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By Kelly Dunn
Jason Blume is by definition the epitome of songwriters. He has been to the mountain top and back more than a few times during his sixteen year career. His successes read like society columns of the Who's Who's in the world. More than just a songwriter he is willing to share his knowledge, through books and instructional cd's, regarding the business and art of songwriting. His songs have sold on over 50 million cds! As well as being a songwriter and an author, he is a popular speaker and instructor for songwriting events all of over the world. Songwriters at any stage of their career would do themselves a great service by reading any of his three books and listening to his instructional cd's. Jason Blume has a new book that has just arrived on the market, "This Business of Songwriting" (Billboard Books). This book is a must-read book for songwriters. In a business swimming with sharks and cheats, Jason would be the ship named, The S.S. Blume!
I am meeting with Jason at a trendy coffee shop in downtown Nashville. Jason is wearing blue jeans and a smart-looking blue shirt, and brown loafers. His eyes are the first thing that really capture my attention. He smiles with his eyes! Jason is on top of the world and is ready to chat for a while about songwriting. Even before we start I can tell this is going to be a great interview today!
Jason Blume:: Hello, Kelly how are you!
Kelly Dunn: I'm doing great!
Jason Blume:: So you have a few questions for me today? (laughter)
Kelly Dunn: Yes, Let's get started! I talk to a lot of people every week that wish to be a songwriter. I think there's a lot of misconceptions as to what's involved, how to get started, where do I go once I get established, and so on..
Jason Blume:: That is so true! This is exactly why I wrote my new book, "This Business of Songwriting". Because I would teach these workshops, literally, all around the world, people would ask me questions, and it was so obvious that they didn't understand the most basic information about the career they wanted so desperately. For instance, I would ask a group of people, "Who in here would like to publish a song?" And every hand in the room would go up. But when I asked questions I learned that they didn't even know what it meant to publish a song!
Kelly Dunn: Right! (laughter)
Jason Blume:: In their minds they thought that once they published a song they'd make all this money or be heard on the radio. Also, they didn't realize that getting published meant they'd be giving up half of their future income. And most of them didn't understand that they wouldn't make a penny unless the publisher accomplished something with their song. It was then I knew there was a desperate need for this kind of a songwriter book!
Kelly Dunn: I would attend songwriter workshops where folks were ready to quit their day job because songwriting was so easy!
Jason Blume:: Sure! Let's all be millionaire songwriters!
Kelly Dunn: From your point of view, what is the minimal amount of talent a person needs to become a songwriter?
Jason Blume:: You know, my thoughts about this are probably a little different than what you would expect. I believe if there's any one aspect of songwriting that you are good at -- then you can do it. For example, let's say that you are really gifted at creating unbelievable song ideas or song titles, there's a place for you! If all you can do is come up with great melodies but you don't know how to figure out the chords, then great! You can then go out and find someone that can compliment what it is that you can do. What I tell people is that you don't have to be able to do everything, few songwriters can, and that's not required for success. So my feeling is, find out what it is that you do exceptionally well, and market that. If somebody says to me, "Oh, I can't be a songwriter because I can't play guitar", that's nonsense! Instead of focusing on what you can't do, what can you bring to the collaboration?
Kelly Dunn: We have a lot of writers that are only lyricists. I think their biggest problem is distinguishing a poem from a song, do you agree?
Jason Blume:: Probably the biggest differences are that song lyrics tend to be conversational. Whereas a poem can be very symbolic and abstract. It may or may not rhyme - whereas lyrics almost always include rhymes. Lyrics tend to sound like a normal person speaking. What makes a great poem does not necessarily make a great song lyric. Lyrics are intended to have sections that repeat. For instance, you're going to have a chorus or title that is going to be setup to repeat each time it hits.
Whereas in a poem you don't have that, it would be rare to have a poem with sections that repeat at all. Lyrics are very structured, and crafted, to work with the melody. A poet does not have that consideration. It's true that sometimes there are overlaps but typically this is not the case.
Kelly Dunn: With all of your accomplishments in your career, does songwriting come easy to you?
Jason Blume:: It depends on the situation. People ask me how I could have written "Change My Mind", which was a Top 5 Single for me, in forty-five minutes. And my answer to them is, "I wrote that song in 45 minutes -- and 15 years!" (laughter) Meaning, prior to that forty-five minutes, I spent fifteen years in every workshop, getting my songs ripped to shreds in critiques, and all of that showed up when I got that gift of writing that hit song in forty-five minutes! This week I'm writing a theme song for a television show that is coming very, very easily. I think when I look back on it I probably wrote that song in two hours. But, a few weeks ago I worked on six lines of a lyric for an entire week! An entire week spent on a second verse and two lines to the chorus. And I still don't have it! I mean, I wrote pages and pages, but I know the lines are not strong enough, so I have a time in my calendar to go back to that same verse and chorus again. So, I can't say it comes easily all the time, sometimes it's a gift, sometimes it's not, but what really matters, is not if the song comes easily or not -- but the final result.
