Contest concept?

Leave me your feedback please.

Derek Siver’s idea for a free, open song contest got me thinking.

On his blog, he wrote:

I’m thinking about song contests, what a scam they usually are, but don’t have to be. By song contests, I mean all those ones that want a submission fee to enter, promising big prizes if you win, and whose judges are a small group of insiders.

I’ve been running song contests for more than five years.  Not the free, open kind.

I know what it takes to run a legitimate song contest.  I know what it costs and the human resources involved.  As far as I’m concerned, a free song contest is completely out of the question.

Or is it…

Lior’s Free Song Contest Concept

The following conditions are intended to make the cash prize feasible, keep marketing and administration costs low, and recruit song contest judges without compensation by limiting their duties to just a handful of reviews each:

1. One free song contest per year

2. One song entry per artist/band only

3. One category per artist/band only

4. One winner per category

5. Five categories (i.e. Rock, Pop, Country, Urban, Christian)

6. $2000 cash prize for every winner in each category ($10,000 total)

7. Four finalists per category

8. Judges review the finalists only (company staff review the others)

9. No prizes for finalists and runners-up

10. No honorable mentions

11. Limited promotion for the winners

12. No feedback (song critiques available for a fee)

So what do you think?

You may also be interested in:

Song Contests Are A Scam
8 Reasons Not To Enter A Song Contest
7 Reasons To Enter A Song Contest
10 Reasons To Enter A Song Contest Again
10 Most Popular Song Contests

Derek Sivers, Founder of CD Baby, wrote on his blog:

I’m thinking about song contests, what a scam they usually are, but don’t have to be. By song contests, I mean all those ones that want a submission fee to enter, promising big prizes if you win, and whose judges are a small group of insiders.

And who am I to argue?  The man is a legend.

Entering a song contest is no different to buying a T-shirt, booking a room in a hotel, or starting a business.

You want to know who you’re buying from, what customers are saying, and whether your investment will pay off.

You want to know what you’re buying into before you buy.

If you don’t perform some due diligence, you’re likely to be disappointed: Your T-shirt unravels, your hotel is dirty, your business fails.  Or you enter a song contest and don’t win.  It’s disappointing.

Wouldn’t you like to know what you’re getting before you spend money entering a song contest?

For this reason, we developed our song critique service.

We did it so you can find out if our song contests are right for you, help you set realistic goals and expectations and, most of all, become a better songwriter.

Before you spend $30 on our song critique service, do this:

1. Google “Songwriting Critique”.  See who else is providing this service before purchasing ours.

2. Don’t just read our reviews, Google the reviewer and even contact him or her to get more information.

3. Read our FAQ and review our terms of use so you know what to expect.

And learn everything there is to know about song contests:

8 Reasons Not To Enter A Song Contest
7 Reasons To Enter A Song Contest
10 Reasons To Enter A Song Contest Again
10 Most Popular Song Contests

We polled 617 musicians who have entered a song contest (not necessarily ours) at some point and asked them the following question:

“What was your primary reason for entering a song contest?”

Here are the results:

1. The song contest offered a label deal as the prize (25%)

2. The song contest offered a publishing deal as the prize (19%)

3. The song contest offered television placement as the prize (15%)

4. I wanted the song contest judges to hear my songs (12%)

5. The song contest offered a cash prize (11%)

6. The song contest offered a live showcase as the prize (10%)

7. The song contest offered music gear as the prize (8%)

You may also be interested in:

10 Reasons To Enter A Song Contest Again
8 Reasons Not To Enter A Song Contest
10 Most Popular Song Contests

We polled 171 musicians that indicated that they have entered a song contest (not necessarily ours) more than once or entered more than one song contest at least once.

Here are the top 10 reasons why they entered a song contest again:

1. I thought I would place Runner-Up or higher (61%)

2. I wanted the judges to hear my new songs (18%)

3. After a critique, I expected to place Runner-Up or higher (10%)

4. Positive feedback from the song contest organizers (4%)

5. A friend/colleague/promoter recommended entering again (3%)

6. The song contest organizers were very professional (2%)

7. I received positive feedback from the judges (1%)

8. I was  Selected As A Runner-Up (less than 1%)

9. I was selected as a finalist (less than 1%)

10. I won (less than 1%)

You may also be interested in:

10 Most Popular Song Contests
8 Reasons Not To Enter A Song Contest
7 Reasons To Enter A Song Contest

We asked 617 musicians who have entered a song contest (not necessarily ours) at some point this question:

“If you could enter only one song contest, which would it be?”

Here are the results:

1. The John Lennon Songwriting Contest (21%)

2. Billboard World Song Contest (19%)

3. International Songwriting Competition (16%)

4. We Are Listening (15%)

5. Annual Independent Music Awards (10%)

6. NSAI Song Contest (CMT) (9%)

7. The UK Songwriting Contest (6%)

8. USA Songwriting Competition (2%)

9. Great American Song Contest (1%)

10. Unisong International Songwriting Contest (1%)

You may also be interested in:

8 Reasons Not To Enter A Song Contest
10 Reasons To Enter A Song Contest Again
7 Reasons To Enter A Song Contest