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CONTENTS Notes from homebase > 3 Letter from the Songsalive! President 4 How Our Membership is Changing 5 Calendar of Events/Featured Event 6 Our Chapter News: Los Angeles 7 Orange County 8 Chicago 9 Las Vegas 10 Placer County & San Francisco 11 New York City & Long Island, NY 12 Learning and Opportunities 13 Member of the Month: Magazine Gap 14 Featured Partner: Simple Music Contracts 15 Songsalive! Sampler 11 16 Sponsored Events 17 Get Involved 18 Back page
Songnotes is designed, edited and published this month by Mary Lemanski. We tend to spread the workload around each time.
Welcome to the July 2011 edition of Songnotes! There are some big changes going on right now for Songsalive! On the next page, there is a letter from Songsalive! President, Gilli Moon, describing the changes taking place with our new website. Also, please see page 4 to see how our membership is changing and how to move your membership to the new website. Songsalive! CD Sampler 11 is also available now, as a promotional only compilation. Music industry and media are welcome to be considered for a free sampler with desired opportunities for the songwriters involved. Our Member of the Month is Magazine Gap, who have just released their new CD “Light & Shade.� Our Partner of the Month is Simple Music Contracts, who is offering a 35% discount on contracts to Songsalive! members. In this issue, you can also read event reviews from each of the Songsalive! Chapters and find out about all of the wonderful workshops & showcases going on throughout the United States. In May, the Long Island Chapter held its first workshop, and the New York Showcase & Open Mic are going strong EVERY WEEK! Songsalive! is also proud to be a sponsor of the International Songwriting Competition (ISC). If you have any questions or comments about the new changes taking place, feel free to email me at songsalivepr@gmail.com. Mary Lemanski Communications Manager
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Letter from the Songsalive! President Since 1997, Songsalive! is now the largest international non-profit organization dedicated to the nurturing, support, promotion and education of songwriters and composers worldwide. We welcome songwriters, composers, lyricists as well as singers, musicians and artists looking for songs, from all around the world. We are very excited to announce a new online experience for our Songsalive! Members, taking our organization to the next level of being a truly global community. You've never seen anything like it, and Songsalive! is going to take you there.
What was always missing was a true, robust online community for our members, to engage, network and share. With the advent of social networks, such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, and the population's desire to engage online in an easy, social manner, Songsalive!'s mission has been to bring our website and online experience to the level of social network engagements, and at the same time still offer exclusive backstage content and personal attention & support.
This need also came about from several member surveys we conducted in the last We've come a long way in 14 years and now we want to take you to a brave new world. 3 years. We listened, we heard, we acted. Our website, our membership portal, in fact the entire way we create community, has had a whole new make over. Going in this new online social direction also asks us to re-visit our programs and services we provide our members, in entirety. It means a revamp on the member Today, we roll out our new website (still in BETA) with exciting new features and benefits, a re-look at our mission and purpose, and a simplification on what we do and programs. A new website AND a brave new interactive social networking experience. how we do it. That way, you get it, and we can deliver it, in this brave new world. For starters, general membership is free (woo hoo), and our new Pro membership takes you Backstage to new heights with exclusive member opportunities, programs and Now, in 2011, we've come of age, and we've found a way to provide it all to you through services custom made just for you. Don't hesitate... get involved now! our new online community website. http://www.songsalive.org There might be some growing pains as we make the transition for all our members to We've taken a long hard look at how the original Songsalive! site served our members, this new site, but it will be well worth it. We promise you a much richer experience and as well as how we provide service to our membership base overall. Back in 1997 when true member engagement. we started, there were very few artists on the Internet, let alone music organizations. There were very few websites, period. Songsalive! was one of the first truly global Our mission: to become the largest social network for songwriters and composers communities, bringing songwriters and composers together from all around the world. worldwide, and continue to be the largest songwriters' membership organization We were one of the first to provide services and support for songwriters and composers worldwide, delivering online social interaction, backstage exclusive content, and on a global level, and we've stuck with you through over a decade of unbelievable personal attention & support, in an easy, fun, way to engage, network and share. changes in the music business and economic times at large. WE ARE STILL HERE. Welcome to Songsalive! 2.0. Our website, since '97, was an informational portal to access resources about Gilli Moon songwriting and the music industry. In 2007 we became an 'adolescent' so to speak, and Co-Founder, President were able to offer a membership portal where members could log in and access the Songsalive! Backstage (exclusive member content). This was the first step to where we wanted to take you.
