Music Publishing & Songwriting

Does anyone actually enjoy networking?

Everyone, even people with even a minimal knowledge of the entertainment business, seems to understand the necessity of it. In show business, “it’s not what you know– it’s who you know”, or at least that’s what the old adage says. Most songwriters who’ve actually started to try to make a business out of writing music have quickly learned the need for a circle of contacts and connections. But do most writers enjoy the process of “networking”– trying to meet new people, collecting business cards, hanging out at industry events, persuading friends to introduce you to their contacts? Probably not. It’s not exactly why you got into writing songs, right?

Probably because we spent too many of our formative years locked away in solitude– listening to records, practicing an instrument, or penning heart-wrenching poems of love and longing– most songwriters tend to be loners. Networking is not something that comes naturally. Of course, most of us are perfectly happy hanging out with our friends. That’s something else entirely. Unfortunately, most of us don’t understand that hanging out with our friends can often be the best form of networking that we do.

When I first moved to New York in the 1980’s to become a songwriter and producer, I had the good fortune to come into contact with a small group of other songwriters who were also in the process of launching their careers– the group included Alexandra Forbes (who wrote “Don’t Rush Me” for Taylor Dane),
Shelly Peiken (”Bitch for Meredith Brooks, and “What A Girl Wants” for Christina Aguilera), Jeff Franzel (who has written for everyone from NSYNC to Placido Domingo) and Barbara Jordan (former Berklee faculty and founder of Heavy Hitters Publishing). While none of us were in exactly the same musical style, we were all primarily oriented toward writing the sort of mainstream pop material in vogue at that time.

We all initially got to know each other through what we called “song parties”. We would meet at each other’s apartments and trade leads about who was looking for material, listen to and critique each other’s songs, and of course, trade industry gossip and horror stories. These get-togethers inevitably led to collaborations and friendships, and an ever-expanding network of other writers, musicians, singers, engineers, and record executives.

Before long, a fledgling musical community was thriving. If there were an A&R person that I hadn’t met yet, inevitably an introduction would come through someone else in the group. If someone else needed a recommendation for a demo singer, or some help with an arrangement, I might be able to lend a hand. This doesn’t feel like networking. It’s just what friends do.

Of course, we were all competitors– all chasing after the same cuts, working on the same projects, and cultivating relationships with the same industry contacts. This too is part of being in a community—competition inevitably makes everyone else raise their game.

How well did it work? Interestingly, out of a core group of ten people, at least eight are still working in the industry today. All of those people have had Top Ten hits some have had several. That’s a remarkably high percentage for a group of songwriters chosen at random. And yet, I suspect the averages would be about the same for many of the songwriting groups run by NSAI or others. It’s not that this was such a talented group of people. It’s the fact that when talented people get together, rather than trying to go it alone, it opens up opportunities for all of them. In fact, the song party worked so well that most of us who were part of it remember it as one of the key elements in the development of our careers.

The good news is “song party” is about to get a new twist. Partly at the suggestion of Shelly Peiken, music business veteran Suzan Koc, one of the top publishers in the industry, has launched a new venture, called “Songwriters Rendez-vous”, inspired in part by the “song party” and what it did for that small group of writers in NYC. This time around, the program is based in Los Angeles, and as it’s an actual business (there is a fee to attend), it’s considerably more organized. There are critiques, counseling, industry guests, and more– it’s a 6-week mentoring session, in groups of 12 participants. Check out the website:

As valuable as the technical knowledge is, don’t miss the real point. This is the way networking is done. By meeting 12 other songwriters, you are suddenly part of a songwriting community. You’ll be challenged, helped, inspired and educated by others who are doing similar things, and facing similar obstacles. If you’re lucky, you’ll find some collaborators. If you’re really lucky, you’ll find some friends.

Last night, I went to a party for a friend who was having one of those milestone birthdays. That friend is a very successful writer/producer, and was another of the original “song party” crew. Not surprisingly, the rest of the room was filled with people that I had known for more than 25 years. Despite all the ups and downs of this crazy business, everyone was happy (as much as songwriters or musicians can be), successful, and still making music in one way or another, more than two decades later. Whether or not you know it now, this is the goal.

When you’re younger, it’s easy to get caught up in trying to leapfrog over your peers, or finding that industry “power-player” that will open all the important doors. As you get older, you realize that the best part of surviving or thriving in the industry is the friendships that endure over what is inevitably a journey filled with highs and lows.

