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.

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!

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

Here’s a little ditty… about Jack and Diane. What a great song. What’s the message of the Jack & Diane story? I think it goes way deeper than just small town football stars and their girlfriends. Scratch and dig deeper; it’s a multi-layer lyric. It’s also a story about self-made obstacles. We’ve all seen these mini series play out in our hometowns. Take a snapshot in time and someone owns the world; then fast forward two years later and they’re not even on the radar. The usual culprit is an abrupt change of direction. Enter drama.

I’ve seen the routine over and over. The promising star or starlet gets the industry machinery going, camps get set up, big plans get made, label deals get inked and lots of money gets spent. And then, out of nowhere, the next big thing pulls the plug. Sometimes they don’t even know they’ve pulled it and it’s over. Doesn’t matter though. The end result is the same.

I have a lifelong relationship with a very talented guitarist friend. She’s not only a brilliant player, but an excellent singer/songwriter as well. I’ve watched her systematically destruct label deals and almost everything good in her life for over two decades now. I’ve been in many bands with this talented woman. They all implode in short order. Once the perfect combination of excellent players is found, we’ll have a brief moment where everything’s coming up roses. Then, like clockwork, she’ll begin to have huge mood swings, her personal life will begin to fall apart, she’ll get short and disrespectful with her band members, and then one-by-one, the supporting talent bails. Ultimately, the labels and the agents get nervous and her phone stops ringing. She will then go through a period of depression, usually a couple years. She might even move hundreds of miles away. Then, one day, like the sunrise, she reappears and the cycle begins a new. Unfortunately for her, she’s now in a position where her looks are slipping, she’s tired and too old to really set the world on fire. This routine has been going on since she was a kid.

What’s the deal? Is this chance? I don’t think so. Maybe once or twice might make it chance. This is a simple case of destructive behavior (the symptom) coupled with insecurity (the real problem). Yeah. I bet if we could get a little sodium pentathol in her (the truth drug) we’d get to the bottom of things. I honestly think she’s scared of success. She’s scared of competing. Real competition seems to be the great leveler. I don’t care how big you are in your small town, things will be different out in the real world. You won’t be the one and only and the focus of everybody’s attention on the world’s stage. All your little insecurities are going to come back to haunt you if you’re lucky enough to make it that far.

There’s always something about ourselves that we don’t particularly like. It might be our nose, our vibrato, bingo arms (that flappy part of the upper arm skin that is all too noticeable when someone stands up and yells BINGO!) or our butts or even the sound of our own voice. Whatever it is, it becomes the focus, our obsession, and given the right set of circumstances (the prospect of real fame), these obsessions can become overpowering. We develop temporary OCD and focus on things that don’t matter while ignoring all of our positive attributes. Then when it’s all too much to handle, we’ll set fire to our careers so we’ll have a good story down the road as to how and why we’re a victim of circumstance. Oh the drama.

Victim? Yeah…we’re the victims of our own self-made dramatic circumstance all right. Cathy Lemmon recently pinged her email list letting everybody know that we have a reality show in the works at Artist Development Network. She asked for real-life stories from people. And you wouldn’t believe how many amazing stories we’ve received or the depths of despair people have plunged into. This is all good stuff for reality television, and we can use these stories! But let me assure you… you’ll need to get past all of it if you really want to do something with your own musical career.

No drama boys & girls. That’s got to be the rule when it comes to the stage. The old saying the show must go on is the main rule the pros live by. Drama might keep people glued to a reality show, but when it comes time to perform on stage there had better be no excuses. And believe me, as the ringleader of your own career, you’ll need to have emotional headroom and compassion to help those in your crew through their own nightmares. Disasters happen. You have to be available to help key band members and personnel through difficult times. Straight up: the last person that can afford the luxury of chronic self-made drama is the star of the show.

Contact David Harper at:

musicbydavid@gmail.com

God help us.

Lately my life has been so “in the office” that I’ve actually been frequenting drive through windows at fast food joints. It’s a shameful habit, I know. But not wanting to be left out, I decided I’d try a few of these “value” items. It’s a good time to be saving money, right? But are these decoratively wrapped .99-cent gems really a value? The answer to that depends on how much you respect your body. They’re usually pure fat and well below the already low nutritional standards for fast food.

