I received this email from Aaron Hurst, after he collected on his Lyric Writing Awards prize which consisted of a co-writing and recording session with Pete and Pat Luboff:
Lior,
Thank you very much! And I also want to thank you and We Are Listening for giving me such a great and beneficial opportunity. I learned so much from Pat and Pete. Not only did they help me expand on my songwriting abilities, but also helped me understand the whole songwriting collaboration process even better. I never thought in a million years that I’d be given a chance such as this! The demo sounds amazing and they’re pitching it to the upcoming TV show called The Voice. That’s just beyond me! This is definitely a dream come true.
In a world full of song sharks and companies that aren’t so honest, it’s so nice to see a group like We Are Listening that still cares about the art of making songs and about helping people like me live their dreams. Your songwriter contests are the best around and as long as I’m eligible, you’ll be seeing me back in the lyric writer awards every round!
I feel that advertising a songwriter competition as free but then, after going through all the upload etc., asking for money is a bit of a low down trick. I thought you guys were better than that?
Regards,
S
We ARE better than that.
This is not the first email of this nature that I’ve received since launching our free songwriter competition. To be clear, the contest is absolutely free. However, when you’re filling out your entry form, you’ll find options to also submit to our paid songwriter competitions such as The Singer/Songwriter Awards and Lyric Writer Awards. Simply select “No” for each and “No” for the paid critique, and you will be charged NOTHING for your submission for the Free International Songwriting Competition.
These are not hidden fees or automatic opt-ins. You have complete control of your entry form. If you have any ideas as to how we can make this process more transparent and user-friendly, I’m all ears…
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?
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!
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