American Idol Songwriting Contest Winners Being Notified This Weekend

Apr 27th, 2007 | By Joe Taylor Jr. | Category: General

At 4ish on the West Coast, fax machines are buzzing with contracts.

I’ve received confirmation from two reliable sources so far that contracts are going out to songwriters who have been selected to compete in the online voting round of American Idol Songwriter.

Folks, please make sure you allow a reputable enterainment attorney to review any contract before you sign it.

This is not just for the contract winners, but for everybody. Even if you just want someone to rubber-stamp it for you, allow an experienced attorney to spend a half hour explaining what the terms really mean. Not doing so is a bad habit that too many artists make when they get a break like this.

I have every faith (in fact, I now know) that the people at 19 Entertainment are putting some good terms on the table, but please don’t be in the habit of wandering into a local storefront attorney and asking them to review this. I’m happy to provide referrals if you need some.

For the 38,980 folks who entered but will not be competing, it’s time to think about how you’re going to get that song — and the rest of your catalog — in front of an audience that wants to hear your work. That’s what this site is all about, and that’s what we’ll spend next week working on. I’m already hearing sobs from clients and readers, and this is not what you should be doing right now — channel this energy and make a commitment to getting your music HEARD in the next 90 days. You don’t need American Idol for that. Join our newsletter if you want a little reminder.

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Track these topics: American+Idol, contest, music+business, songwriter, songwriting