PopCutter

With the recent discussions on health care reform there has been much talk (and even more confusion for some) on exactly how and why the process is taking so long and how it works. I’ve seen many re-tweets and status messages about how the House of Representatives has passed the Health Care Reform Bill but from reading the messages it seems even more clear that most don’t understand how the process works. The same went for the whole electoral college vents I heard during and prior to the last 2 or 3 presidential elections. Well, in the spirit of what my blog is about, leave it up to your good friend LB to tie this in to music and something that you can learn and apply within your craft. And if not now, maybe some day you will.

For instance, some of us can remember this video I’ve posted being aired as a brand new thing in children’s Saturday morning television.  I’m talking about Schoolhouse Rock. The segments were genius in breaking down the process of some things in our society that many adults have difficulty being able to fully explain. An not only were the songs super informative, they were very catchy, fun to sing and the performances were GREAT! Try to remember as you’re writing that you never know how and who may use your music for unimaginable purposes. Just look at the power of a strong campaign song. Throughout history many have made a difference in the end result of who becomes the leader of the free world. Even in other nations this hold true. The right sentiment or lyric can do a lot for those you’d never think would be touched by what you’ve created. Millions of people may be finally convinced that the person linked to your song is the right one to follow and put the their future hopes in. And as this post exemplifies, maybe teach the next generation of citizens how their world actually works.

So, click above and sing along while our friend The Health Care Reform Bill, following his approval by the House of Representatives, awaits his meeting with the Senate and hopefully on to Obama. Give him a listen. He suuure looks tired. Oh Ye’ssss lol

-LB

The name of the game: publishing.

One of if not THE most important things you need to coordinate and resolve following any writing session is completing the individual “splits” for each writer. Splits are what percentage of a song each contributor is entitled to based on how much they contributed (note: often there are political reasons where percentages are attributed to artists or others that did not contribute). Please get your lingo up and understand that “writer” doesn’t mean just the lyric and melody contributors. What we generally refer to in this day and age as producers (mainly in urban music) are writing music. So, their percentage needs to be agreed upon too. As a very basic and straight forward example, if one person writes all original music and another person writers all the lyrics and the melody in which the lyrics are sung, each person’s share is 50%. These shares change according to the individual contributions and other factors such as whether there is a sample in the song (did you watch Copyright Criminals like I asked ya’ to in an earlier post, hmmm? Go check it out!). These percentages are important because they directly tie to how much money each person makes from sales of the music via CDs, downloads and such and also from revenue generated any time the music is publicly played over the airwaves and other uses. For some of you popcutters this is all very old hat. But for those of you who aren’t on the creative side or in the business at all, there will be more of this over time. So don’t go waxing poetic at album release parties yet because there is much more to this than what I’ve written thus far. And for those in the business, I bear gifts. Below I’ve pasted a split sheet that I drafted up and used for my clients when I was a producer and artist manager some years ago. Feel free to copy and paste it into a Word document and take it along to writing sessions. One word of advice though – go with the flow in talking about splits. It can really kill the vibe of a session to demand to talk about it. Make sure it gets worked out at some point relatively soon, not months later, but timing is important. And if there is some tension or perhaps a new relationship, let your management professionally and politely work it out later. That is if you are lucky enough to have a professional and polite manager (smiles).

-LB

This is to confirm that we, the sole writers of the composition listed below herby agree between ourselves to the following writers splits and acknowledge that this composition shall be included on the following artist’s album.

Producer:      the producer’s name goes here, popcutters..

Song Title:      ___________________________________________

Artist:             ___________________________________________

Writers & Splits

A)__________________________________%_____

B)__________________________________%_____

C)__________________________________%_____

D)__________________________________%_____

Publishing Co.’s

A)__________________________________________

B)__________________________________________

C)__________________________________________

D)__________________________________________

If any samples are contained in the above composition for which the sampled writers/publishers are to receive a copyright interest, then we agree that our own shares shall be reduced proportionately.  Additionally, we agree to be bound by the terms of the “controlled composition” clause set forth in the artist’s exclusive recording agreement.

Read & Agreed:

A)_________________________________________________Date:______________

B)_________________________________________________Date:______________

C)_________________________________________________Date:______________

D)_________________________________________________Date:______________

Here’s a cool link for musicians and music lovers alike. Learn to play like your favorite guitar hero or piano man (or piano woman) for FREE. Go get a used guitar, beginner keyboard or anything else and get started!

100 Online Tools to Teach yourself ANY instrument for Free

http://www.onlineuniversitylowdown.com/2007/08/100-awesome-online-tools-to-teach-yourself-any-instrument-for-free.html

Ever wonder what the name of your favorite group meant or where it came from? What the hell is a JoDeCi anyway?? Just kidding, but you’ll love this huge list of band names and their origins. Whether you want to show off in bars, are meeting the Fockers or looking to gain a little cred with people much Much cooler than you, you’ll love this.

(from DigitalDreamDoor)

Read On…

[Turn The Page]

When writing a song most hope and imagine that their work will make #1 on the charts and perhaps make an impact on people’s lives in some way. There are certain songs that are truly timeless and transcend all race, gender and geographic boundaries. It obviously depends on what artist the song is being written for and the target audience, but when writing something that you hope one day is remembered as something I’ve just described, try to imagine your words and their meaning globally. There are many cultural differences but there are some topics and sentiments that are universal. On that note, check this video of musicians from ALL OVER THE WORLD performing “Stand By Me” and marinade on what I’ve just said.

LB

Music is the soundtrack of our lives. But did you ever maybe want to know what was playing during your opening credits? Check this out. Click below to find out what song was number one when you were born. What’s mine, you ask? Let’s just say the artist formerly known as Nero plays a mean fiddle…

http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/birthdayno1

How are those New Year’s Resolutions coming? I’m doing ok myself…but two words I don’t want to hear for at least another 11 months are Master Cleanse! Anywho, many resolve to stay in shape and as you popcutters know what YOU, yes, YOU create is the inspiration of many things as well as to millions of people keeping to their workout plans. Check the video for another way music could help millions of Americans stay in shape. We could certainly use it.