Networking won’t make you very many friends. But things like “song party” will– and they’ll give you a network too. There’s strength in numbers, and there’s company and support as well. Don’t miss opportunities like “Songwriters Rendez-vous”, if you want to find your way into the creative community.

While we’re on the subject of conferences– which we were last week— here’s a new one to check out:

London Calling 2008

This is the UK’s largest music industry exhibition conference and live showcasing event, with over 3500 attendees from 45 different countries. Not too surprisingly, the focus of the conference is on independent music and the future of the music industry– which may be one and the same thing. Definitely an appropriate topic when EMI Records, the UK’s biggest label, is about to lay-off a huge percentage of their workforce (that is, if they can ever get around to it). Should be a great conference, and a showcase opportunity that’s worth considering, even for American bands. Maybe especially for American bands…

That’s because London seems to be one of the last spots on earth with a passion for new music. You can feel it when you’re there– this is one place where people still go out regularly to clubs to see new bands, where new, unique artists emerge with some regularity, and where the industry has rediscovered that music without a TV show or a featured spot in an advertisement can still matter to people. Looking at the artists that have broken out of the UK in the past two years, from Amy Winehouse to Corinne Bailey Rae to James Blunt to James Morrison and now Duffy, it’s clear that UK is in one of its most productive periods in years.

What’s really interesting is that the UK is now breaking not only their own native artists– but Americans as well! The Scissor Sisters have all the cachet of a UK act, having become European superstars virtually overnight. The crazy thing is that they’re not British at all. They’re a New York act that made the journey to England, in search of a more open, responsive radio environment, and an audience that still appreciates a mix of style, humor, and a little camp, mixed in with some great songwriting.

The same is true of last year’s big success story, Mika– another American artist that had to go to the UK to find his true home.

It’s quite possible that this year will bring another example, with the NY singer-songwriter Julian Velarde. After several years of building a following in NY’s Lower East Side club scene, this singer-songwriter still hadn’t landed the label or publishing deal he was looking for. Then suddenly, the British A&R scene started buzzing about him and created something of a feeding frenzy, with UK execs flying across the pond to throw out offers and scoop him up right under the noses of the US A&R community. If Julian’s album is the hit that many expect it to be, there will be some A&R weasels over on Madison Avenue and at Rockefeller Center with some serious explaining to do.

Songwriters and artists have to realize that they are in a global business. Of course, that means that you can sell your records all over the world. But it also means that you can make your records all over the world. If you’re not finding the recognition that you’re looking for where you are, or if your sound is not a fit for radio in this country– there’s a flight at JFK that might solve your problem. It’s worth a trip to see if the grass might be greener on another shore.

A few weeks ago, I gave a shout out to the musical community of Nashville, having been reminded of that city’s vitality as a music center during a recent business trip. A few weeks ago, I hit the road again to visit a town that, at the moment, burns a few degrees hotter even than Nashville:

Atlanta.

Detroit and Motown in the mid-Sixties; Philadelphia in the Seventies; Seattle in the Eighties– that’s where Atlanta is right now. In many ways, it’s the epicenter of pop and urban music in America, with producers and writers like Dream, Sean Garrett, Bryan Michael Cox, and Dallas Austin, along with artists like Cee-Lo, Outkast, Shop Boyz, and Usher dominating the charts. All that success has created a must-go destination for artists seeking that magic production touch, A&R weasels looking for that breakthrough hit song, or publishers searching for the latest up and coming hitmakers. On top of the thriving urban/pop scene, there’s an active rock scene, with artists like the Whigs, as well as a healthy and thriving singer/songwriter world. Having made my way down to the ATL to check out a new songwriter/producer, I soon found myself in the middle of a musical community that is a model for how to build a modern music center.

In Atlanta, the artistic and production community live and work next to each other– everyone has a studio complex where musicians, writers, artists, and managers constantly intermingle. While most people work within a small camp of writers and producers, often associated with a specific company, everyone mixes and matches. They trade ideas, they work on the same projects, they share engineers and musicians, and they compete openly but without malice. Most importantly, they have a solid group of executives, artist managers, studio managers, lawyers and publishers that support the creative people and help to build bridges to other music centers in NY and LA. The moral to this heartwarming story: People need People.

