Excerpt from "This Business of Songwriting" (Billboard Books)
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LESSONS FROM HOW I GOT A SONG RECORDED
BY GRAMMY-WINNERS, THE GIPSY KINGS
It all started with networking. I accepted an invitation to attend the annual BMI awards dinner. I didn’t want to go. I was getting ready to leave town 7 a.m. the next morning; I was tired; I usually hate industry events; and I’d have to rent a tuxedo. But I went …
I was seated next to a successful manager/publisher who asked if I’d be interested in writing with Valeria Andrews, an artist signed to a major label, with whom he was working. Valeria hoped to create a very unique niche for herself (a great idea for all artists), based on Latin and World rhythms that would evoke a sense of retro glamour—think Havana in the 1950’s.
I asked Kevin Savigar (one of my regular co-writers) if he might want to build a track that I could write to with the artist; and since we’d be basing our song on his existing chord changes and rhythms, it would constitute a collaboration. Kevin’s written some of Rod Stewart’s biggest hits and is an exceptional musician and producer. When I heard his track, I said, “Wow. It’s sounds like the Gipsy Kings!”
We wrote “Unbreakable Hearts”—a song and style I would NEVER have written, if it hadn’t been for trying to tailor a song to Valeria’s project. But… she lost her record deal—and now I was stuck with what seemed like a very strong—but, because of its highly unique style, unpitchable song.
Running my own publishing company, I rely on pitch sheets (aka “tip sheets”), such as SongLink International and My Hit Factory to learn about artists looking for songs in international markets. As a result of using these sources, I’d placed several songs and made some good connections. One morning, I could hardly believe a listing in SongLink; it might as well have said “Jason Blume, please send “Unbreakable Hearts.” I told my assistant, “I guarantee they’ll cut this song. Not one other person will send what they’re looking for!”
It didn’t take long before producer Mark Berry (noted for working with artists including Paul McCartney, David Bowie and Carly Simon) to contact me for permission to record the song with Anne Morrone, a new artist signed to Attack/Universal Records in Toronto. When I sent a few additional songs, he found another one he wanted Anne to record. To be honest, I didn’t have high hopes for major sales from a new Canadian-based artist; a “Gold” record in Canada is awarded for sales of 50,000 units—a mere ten percent of what’s required in the U.S.
I could hardly believe it when I was informed that the legendary Gipsy Kings (with more than 18 million worldwide record sales) were slated to record “Unbreakable Hearts” as a duet with Anne Morrone. As an unexpected bonus, I wound up with three cuts on the same song: English and Spanglish versions on Anne’s record, and an upcoming release in Spanish on the Gipsy Kings’ record. Then I learned that Anne’s recording would be released, not only in Canada, but in the U.S. and internationally. This was sounding better all the time! But the best part came when I heard the recordings of my songs; they exceeded all expectations.
I’ve been lucky enough to have songs on albums that have sold more than 50 million copies and have had songs recorded by superstars before, but there was a special reason why this cut meant so much. You see, my father, who’s passed away, was a big fan of the Gipsy Kings; he’d seen them in concert and bought their CDs. Dad was the one who instilled the love of music into my heart. He played his mandolin virtually every night before going to sleep and his improvisations, and soft sweet tremolo, are part of the soundtrack of my childhood. When I shared this info with Anne Morrone, she promised to dedicate a performance of the song to my Dad.
The lessons?
Network: Show up even when you don’t want to.
Take chances creatively: Write songs that separate themselves from the pack.
Record a great demo: Have a demo that truly demonstrates the hit potential of your song. (without Kevin Savigar’s outstanding track, they never would have imagined this song for the Gipsy Kings)
Take care of business: Take every opportunity to get your music exposed because we don’t know which ones will lead us to our dreams.
The music business is riddled with variables and doesn’t come with guarantees of success. But I can promise that when we do our very best work – and get our songs heard by the right people, sometimes the stars line up … and wonderful things happen! I hope they’ll happen for you, too.
-- Jason Blume
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There are widespread misconceptions about what it means to have a song published. Among them are the notions that publishing a song will make the composer rich; that it involves the printing of sheet music; and that it is synonymous with the song being recorded and/or played on the radio. While it is possible that these events might occur as a result of a song being published, it is not typically the case.
Any income a song derives can be conceptualized as being divided into two approximately equal components: the writer’s share and the publisher’s share. Music publishing can best be defined as the act of assigning particular legal rights, and a percentage of any income a song or musical composition might generate, to an individual or a company, for a specified period of time.
There are no “standard” music publishing agreements – despite the fact that many publishing contracts have “Standard Publishing Agreement” printed at the top of the first page. There are essentially two categories of song publishing agreements. A contract that transfers the publishing rights of one specific song is referred to as “Single Song Agreement.” A contract that encompasses all of the songs a writer creates during a specified period of time is called an “Exclusive Songwriting Agreement” and is typically referred to as a “Staff-Writing” deal.
As the name implies, a single song agreement is the contract a writer and publisher enter into to publish one song. However, in some instances a single song agreement may encompass multiple songs that are subject to the same terms. In these cases, the song titles may be inserted into the body of the agreement or may be included as an attachment known as an Exhibit or Schedule A.
It’s rare that a publisher will advance money for a single song agreement. However, this may be the case if the song being published has already been recorded, is currently generating income, or has income in the pipeline. Occasionally, a publisher of a single song will advance money to reimburse a writer’s demo expenses or pay to have a demo produced. This money will typically be considered a recoupable expense.
When a writer states that he or she is a staff-writer, it means that he or she has entered into an exclusive songwriting agreement. An exclusive songwriting agreement is the contract a writer and publisher sign establishing that all songs, melodies, and lyrics composed by the writer within a specified period of time will be acquired by the publisher.
An exclusive songwriting agreement is a binding, legal document that defines the terms of the agreement between the writer and publisher. It addresses issues including the length of the commitment, the number of songs to be delivered, the percentage of ownership and the specific rights being conveyed, the amount of money to be advanced to the writer, and the circumstances under which the publisher can recoup its investment, and much more.
It is always advisable to have your contracts reviewed and negotiated by a music business attorney.