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How Our Membership is Changing The first important change is Membership. Instead of only providing a paid membership, we now offer a FREE membership for basic access, and then our new 'Pro' Membership replaces our previous 'General' and 'Elite' membership levels. The second change is a welcome relief to the cost. Before we charged either $50 for General and $100 for Elite. Now, as you know there is a free basic membership, and the Pro membership is a flat $50 a year. (unfortunately we will not be offering discounts like in the past, however the reduction in cost to access Pro will make up in value!) Pro membership gives you everything Elite gave you before but at half the price! Read about Pro Membership here: http://www.songsalive.org/join.htm and http://www.songsalive.org/memberbenefits.htm Current Members of old site. Please read here how to enable your new membership on this new site. Important. Firstly, your current username and password will not work on this new site. Don't worry. Your membership is still active and current. While we migrate over, you can still ACCESS THE OLD SITE CONTENT AND LOG IN AT www.songsalive.biz If you have joined or renewed Songsalive! on the old site recently (back to April 1, 2011*), we invite you to follow these steps: Read on and enact: http://www.songsalive.org/current-members.htm Brand New Members – we invite you to take a look at our website and see what type of membership suits you. Start by Registering for a free account, take a look around and enjoy the social network experience. If you want to take it more seriously, go PRO!
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS Tues. July 26 – New York Showcase and Open Mic – American Trash – NYC Thurs. July 28 – Chicago Showcase – Heartland Café - Chicago, IL Sun. July 31 – Orange County Workshop – Spires Restaurant – Westminster, CA Tues. Aug. 2 – New York Showcase and Open Mic – American Trash – NYC Wed. Aug. 3 – Long Island Workshop – Sam Ash – Huntington Station, NY Thurs. Aug. 4 – San Francisco Showcase – Velo Rouge Café – San Francisco, CA Fri. Aug. 5 – Los Angeles Showcase – Hallenbeck’s – North Hollywood, CA Tues. Aug. 9 – New York Showcase and Open Mic – American Trash – NYC Sat. Aug. 13 – Chicago Workshop – Beat Kitchen – Chicago, IL Mon. Aug. 15 – Las Vegas Workshop – Sam Ash – Las Vegas, NV
FEATURED UPCOMING SONGSALIVE! EVENT PLACER COUNTY SHOWCASE WHEN: 3rd THURSDAYS OF THE MONTH TIME: Starts @7:00PM WHERE: Tsuda’s New York Deli 103 Sacramento Street Auburn, CA 530-823-2233 ALSO, SEEKING SINGER/SONGWRITERS TO PERFORM AT FUTURE SHOWCASES: *You must be able to guarantee a min. of 3-5 guests. * 3 song acoustic set * You must be a Songsalive! member - www.songsalive.org to join. * Showcase application at www.songsalive.net - log in and go to "Apply for a Showcase"
www.songsalive.org/events.htm for Calendar and Upcoming Events www.songsalive.org/chapters.htm for details on our Chapters.
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LOS ANGELES California REVIEWS OF RECENT EVENTS
OUR CHAPTER NEWS
Songsalive! Los Angeles Showcase – May 6th - The Los Angeles Songsalive! showcase at Hallenbecks on May 6th. was an outstanding night of music featuring Ernest Troost, Amy Englehardt, and Zachary Procost. This was an evening featuring wonderful original songs from seasoned artists. This showcase is becoming known for artists to premiere brand new songs for their first public performance. The venue was packed with a warm and appreciative audience, and included a major television executive. There were too many amazing moments to list - as each artist left the house spellbound with their music. The audience stayed to the end, and there was a big buzz in the room at the end of the evening. Songsalive! Los Angeles Workshop – May 15th - The May 2011 LA Workshop with Producer/Songwriter Joe Solo was a smash hit! We had a large group of attendees with many familiar faces but many new ones too. Joe gave us great information balanced between the creative and the business sides of music. Joe is the producer who developed Macy Gray and who has written and placed hit songs in music, film, television, and advertizing. He stressed the importance of dynamics in song production, that a great song is a pyramid with the song vocals and lyrics at the top supported by everything else, in building a song that is, "Undeniable". He also stressed the importance of networking and relationships in building your music career. A music supervisor who attended for the first time said that this was the best songwriter's workshop he has been to in Los Angeles because of the high level of the discussion and the educational nature of it all. Songsalive! rocks!
