The Songwriter's and Musician's Guide to Nashville (Songwriter's & Musician's Guide to Nashville)

257 Pages·2005·2.21 MB·English

by  Sherry Bond

Guide to Nashville_Title Page 11/2/04 3:05 PM Page 1
The
Songwriter’s
&
Musician’s
Guide
to
Nashville
Sherry Bond
T H I R D E D I T I O N
ALLWORTH PRESS
NEW YORK
Prelims.qxd 19/10/2004 05:19 PM Page ii
© 2004 Sherry Bond
All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention, Universal
Copyright Convention, and Pan-American Copyright Convention. No part of
this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.
08 07 06 05 04 5 4 3 2 1
Published by Allworth Press
An imprint of Allworth Communications
10 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010
Cover design by Derek Bacchus
Cover photograph by Marc Bell/Bellsphotography.com
Page composition/typography by SR Desktop Services, Ridge, NY
ISBN: 1-58115-047-4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bond, Sherry, 1941-
The songwriter’s and musician’s guide to Nashville/Sherry Bond.—3rd ed.
p. cm.
1. Country music—Tennessee—Nashville—Vocational guidance. I. Title.
ML3790.B66 2005
781.642'09768'55—dc22
2004021392
Printed in Canada
Prelims.qxd 19/10/2004 05:19 PM Page iii
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII
1. AN OVERVIEW OF NASHVILLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Reality versus Myth • The Layout of the City • A Brief History of Music in
Nashville • About Music Row • Map of Music Row
2. A CRASH COURSE ON THE MUSIC INDUSTRY (AS IT PERTAINS
TO NASHVILLE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Copyright Protection • The Role of a Music Publisher • The Role of the
PROs • The Role of an A&R Department • The Difference between an Artist
Manager and a Booking Agent • Other Important Professionals • The Country
Chart System • About Digital Watermarking and Fingerprinting • Different
Sources of Income and How It Is Collected
3. HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR TALENT MEASURES UP TO NASHVILLE
STANDARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Litmus Test for Songwriters • Litmus Test for Aspiring Artists and Musicians
4. A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF MUSIC ROW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Writing Environment • The Importance of Collaboration • Industry Inter-
view with Jeffrey Steele • About the Americana Format • About Writers’ Nights
and Open Mic Nights • Industry Interview with Stanton Mott • The Bluebird
Cafe:What to Expect by Amy Kurland • How to Play the Bluebird Cafe
5. A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF NASHVILLE’S MUSIC PUBLISHERS . . . 47
About Nashville Publishers • Nashville’s Major Music Publishers • Nashville’s
Hot Independent Music Publishers • Industry Interview with Stephanie Cox •
Other Important Independent Music Publishers • About Song Pluggers •
Industry Interview with Super Song Plugger Sherrill Blackman • About Staff
Writers • Working with Publishers on a Song-by-Song Basis
6. A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF NASHVILLE’S RECORD COMPANIES . . 79
Nashville’s Major Record Labels • Nashville’s Independent Record Labels •
How to Approach Nashville’s Record Companies • Industry Interview with
Anthony Smith
7. A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF WORKING AS A MUSICIAN
IN NASHVILLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Nashville’s Musicians • 10-2-6 • The Nashville Number System • For
Musicians Only • Industry Interview with Dave Dunseath
8. A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF NASHVILLE’S SONGWRITERS
ORGANIZATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Nashville’s Three Songwriter Associations • NSAI • Industry Interview with
Barton Herbison • SGA • Industry Interview with Evan Shoemake • TSAI •
Industry Interview with Jim Sylvis
Prelims.qxd 19/10/2004 05:19 PM Page iv
9. A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF NASHVILLE’S PERFORMING
RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS (PROS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
About Nashville’s PROs • ASCAP • Industry Interview with John Briggs •
BMI • Industry Interview with David Preston • SESAC • Industry Interview
with Dennis Lord
10. A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF NASHVILLE’S NETWORKING
SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Party, Party, Party • Eat, Drink, and Be Merry • The Acklen Station Post Office •
Golfing, Fishing, and Playing Tennis • Professional Organizations • Back to
School: Record Industry Courses • Other Important Resources • About Music
Conferences
11. PACKAGING YOUR PRODUCT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
The Songwriter’s Demo • The Guitar/Vocal (or Piano/Vocal) Demo • The
Full-Blown Demo • Nashville’s Top Demo Studios • Beware of Song Sharks •
Publisher Fees • The Songwriter’s Demo Package • The Artist’s Demo •
Nashville’s Top Producers • The Artist’s Package • The Artist Web Site
12. ESTABLISHING CONTACT BEFORE YOUR TRIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Subscribe to Music Row Publications • About Demo Critiques • Study the
Trades • Study CD Label Copy • About Making Appointments
13. WHEN TO GO: IMPORTANT INDUSTRY EVENTS MONTH BY
MONTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
14. THE LOGISTICS OF YOUR VISIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
What to Bring • What to Wear • Transportation • Where to Stay
15. YOUR ONE-WEEK ITINERARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
General Guidelines • Day-by-Day, Hour-by-Hour Schedule
16. COMMON MISTAKES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Big Fish in a Small Pond • “Holier than Thou”Attitude • Displaying an
Attitude • Trying to Buy Your Way In • “Selling” Some Songs • Sending CDs
through the Mail • Writing for Permission to Submit a CD • Approaching
a Publisher Incorrectly • Packaging Product Incorrectly • Not Understanding
the Industry • Staying in Your Hotel Room Waiting for Return Phone Calls
17. PLANNING YOUR ARTIST SHOWCASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Showcase Guidelines • Various Types of Showcases:A Guide to Showcase Clubs •
Getting the Right People to Your Showcase • Nashville’s Top Publicists
18. MAKING THE DECISION TO MOVE TO NASHVILLE. . . . . . . . . . . 207
Should You or Shouldn’t You? • Ideal Jobs • Where to Live • A One-Year