No man is an island. If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a whole town to build a business. Ask any neighborhood barbecue shop– if you want to be in business, you have to be part of the community.

Probably because we spent too many of our formative years locked away in solitude– listening to records, practicing our instrument or writing heartbreaking poems of love and longing– most musicians tend to be loners. The message from music centers like Atlanta and Nashville is clear: it’s time to become a team player. Your team is the musical community around you: other musicians, writers, artists, publishers, press, fans, radio programmers, independent film-makers, and anyone else who shares a similar direction. This has been a constant theme in the development of American music, from the Memphis rockabilly community that spawned rock ‘n’ roll to the Brill Building in NY, to the rise of West Coast rap. Artists, writers and companies do not develop in isolation. They grow in clusters, supporting and learning from each other.

Of course, everyone is competing with one another as well. That would be hard to miss in either Nashville or Atlanta. Everyone is working on the same projects, chasing the same cuts, and cultivating the same contacts. This is what businesses do– they compete without apology. This is also the benefit of being part of the community– competition invariably makes everyone raise the level of their game. Lack of competition gives you Amtrak and your cable company.

As you try to build your publishing business, it’s essential to start creating not just a company, but a community around you. Hitco Music was one of the early players in Atlanta urban music, and they continue to thrive amidst the scene that they built. No matter where you are, there are likely other people trying to launch similar creative ventures. It’s up to you to find them, and then figure out ways you can work together. By sharing information and knowledge, you’ll start to build something bigger than yourself– and that’s when a musical community starts to take shape. The business pay-off is big– but the personal pay-off is equally big. You just might make some friends along the way. You might also change the lives of the local aspiring artists that come after you.

Here’s an idea: get together four or five local songwriters and just throw a little party. Play some songs for each other– solicit some feedback, criticism or ideas. Find out who is doing what, and what the shared challenges are. Find out who knows who. If you have a good time, try doing it once a month. This is what was happening in NY when I arrived as an aspiring songwriter, too many years ago. That little group of 8-10 people spawned at least five people still active and successful in the industry today. It made me at least four or five friends for life. That’s not a bad investment for a Thursday night.

Maybe it’s time for a little community service.

In a business as overcrowded and hyper-competitive as today’s music industry, it’s hard to imagine that there are many opportunities lying around undiscovered. With giant conglomerates like Universal Music covering every corner of the globe, often with several different affiliated companies in one geographical territory, along with indie labels, established independent publishers, and the army of new start-up ventures, the odds of finding a new, undiscovered opportunity can feel as remote as finding a table at the Carlton bar during Midem. No matter where you look, by the time you get there, someone has already placed their stake.

It turns out that the Midem analogy is a good one. The truth is, opportunities are hard to find because we’re all looking in the same place. Two weeks from now, thousands of music industry weasels will descend on Austin, Texas for SXSW, the music industry equivalent of fox-hunting, with trend-sniffing, pen-wielding A&R scouts in mad pursuit of the ever elusive Next Big Thing. Picture a very small forest filled with trigger-happy hunters, all firing at anything that moves. Not surprisingly, everyone emerges bloodied, exhausted and empty-handed. Not to mention severely hung-over.

As an alternative, consider this recent story about Carlin America Inc., a venerable independent publisher, who has recently unlocked a whole new source of revenue. Carlin recently acquired the rights to a whole collection of collegiate fight songs, including the themes for Alabama, Florida, Tenessee, Kentucky, Louisiana State, and about 95 other universities.

Fight songs? You mean for marching bands and cheerleaders? Well, yeah. And cell phone ring tones. Video games. Bottle openers for the tail-gaiting crowd. Key chains. Stuffed animals. You know how when you open up a greeting card, it can play a song? That’s not a miracle. That’s a microprocessor– and it means that virtually any gadget or gizmo can be made to play a song with the touch of a button. And apparently, a lot of people like to hear their gadgets play the school fight song. Who knew?

These are the real opportunities of publishing. They lie not in chasing the latest buzz band or pitching songs to Leona Lewis. Those things have their place. But the smart publishers are the ones who are looking where other publishers are not– at music that has the kind of mass consumer appeal to work for a variety of products, from singing fish to hang on the wall, to a greeting card for Grandma, or an orange-clad Santa Claus doll that plays the Florida fight song. It might not win you a Grammy or get you a seat at the ASCAP Pop Awards. But it makes a nice sound when the pennies drop into your bank account.