Nobody knows or cares, when they listen to a song, whether is was easy for you to write it. All the listener cares about is what they feel when they listen to the song. Are they moved by it, are you evoking an emotion in your listener? My feeling is, if you get that in forty-five minutes great! But if you need to spend months on it, then that's the thing you need to do. I think songwriting is like exercising a muscle. Every time you get a song critiqued, every time you write another song, there are more and more tools that you acquire that show up in your future songs. Today, the songwriting process is typically easier for me than it was twenty years ago but the end result is all that really matters.
Kelly Dunn: What makes some songs easier to remember than others…
Jason Blume:: Great question. I recently taught an all day workshop called, "Writing Melodies That Listeners Can't Forget". I really think this is my specialty. It's hard in this interview to explain everything I do in a six hour class but there are definitely reasons why some songs are so easy to remember, and other ones where you can't remember the chorus after listening to the song three or four times.
The top three melody writing tools are: repetition, repetition and repetition! The more we hear something the more it sticks in the brain. Another important melody tool is to use shorter phrases. I explain to people in my classes, I want everybody to sing a five note phrase, la la la la la. That's easy. But instead if I sing a long complicated phrase with twenty or thirty notes (hums a long series of notes), nobody can remember that! There are only so many notes people can remember.
I teach people to break up their phrases into shorter sections. If I were to ask you what your phone number is, you wouldn't just quickly spew out ten digits (including your area code). You would break it up into shorter segment, for instance: 615 - 555 - 2589 -- so the brain can grasp it better. Those are some of the tools and techniques I teach my students.
There are no "rules" in songwriting. I teach tools that I observe being used in successful songs. I'm not trying to teach a formula. I urge my students to write from their hearts but to also try writing melodies that incorporate some of these tools to see if they help you achieve what you are trying to accomplish. Songwriting is about communication. I don't care about what the songwriter felt when they wrote the song if I listen to it and don't feel it. This is all about learning how to communicate. How do we communicate through our songs? We communicate by using verses, choruses, pre-choruses, bridges, using these melodic tools, and lyric tools that I teach. The whole idea is not to stifle creativity by feeling as if we're constrained by these tools. No, the idea is to express what's in our hearts and our souls in a way so that millions of listeners get it.
By the way, I have two instructional CDs available on my web site. They're the equivalent of taking a full weekend workshop with me on melody and lyrics - and we're running some great specials.
Kelly Dunn: Do you feel every song needs a bridge?
Jason Blume:: Absolutely not. There many successful songs that are structured as verse, chorus, verse, chorus. That's a perfectly acceptable structure. But the most commonly found structure today in popular music does include a bridge. This is not saying that it's right or wrong; just that the most popular structure today is Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus. Again, there are successful songs that don't use a bridge, for instance, Rascal Flatts' "These Days'" Shania's "You're Still the One," and Eric Clapton's "Change the World.".
Kelly Dunn: I think some people are trying to use their songwriting for therapy.
Jason Blume:: Absolutely! A lot of people are writing for catharsis—and that's fine - as long as it's not confused with something that can be commercially viable. They are trying to express their deepest pain and angst in their songs. But the truth is, when somebody is driving down the Interstate after work they probably don't necessarily want to hear somebody bleed! They don't want to hear about your tortured life - they want to hear about THEIR life! The listener probably wants to tap his or her toes, sing along and have a good time.
Kelly Dunn: People want to get away from the eight, ten hours they just worked! Do you think there's more sad songs than happy songs?
Jason Blume:: I've never done an analysis of how many happy or sad songs have been successful, but I'd guess there would be more happy songs. That would be an interesting thing for me to study.
The Daniel Powter song, "Bad Day" comes to mind. It's a positive message, "look, you had a bad day, you'll get over it, it's not the end of the world." It's a message we all need to remember because there can be so much disappointment in the music business. We can only control certain things in our songwriting careers. We can control how many times we re-write, how strong we make our songs but beyond that, there IS an element of luck in this business. When Daniel Powter's song wound up on American Idol, the placement had nothing to do with him. Initially, he didn't even know they were using the song! But it was his launching pad to skyrocket his career.
