There are two reasons why songwriters participate in a songwriting competition:
The Judges
These are the people you want to get in front of. For better or for worse, they are the insiders who pull the strings. Their reputation and expertise open doors. In a songwriting competition, that could result in a handful of songwriters taking the fast track to music success. I’ve seen it happen again and again.
The Prizes
The bigger the prize, the more likely the outcome of a true commercial success for the songwriting competition winner. If the prize is big enough, it may change the winner’s life forever. I’ve seen that happen too.
In 2011, We Are Listening has a tough decision to make. We have limited resources to expand our network and, therefore, must be selective about where we invest. So, I’m paying forward this decision to you…
…Should we invest in recruiting more judges or developing bigger prizes?
On a daily basis, I receive email to the effect of, “I’m a struggling musician, really talented… please listen to my songs and tell me what you can do, okay?”
It’s not okay.
Folks, the word “struggling” does not inspire much confidence and describing yourself as “talented”, “awesome” or “star quality” doesn’t fly either.
Instead, show me the benefits of listening to your music and maybe even working with or investing in you. Also, don’t tell me what YOU think of yourself. Tell me what other people think of you: Show me what the press is writing about you and how many fans are spreading the word.
If you’re good, validate your claim. Don’t assume that if you tell me that you’re the next big cheese I’ll believe you. I won’t.
These blog posts represent your topics of greatest interest in 2010 and how you envision the future of We Are Listening. More than ever, I have enjoyed and benefited from my on-going dialogue with you, our members, and look forward to big strides in songwriting, song competitions and songwriter resources in 2011. Thank you for your participation!
I discussed the prospect of launching an international songwriting competition with a one million dollar cash prize with a colleague of mine today. We agreed that, in order for the music industry to take songwriting competitions seriously, we’ve got to put our money where our mouth is.
Imagine – one lucky and immensely talented individual will win $1,000,000 cash. That’s enough capital to launch any half-decent record to the stratosphere. And what label, manager, publicist or radio plugger wouldn’t work with an artist with that kind of marketing capital?
A million dollar prize is bigger than performing on the American Idol stage. It’s bigger than going on tour with a legacy act. It’s bigger than any artist development opportunity the music industry has collectively called to action since… ever??
I’m talking about a cool million with no strings attached. And if you want to put the money into a lush condo instead of your music career, it’s your prerogative.
Oh, and submissions would be free.
Now that’s an international songwriting competition to take note of.
In 2007, Alexandria Maillot submitted a co-write between her sister, Amanda Maillot, and producer, Joby Baker, titled “Revolution” into We Are Listening’s The Singer/Songwriter Awards.
Though the song did not win, it made a considerable impact on our judges, Thomas Scherer in particular, and was awarded as one of only four finalists for the song contest. Thomas, Managing Director of Parasongs in Germany at the time, and a valued We Are Listening panelist to date, secured the publishing rights for “Revolution” after I facilitated an introduction to Alexandria. Thomas pitched the song to Universal Europe for the Swedish artist, Stefanie Heinzmann, and it was released as the third single from her Platinum certified debut, “Masterplan”, in 2008.
The song reached 47 on the German music charts and included in a number of compilations released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The video for “Revolution” has been viewed more than 900,000 times to date and featured on Perez Hilton’s blog.
This year, Alexandria tried her luck again with We Are Listening and was selected as the winner of The Singer/Songwriter Awards with “All We Need”.
Hi. My name is XXXXXXX. I was wondering if we could maybe strike a deal. You see, I have no money because I am not famous yet. If you can help me become famous, then instead of giving you 30 dollars, I will give you 500 dollars!
“Lior, I couldn’t be more grateful for the connections you made for me with Beth and Jon. I signed a contract with Imaginary Friends this week, and also talked to Jon. I was nervous to work with both of them at the same time, but Jon called Beth yesterday.. and everything will be working out fine. Jon will be pitching my music to MTV and ETV! and Beth will be licensing for other TV networks. Jon says there are new shows opening for June, and placements will happen really quickly. I will let you know if I have more good news! Thank you so so much.”
MusikPitch offers free song contests for songwriters. Simply select a free song contest and submit your songs. There’s no cost to take part, it’s a great way to get your music heard, and there’s a cash prize for the winner.
Over the weekend, I was thinking about the many artists out there that don’t have the means to write with others, learn from others, and finance a demo or live showcase.
You see, at We Are Listening, we look at an artist’s musical merit. But we also realize that in order for an artist to demonstrate his full potential, he has to have support and encouragement from family and friends, access to venues and recording facilities, and a little money to travel, record and self-promote.
Many artists simply don’t have the opportunity to be heard, let alone get signed or published. Some come from broken homes, dead-end jobs, and unmanageable debt.
I was thinking that creating a scholarship program where we finance a talented artist based on his or her financial circumstances – not just musical merit – would be an excellent initiative for We Are Listening.
A We Are Listening scholarship program would provide a handful of struggling artists with an opportunity to rise above the noise and ease the harsh realities of their day to day lives.
I’d like to think that it would make a difference.
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