WD Editors

The Craft & Business of Songwriting, 3rd Edition
By John Braheny
ISBN 1-58297-466-7

A practical guide to creating and marketing artistically and commercially successful songs

Writing great songs is only half the work of becoming a successful songwriter — you also have to manage your business. Perfect for beginners and working songwriters alike, The Craft and Business of Songwriting features dozens of exercises, examples, and anecdotes from successful songwriters including Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, and Paul McCartney. Revised and updated to cover the latest technology, this guide gives aspiring songwriters the insider secrets they need to navigate the music industry and make them more competitive in the marketplace.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part 1: The Craft
Chapter 1. Creativity and Inspiration
Chapter 2. Subject Matter
Chapter 3. The Media and Listeners
Chapter 4. Writing Lyrics
Chapter 5. Constructing a Song
Chapter 6. Writing Music (by Cat Cohen)
Chapter 7. Collaboration

Part 2: The Business
Chapter 8. Protecting Your Songs
Chapter 9. Where Your Money Comes From
Chapter 10. Publishing
Chapter 11. Self-Publishing
Chapter 12. Demos
Chapter 13. Marketing Yourself and Your Songs
Chapter 14. Additional Markets
Chapter 15. Getting a Record Deal

Appendix: Songwriter’s Resources
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

John Braheny is a music industry consultant and mentor/coach for songwriters and performers. His clients are individuals as well as companies and include TAXI (the independent A&R service), songwriter organizations, and Web site services. John has been a musician, songwriter/performer, recording artist, film composer, commercial jingles producer, and music publisher. He and Len Chandler cofounded and directed the legendary BMI-sponsored Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase (LASS), a national non-profit service organization for songwriters, from 1971 until joining forces with the Songwriters Guild of America in 1999. He coproduced twenty-two annual Songwriters Expo international education and discovery conferences. John has contributed articles to national songwriting publications and Web sites and was a columnist for Music Connection and Music Biz magazines. He has taught classes on songwriting and the music business at UCLA, Musicians Institute, and Grove School of Music and is a guest speaker and teacher at universities and songwriter organizations throughout the U.S and Canada. He is past president of the California Copyright conference, an organization for entertainment attorneys and music publishers, and has served several terms on the board of the Recording Academy (the GRAMMY organization). For several years he co-hosted Samm Brown’s For the Record, a weekly music industry talk show on KPFK (Pacifica Radio Network) in Los Angeles. John has conducted 55 interviews with hit songwriters and producers for United Airlines In-flight (audio) Entertainment. For more information, visit his very informative Web site at www.johnbraheny.com.