The Artist Development Network would like to congratulate Courtney and her co-writer CJ Watson on getting an honorable mention in the NSAI song competition just last March!  

Hi Courtney!

The results of the 10th Annual NSAI Song Contest presented by CMT are now posted online. It’s my honor to inform you that your song, “Happy To Be Here” has earned Honorable Mention honors.

We received over 2000 submissions to this year’s contest. To be counted amongst the top entries, as you have, is something of which you should be incredibly proud. You can view the full list of winners on our Song Contest page of our website by clicking here.

You will be receiving a certificate of achievement in the mail for both you and any co-writers of your song soon. In the meantime, CONGRATULATIONS again.
This is a truly wonderful achievement!!!!

All the best,

-dp

Dave Petrelli
NSAI Director of Events
1710 Roy Acuff Place

This is the best way for an artist or song writer to promote themselves…get out there and get your music heard!

Cathy Lemmon,
President of ADN, Inc.

It was too late to market “Our Girl” to parents of graduating seniors and college grads in June of 2009. David put the song up on his Myspace and was flooded with people asking if they could get a copy for their daughter’s graduation video. This year was a different story and David & Sam went straight to Youtube in April 2010. Here’s how two savvy songwriters turned a specialty song about a girl’s graduation into $$

Example Video: 1 Evening of Hard Work collecting pictures, syncing the audio

Meta Tag Research: 1 Evening of Hard Work, a bit of tweaking

Website Hosting:     10.00 and you can probably do this for FREE

URL Domain:             9.00 this is important, you want to keep it year to year

Total cost:                  2 evenings and $19

It’s been less than a month and the song Our Girl already shows up on Google’s page 1 if you type graduation songs 2010. That’s progress. They sell the song directly to end users and bypass Itunes and all the other slow and bulky distribution points.

And every year, Our Girl will be the gift that keeps on giving. It says exactly what most parents want to say to their kids at graduation time.

Thank you Sam & David for sharing your story.

That’s Karen singing, and she wrote the words this FEMA parody to the song “Fever”. If you can help, donate what you can at www.myspace.com/karenstaley.

Love,
Cathy Lemmon, President of ADN, Inc.

While checking out a writers round one night, I spotted a previous client of Artist Development Network, the one and only, Jesse Lee. She took the stage and rocked the house! We are very proud of her and her accomplishments! A little hard work and a little dedication, combined with the services you could find at Artist Development Network, could take you to the next level, just like Jesse! But if you’re just looking for a great vacation in a great location, with an added bonus of catching a couple dozen hit Nashville songwriters doing their thing and having a good time, then I believe the 2011 Key West Songwriters Festival is for you!

http://gettingserious.homestead.com/Articles.html

How about you? I ask this question because the why of it all is important. I think it’s important to be who we really are. We’re not going to kid anyone if we assume the wrong role while we’re on this planet. I think that in the case of recording artists… we’re going to stand out even more than most when things are mismatched… we do our work on the world’s stage and there’s nowhere to hide.

Singer‐Songwriters have to know who they are. Johnny Cash could not have gotten on stage at Folsom Prison and sang to those inmates if he didn’t honestly feel a kinship with them. Taylor Swift obviously loves her young fans enough to help them articulate meaningful words that they would like to be able to say, but can’t yet. She validates her fan’s feelings through her remarkable songs. Johnny did the same thing. Johnny Cash was, and Taylor Swift is transparent, at ease and delighted to be singing. I dig that.

The juice of this whole star business magically switches on when fans love you and you love them back just as much. The power of this reciprocal relationship transcends any artistic limitations too. Quality of voice, depth of musicianship and perfection mean little when stars and their fans unite. All that really matters is the connection, and the rest is as natural as an evening stroll.

So back to you… why do you want to be a star? This is a tough field we’ve chosen. Writing songs that stand up to the competition is hard. Singing beautifully night after night is hard. Keeping a band together is hard. Why do we do this? It’s personal for all of us and I’m really looking forward to seeing your replies on our blog. I do know this much… the friends, clients and prospective clients of Artist Development Network are a devoted and serious group. I’ve been here for a year and a half now and I’ve enjoyed every single minute of my time co‐writing beautiful music and getting to know many of you well. I am energized by your motivation and you keep me young. I feel your musical desires and make it a point to help you co‐write the most original music possible. Our whole songwriting team feels the same way. Cathy Lemmon has that same force about her as well. She’s been steering the ship here for 16 years in Nashville. Our dream is to help you with your dreams. We love our work. And there’s that reciprocal‐relationship thing popping up again ☺