I tell my students, yes, learn the skills, learn the tools, practice, write songs that take listeners breath away, and then just make sure you get really lucky! Look, I have had tremendous luck in my career, I won't deny that. But, I worked my butt off and I still do, but I also know it takes a lot of luck. I feel that I am the luckiest songwriter in the world! You know, I had a song cut by a 15 year old girl that I never heard of and didn't even care about; her name was Britney Spears! Tell me that's not lucky! Likewise, when Jessie McCartney cut my song I didn't know who he was but his album has sold over two millions copies!
Kelly Dunn: That's unbelievable!
Jason Blume:: I have been unbelievably lucky all the way through my career. But look, you are not going to get lucky if the songs are not competitive. That's the bottom line. Luck comes in when songs are genuinely competitive with the songs being written by Jeffrey Steele, Desmond Child or Diane Warren, Rivers Rutherford, Craig Wiseman, and whoever. When you are writing songs at this level then the lucky people are going to get the breaks. But if you are writing songs that are not competitive and sub-standard then you'll need more than luck, you'll need a miracle!
Kelly Dunn: Let's say a songwriter has a hit song, where should they go to from there?
Jason Blume:: You mean a songwriter has a song that is strong enough to be a hit?
Kelly Dunn: Yes…the potential I should say…
Jason Blume:: It depends on the style of the song. If it's Country then you should focus on finding a publisher in Nashville. Nashville is the heart of the business for Country and Christian music. My feeling is that it's not feasible for everybody to move here. However, if you're writing Country or Christian songs then you will tremendously improve your opportunities where you can network and meet with people that can help you in this business. Whether you move here or not I would say it's pretty crucial to make some visits. Writers can time visits to go to workshops or song camps, I teach a free workshop for BMI here in Nashville and at some of them, every writer gets to play a song for a publisher. You can find the schedules by going to www.JasonBlume.com. You can pretty much do a lot of things in one or two trips. But if you are writing Pop or Rap you would probably do a lot better if you check out Los Angeles or New York. In L.A. I work with Taxi for their annual, "Road Rally". I typically teach 1,500 people in each class.
Kelly Dunn: What! 1,5000 people in one class?
Jason Blume:: Yes! When I go up on stage to teach there are no fewer than 1,500 or 1,600 people in the audience. And the energy and the talent and the networking are incredible. So for songwriters not writing Country I would say this has to be high on top of their list. It's a phenomenal event - and it's free for Taxi members.
A lot of times people say to me, "Oh it just seems impossible, if I don't live there how can I ever meet publishers or record label executives!" You've got to put yourself in the places where these industry pros will be. For instance, there is an event I'll be teaching at in December called the, "Texas Songwriters Cruise." When you sail on that cruise, you are on a ship that is filled with publishers, television and film music executives, a Disney publisher, and an A and R rep from Sony Records, and so on. (www.txsongwriterscruise.com) Unless they throw themselves off the ship to the sharks, this is what they sign up for! By the way, there's info at the site about an awesome contest. The top prize is a free songwriting cruise. At events like this you get direct access to these people. If your songs are great, and you are not a jerk, it's an incredible opportunity to start making these contacts and building relationships. If you go to song camps, musical festivals, and similar events, you can combine awesome vacations with furthering your career.
I'm teaching at the Kauai Music Festival in August this year, and a retreat in Bermuda (in October) that looks phenomenal. Joss Stone, Patti LaBelle, Al Green, and some other big stars will be doing concerts, in addition to the educational and networking aspects of the event. (Check out www.songs-and-music.com for info). For people who want to stay a little closer to home, I teach an NSAI song camp in Nashville and the NewSongAcademy in WV - along with Kathy Mattea, Paul Reisler Billy Jonas, and other teachers (www.newsongfestival.com/academy).
Kelly Dunn: Next question. I'm ready to do a demo. Should it be a full band or guitar-vocal?
Jason Blume:: You know I have a couple of answers for that when I am teaching workshops. I find this is an area people need some input. Here's my first answer: It kills me to hear people spend a fortune on songs that are not ready or competitive. I practically beg people to get professional input and critiques before spending any significant money on a demo. How do you do that? There are a lot of organizations that provide professional critiques. I run a critique service, NSAI has one, Taxi has one, there are a lot of teachers. Spend a little bit of money to see if professionals are excited about your song before you spend a fortune on a demo. It drives me crazy! I see so many people get scammed. I just saw a person who spent $15,000.00 on a three song demo. It's insane!
