Yesterday, my friend and colleague, Tobin Watkinson, accepted my invitation to join We Are Listening’s Panel of Judges. His participation in our songwriting competition review schedule will kick-in immediately.
Tobin Watkinson was most recently a consultant to the A&R Department at Atlantic Records while simultaneously holding the title of co-founder/partner at boutique LA based management company, Roxwell Management. Prior to co-founding Roxwell, Tobin was the Director of Artist & Repertoire at MySpace Records, a joint venture with Interscope Records.
He has been awarded gold and platinum records for his early involvement in the discovery of recording artist OneRepublic. Their debut single “Apologize” has sold over 10 million singles worldwide and is one of the most legally downloaded songs in U.S. digital history. In 2008 “Apologize” broke the all-time record for the most “spins” in the history of U.S. Top 40 Radio and OneRepublic went on to sell nearly 2 million copies of their debut album “Dreaming Out Loud” which has been certified gold or platinum in 12 countries. In addition, Tobin has also helped launch the careers of successful touring acts Scary Kids Scaring Kids (RCA) and Madina Lake (Roadrunner/Atlantic).
Prior to being recruited to help launch MySpace Records, Tobin was partnered in a joint venture with Warner Music Group and was part of the team that led business development efforts at internet music startup Purevolume.com. In addition, Tobin has worked with Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group, as well as joint ventures through Columbia Records and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, LLC.
I am confident that the addition of Tobin’s expert knowledge of the marketplace, sound ear, and network of contacts will lead to greater accomplishments for our songwriting competition participants.
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?
Two weeks ago, I wrote a post about my idea for a one million dollar song contest. The premise of the idea is to give away a million dollars cash to one artist from a million who enter. It’s a winner-takes-all concept where submissions are free and the prize is the largest in the industry’s history. If you didn’t read the post, here it is.
I want to take this idea and develop it. And I need your help:
I’ve been searching for names for this song contest. For example, Million Dollar Song Contest or One Million Voices. I’m not thrilled with either.
Please think of names that you believe are suitable and leave them in the comments below this post.
But there’s a catch! The domain must be available. Don’t suggest a name like “One Million” because buying this domain would cost about fifty grand.
If you think of a good name, check that the domain is available on www.godaddy.com before suggesting it.
In response to an email alert that automatically goes out to our members seven days before a song contest deadline, I received this email this morning. It made me chuckle. Is that bad?
I am pleased to see that there are only 7 days remaining before this farce comes to a blissful end. Every day this “opportunity” has been before us it has seemed like a miserable exercise in futility. Please inform me when you have completely closed your doors to any additional submissions so I can rest in peace. It’s been a nightmare.
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!
In a blog post, Spinme.com Editor, Joe Taylor writes:
“If you type the words ’songwriting contest’ into Google, you’re going to come back with close to a million entries. And that number is growing all the time. Too many scam artists are realizing that it’s far too easy to convince a songwriter to part with her money on the assumption that she’ll get ‘found’.”
In a separate post, Joe Taylor writes:
“Too many songwriting contests market themselves with the fantasy that music business veterans and chart-topping superstars will be holed up in a conference room, poring over your submission. For the most part, that simply doesn’t happen unless you make it to the final round of the most elite and well-respected songwriting contests.”
Do you think there’s any merit to Joe Taylor’s sentiments?
Our songwriting competitions are open for up to three months at a time. That’s 90 full days. Or 2160 hours during which anyone, anywhere, can submit his songs to us in a matter of seconds.
Yet, we receive the vast majority of our submissions during the final hour. And just minutes after, we’re flooded with emails from individuals who missed the deadline and would like us to make an exception… which we don’t.
If we were to extend a deadline at the very last minute, send a bonus email blast announcing it, and make an ‘exception’ for anyone that asks for it, we would receive more submissions.
I happen to know of a few songwriting competitions that routinely extend their deadlines at the very last minute.
And I have to ask, why do they impose deadlines if they themselves don’t stick to them?
Graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in Public Relations and Entertainment Communications, Eavan began her music career as an A&R intern at Atlantic Records. In 2007, she joined the Artist Management Department at Vancouver-based Nettwerk Music Group. Out of Nettwerk’s LA office, Eavan works directly with the artists Jars of Clay, Sixpence None the Richer, Maria Taylor, Griffin House, and Lucy Schwartz on a day to day basis. In 2009, she began working with manager Kevin Kocher for the artists Chromeo, Datarock, and Fan Death, as well. In her free time she throws parties and books shows with other music industry friends under the moniker “Less Jack More Jill” and is quite fond of gummy bears and puppies. We’re delighted to welcome Eavan to our panel of song contest judges.
Yesterday, my friend and colleague, Tobin Watkinson, accepted my invitation to join We Are Listening’s Panel of Judges. His participation in our songwriting competition review schedule will kick-in immediately.
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