I’m not a big Nascar guy. I’ve watched a few (yawn) and made some observations that relate to the music business. In particular, I’ve witnessed the smallest mechanical part take down a million dollar racing car. The same thing can happen in the arts. A single, unforeseen disaster can trigger a series of events that can pull an artist of his or her path permanently. It’s a bad day when this happens. The genetically hard wired singer/songwriter does not have a personality or temperament that will be well suited for a stock and standard 40 hour per week job. So let’s examine the things I consider to be the most important for keeping your singing career on track:

1) Relationships
I could write a book on this particular subject. In the interest of time, I’ll keep this one short. Healthy, give and take relationships require time, attention, commitment. Generally speaking, artist types tend to be what non-artistic types label as selfish. It’s true. If you take a poll of all your artistic friends; you’re going to find that they have quite a history of being labeled as “selfish” by their mates. Is this true? Probably, but mostly because their mates don’t understand artists. Our first love was probably music. It will always be our first love and our mates can’t change or compete with that. So the thing about relationships is: try to avoid the wrong ones with people who don’t understand your artistic personality. Don’t confuse horny with love.

Avoid relationships with serious commitments as long as you can. When you find that person that you really can’t live without… that’s the Come To Jesus Moment where you’re going to have to really assess this person and how compatible he/she is with your artist personality. Guess what score this potential mate needs to score in the compatibility department? 50%? 60%? Personally speaking, I’d say they’d better score 99‐100%. If they’re not completely comfortable with your career and personality type, you’re putting yourself on a path of pure agony. Music will win. The relationship will fail and you’ll be dealing with the fallout, which will lead to depression and take you further away from your music.

2) Nutrition‐Drugs‐Addictions
This one is going to sting a bit. When you were 16, you could’ve eaten at Taco Bell seven days a week and looked great. Flat out, straight up, this will not be the case in your mid 20s, 30s and beyond when you really need to look great in front of a camera. Pretty people become stars. And even if you’re not drop dead gorgeous or on the mainstream star path, you still have to look as good as you can. Looks start within. Junk in junk out. We’re just like cars in that respect. If you put sugar in your gas tank your car will run like crap. If you constantly fuel yourself on Grand Slam breakfasts you will wind up old before your time. Read. Learn. Consult nutritional experts, not Jenny Craig. Jenny sells food. Nutritional experts aren’t selling anything but life skills and knowledge. Big difference.

I think it’s pretty much common knowledge that alcohol and tobacco will make it that much harder to maintain good health. You can’t smoke and expect to sing beautifully, breath efficiently and have the high range you’ll need to deliver most pop songs. You can’t drink and expect your body to deliver the hydration needed for healthy vocal cords. This is all common sense stuff. Life is demanding enough anyway. Why increase the probability of failure with bad foods, alcohol, drugs, energy drinks, cigarettes, pot, spice, pulse, weight loss supplements or any other addiction, legal or not? This is not rocket science, folks. If you’re sleepy, don’t drink coffee… take a freekin’ nap. Exercise is one of the greatest natural drugs ever. Partake in that one with a clean conscience. That’s the real deal, and it will improve your sex life dramatically. Hmm… Tough choice.

3) Professional Improvement
Never, ever stop learning. You might be a kick‐ass singer with a 3 octave range, but you won’t keep that range unless you exercise that voice and check in with a respected vocal coach every once in a while. This is hard to explain in a short paper, but singing is all about muscles. Muscles, as we’re learning, have their own memory. If we begin to develop bad habits in singing, it will take a LOT of time and effort to re‐teach the muscles how to do things right again. You will not be able to cruise on auto pilot if you’re trying to break bad habits. And when you have to start nitpicking the details of your creative process, you will lose something. You can get over this in time, but you can’t be 100% creative and monitoring your actions. That means you can’t be a great singer if you’re “thinking” about singing. You have to be able to sing as easily as you breathe. So the moral of this lesson is: regular checkups in the
voice department will keep bad habits away.

4) Debt
As of this writing, 2010, credit is hard to obtain. If you’re not already in debt, it will be easy to stay debt free for a year or two. But this will not always be the case. Years ago, department stores, home improvement companies and big business figured out that the real profit in business is in the sale of MONEY. They can sell you things for almost no profit if they’re making 20% on that revolving charge card. Learn to live within your means and without the credit cards and high interest rates. If that means postponing that new car or a living room furniture set purchase, by all means… postpone it until you have the cash. Owing money to credit companies means you’ll make decisions about your career and your art based on having to pay these companies back. Not good. Don’t go there. Stay debt free…100% debt free. Rent, food, utilities, gasoline, those will be hard enough to tackle. Don’t pile on any more.

5) Routines
Exercising, practicing, songwriting, rehearsing have to be done. If you’re reading this you are hopeful singer or singer/songwriter. All of the above tasks have to be done and you might just as well set aside time right now to insure that they happen, every day, every week. This is your passion, right? Treat your passion with the ultimate respect… put it on the calendar and make certain you do what you need to do to make your dreams come true.

