Songsalive! Songnotes March/April 2014 by Songsalive! Inc

CONTENTS

Happy 2014, everyone! I hope the year is off to a great start for

14) Get Involved

all of you. Welcome to the first issue of Songnotes for 2014! We have lots of fantastic information to share. Check out our upcoming events on the next page. We are now offering bimonthly online workshops this year. They are FREE! Find out how to participate in the next workshop this Saturday, March 15th on the next page. This issue, we have a guest article about blogging by Ben Sword. Read it on page 4-6. Find out how Songsalive! can help you connect and collaborate with other songwriters on page 7. We have lots of opportunities for you & your music listed on page 8. Congratulations to Jessica Akintunde for being chosen to be our Songsalive! Team Member Spotlight! You can read more about Jessica on page 11. Our Partner of the Month is The Creative Elite. Find out about the classes that they offer on page 12. We are also sponsoring the Billboard Latin Music Conference and Awards. Read about this amazing event on page 13. Also, please check out all of our chaptersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; news on pages 9 & 10. On the cover this month is Songsalive! President, Gilli Moon, performing with Andy Catt, J. Walker, and Voyce McGinnley III at the Songsalive! Holiday Party 2013 at the Cork Lounge.

15) Back Page

Happy Songwriting in 2014!

3) Calendar of Events/Featured Event 4) Guest Writer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ben Sword 7) Connect & Collaborate 8) Forums & Community 9) Chapter News 10) Chapter News 11) Team Member Spotlight 12) Featured Partner 13) Sponsored Event

Mary Lemanski Director of Operations Songsalive! - The largest international non-profit membership organization and social community for songwriters and composers, since 1997. www.songsalive.org

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Sunday, March 16 12:00pm Los Angeles Songsalive! Songwriters Workshop Tuesday, March 18 8:30pm New York Songsalive! Showcase & Open Mic Thursday, March 20 7:30pm Orange County Songsalive! Showcase Tuesday, March 25 8:30pm New York Songsalive! Showcase & Open Mic Saturday, March 29 6:00pm Orange County Songsalive! Songwriters Workshop Tuesday, April 1 8:30pm New York Songsalive! Showcase & Open Mic Sunday, April 6 7:00pm Songsalive! Songnet Songwriters Showcase Tuesday, April 8 8:30pm New York Songsalive! Showcase & Open Mic

FEATURED UPCOMING SONGSALIVE! EVENT Songsalive! Bi-Monthly Online Songwriters Workshop WHEN: SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 2014 TIME: 1:00 - 2:00 PM PST WHERE: ONLINE www.anymeeting.com/songsalive Every 2 months, Songsalive! hosts a FREE online workshop for all songwriters, members and visitors, to attend. 1. Review latest cool features and opportunities provided by Songsalive! 2. Members ask questions about our benefits 3. Share in a discussion about any given topic related to art and business of songwriting. 4. One song may be selected for sharing in the call (at Songsalive!'s discretion) for participants' feedback. 5. Some calls will include special guest speakers from the music industry. Participate via phone and/or internet (we often share our screen to showcase websites or other materials).

PLEASE RSVP AT www.anymeeting.com/songsalive Saturday, April 12 11:30am Chicago Songsalive! Songwriters Workshop

www.songsalive.org/events.htm for Calendar and Upcoming Events www.songsalive.org/chapters.htm for details on our Chapters.

Songsalive! - The largest international non-profit membership organization and social community for songwriters and composers, since 1997. www.songsalive.org

GUEST WRITER Is Blogging Your Ticket To Speedy Full-Time Musician Status? By Ben Sword

To run a world class blog you need to build a big enthusiastic audience who suck up your every word like I drink Oreo Milkshake…and the only way there is HARD WORK. That ain’t a very sexy thing for me to tell you, and I’m sure I would shift a lot more Classroom memberships if I was peddling a “fast-forward button” that gave you a Bagillion fans overnight. But it don’t exist…

This is a guest article by Ben Sword, head coach at Music Marketing Classroom. Go here for more free training musicmarketingclassroom.com Chances are that if you’ve ever dabbled in the wonderful world of online music marketing you might have set up a blog at some point. After playing with the fonts and colours for 7 hours (or was that just me?) you got to work eagerly bashing away at the keyboard week after week until finally that sinking feeling hit you like a sucker punch from Grandma… “Hot Dang’ …Nobody is reading my Shizzle!” Kinda feels like playing the best show of your life with only the bar staff watching! Not Cool. But why the radio silence? Well recently I spent around 3 months talking to every smart and successful blogger I could find in an effort to try and CRACK THE CODE for my latest book. (which you’re getting below)

