Songwriting

What We Have Learned About the American Idol Songwriter Contest

Apr 10th, 2007 | By Joe Taylor Jr. | Category: Songwriting

Welcome to spinme.com, where we help working musicians make more money making music. If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed or our weekly newsletter. Thanks for visiting!UPDATE - APRIL 27: Big, huge, fun American Idol liveblog + discussion happening on our new discussion boards.
Our readers kick butt. Seriously, [...]



American Idol Songwriter Contest Rules Reviewed

Apr 5th, 2007 | By Joe Taylor Jr. | Category: Songwriting

UPDATE - APRIL 27: Big, huge, fun American Idol liveblog + discussion happening on our new discussion boards.
The entry form has finally popped up on the American Idol site for their songwriting competition. [CUE FRED SCHNEIDER] Surrrprrrriiiiisssse! It’s gonna cost $10 to enter the contest.
Ordinarily, I think $10 is a totally reasonable entry fee for [...]



American Idol Songwriting Contest Finally Opens!

Apr 4th, 2007 | By Joe Taylor Jr. | Category: Songwriting and Television

IMPORTANT UPDATE — MARCH 20, 2008 — AMERICAN IDOL SONGWRITING CONTEST HAS LAUNCHED FOR 2008. CLICK THIS LINK FOR DETAILS. INFORMATION BELOW IS FROM THE 2007 CONTEST. Wow!We all thought this was drifting way beyond the back burner and behind the stove. However, it looks like the folks at 19 Entertainment are going to use their [...]



American Idol Songwriting Contest Update

Jan 25th, 2007 | By Joe Taylor Jr. | Category: Opportunities, Songwriting and Television

UPDATE - APRIL 27: Big, huge, fun American Idol liveblog + discussion happening on our new discussion boards.
UPDATE 4.4.07: American Idol Songwriting Competition Signups Open!!
Has it really been six weeks since my last post? My, how holiday time flies! Info on what I’ve been up to coming very soon.
In the meantime, my inbox is flooded [...]



Guitar Tab Archive Shut Down Due to Copyright Issues

Aug 17th, 2006 | By Joe Taylor Jr. | Category: Songwriting

OLGA, a venerable and very popular guitar tablature archive, received “take down” notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Guitar tab archives are such a gray area for working musicians. For up-and-comers on a budget, guitar tabs are a simple, free way to learn songs. However, sheet music is a traditional way that songwriters have [...]



American Idol 6 Will Include a Songwriting Competition

Aug 7th, 2006 | By Joe Taylor Jr. | Category: Songwriting and Television

UPDATE - APRIL 27: Big, huge, fun American Idol liveblog + discussion happening on our new discussion boards.
UPDATE 4.5.07: American Idol Songwriter Contest Rules Now Online
UPDATE 4.4.07: American Idol Songwriting Competition Signups Open!!
Now that’s something I wasn’t expecting.
Along with the routine awful auditions and awkward evolutions of the next round of Idol contestants, we’ll get [...]



What if your fans don’t want you to get too successful?

Jul 7th, 2006 | By Joe Taylor Jr. | Category: Growing Your Audience and Songwriting

I remember the first time Jennie made me listen to Green Day. We were both working at our college radio station, and I was still mostly listening to Paul Weller. I had no clue what to make of them, and I would never have expected, fifteen years on, that they would become rock royalty.
Along the [...]



More Collaboration: Songwriter Improv Night

Feb 24th, 2006 | By Joe Taylor Jr. | Category: Songwriting

Rhonda writes about a great way to hold yourself accountable to writing at least one new song every month — a songwriter improv night…

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Collaboration is Crucial for Musicians

Feb 23rd, 2006 | By Joe Taylor Jr. | Category: Songwriting

Too many independent musicians lock themselves up mentally, afraid that if they share ideas “too soon” that they’ll either get stolen or that there won’t be any more good ideas where that came from.
It’s a habit that all creative people share at some point in their careers. To break through to the next level, you’ve [...]



Kate Bush Takes Math Rock Seriously

Nov 9th, 2005 | By Joe Taylor Jr. | Category: Songwriting

Loving the Washington Post’s review of the new Kate Bush album, especially its description of the song Pi:
For those about to math-rock, Kate Bush salutes you.
I mean, who else could actually sing pi to 100 decimal places?

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