April 2011 Los Angeles Songsalive! Songcamp
The Songsalive! Los Angeles Workshop VENUE is sponsored by:
Noisy Planet is an indie artist showcase and music career development site. Noisy Planet is donating one (1) Premium Artist Package every month to a lucky Songsalive! member who attends the Los Angeles Workshop, which includes a dedicated showcase page on noisyplanet.net, and digital distribution of one album to top online retailers including iTunes, plus 100 full color promo cards and guaranteed spins on internet radio.
www.songsalive.org/chapters.htm
Contributor: Dave Harvey LA Showcase Coordinator and Workshop Coordinator
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ORANGE COUNTY California REVIEWS OF RECENT EVENTS
OUR CHAPTER NEWS
Songsalive! Orange Workshop – May 29th - New faces this month at our monthly Songwriting Workshop on May 29th here in the County of Orange. And good songwriters too! Always a great combination. Our friend R.D. Girard started things off with a great ballsy number of working-man folk-rock. Then new member Doug Hansen presented a lively love song about a couple trying to stay focused on one another. Kevin Buckel, also a new member, showed us a recording he made of a great acoustic song about, well, writing songs! Craig Smetana read another one of his lyrics, this time a rousing patriotic number inspired by the events of September 11, 2001. And then Rod O'Riley finished things off with another one of his goofy political songs. As some of the members had said they worked well with lyrics, but needed help with music, and others there said exactly the opposite, we spent the latter part of the evening working together on songs! Songsalive! Orange County Showcase – Jun. 21st - Welcoming the new and the... old? Familiar, familiar! This month the Orange County Chapter of Songsalive! welcomed two seasoned performers, one returning and one brand new. First up was Roz Esposito, whom we saw at the Songalive! Winter Holiday show at the The Mint and said "We have GOT to get this lady down to OC!". She didn't disappoint, performing heart-felt songs on guitar and piano and engaging the audience with her wit and her personal connections in between songs. Loved it. Next up was Mike V and his band, returning for another set of bluesy bluster songs -- with Mike out in front on a classic hollow-body electric guitar. But the band switched things up, with everybody trading instruments and everybody getting a chance to sing lead on the songs they wrote. Never a dull moment!
Songsalive! Orange County coordinator, Rodney O’Riley
Songsalive! Orange County Workshop – Jun. 26th - On June 26th, Songsalive! Orange County hosted its monthly workshop. A small meeting this time around, but it was great to see no less than three new faces there. Each of them had some great things to say and some good opinions to present. As only one of the new folks -- General Lee -- brought songs to critique, we took a look at two of his for the sake of compare and contrast. A self-admitted country singer, one of his songs was an over-the-top romantic number with great crossover appeal, and the other was a wall-slamming bit of southern rock. Our host Rod O'Riley kept the theme going by presenting one of his own country songs to finish things up.
www.songsalive.org/chapters.htm Contributor: Rodney O’Riley Orange County Chapter Coordinator
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CHICAGO Illinois REVIEWS OF RECENT EVENTS
OUR CHAPTER NEWS
Songsalive! Chicago Workshop – May 26th - On May 26th, the Chicago chapter of Songsalive! held their second showcase at the Heartland Cafe. We had three incredible songwriters perform. Victoria Fuller and The Brushmen started the show off with a fantastic jazz/blues/pop/rock set. Jess Yoakum and The Locals performed next, playing beautiful folk rock melodies with true-to-life lyrics. Joe Nelson and The Full Nelsons ended the night with a phenomenal set of alternative rock. Amazing showcase! Songsalive! Chicago Workshop – Jun. 11th - On June 11th, Songsalive! Chicago hosted another fantastic workshop at the Beat Kitchen. Eight people shared their songs for critique. The quality of the songs was very high, and everyone received some great feedback on their writing. Our guest speaker this month was mastering engineer, Collin Jordan from The Boiler Room: Full Service Music Mastering. He talked about “Mastering for the Independent Musician.” He discussed the various stages of getting a song from start to CD, and he talked about how mastering fits into the process. He explained what a mastering engineer does, and he encouraged everyone to try mastering their own songs on their home recording equipment to better understand how mastering works. Lots of people had some great questions, which Collin answered with great knowledge. He was an incredible speaker, and it was a very educational workshop!