Sure there are examples of fast success, but relying on that is like saying “one day I’ll win the lottery and everything will be cool” rather than designing a real career (and business) that will sustain your hunger for Apple macs even when the five minutes of fame are over. (or is that just me again?) Right…so now we got the reality check out the way, the question remains…can you really use blogging as your path to speedy full time musician status? And the answer to that question my Interweby friend is 100% YES, but a well thought out Guest Blogging strategy will get you there faster. Guest Blogging? What The FUNK? The big idea here is that rather than spending four hundred years posting on your own site trying to build an audience, you first find relevant websites who have already got a bunch of visitors and become a valued content provider for them. So WELL DONE because you just got a promotion, and your new job title is “Creator of super-awesome interesting stuff to be posted wherever there is a crowd”. (continued on next page)

But you wanna know the “Magical Formula” right now? Ok here goes…

Songsalive! - The largest international non-profit membership organization and social community for songwriters and composers, since 1997. www.songsalive.org

GUEST WRITER Is Blogging Your Ticket To Speedy Full-Time Musician Status? (Continued) I believe EPIC Stuff should be the focus with any kind of sensible online marketing right now, in fact it’s not really about using a Blog at all, or a YouTube channel or even a Twitter feed…it’s your commitment to consistently producing inspiring and share-worthy articles, videos and music that will put you on the yellow brick road to a thriving audience. Just to be clear…this strategy is NOT about using other sites JUST for their crowd like some fun sucking mind leech, but asking yourself how you can become a trusted and valued content producer to those websites and their followers? Once you have a crowd of interested people collected on an email list from your guest posting exploits you’re free to focus on your own website if you like, because now you have a captive audience ready and waiting for what you have coming out. So that’s the snazzy intro in the can, but I made you the following video and actionplan to help you get to work:

3.Leave it overnight and go bake a cake or something, then come back the next day to edit your masterpiece ready for posting.

4.Make it easy for your promo partners by setting up the code in your own blog first so they can post instantly. 5.Don’t forget to link back to a page on your site where you can collect new email subscribers by offering them something killer. 6.Contact popular websites to pitch your guest content. Search tools: Follower Wonk, Similar Site Search and good ol’ Google. 7.If you hear nothing follow-up with a friendly reminder. 8.Use the feedback you get to improve your pitch and then rinse and repeat the process until you’ve gotten all the hits you can from the content you created.

Visit this link for the video: musicmarketingclassroom.com/guestblog

If right now you’re pumped and feel confident that guest posting is going to be totally badass for you then I suggest you commit to it as your main promo method for at least three months and focus. (Six days a week if possible.)

Your Action Plan

Only then will you have a proper indication of your success.

1.Pick a topic that gets you all hot under the collar, then read the top three articles on Google for inspiration. 2.Set a timer for 25 minutes and write down everything you can think of based on your chosen topic. Don’t stop writing or edit anything yet.

Remember the words of Bruce Lee… “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times…and Ben Sword is totally AWESOME!” OK I made up the last bit, but you get the idea. (continued on next page)

Songsalive! - The largest international non-profit membership organization and social community for songwriters and composers, since 1997. www.songsalive.org

GUEST WRITER Is Blogging Your Ticket To Speedy Full-Time Musician Status? (Continued) A few more goodies… When you’re on a guest blogging mission it’s all about “how much coolness can I put in my posts”… so with that in mind I decided to make you another video packed with all the little details you’re going to need to get started with your promotion: Visit this link for the video: musicmarketingclassroom.com/moreinfo …and if at this point you’re thinking “Oh yeah, like I’m really going to do my full time job and be a dedicated guest blogger as well”… …then below is a little process I’ve been using to get up at 4.45am every morning giving me plenty of time to work before my two year old son stage dives out of the cot onto my head, while still swinging his guitar! Visit this link for the video: musicmarketingclassroom.com/hourofpower And Finally… Whoa we made it, thanks for sticking with me! You’ll remember that right at the start of this post I mentioned a book I’ve been working on to seek out smart bloggers and grill them for advice. And just for kicks…you can download a full free copy of that below. Visit this link to download this book: musicmarketingclassroom.com/blogbook

Songsalive! - The largest international non-profit membership organization and social community for songwriters and composers, since 1997. www.songsalive.org

