Ryan at MusicianLauncher.com has compiled some online songwriting and music related resources into a cool video. I am featured in the video, but so are some other great sites and people that can help you improve your songwriting and playing! Check out the video and Ryan’s site! ~ Chad
http://www.musicianlauncher.com/2012/06/making-music-great-resources.html
Today I stumbled upon an artist that is using the internet and YouTube to do what so many people talk about doing…..making a living and finding fans. Tyler Ward has used the net to get his music out and find tons of fans….and fans turn into money. I always find stuff like this inspiring, so I hope you do to!
Here is another song that I wrote. Check it out, it is called, “The Past I’m Running From” ~~ Chad
The Past I’m Running From
by Chad Shank
On wet gravel
A tear slips down my face
I push the pedal
And try to drive this hurt away
The sky is black
The rain it pounds
I’m not sure where I’m going now
So I just drive away
Make my escape
But I’m haunted
By choices made and my mistakes
I’m trying to find some answers
Speeding down this dirt road
Struggling
With the Past I’m Running From
Ugly demons
Staring at me from the backseat
‘Cause I hurt the
One closest to me
I cheated
And I told some lies
And now I’m in this storm tonight
CHORUS
Bridge:
From the bottom of my heart
I never meant to tear our world apart like this
Lost out on these muddy roads
The first and last place that I should go is to you
CHORUS
©2012 Chad Shank, Rowley Street Music
Here is another new song that I wrote recently. It is called, ‘I Feel Free.’ ~~ Chad
I Feel Free
by Chad Shank
I fill up with gas at a 2 pump station
On the outskirts of civilization
Out here where I can roam
The rat race I run away from
So I can breathe in freedom
The prairie feels like home
PC:
City’s where I make ends meet
back there I’m Mr Corporate
Stuffed into an office
Out here I’m king not a worker bee
CHORUS:
Country air
Windows down
I Feel Free
Getting out
On the road
I Feel Free
As the sun’s sinking down over the corn fields
I Feel Free
V2:
The way time is flying it won’t be that long
I can quit my job and say so long
Can’t wait til I’m retired
Get back to rural America
No concrete hysteria
The place where I’m revived
PC:
Watch the sunset and stars come out
Sinking slow on the horizon
Man it’s really something
It’s those simple things that what life’s about
CHORUS
Bridge:
Hello Farmland
It is always good to see you
But let’s not wait so long for next time
CHORUS
©2012 Chad Shank, Rowley Street Music
If you are a songwriter, you should get a professional song critique before you spend money to have your song demo recorded. It will help you save alot of money in the end. Demos can cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, so investing a few dollars to make sure your song is ready is a very wise investment.
You can get a professional song critique for as little as $20 per song. It will give you an unbiased opinion of your song, so you know you are making the right choice is having a professional song demo produced.
Many songwriters that I work with send me lyrics that are really poems. Good poems, but more poetry than songs. Many times I take the overall theme and ideas of the poem and break it down into song structure. Songs have very distinct sections and structure. Poems are a little more free, and many times have too many words. A good producer will take your words and make them really connect with your audience.
I can help you turn your poems into songs. I have been recording song demos for almost 15 years. I will take your lyrics and turn it into a great song structure and create high quality music tracks. I will also find a singer than can bring your words to life.
C-Sharp Productions offers song demo services.
The key to making a living or just making some extra money from music is to diversify.
If you are a songwriter there are a few key ways to generate revenue from your songs. I thought I would list some ways that I have been able to generate royalties from my works.
1. Licensing: This means getting your song used on TV, radio, internet, etc. Many times the user will negotiate a fee for use. The fee is less if it is a non-exclusive contract. How do you license your work? Well, I have done it 2 ways. The first way is to work directly with music supervisors. I have been lucky enough to have them find me online and request music. The other way that has worked for me is to used services like Pump Audio. They have a database of music submitted and they help license and negotiate with potential users.
2. Performance Royalties: These are the money collected by BMI and ASCAP when media broadcasts works. So once you get placements, when the use is reported to BMI or ASCAP, you get royalties for the public performance. The more the music airs, the more money you get.
3. Mechanical Royalties: This is what you get paid when someone records one of your songs on a commercially available CD. It is done on a per song, per unit basis. The fee now is somewhere around 9.5 cents per song, per CD. This is usually a statuatory rate set by Congress every coupld of years.
4. Live Performance: This is where you actually get off your butt and get out and perform your own songs and charge a fee for your performance. Many times you start out small at coffee shops playing for tips, etc. Then once you prove you have a following, and the chops you can start charging more.
**number one rule is all of this is to NEVER pay someone to ‘publish’ your song. If they want to use it, they should be paying you. Also, never just ‘sell’ your rights to someone, unless they pay you a HUGE sum of money…songs are property and can build value over time….don’t sell yourself short for quick cash**
I have a fun songwriting idea today.
If you are looking for inspiration or looking to expand your songwriting, you could drive by a movie theatre and write down all the movie titles. Then you could take the list home and write some songs with those as the titles. You should try to make the topic and content of the song as original as you can….so it may be good to use movies that you have no clue what they are about.
One of the keys to writing great songs is to make sure they have a strong hook. Usually the hook is the title of the song. That makes them more easily remembered.
- Chad
The actual magazine has been out for a couple weeks, but you can now read the article that features me and C-Sharp Productions in More magazine. You can read the story and my quotes.
If you want to buy the April Issue of More Magazine, Helen Mirren is on the cover.
Tonight I am off to Saint Paul for the Minnesota Association of Songwriter meeting. — Chad
It is official! C-Sharp Productions has landed in the pages of the April issue of More Magazine.
One of the editors interviewed me for a story they did on women who have followed a dream. They wanted to see how much it costs to go after all kinds of dreams. The dream I was asked about was recording a CD. C-Sharp Productions has been around since 1996 so I have helped all kinds of bands and artists record CD’s. I have worked with people on 1 song demos, all the way up to full CD’s.
So next time you are at a book store, look for More Magazine with Helen Mirren on the cover. It is the April issue. My little 15 minutes of national fame is on page 119. There is also a great photo and write up of jazz singer Sharon Rae North.
Please let me know if there are any music business topics you may want discussed on this blog. —- CHAD