Songsalive! member, Jess Yoakum, performing at Songsalive! Chicago May 26th Showcase
Songsalive! member, Joe Nelson, performing at Songsalive! Chicago May 26th Showcase
www.songsalive.org/chapters.htm Contributor: Mary Lemanski, Kevin Sconiers Chicago Chapter Coordinators
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LAS VEGAS Nevada REVIEWS OF RECENT EVENTS
OUR CHAPTER NEWS
Songsalive! Las Vegas Workshop – May 16th - At the Songsalive! Las Vegas Workshop on Monday, May 16th, we had about 6 people attend, 5 out of 6 were members. Cat Cohen did a brief presentation and gave us some valuable tips on songwriting. Cat was kind enough to give each performer some intense and helpful feedback on their songs. We had just enough time to hear each song and the night was over. It was a exceptionally good clinic on how to write great songs! Songsalive! Las Vegas Workshop – Jun. 20th On June 20th, Songsalive! Las Vegas hosted an incredible workshop at Sam Ash. Our guest speaker, Mike Candito was fabulous with sharing his insight on how to approach songwriting as a true business. He shared some of his personal experience he had had in the past when it comes to selling your music to other performers, and he did a wonderful job giving feedback to the songwriters that presented their songs. Everyone got to present and we ended right on time, as usual. Sam Ash’s staff was very accommodating and helpful! www.songsalive.org/chapters.htm
Guest speaker, Mike Candito, at the June 20th Songsalive! Las Vegas Workshop
Contributor: Ann Parenti Las Vegas Chapter Coordinators
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA
PLACER COUNTY, CA
REVIEWS OF RECENT EVENTS
OUR CHAPTER NEWS
REVIEWS OF RECENT EVENTS Songsalive! Chicago Workshop – April 21st - The Placer County Songsalive! Showcase on April 21st had 45 people in attendance! There was a car show on the street so lots of people were around. Michael Gregory did the usual 4-5 songs and an explanation of Songsalive! benefits. Matthew J. Doughty and his friend did 6 fun songs. Sandra MacDougall followed with her guitarist Tim, and Michael Gregory played the box cajun for her set. She did the songs from her album. More than half of the people there were fans of either Sandra or Matthew. The house was ROCKIN! Songsalive! Placer County Showcase – May 19th - At the May 19th Songsalive! Placer County Showcase, 10 people were in attendance. Michael Gregory did his usual 4-5 songs and an explanation of the Songsalive! benefits. Matthew J. Doughty and Chad Benzel played a set of their songs, accompanying each other. Michael Gregory backed them up on the box cajun. A wonderful night of music! www.songsalive.org/chapters.htm Contributor: Michael Gregory Placer County Chapter Coordinator
Songsalive! San Francisco coordinator, Katie Garibaldi performs at the San Francisco May Showcase, Velo Rouge Café, May 2011
www.songsalive.org/ chapters.htm
Songsalive! San Francisco Showcase – May 5th - Songalive! is running a San Francisco showcase series every first Thursday of the month, currently held at Velo Rouge Cafe in San Francisco, CA, hosted by local artist Katie Garibaldi, which features Songsalive! members performing outstanding original acoustic music. The most recent showcase took place on May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, and saw another full-house turn-out! The showcase featured Bay Area-based and touring singer/songwriter, Jesse Brewster, backed by Allyson Paige on backup vocals. Jesse sang and played acoustic guitar in a perfectly delectable performance featuring songs off his new album "Wrecking Ball at the Concert Hall.“ Songsalive! San Francisco Showcase – June 2nd - Songalive! is running a San Francisco showcase series every first Thursday of the month, currently held at Velo Rouge Cafe in San Francisco, CA hosted by local artist Katie Garibaldi, which features Songsalive! members performing outstanding original acoustic music. The most recent showcase took place on June 2nd, and featured two Bay Area local artists Miriam Speyer and Essence. Miriam wooed the listeners with her soothing and rhythmic folk-y jazz acoustic songs. Essence played songs off her albums, including some acoustic pop gems as well as a children's song she wrote inspired by her son. Contributor: Katie Garibaldi San Francisco Chapter Coordinator
