What Is
Tunesmith.net? And What Are We About?
Tunesmith Is About The Song. Without a powerful song to
perform, there would be no recording artists, labels, or records. Our main goals
are to Spotlight Strong Songwriting, and to offer our members craft advice
whenever we can, through various forms (Seminars, our Popular Message Boards,
our Thursday Night Live Pro Critiques, etc) ...and to provide solid networking
opportunities for our members to go after. We want to be known as an
organization that speaks honestly to our members about their commercial
songwriting potential, rather than give them lip service. The realities of the
music business can be pretty devastating. The truth about your current skills as
a songwriter can be equally devastating, if you're not prepared to hear it. We
are here to do whatever we can, to help you climb that next rung on the ladder
of your songwriting dreams, one step at a time.
Who Are The Spotlight Members, And Why Were They
Chosen?
They are some of Nashville's best "soon to be signed"
writers, and they have presented us with songs that meet the demands of the
highly competitive commercial songwriting marketplace.
If you spend your
nights in Nashville, and you prowl around the local songwriters' clubs, you'll
become exposed to an entire "sub-culture" of wonderful songwriters from all over
the country, some of the best undiscovered songwriters you'll ever meet,
performing night after night, playing these songs that for the most part, nobody
gets to hear (other than the other struggling writers and locals)
To
Offer This Underground Subculture An "Above Ground" Stage On The Internet and
here in Nashville, Is One Of The Important Missions Of Tunesmith. We Want These
Songwriters To Have A Spotlight Place, So That The World Can Hear
Them.
What Do I REALLY Need To Know, Before Packing Up And
Moving To Nashville?
You need to take an honest look at
yourself, and do a "Reality Check"... Like the songwriter explains in the letter
written below...
I write for the country market. I've won song contests.
I've had songs published. I had 2 cuts last year on an indie label by an
exceptionally talented artist. I say this, not to boast, but to emphasize a
point. A publishing contract is just a piece of paper that says "if your song
ever earns anything, you get half." If you define success, as radio airplay by a
major artist (or at least a major label album cut), then having your song
published by a small publisher a thousand miles from Nashville serves no
purpose, and it is most likely you will never earn a dime. This is the voice of
experience speaking. What have I learned? I have determined I need to know one
thing...
Are my songs competitive in the Nashville
market?
To ascertain this I need honest, critical feedback from
someone whose opinion I can respect. Someone from Nashville's "Inner Circle",
who is INVOLVED IN THE MARKET. Not friends, local writers, Not isolated outside
publishers, or musicians (although if I was just starting out, their feedback
could be helpful).
Does my writing have potential? Am I close or do I
have a long way to go? What can I improve? And most
importantly...
Am I Ready To Join The Writing Community In
Nashville?
If so, my understanding of my next step is this: I
move to Nashville, go to every writers night and showcase I can, perform and
slowly perfect my material, meet other writers, co-write every chance I get,
develop a network and ease into other's networks, develop my craft, be friendly
to everyone, get introduced to the right people at the right time (and have the
right song), and perhaps in three to five years I'll be an established,
contributing member.
The one thing I DON'T want, is to wander around in a
fantasy bubble, convincing myself I can write, if indeed I can't. That's like
trying to, by a sheer act of will, add 6 inches to my height. I want the truth.
Honesty. There is no shame in being who I am (or you are). I hope that someone
out there (who needs guidance) will read this, and benefit from
it.
Hope To Meet You All In The Music
City...
(Writer Anonymous)
Why All These
Rules? Why Study Songwriting Craft? When You Look At The Hits, You Can Easily
See That The "Rules" Get Broken All The Time, Don't They?
It's
true that Professional Songwriters DO break the rules... BUT... It's the Rules
that DON'T get broken that you need to FIRST concern yourself with, until they
are like SECOND NATURE to you. This is where most beginning/intermediate
songwriters fall short... because they simply don't want to put in the work that
is necessary, to be able to CONTROL THEIR ART FORM before they are ready to
Forge a place for themselves in it.
We are doing everything we can at
Tunesmith to change people's perception of the Commercial Songwriting Arena. To
get them to slow down, take a deep breath, and face reality. But we can only do
so much... The rest is up to your heart. You must convince that heart of yours
to see this field for what it REALLY is...
It's a business where money is
involved, it's a competitive marketplace filled with an OCEAN of mega-talented
writers, who are fighting over an "airtime space" that would fit into a cup of
water, it's The Major Leagues, the Superbowl, a place where the best in their
field play for keeps.
.. / message --.. sig --
__________________
Jesus is the ultimate HERO