Game Plan for Success Once You Are Settled Down • How to Succeed
Without Moving to Nashville
19. YOUR PERSONAL REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Creating a Database • About Basic Listings • Reference Directories • Section I:
Recording Services • Section II: Services You Will Need to Complete Your
Writer/Artist Package • Section III: Publications • Section IV: Recommended
Reading
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Prelims.qxd 19/10/2004 05:19 PM Page v
Acknowledgments
hank you to my sons Jeff and Robert Weedman! Jeff, a creative
visual and graphic artist, updated Robert Oermann’s wonderful
Tartistic rendering of Music Row. Robert, who works at Sony
Music Nashville, served as my efficient assistant. I also want to thank Jeffrey
Steele, Dennis Lord, Stephanie Cox, Sherrill Blackman, and Stanton Mott,
who provided a great deal of new information about the Nashville music
industry, and about the music industry in general. There have been many
changes on Music Row since our last edition—even the geography has
changed! The interviews with these talented and knowledgeable people will
bring our readers up-to-date with the latest information—me included!
Prelims.qxd 19/10/2004 05:19 PM Page vi
Prelims.qxd 19/10/2004 05:19 PM Page vii
Introduction
ou may have heard that Nashville is a tight-knit clique completely
closed to outside writers. Nothing could be further from the
Ytruth.
Nashville loves songs. Nashville loves songwriters. Nashville wel-
comes you with open arms.
On your first trip to Nashville you will learn what true Southern
hospitality is all about. When someone asks, “How are you?” (as they
frequently will), they really, truly want to know how you are, how your
family is doing, how your life is going.An important part of doing business
in Nashville is sharing personal concerns with each other.
This book reads like many how-to books. It’s filled with lots of dos and
don’ts. Please remember that these rules are simply general guidelines for you
to work from.Your success is basically going to depend on a single factor—
your own people skills. If you are positive, enthusiastic, and love the process
of pitching your songs as much as you love writing them, you are bound to
succeed—that is, if you are a great songwriter, artist, or musician.
The hardest thing for Nashville to deal with is someone who doesn’t
have the faintest idea how to write a good song; someone, in fact, who
doesn’t even know the difference between a good song and a bad song.An
astounding number of people fall into this category. They have written
what they believe is a good song, and they think that now all they need to
Prelims.qxd 19/10/2004 05:19 PM Page viii
viii • The Songwriter’s and Musician’s Guide to Nashville
do is get someone in the music business to listen to it.They think that once
someone listens to it, that’ll be it; the song will be recorded, become an
instant hit, and they’ll get rich! Consequently, Nashville is bombarded with
amateur songwriters trying to get someone to listen to their CDs.
Unsolicited CDs are almost always returned unopened.
The purpose of this book is to prevent you from falling into the
category described above. Nashville does listen to zillions of CDs—demos of
amateur, developing, and professional songwriters. By using the right
approach, you can get your songs heard and you can start developing work-
ing relationships with music business professionals. Ultimately, you will be
interacting with many different people who can help you get your song to
the right artist. It’s a long and difficult process, one that takes your continued
effort and dedication.
This book will tell you more than you can possibly imagine about
pitching songs, but my best advice is to try not to make pitching your very
first priority. In Nashville, songs are usually discovered in the process of
working with them, while co-writing, recording in the demo studio, or
listening to them at a live performance. Relax and enjoy the creative atmo-
sphere of Music City. Listen and learn how things are done, then slowly ease
your way in.
You are truly welcome in Nashville, so I hope you’ll come on down
soon. Please stop by to see me when you do!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SHERRY BOND has a B.A. in music from the University of California at Santa
Barbara.After receiving her degree, she took over the copyright and royalty
administration for the music publishing
companies of her father, artist/writer
Johnny Bond (I Wonder Where You Are
Tonight), and the legendary Tex Ritter
(High Noon), both of whom are members
of the prestigious Country Music Hall of
Fame. The catalogs of Johnny Bond
Publications include the works of the
Delmore Brothers (Blues, Stay Away
From Me), Tommy Duncan (Stay All
Night, Stay a Little Longer), and Harlan
Howard (The Blizzard). In 1983, Bond
moved from Los Angeles to establish offices in Nashville. Since moving
to Nashville, she has had songs recorded by Johnny Cash (Going by the Book),
Marty Stuart (Burn Me Down), and Lyle Lovett (There’s More Pretty Girls
than One).
Photo by Teddie West
Prelims.qxd 19/10/2004 05:19 PM Page ix
Introduction • ix
After writing the first edition of The Songwriter’s and Musician’s Guide
to Nashville in 1991, Bond became the fourth executive director of the
NASHVILLE entertainment ASSOCIATION (NeA), and during her tenure,
she nurtured the organization into a nationally recognized trade organiza-
tion for aspiring artists and musicians. NeA Extravaganza showcased over
four hundred acts from all genres of music before top industry professionals
from Los Angeles, New York, and London. NeA Music City Music, a coun-
try music showcase, was created and produced by Bond to assist the
Nashville recording industry in its search for new talent. As a result of this
showcase, several acts were signed to record deals, including Chad Brock
(Warner/Reprise), Dean Miller (Capitol), and SHeDAISY (Lyric Street).
Bond left the NeA in 1998 to return to music publishing in the new
climate of Americana and alternative country music. She is a graduate of
Leadership Music and an active member of the Country Music Association,
Academy of Country Music, Nashville Songwriters’ Association
International, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and
SOURCE, a networking organization for top female industry executives.