And then I got to thinkin’… junk in, junk out, right? This must apply to the songs we write too. The same laws are all over the universe. We are a product of the lives we lead. Let’s see. What have I been writing about lately? Sure enough… after a careful lyric check, I’ve been writing mostly my moods and my environment to the T. When I’m in love, I write love songs. When I’m stressed, I write songs that sound like it. If I spend too much time thinking about commercial success, my songs sound like that too. I can listen to the song, and like a little snapshot of my history, I can tell you exactly what I was going through based on the lyrics and vibe of my chord progressions.

Food for thought. What do you want to represent in your writing? The truth is, you’d better live it. You can’t write fiction in songs. Well, actually, you can… but they don’t work very well. You have to write about what you really know or you come off lookin’ like a buffoon. Like when 15 year olds sing about relationships beyond puppy love… ew. Listening to one of those give me a “post value meal” kind of nausea. Or when middle class suburban kids sing rap songs. That’s another kind of feeling all together. No, man, you have to sing what you are. You have to write what you know and live. Anything else sounds no more sincere than a Hallmark card, chosen in haste.

I can’t tell you how to live your life or what you should write about. I can only bring it to your attention that your lyrics and musical moods will reflect the love, anger, resentment or compassion you harbor. So dwell on this a little, will ya? Think about your life and where you’re going. And if you can, step outside yourself and survey your life as objectively as possible. Is the life you lead today in line with the life you want to be remembered for 15 years from now? If not, know there will be no escaping your musical history.

Take steps to get your life in order. Often, we get so bogged down with the day-to-day business of living that we fail to realize that we’re probably on a wheel. Our little feet are running like crazy. But where are we going? This economy has, unfortunately, put most of in a place where we don’t’ have a lot of expendable income to busy ourselves beyond work. So why not use some of this broke-but-free time reflecting, and doing some soul searching? Your songs, your relationships and your life will be the better for it.

Contact David Harper at:

musicbydavid@gmail.com

“As a Songwriter you want to make sure you write from a place of honesty. Write about something you have lived, have seen, or want to experience. Those are the types of songs that others will identify with. You will also want to make sure that your song is not longer then four minutes, so that it fits in with the radio format. A Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, 2 line Bridge, Chorus format is usually the longest you can go without going over four minutes.”       
Joe Sins, Professional Songwriter

“If you are seeking a singing career, your voice is your main asset and should be fully discovered, maximized and protected as such. Getting into top vocal shape first requires assessment of your vocal strengths and weaknesses: Do you need to address some vocal strain, thin tone, lack of control, pitch or range issues? Do you need to work on developing your unique sound and style of vocal delivery? These and other vocal advances can be made by getting your breath right, your throat open and your communication skills sharpened. And yes, it takes all three.”
Judy Rodman, Vocal Coach

These are just 3 of the 10 music industry experts who will be teaching at
our camp for singers this spring and summer.

Click this link for more Singer’s Performance Camp information.

It started out as a stage for a few of his friends to play, and 25 years later, it has blossomed into a hugely successful showcase of songwriters from all over the country. Although Mr. Brown passed away in 1996, his legacy has lived on and is now eternal within the community of writers at the festival.

The lineup was full of Nashville hit songwriters from today and years past, including some of ADN previous writers. It’s a community that embraces all the visitors for the 10 days in late November, and an awesome place to learn about songwriting. Every writer is accessible before and after his or her performances, so it would be a perfect learning experience for any writer looking to pick up tips straight from the source themselves. 

This festival is one of the many reasons that Artist Development Network expresses the importance of songwriting. It was a wonderful opportunity and I would go back again in a heartbeat, and encourage any writer, young or old, to make the trip for next year’s Frank Brown International Songwriting Festival! 

Please visit their website for complete information!

 http://fbisf.com

So many heroes have gone without knowing our appreciation for putting their life on the line to defend our great country. LeeAnn said, “I was inspired by the dedication of our military, their families, and the support of their communities who count the days until their safe return. God bless them all.”

This is a beautiful and touching song we hope you will enjoy listening to. The demo singer is Craig Campbell, who just signed a record deal in September!

Congratulations to both LeeAnn and Joe Sins for the wonderful song, and for Craig’s gift of voice!

This lesson expresses one of the important factors of choosing the right song. It’s not just about having a song as good as a number one hit, it’s about having a song that’s better than the number one hit.

Watch the video for this critical songwriting lesson.