One of my favorite songwriters, Steve Diamond, recently called to tell me that a song of his was going to be used in a new Reba McEntire album– an album specially made and packaged for sale nationwide in the Hallmark stores for Valentines Day. These kinds of product, aimed directly at very specific markets through specialized retail outlets, represent the future, when it comes to selling physical recordings of music. Likewise, the greeting card, ring tone, game, and electronic gizmo business is likely the future of exploiting musical copyrights.

As I point out in my book, the job of a music publisher is to turn music into money. What Steve Diamond has done to get his song into the Reba- Hallmark venture, or what Carlin Music has done with the school fight songs is Music Publishing 101. My advice is, while everyone else is at SXSW, spend the week writing down every time you hear music being used, whether it’s in a commercial, an elevator, a health club, a ring tone, or the perennial singing fish. This is where the money is being made. Now try to figure out how your catalogue could be used in one of these opportunities. Or try to figure out which songs are being used, and how you might be able to acquire those songs. “Yea, Alabama” is no “Sweet Home Alabama”– but it’s probably a lot more profitable than most of the songs on the pop albums released this year.

In a business filled with lemmings, it’s not a bad move to change things up, and go left when everyone else is going right. That’s called a reverse, and it usually results in nothing but an open field of opportunity up ahead. Go team!

If you’re looking for the future of the music business (and what music business weasel isn’t?), it may have just turned up in a Billboard article from last week. Buried amidst the doom and gloom of EMI lay-offs and further drops in CD sales was a rather shocking announcement:

“In the two months since MTV Networks and Harmonix released the music-based video-game ‘Rock Band’, players have purchased and downloaded more than 2.5 million additional songs made available after the game’s distribution. Activision, meanwhile, says it has sold more than 5 million new songs via download for ‘Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock’ since it began adding downloadable content in eary November”.

Holy Playstation! Holy Xbox! That’s alot of downloads! I’m trying to think of a single that has sold 2.5 million units in a month recently, but I’m afraid I’m a bit stuck. The fact is, no one is moving units like this. Purists will choke, but at the moment it appears that the best way of selling music is by tying it in with products that have nothing to do with music, specifically: ringtones and video-games. Even more striking is the fact that the games are selling downloads not for Steve Jobs’ meager 99 cents, but $1.99 (that’s a 100% increase for those who are too young to remember rising profits). I think we’re on to something here.

Of course, getting a song in a video game is not for everyone. For publishers, it’s much easier to score a hit and get a song in a game if your catalogue is full of 80’s head-bangers, than if it’s full of soft-rock and folk songs. It’s also a lot easier if you have classic hits in your catalogue, as opposed to unknown album cuts. Nevertheless, this opportunity is one that publishers have to avail themselves of, as it’s pretty much the only game in town. Here’s a quick set of suggestions for getting into the game world…

1. Show some energy. Find the songs in your catalogue that are aggressive, up-tempo, and exciting. These are your most likely candidates for a game placement. It doesn’t have to be classic metal– rock of all kinds works well, as does dance and electronica. If your catalogue is full of AC, check and see if there’s a song that might warrant a remix or a remake– maybe you can turn that Celine Dion pitch into a rock anthem, or a mash-up. But every game has its rules, and this one says: no sad, downbeat, soft and tender ballads allowed.

2. Know the players. The game industry is booming and there are new companies emerging right and left. The more that you’re aware of– the better your chances. Subscribe to some gaming magazines, attend conventions like Billboard’s Digital Music Live, the Consumer Electronics Show, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Or ask your little nephew. But there are more opportunities than just “Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero”. Brands like Madden football, Tony Hawk skateboarding, and Grand Theft Auto all have extensive music uses in various genres. The even more important thing is to find those young, up and coming game design companies– they’ll be the ones most open to pitches from independent publishers. Kudos to Cherry Lane Music Publishing, who partnered early on with Electronic Arts, one of the industry’s most successful game companies. Don’t we all wish we had?