Contact David Harper at musicbydavid@gmail.com

Chet came on board as a song writer client in 2009, and he’s an example of what all serious song writers should be doing…..Chet is always writing, always promoting his songs, networking with other writers and singers and getting his songs heard by radio and internet stations, competitions, and wherever he can share and promote his music.

Here’s one of Chet’s songs he co-wrote with ADN song writer Larry Clark, called “Before She Can’t Remember”. It’s a tender heart-felt song about Chet’s mother. The song was nominated and won “Song of The Month” on www.songramp.com.

Way to go Chet! Keep up the good work! Twist of Lemmon Music is proud to be your publisher!

BEFORE SHE CAN’T REMEMBER

Chet A Blum / Larry Wayne Clark
C2009 – - – All Rights Reserved

I say, Mom how was camp Switona
That summer of thirty-three?
She says, Oh it was great I swam the lake
All the boys were after me
I say mom did you have fun yesterday?
I don’t know what did I do?
I remind her that we were together
Oh that’s right I had lunch with you

Chorus: I tell her it’s not her fault
She’s outlived her memory
I want her to know how much I love her
Before she can’t remember me

I wish I could make her young again
Give back what the seasons stole
Once I leaned on her, now she leans on me
As parent and child change roles
She looks at me with frightened eyes
Says, why did things end this way?
And I put my arms around her
There’s really not much to say

Chorus: I tell her it’s not her fault
She’s outlived her memory
I want her to know how much I love her
Before she can’t remember me

Bridge: Yesteryear’s faded glories
Are there for her to claim
But I see the clouds in her eyes
When she call me by my brother’s name

Chorus: I tell her it’s not her fault
She’s outlived her memory
I want her to know how much I love her
I’m trying to show how much I love her
Before she can’t remember me

 My musical friends… this is where we need to head back to if our real desire is to make music. I’d love to be able to honestly tell you that the machinery of the corporate music industry could make mega star careers for all of you. I know better. That will only happen for a select few. There are simply too many musicians, singers and talented folks all clamoring for their shot at the big time. But think for a second… is this the only option on your dream? Does it begin and end with making a great demo, shopping it to the labels and then calling it quits when you don’t get a big recording contract? I sure hope not. Besides, you might not fit the usual superstar mold. If you still want to sing… I believe you have an audience out there.

Today, we need to forge our own careers. We need to think small, mobile, and no further than the next couple of house concerts. You’ve heard of house concerts, right? With facebook, Youtube and Myspace, your fans can be geared up for house concerts on a moment’s notice. Find your die‐hard fans in the next city; simply ping them and let them know you’re coming to town. Put them in charge of making sure friends come to see and hear you play in their family rooms or back yards. It works. People come WITH MONEY! This is especially true in the smaller towns.

So how do you make this happen for you? I would say you need great songs to begin with.  Artist Development Network can help you with co‐writing and recording if you want a professional touch. Then you need to learn to play and sing those songs on a single guitar. This is not difficult if the songs are great in the first place. Next, you’ll have to make some fans. Go to the social networks. It helps to have some great photography and great demos up too.

Again, A.D.N. can help you there as well. Next, you just announce that you’re coming to town and you want to do a house concert. I would work outward in a radius, branching further and further from home over time. And for those of you that don’t have relationships and commitments…put your stuff in storage and tool around the United States for a few years doing this. You will have a huge fan base if you stay with it. All you need to do is make enough money to get to the next gig. Not too hard. You’ll get fed at the houses where you play. Your fans will probably be eager to let you spend the night too. You get to meet people. You get to listen to your fans tell you stories, you get to be a full time performing artist. Praise the Lord. Can I get an Amen? Pass the peas. 

At first when I started wondering if a person in their 30s, 40s or 50s could do this, I was taken back by the idea. Since then it’s really grown on me. Why not? I don’t think you’ll be any worse off if you take a few years off and go for it. If you’ve got kids you’ll need to limit this work, of course. But if you’re free, really free… why not go for it!

I talk with artists all day long who really want a career in music. They don’t necessarily want to be rich; they just want to make a living doing their music. House concerts are a realistic way of doing this. You don’t need a band. You don’t need anything but great songs, some CDs, a car, a portable laptop, a guitar (or keyboard) your sweet voice and a cell phone. 

Artist Development Network can be a big help in getting your singing career together quickly. Come to Nashville and co‐write some amazing songs. We’ll get you recorded just right and give you the tools you’ll need to start this ball rolling. From that point on, it’s up to you and your adoring fans. I’m betting you can do this. ☺