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NEW YORK, NY UPCOMING EVENTS SONGSALIVE! NEW YORK CITY SHOWCASE & OPEN MIC
OUR CHAPTER NEWS
WHEN: Every Tuesday, sign up at 8:30pm. Songsalive! members get to showcase first, upon applying! WHERE: American Trash 1471 First Avenue (Btw. 76th and 77th Streets) FREE to Songsalive! members. Songsalive! members perform at our Showcases as FEATURED ARTIST
www.songsalive.org/chapters.htm
LONG ISLAND, NY REVIEWS OF RECENT EVENTS Songsalive! Long Island Workshop – May 4th - The first Songsalive! Long Island, NY workshop on Wednesday, May 4th was a huge success! Everyone who attended had a very positive response from the information being shared and from our guest speaker, Paul Andrejack, who talked about marketing & promotions for musicians. Songsalive! Long Island Workshop – Jun. 1st - On Wednesday, June 1st, the second Songsalive! workshop on Long Island, NY was received very well by the people that attended. We spent the entire workshop on song critiques and just talking about the music industry. Everyone there had a very positive response from the information being shared and from the song critiques we did. Looking forward to building up the songwriting community on Long Island even more in the upcoming months!
www.songsalive.org/chapters.htm
Contributor: Steve Archdeacon Long Island Chapter Coordinator
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LEARNING ARTICLES ON OUR WEBSITE DIY Music Licensing - Songs in Film, Television, Advertising Games and the New Media How To Meta-Tag Your Songs and Why It's Important
OPPORTUNITIES Members, log in an read the
What Are You Recording?
Latest Member opportunities listed in our Forums:
Airplay 101: Digital Servicing Myths, by Bryan Farrish
Songsalive! Songshop – new songs needed today
Make Money with YouTube’s Partner Program
Jobs
Tools to Get Moving on Your Songwriting Dreams for 2011
Music Opportunities
Legal Problems with Co-Writers
To access opportunities www.songsalive.org go COMMUNITY > FORUMS
To Read these Articles songsalive.org/backstage.htm – Go KNOWLEDGE WIKI (Accessed by Pro Members only)
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MEMBER OF THE MONTH Congratulations to our Elite Member of the month featured here!
LIGHT & SHADE Album Review
"The moment I started to listen I was transported to somewhere in New Orleans or the Mississippi, and then James Keen’s angelic, yet edgy, voice came on and it became clear I was listening to a sound from the world stage. “Light & Shade”, the new album by London based band, Magazine Gap, was recorded all over the world, from New Orleans, to London to Los Angeles to New York."
Opening track “The Promised Land” sets the scene of a truly promising album by this British band, having been recorded and is about New Orleans. Not a stranger to their sound, I first discovered lead singer James Keen’s unique voice when he landed a slot on my Art Of Men Cd Compilation in ’09. I was blown away by his voice which sounds like James Taylor, Sting, Phil Collins, and I hope he doesn’t object, but also Tracy Chapman, with a very similar vibrato and lilt to his croon. Then, he brought our his new band Magazine Gap to play at our album launch at The Mint, Los Angeles, and I and the entire room were absolutely mesmerized by James’ stage presence and the band’s performance.
Find out more about Magazine Gap in their Songsalive! interview at
Read more of their review and other MEMBER REVIEWS at www.songsalive.org/blog.htm
YOU COULD BE THE NEXT SONGSALIVE! MEMBER OF THE MONTH. Pro Members log in to BACKSTAGE at www.songsalive.org to find out how.
MAGAZINE GAP
www.songsalive.org/members.htm Congratulations Magazine Gap on your new CD and on being named, Songsalive! Member of the Month!
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FEATURED PARTNER Offering terrific discounts and opportunities for our members from our PARTNERS! Songsalive! offers considerable discounts and opportunities, through our Partners, to music resources, books and directories/online websites for marketing, promotion and social networking /artist development, production and training/Music Licensing (Film, TV, Ads, Games and A&R contacts / Music creation, sales and distribution /Songwriting learning and writing tools/Gigs and Touring. In our BACKSTAGE, you can access the actual discount, exclusive to our Songsalive! members!