CONNECT & COLLABORATE

Your next song may be the next big hit through collaboration. Connect with other Songsalive! members and find your co-writer Your next big hit song may be from a songwriting collaboration. At Songsalive! you can connect with other Songsalive! songwriter members really easily. Just create a FREE profile at http://www.songsalive.org to get started. There are many ways to connect with other members through our site. Here are just 4 easy ones 1. Under community, on our CHAT page, you can invite another member to join you into the chat room and have a live chat. Check it out 2. on our Songchat page (Pro member access), you can discuss various topics in the chat environment/blog. Check it out 3. We also have various groups you can join where you can leave comments and posts. One in particular is called "Songcollab" for those who want to collaborate on writing songs with others. Check it out 4. Visit other members' profiles and send messages or comment on their profile. This is a great way to meet other songwriters whether in your area or globally. Go to the members page to get started or click on pics and videos under the community to access them that way. Songsalive! - The largest international non-profit membership organization and social community for songwriters and composers, since 1997. www.songsalive.org

Forums & Community SONGSALIVE! OPPORTUNITIES

Community SONGCHAT - Members, have your say. Speak out, shout out. Tell it like it is! Find collaborators, other members, talk about songwriting, the biz, and speak your mind! Including: Songchat Songwriter Discussions Song Critique Discussion Lyrics-Only Critique Discussion SONG CRITIQUE - Critique other members songs and add yours for critique.

Opportunities Forum - Gigs, Jobs, and Music forum Online Pop-Culture Radio Show Needs Musicians Nashville Podcast Is Looking For Nashville Artists Rock N' Roll Camp Features Famous Artists To Mentor Independent Artists Cool Variety Talk Show Needs Musicians & Bands The Song速, a TV Songwriters Competition, Now Accepting Songs for a Development Deal And last week...

Participate and find opportunities in our Forums as a Songsalive! Pro Member. SONGSHOP - Get song leads where music business professionals (record labels, publishers, film producers and music supervisors) hunt songs from the Songsalive! song pool. GIGS, JOBS & MUSIC OPPORTUNITIES - Listings of cool gigs, jobs and music opportunities posted by Songsalive! staff as well as members themselves. LATEST POSTS: Songsalive! Songshop - get song leads and pitch your songs forum Urban Pop Tracks Needed Immediately For Reality Programming Deadline April 10th Music Needed for iOS Video Game - $500 Contract Short Circuit Records Looking for Pop Country Songs Herman Kelly & Afterschool Publishing Company Interested in Pop, Jazz, Rap, Rock and Dance Songs

SpinMedia Seeks Manager, Integrated Marketing Backstage.com Seeks New York Intern Cirque Du Soleil Seeks Musicians, Singers Colorado Music Festival Seeks Interns Shout! Factory Seeks Los Angeles Royalties Coordinator Fervor Records Urgently Seeking Original Songs Recorded Prior to 1989 Finished Masters that can Compete on the World Radio Stage RADIO SHOW WANTS TRACKS FOR AIRPLAY Italian management company looking for Top 40 style hits Pop/Rock, Reggae and Adult Contemporary needed for several artists

AND MANY MORE!!! PRO MEMBERS ACCESS - GO TO: Log on to Songsalive.org and click on BACKSTAGE / then FORUMS / then Songshop or Opportunities. Visit our Songsalive! Forums for more information on these opportunities: www.songsalive.org/forums/

Songsalive! - The largest international non-profit membership organization and social community for songwriters and composers, since 1997. www.songsalive.org

CHAPTER NEWS REVIEWS OF RECENT EVENTS

OUR CHAPTER NEWS

Songsalive! Online January Workshop – Songsalive! hosted our first online workshop of 2014 on January 18th. To start off the workshop, everyone introduced themselves, told where they were from, and a little bit about their music. The topic of discussion was “What we do and what can we do for you?” Songsalive! President, Gilli Moon, talked about Songsalive! and what we do as an organization. She also discussed the benefits of both free and PRO membership and how to become a member. Director of Operations, Mary Lemanski, talked about some of the various programs we have to offer, the PRO Member Backstage Forum, and the Songsalive! Partner Directory. The last part of the workshop was a Q&A session where people could ask questions about Songsalive!, as well as any general songwriting questions they might have had. It was a very fun and interactive workshop! Looking forward to the next workshop when we will have a song critique session! –Mary Lemanski Songsalive! New York City January Showcase – Songsalive! NYC’s Best Open Mic is one of the longest running and best-vibed places to play your songs in the city. An exclusive home for Songsalive! members- they can apply to Showcase and play first among many talented musicians, industry insiders, and new fans! Dan Schteingart

