© 2015 Vinny Ribas
- Learn the craft. Even the best writers continually study other great writers so they constantly add new influences and ‘tricks’ to their toolbox.
- Co-write. It gives you fresh ideas, and now there are 2 of you marketing the song.
- Co-write with writers who are better than you are. It’s the best way to improve.
- License your songs to good indie artists as well as shopping them to the majors. It gives you credits for ‘cuts’ and your song reaches more influential people.
- Co-write with serious up-and-coming artists. If they make it big, they may record the song you wrote together on one of their new releases.
- Learn the legal side of songwriting. This includes copyrights and your rights as a copyright holder. It also includes songwriter agreements, publishing agreements, licensing and a lot more. Cover all of your bases.
- Learn the ins and outs of publishing, including administration, how royalties are collected and paid etc. If you don’t know how this all works, you may be missing out on considerable income.
- Keep all of your songwriting ideas, half songs, catch phrases, hooks etc. You never know when you can pull one out and use it to start, add to or finish a song. Plus, co-writers don’t want to be the only ones coming up with fresh ideas.
- Learn to write for all kinds of media and pursue them. These include major and indie films, traditional and internet TV, commercials, corporate films, use in products etc. There are countless opportunities, and many of them are much easier and faster to pitch to successfully than getting major cuts.
- Learn to pitch your own songs. Don’t rely on getting a publisher, getting a staff writing position or your co-writer. No one will believe in the song more than you!
Vinny Ribas is the founder of Indie Connect, an entertainment management, consulting and training company. He has been a full-time musician, booking agent, manager, studio owner and the Entertainment Director for the Nevada State Fair. He is also the co-founder of Leaderbridge, a business consulting and training firm, the author of ‘CEO Secrets – What They Know About Business That Every Entrepreneur Should’ and has coached over 1000 entertainers and entrepreneurs.