SIMPLE MUSIC CONTRACTS - SONGSALIVE! PARTNER OF THE MONTH We offer 109 Music Contracts for everyone in the music business. You can also purchase Music Directories full of great contacts in the Music Industry like A&R, Music Publishers, Managers and Film & TV. You can also learn how to Copyright Your Music the easiest, cheapest way with our step by step guide.
Get 35% off for these contracts through Songsalive! ACCESS: Go to www.songsalive.org . Go BACKSTAGE > Partner Directory
(Pro Member access only)
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Songsalive! announces the release of
Songsalive! CD Sampler 11
SONGSALIVE! SAMPLER 11
An album with 20 International Songwriters - en route to select music conferences, festivals, radio stations, print media, music industry executives and film and TV music supervisors, and promoted online worldwide. Songsalive! has created CD Samplers since 1997 as a platform to showcase songwriters and their songs to the world. This year, the Songsalive! Cd Sampler 11 showcases songwriters from across the USA, Canada, Australia, Switzerland and Germany. Every year, our CD Samplers have attracted songwriters from the four corners of the globe. Songsalive! CD Sampler 11 is available now, as a promotional only compilation. Music industry and media are welcome to be considered for a free sampler with desired opportunities for the songwriters involved. Visit www.songsalive.org/programs.htm for more details or contact Dave Harvey at dave@songsalive.org
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The International Songwriting Competition (ISC)
SPONSORED EVENT
The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) is now accepting entries for the 2011 competition. Now is your chance to enter what the NY Times calls “the songwriting competition to take note of� with $150,000 (US) in cash and prizes - including $25,000 (US) cash for the grand prize winner alone and the best judges for any songwriting competition worldwide. Judges for 2011 include: My Morning Jacket, Tom Waits, Tori Amos, Jeff Beck, Massive Attack, Kelly Clarkson, Wynonna and record label executives- both major and independent. For entry information and a complete list of judges please visit - www.songwritingcompetition.com and write SONGSALIVE! as who you were referred by.
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Join The Songsalive! Team
GET INVOLVED "Volunteering is an act of heroism on a grand scale. And it matters profoundly. It does more than help people beat the odds; it changes the odds." - President William Jefferson Clinton
Advertise your services
in
Volunteer Positions Open: 1. Songsalive! Web Coordinator - iCoordinator 2. LA Chapter Coordinator 3. Austin, TX Chapter Coordinator 4. Songsalive! Special Events Coordinator Songsalive! Web Coordinator - iCoordinator To update and maintain our website and social networks content, look and feel, as well as engage our members and new, potential songwriter members, to interact in our organization through blogs, social networks and our website. LA Chapter Coordinator Manage the membership, programs, events, and team for the greater Los Angeles area.
Songnotes
Sponsor us or become a partner Contact us at www.songsalive.org/contact.htm
Austin, TX Chapter Coordinator Manage the membership, programs, events, and team for the greater Austin area. Songsalive Special Events Coordinator Organizes and manages the set-up and staffing of Songsalive booths at events. Includes developing a plan and logistics, getting volunteers to staff the booth, set-up and supplies, sales of Songsalive! Merch, actively promoting Songsalive! and enlisting new members, and writing a post-event report. Apply at www.songsalive.org/volunteer.htm
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BACK PAGE Make sure you're on our Discussion Groups/Lists eNotes - free weekly discussion list where the art and business of songwriting meet online. Regular posts from our partners - music business professionals offering opportunities, plus up to the minute posts from our program SONGSHOP (looking for songs). Songchat - free weekly discussion list to self promote! Dedicated to self-promotion, gig and music news, plus interaction with songwriters and composers around the world.
Our Social Networks Facebook Group LinkedIn Songsalive! Video Blog on YouTube MySpace Twitter
Contact us with questions www.songsalive.org/contact.htm usa@songsalive.org – USA/World general inquiries membership@songsalive.org – for the obvious songsalivepr@gmail.com ONLY for Songnotes questions.
Looking for Songsalive! Australia? Go to www.songsaliveaustralia.org.au
Access ALL at www.songsalive.org/community.htm
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