www.songsalive.org/chapters.htm

Songsalive! Orange County January Workshop - Our first workshop and critique session of 2014 brought no less than 10 songwriters together to work on no less than nine songs together. Which made for a lively discussion all by itself! Liz Yacoubian started things off with “A Parent’s Blues” — which tells you a lot about the song right there! She’s always one for clever lyrics and gold old-timey tunes. Jesse MacLeod followed with another classic bit of 12bar blues, experimenting with several sets of lyrics and asking us to help him choose. Up next was R.D. Girard with a surprisingly gentle (for him!) and touching song about the fine art of being a maker of music for a living. Rick Willingham followed with a raucous rocker that featured some interesting arrangements and harmonies. Gil Mosard was next, presenting a touching acoustic love ballad. Steve Finch brought things back to the Blues, trying out a new song intended for a band he just joined. Sherif Guirguis premiered another heavy rocker of a song, aping the vibe of both James Brown and Howlin’ Wolf — emphatically. Cooling things off from there, Kip Corley presented a very personal song about the trials of life that foster kids often face. And finally, newcomer Pamela Pruett (who is already making waves with her singing and her piano playing) knocked the house down with a hot country number about a strong and smart woman who’s not gonna take the runaround anymore. That got everyone talking! After the songs were presented we went into our topic of discussion for the night: Answering the phrase “This year I will…” The idea was to discuss not so much dreams, or even goals, but actual concrete PLANS for increasing our musical presence over the course of 2014. Several people stated they intend to record material for new CD releases. One mentioned seeking a music publishing deal. And some others said they intend to join bands and work on increasing their own chops in anticipation of more gigs. Our host Rod O’Riley “warned” everyone that come November, everyone’s going to be asked for an update! -Rod O’Riley

Songsalive! - The largest international non-profit membership organization and social community for songwriters and composers, since 1997. www.songsalive.org

CHAPTER NEWS REVIEWS OF RECENT EVENTS

OUR CHAPTER NEWS

Songsalive! National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Showcase - Starting off the year with one of our most exciting events is definitely a great way to go! Once again Songsalive! presented a special Songwriter Showcase at the Winter trade show for the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) — one of the largest collections of musicians and musical instrument manufacturers on the planet. And mid-day on Saturday of the 4-day event six acts from Songsalive! got to entertain passers-by from all over the world as they sang their hearts out in the lobby of the Hilton Anaheim. (Special kudos to Manny, Sean, and the crew from QSC who ran sound and stage-tech for the show, making sure everything worked great!) In the first set we welcomed Sabrina & Craig (with their sense of humor, skilled playing, and endlessly clever lyrics), R.D. Girard (he of the bluesy voice and home-spun wisdom), and Pamela Pruett (who knocked everyone over with her powerful voice and skillful piano). And that was just the first hour! Coming up quickly in the second half were the Conlons (playing a variety of instruments and singing unusual harmonies), Endorphin Annie (aka Annie Calder, with gentle guitar playing and a sly wit), and Brittany Pearl (a brand new 16-year-old singing sensation, who plays both guitar AND piano). All of the performers brought along friends and family to the event, so there was quite a crowd throughout the whole thing. After the show, our performers got to go in and visit the NAMM show itself, which is not open to the public — a rare opportunity to visit such an incredible candy store for musicians! -Rod O'Riley Songsalive! Norcal February Showcase & Songwriter’s Contest - The Norcal Songsalive! February Showcase and Songwriter’s Contest went really well! We had 3 performers and 14 in attendance. We received assistance from several people. Gene Lane put up the prize money, and some of our friends helped judge the song contest. All the performers were cooperative and enjoyed the experience. Bruce Riseman won the $75 first prize, and Diana Romero won $50 second prize. They both brought family and friends. -Michael Gregory