3. Show some team spirit. I said “team”, not “teen”– although that might work too. But most game uses are negotiated as variations on a sync license– with a bit more flexibility than one would grant a Hollywood studio. Because this is a developing industry, whose whole success rises and falls on its proximity to the cutting edge of technology and innovation, most game companies expect a degree of flexibility and cooperation from the publishers they work with. If you own the rights to Metallica, you can probably drive a pretty hard bargain. But if you’re pitching a song from an unknown indie band to a new game just being released, you’re going to have to “play ball” as they say. Keep in mind those 2 million downloads and keep your eye on the prize.

4. Don’t forget the score. If your song catalogue just isn’t a fit for the gaming world, but you’ve got serious composition chops and a desire to be part of what’s happening, you may be able to find the next wave of film scoring, which isn’t for films at all. For games that rely more on background music than pop songs, you may be able to work your way in as a composer for hire, and create the musical backdrop for a new type of entertainment. Sure it will be work for hire– which doesn’t do much for your pub company. But a job’s a job.

5. Play offense! So there’s nothing out there for you in the game world? Why not try to design your own. Develop concepts that would fit your catalogue, meet with game designers, create proposals. Unlike the somewhat moribund music industry, this is a business that’s growing, and actively seeking out the next big thing. We know that music and games go together like a hand in a baseball glove. So figure out how your music can get on the scoreboard.

I know, it’s not exactly what you got into music to do. Me neither. But the truth is, music has always needed a visual stimulus to really connect with the masses– whether it’s the hip-shaking of Elvis, the moon-walking of Michael Jackson or the cranking of Souljah Boy. Whether it’s the Lindy Hop, or MTV, or Hendrix burning his guitar at Woodstock, people often need something physical and visual and exciting to pull them into music.

I’m not a game guy. You may not be either. But when you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

Who ever thought you’d get travel tips out of this blog?

I’m on my way back to New York tonight, returning from five days in the music capital of the USA—a little bleary-eyed and overloaded with CD’s and memories of some amazing musical moments. LA? Atlanta? Miami? Nope. I’m coming home from the original Music City, USA: Nashville, Tennessee.

Long understood to be the center of the country music industry, Nashville is much, much more than that. In fact, I would argue that it’s the real center of American music. For instance, take my five-day schedule. It began with one of the transcendent music experiences of my life, at the BMI Trailblazer luncheon, honoring gospel music legends Marvin Winans, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, and Vanessa Bell Armstrong. In an ironic mix of secular and spiritual, Nashville is not only the home of country music’s heritage of cheatin’ and drinkin’ songs, it’s also the home of the Christian music and Gospel industry. That was followed by meetings with top country producer like Keith Stegall, who just finished a remarkable album with new rock act the Zac Brown Band, rock producer Jeff Coplan, who has developed new country act Love and Theft, country publishers like Midas Music who are riding high with the success of CCM rock act Rush of Fools, Murrah Music who are launching hip-hop writer/producer Bar-None, and Full Circle, whose star writer Rachel Proctor is working with pop act Jessica Simpson. It’s all pretty mixed up here.

Add in a few trips to the honky-tonks of Nashville’s District area, to hear a wild mélange of traditional and modern country, bluegrass and rockabilly, played by some of the best bar bands to be found anywhere in the world. Then there was the opportunity to see Alan Jackson on his home turf, delivering two hours of straight-up country music in a style that captures all the beauty, dignity and humor and heartbreak of that venerable tradition. And a night at the Bluebird Café, to hear the industry’s greatest songwriters strip their craft down to a guitar and vocal— tall tales and three-minute tragedies passed around a circle of writers in a tradition as old as the campfire. The surprise discovery of up and comers Telluride, blending soul, rock and roll, and classic country harmonies in a testament to the inescapably intermingled roots of American popular music. An afternoon at the Country Music Hall of Fame, watching the evolution from hillbilly music to Hank Williams to Elvis and Jerry Lee to Charley Pride and Garth Brooks and Rascal Flatts. And I haven’t even started listening to the CD’s.

If you’re looking for a vacation spot that offers ample nightlife, a little history, a vast range of cultural experiences, and a minimum of pretense, put Nashville on your list. But more importantly, if you’re looking for a supportive, accessible musical community that boasts the greatest musicians and songwriters in the country, along with some of the industry’s shrewdest operators, you might want to pack your bags.

Is it competitive there? Undoubtedly. But it’s also a place where industry execs still listen to songs, musicians can cut three demos in a four-hour demo session, guitar-vocal demos can turn into Top Ten hits, and songwriters can hang out together, trade ideas, offer encouragement, and learn from those with more experience.