Back to your original question about how produced does the demo have to be. It depends on the type of song. If you are doing a tender ballad you don't need elaborate instrumentation. For instance, my Britney Spears demo for "Dear Diary", which is the second song of mine that she recorded, is such a sweet, tender ballad that the demo only needed a keyboard with synth strings and a lead vocal. That demo cost me $200.00. The finished album sold 17 millions copies! My Jessie McCourtney demo, I had it done at Larry Beaird's. By the way, on my web site I list studio referrals where I can whole-heartily say that I've personally used these studios or I know people who have, and that they will not scam you. I receive no money in any way for listing them on my web site. These people are legitimate and they do great work at fair prices. Larry Beaird plays guitar for Faith Hill, Lonestar, Rascal Flatts, Randy Travis and so on. For my Jesse McCartney demo Larry did two acoustic guitar passes and we recorded a vocal by David Brooks. The demo cost me $200-250.00 and that was right for that song.
But if I'm trying to pitch a song that is up-tempo, whether it's Country, Rock or Pop, then I need a more elaborate demo. By the way, in my new book, "This Business of Songwriting", I list the price ranges you should expect to pay for demos in each category of music - so you can assess whether you're being scammed.
Kelly Dunn: It's seems there is such a blur in Country and Pop today. Do you think New Country is old Rock with a twang.? What's your take on it…
Jason Blume:: Not all of it but let me say this, I never dreamed I'd live to see Bon Jovi go the top of the Country charts! He was number one last week. But, you also have a whole lot that is happening in Country today that doesn't sound anything traditional Country, like, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Leanne Womack, Joe Nichols; people like there isn't any Pop in their sound. That's stone Country. But I think there is room for songs that are Pop oriented. It seems like a few years ago Country was sounding like 80's pop, like the Eagles, James Taylor, and Linda Rondstadt. Bon Jovi and Rascal Flatts have a lot of Pop sound in them and they are selling very, very well. I guess what I'm saying is I don't have a crystal ball. Just write an incredible song and hopefully it'll rise to the top.
Kelly Dunn: Like cream rising to the top.
Jason Blume:: Exactly!
Kelly Dunn: What's the different between BMI, ASCAP or SESAC.
Jason Blume:: I researched this more than anyone ever has for this latest book. I probably provide more information about this than anyone would care to see. (laughs) I compared and contrasted how each of these companies track and pay for performances. All the numbers are in my new book, but, the bottom line is that over the long haul you can't anticipate which organization will pay the most for any one given song. Of course there are exceptions, but overall, long term, if any one of them consistently paid more, everybody would leave the other two companies!
For each company to calculate using different methods and yet wind up paying almost exactly the same is amazing! It seems impossible that they could possibly come up with the same payment figures. Not on every single song but overall. So what I tell people before they join make an appointment with someone at each organization . Do you feel they believe in you? Are they going to introduce you to some A and R people? Are they going to stand behind you? Are they willing to hook you up with publishers? This is the best way to make a decision because unless you have a crystal ball it would be impossible to calculate future earnings when signing with ASCAP, BMI or SESAC.
Kelly Dunn: Copyrighting songs. Should the songwriter copyright their own songs or should they let a publisher copyright it? I hear so many different angles as to how to approach this matter.
Jason Blume:: In my experience, writers who are developing, who are not yet professionals, seem to have this over-inflated fear that their material is going to be stolen. In reality it is extremely rare. I have been working as a full-time professional songwriter for over 16 years now. I don’t personally know anybody that has had a song stolen, and I write with hundreds of professional writers. People might be shocked to know that most publishers in Nashville do not copyright a song until the song is recorded for commercial release.
Kelly Dunn: It would be so prohibitive!
Jason Blume:: Yes, when they have tens of thousands of songs in their catalogs, it would cost too much money. However, in the rarest of situations, there are times when having registered a copyright would entitle you to additional financial damages in the event that you win an infringement suit. If you are offering your song on the Internet or distributing copies it would probably be a good idea to copyright your material. But, again, the majority of professional songwriters do not do this until their song is being released to radio or for sale. In THIS BUSINESS OF SONGWRITING I explain and translate a copyright form, as well as most of the contracts, licenses, and agreements that a songwriter will likely ever encounter in their entire career.
Kelly Dunn: When will your new book be available on the market?
Jason Blume:: This week!
Kelly Dunn: Congratulations!
Jason Blume:: You know I poured my heart and soul into this book for over a year to get this information into the hands of songwriters.
Kelly Dunn: Jason, you are a wealth of information! Thank you so much for joining us today!
Jason Blume:: Thanks, Kelly and tell everyone at Songwriterpro.com that I said hello!
Visit Jason Blume:: www.JasonBlume.com
Article: © SongwriterPro.com Kelly Dunn - All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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