I got a great idea from one of our readers who sent in a new masthead… since you’re all so creative and since we recently revived our old logo, I thought I’d let you take a spin at designing the spinme.com masthead.
We finally have restored the rotation system, so you’ll see different mastheads as [...]
Earlier today, I asked if it was “fair” that many songwriting contests use interns to screen entries. It all comes down to what is promised in a contest’s terms and conditions.
Unfortunately, many songwriting contests use vague terminology in their terms and conditions that often allows them to screen entries any way they want. On one [...]
So far in this special series, I’ve written about some of the myths and realities of songwriting contests, the reasonableness of entry fees, and the real involvement of contest sponsors.
Today, I’m tacking one of the most subjective elements of any songwriting contest — the judging.
The fact that many songwriting contests are really song critique services [...]
With the song critique section of our bulletin boards growing, I pulled TryTunes out of mothballs to provide an easy way for songwriters to get their songs online without opening a MySpace or a YouTube account. We have received plenty of submissions, and we welcome more. However, please keep in mind that this is what [...]
Mark Cuban wonders aloud whether YouTube’s announcement that popular videos will start earning royalties will spawn a videomakers’ guild or performing rights society along the lines of ASCAP or BMI. It’s an interesting concept, since statutory royalties for songwriters have been around for so long that nobody challenges their merit anymore. As it becomes easier [...]
It used to be that, to rip off musicians, you had to take out an ad in Rolling Stone and open up a post office box. At least then, a disgruntled contest entrant could sit outside the post office at wait for someone to come and collect the mail. Today, all it takes is a [...]
Because there are only so many hours in the day, we don’t have time to review all the unsolicited submissions we receive here at TCM World Headquarters. However, despite the admonishment on our contact page, they arrive anyway.
Our new bulletin boards give me the chance to corral that energy instead of forcing me to give [...]
And we’ve got song-by-song discussion on our boards.
Track these topics: American+Idol, contest, songwriter, songwriting
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If you type the words “songwriting contest” into Google, you’re going to come back with close to a million entries. And that number is growing all the time. Too many scam artists are realizing that it’s far too easy to convince a songwriter to part with her money on the assumption that she’ll get “found.”
Songwriting [...]
The American Idol songwriting contest is probably the highest profile event of its kind for songwriters in the past ten years, if not more. For all of our talk about the importance of building an audience and playing gigs, songwriters — especially writers who do not perform — have some of the most challenging paths [...]