Throw in the ham and biscuits at the Loveless Café, and it’s enough to make a NY boy start to go country.

As the year begins to wind down (all the weasels are packing their bags and running for the airport– probably trying to avoid the blizzard of oncoming pink slips flying around the office), it’s a good time for songwriters to take a day or two and assess where they are in their career, where they’re going, and what it will take to get them there. As to the last point, I’ve already got one good suggestion to consider:

Songwriters– You need a publisher.

Some of you probably already know this. Some of you might already have a publishing deal. Undoubtedly, some of you are probably asking the obvious question: “Why? Why would I need a publisher?”

In order to answer that, we actually have to circle back to the first two topics of consideration: where are you in your career, and where do you want to go? If you’re a songwriter, I’ll assume that you probably have some songs. Most songwriters don’t have a shortage in that area. What most songwriters lack are songs that generate income– that make money. If that’s where you are, and you’d like to get to a point where your songs can be the basis of a business, then a publisher is exactly what you need. Because that’s what publishers do.

Songwriting itself is not a business. It’s a sort of avocation. It’s just something you do. You create songs. This would explain why most of the time songwriters have a closet full of demos, and not a lot in the way of income.

Music Publishing, on the other hand, is indeed a business. That’s all it is. It is the business of deriving income from songs. When I wrote my book on music publishing, I called it “Making Music Make Money”. Songwriters create songs. Music publishers take those songs and figure out how to turn them into money, by getting the songs on records or the radio, in films or television shows, in advertisements or onto sheet music.

Sound good? I thought so. The goal then for 2008 is to find a publisher. There’s only one drawback. If your songs aren’t generating much in the way of income at the moment, it will be almost impossible to find a publisher who will be interested in representing you. Music publishers are primarily interested in representing writers who have already demonstrated at least the potential for commercial success. Bummer.

But don’t despair. The good news is that you already have a publisher. This person has been with you since you completed your first song. This person knows your catalogue note by note, and is unwavering in his or her belief in your talent. Before you go searching around the studio to find this person, and start yelling at them about why you’re not getting more cuts, let me clue you in:

You’re it. YOU are your publisher. The minute you complete a song, you are not only the writer of it, but you are also the publisher of it– and you remain the publisher until you assign those rights to someone else. The problem with most songwriters is not that they don’t have a publisher– the problem is that they’re not very good publishers. They’re doing the job as songwriters, but they haven’t learned how to take that work, and turn into into something that creates income. The real resolution for 2008 is not to find a publisher. It’s to learn to become a good publisher.

It’s not as easy as it sounds, nor as hard as you might fear. It does mean gathering a certain amount of technical knowledge about how royalties are computed, how money is collected and distributed, and how licenses are negotiated. It means learning to research projects, develop contacts, and pitch your songs. In order to be effective, it requires learning to listen to your own music critically, and making judgements about which songs are commercially viable, and which ones need work. If that sounds like a dirty job, then here’s the reality check:

Someone’s gotta do it. And you’re the only one who will. Until you can begin to work your songs into situations that at least have the potential to generate money, no publisher will suddenly be dropping by your apartment, wondering if you have any tunes that he or she can exploit. It’s up to you to get the ball rolling, and until you do, nothing will happen. Songwriting without publishing is a hobby.

The goal then for 2008 is to foster your inner music publisher. How do you do it? Study. Read “Making Music Make Money: An Insider’s Guide to Becoming Your Own Music Publisher” if you want a place to start. Check out Music Publishing 101 at Berkleemusic.com. The whole course is designed to walk you through the set-up of your own music publishing business.

Then while you’re studying, start doing. Pick up Billboard and start figuring out where your music fits into the market. Pick up tipsheets like “New On The Charts” to figure out who’s looking for songs. Pick up the phone, and start dialing for dollars.

The good news and the bad news is the same: it’s all in your hands. No one is going to turn your music into money– you have to show that it can be done. Trust me, once you do, there will be no shortage of large and small music publishers who will be happy to partner with you. But your first, and best publisher, will always be you. If you’re looking for one thing that can change your life as a songwriter, then this year’s goal is well-within reach. You need a publisher. And you’re it.