Songsalive! Orange County February Showcase - Songsalive! Orange County celebrated five years of live music in Westminster by blowing out the candle on a pumpkin pie — and, by welcoming two great performers back to our stage. Once again Gil Hager brought along his Evan Shegina on trumpet to join Gil’s Taylor guitar for some gritty acoustic blues. Following that it was time for singer and comedian Chris Valenti to whip the crowd up with his silly songs of heartbreak — and stories about much the same. Between these two performers, the evening wound up being downright saucy! -Rod O’Riley Songsalive! Los Angeles March Showcase - Songsalive! kicked off a new Showcase for 2014 its Pro Members at The Cork Lounge, Sherman Oaks, as a joint venture with the Songwriters Network (SongNet). This venue ROCKS. It’s part of Corky’s Restaurant which has been in the area for eons. Kinda looks like an old 50s style diner but once inside the tiny Cork Lounge Bar at the back, you are transported to a new place. It’s cozy, with a bar (happy hour all night), comfy chairs, booths and tables, and awesome service. We had a full house. Performers were Songsalive! president gilli moon and her band, J.Walker the Rhymecologist spoken word artist, The Conlons, (Annette Conlon was 2011 Songsalive! Songwriter of the Year Award recipient) and joint member Melissa Thatcher, plus, co-host, Jimi Yamagishi. We will be running our showcase at The Cork Lounge the First Sundays of the month. Come out next month, Sunday April 6, and be blown away by more talented songwriters from our global nation. -Gilli Moon Songsalive! Chicago March Workshop - Chicago Songsalive! kicked off 2014 with their first workshop on March 8th. Four people had 5 songs for critique. Lots of fantastic music and talented musicians & songwriters in a wide range of genres from Bulgarian folk-rock to Sacred Harp Singing to Classical Crossover to Jazz. The discussion and feedback on all the songs was interesting and helpful. For the second half of the workshop, we had a general discussion about the craft and business of songwriting. People also shared their goals for 2014, and we talked about the various programs that Songsalive! has to offer. It was a lively, fun, and educational discussion! Mary Lemanski

www.songsalive.org/chapters.htm Songsalive! - The largest international non-profit membership organization and social community for songwriters and composers, since 1997. www.songsalive.org

TEAM MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Congratulations Jessica Akintunde on being featured as our Songsalive! Team Member Spotlight!

We are all excited about Jessica Akintunde being chosen for the Songsalive! Team Member Spotlight!!! Jessica Akintunde is the Los Angeles Songsalive! workshop co-coordinator.

JESSICA AKINTUNDE BIO: Jessica is a Graduate of Mount St. Mary's College majoring in both Sociology (with an Emphasis in Family Relations) & Film/Social Justice and has begun her Masters in Social Work at USC. Jessica lives in Los Angeles and in her spare time loves to catch a show/concert at different Los Angeles venues, her favorite being the KeyClub. Jessica is an awesome workshop helper and brings it ON all the time, and hopes to one day work at a record label or film studio.

For more information on the Los Angeles chapter, visit www.songsalive.org/group/losangeles

Jessica Akintunde (left) with Songsalive! Team Members, Danielle Carter and Mike V, at the Durango Songwriters Expo 2013.

Featured on our HOME PAGE at www.songsalive.org

In the above is our Songsalive! LA Workshop team. In the middle, Rik Lawrence our LA Workshop Coordinator. Surrounded by the "roses" volunteers, Danielle Carter and Jessica Akintunde (right). Together, they are a powerful trio.

Songsalive! - The largest international non-profit membership organization and social community for songwriters and composers, since 1997. www.songsalive.org

FEATURED PARTNER

Songsalive! Featured Partner: The Creative Elite The Creative Elite take creatives out of the classroom and put them into real-world environments with successful music industry professionals. We offer the opportunity for singer-songwriters, rappers, musicians, producers and engineers to work handsâ&#x20AC;?on in a real collaborative session with mentors who will help you develop your craft, as well as the business and marketing techniques that will help you achieve true independent success. In addition to a wealth of knowledge and experience, you will take away a professionally mixed and mastered recording that you can use to advance your career. This is not just a course, it's a life-changing experience.

About the Songsalive! Partner Directory: Discounts to our friendsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; products, promotions, resources, services and events to help you with your songwriting career. Music resources, books and directories / Online websites and services 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 / Legal Services / Sponsored Events Behind the Songsalive! Backstage, you can access 100 exclusive discounts, only for our Songsalive! Pro members. www.songsalive.org/backstage.htm for all Pro Member exclusives, or access the Partner Directory here: www.songsalive.org/link-directory.htm Go Pro today! Join Songsalive! on our website at www.songsalive.org/join.htm.

Songsalive! - The largest international non-profit membership organization and social community for songwriters and composers, since 1997. www.songsalive.org