I mentioned in the last blog that I’d been reading Alan Greenspan’s book, “The Age of Turbulence”, which succeeded in making clear to me that I understand even less about economics than I thought I did. But I have learned a few things, and I picked up one new term that seems to have relevance even in the simple, survival-oriented economic world of the music business weasel:

Home Bias.

The phrase refers to the tendency of investors to invest primarily in their own country– it’s a natural and understandable phenomenon, and although it is fading, it persists even today. There’s nothing particularly negative about it, except that it can often limit the opportunities that investors have to choose from. You can stick with only buying stocks in US-based companies, but you might be able to make more money somewhere else. And it’s not only true of investing…

If you’re an American songwriter or publisher looking to boost your earnings, it might be time to examine, and eliminate, your own Home Bias. Here’s a few reasons why:

1. The World’s A Big and Wonderful Place.
In a business that is getting smaller very fast, you need as much opportunity for your music as you can get, and you simply can’t afford to write-off everything outside the US. Especially if you write music to be covered by outside artists, you will find much more opportunity in the UK, Europe, and Asia than you will in the United States. Outside of this country, you can find more artists that record outside material (you can even find bands that cut songs by outside writers, which is all but unheard of here), and you will find that in certain markets, particularly urban music, the sound of American tracks is highly sought-after, and difficult for the local writers to copy.

You’ll also find that tastes differ, and sometimes, that’s a good thing. Asia tends to prefer more harmonically complex, AC-sounding pop ballads than is acceptable in the US. If that’s what you write, you might have just found a new home. Germany embraces a classic dance sound that would be very difficult to find a home for in this country. Australia still has a healthy appetite for AOR. If your melodies are great, but your lyrics are weak, try pitching songs in Japan– they’re going to rewrite the lyrics anyway.

If there doesn’t seem to be a spot in the US market for your sound, you can either try to change your sound (which can be pretty hard) or change your market. In the last two years alone, American acts such as the Scissor Sisters, Daniel Powter, and Mika have achieved superstar status in Europe and the UK, while in some cases, finding little or no market in their own country.

2. That Foreigner’s Money Is Just As Good As Ours.
In fact, it’s better. If you haven’t noticed, the US dollar ain’t what it used to be. At present, the dollar is plummeting against most foreign currencies, especially the English pound, and the Euro (the currency of the European Union). The bad news is that a croissant in France will set you back a pretty hefty chunk of change (it’s worth it though). But here’s the good news:

For every 1 GBP you earn on your song in the UK, you get $2 USD. For every 1 euro you earn on your song in Italy, you get $1.50 USD. That’s a good deal. So good that it’s one of the primary reasons that US publishers are having a modestly profitable year, despite the utter collapse of the US music industry. If you have a catalogue of songs that is active in the UK or Europe, your income is up by almost half, just based on the currency exchange alone.

This also means that foreign publishers and labels are often able to offer deals to writers and artists in the US that are competitive with US companies, despite the fact that the foreign territories are often much smaller. There have been several important signings this year in which a UK publisher was able to sign a US-based writer or artist out from under the US publishing community. Why not? The foreign publisher is essentially paying half-price, because of the weakness of the US dollar.

3. MIDEM Is Coming!!
I know, you’re about to ask: But how do I get my music to all of these rich, musically-diverse foreigners, in order to claim a piece of this pie?

Here’s a start. MIDEM is the music industry’s annual international schmooze-fest that takes place each year in Cannes, France in mid-January. Picture 50,000 music industry weasels from companies large and small, from every different region of the globe, all converging together for one week of hyping, drinking and hopefully, deal-making. Sound like a nightmare? It is, kind of. But it is also a perfect opportunity to meet music executives, in a curiously relaxed atmosphere, from every possible corner of the planet. Even better, people come to Midem to make deals– so if you have a product you’re selling, you should, at the very least, get a few listens. Plus, you can have one of those expensive, but delicious croissants.

There’s a basic principle at work here that goes back to basic economic laws (the few that I understand). Think of it as the principle of “The Grass Is Always Greener”. Or “Go West, Young Man”. The principle simply states that if things aren’t working for you here– or could be working better– try going somewhere else. Chasing opportunity is the oldest economic trick in the book, and at the moment, there is a lot of opportunity in places other than the good ol’ USA.

With the US music industry struggling for survival, this is no time for Home Bias. If you’re having trouble seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, then you have to broaden your horizons.