DAY - 55

(Listening to:  Ryan Adams "When The Stars Go Blue" from the album "Gold".  Its raw, its organic, its perfectly unperfect) 

Alright both contracts are in hand (refer to last couple days)...now its time to do some serious reading...

In other news... Today I talked to pro Nashville songwriter J Fred Knobloch today and confirmed our Skype writing session for tomorrow morning!  I'm excited to try and finish up the tune we started.

I also did some research on a monthly song pitching session in NYC called SPONY. www.sponyonline.com  SPONY hosts song pitching sessions every month.  The way it works is they get together a panel of 'esteemed' industry folks who are looking for songs and/or songwriters.  As a songwriter you can register to attend for a nominal fee and you get to pitch one song to the panel.  If they like what they hear, they'll ask for a copy...if not, they'll simply pass.  There seems to be a lot of success stories through this event and I've heard through the grapevine that its pretty legit.  I missed this month's session so now I'm waiting to hear when the October session will be.  I'm thinking I can possibly turn this into a little networking trip to New York.  ASCAP head quarters is also in NYC so I can try to schedule a meeting with someone at ASCAP as well.  More to come on this...

DAY - 54

Well, after yesterday, a little part of me wanted to chill out and take a break from networking for the day...but then, a bigger part of me spoke up and said, "Hell no, you lazy '....'  you have 311 days left, no breaks!"  I guess I can't argue with myself...

So today I emailed Kevin Mac.  Kevin is a songwriter and performer who is making a big name for himself in Virginia Beach.  My cousin, Heather, actually sent me a message with his contact info, telling me I should try to connect with him.  So I did.  Thanks Heather! :)   I sent Kevin an email letting him know that I'm trying to connect with people who are pursuing common goals and to email me back if he wasn't interested in collaborating, co-writing or trying to help each other out.

Also, I went to Philly today to meet up with my long time friend, mixing engineer/producer, Chris Zurzolo.  Chris and I started sorting through songs that I'm recording for the next 'My Name is August' release, trying to figure out which song we want to release next as a single. (I spend so much time these days writing songs for other people, it feels good sometimes to work on my own stuff)  Stay tuned :)

***Other news from yesterday...   I emailed Dave Trotter from Studio 51 Music back letting him know I was definitely interested in talking further in detail and to send the documents/contract over so I can look everything over.  I will also be calling HD Music Now tonight to discuss further about the single-song publishing deal for 'Cupcakes & Wine'.   When/If something happens.. I'll let you know!!

DAY - 53

Holy Sh#*! HUGE Day.  I just checked my email tonight and received not only 1 but 2 pieces of amazing news!  I submitted a song to musicxray.com (Refer to Day 51) two days ago for a listing regarding songs for Kellie Pickler.  Just got an email saying our song 'Cupcakes & Wine' was SELECTED!  This means me and my 'Sweet Angeline' co-writers will be offered an exclusive single-song publishing deal with 'HD Music Now'.  Crazy news!!  This is exactly what they said...

"Nice song! I don't think its right for Kellie Pickler, but possibly some others...The Band Perry, Miranda Lambert, etc... Please get in touch and we will send over the documents, thanks!"

And... if that wasn't cool enough, I also got an email back tonight from music publisher and owner of Studio 51 Music, Dave Trotter. (Refer to Day 35) Dave said that he really liked the songs that I sent over and would like to talk in further detail about a potential publishing deal with his company / licensing of my songs for TV & Film!

Yes, this is all incredible news and something to be REALLY excited about, however, in the music industry, not all deals are right for every artist or song. A lot has to be considered and discussed before jumping into any decisions... but don't get me wrong...my girlfriend and I are dancing around our apartment right now : )  Stay tuned!

DAY - 52

Well, yesterday I exhausted all my ideas to try and get "Cupcakes & Wine" to Kellie Pickler. Today, I had one more idea.  I decided to ask J Fred Knobloch (pro songwriter I've been writing with) if he happened to have any connections to her camp.. (i.e. A&R, Management, ect.)   I figure J Fred is really respected in Nashville and has been a contributing member to scene for so long that he may know a way to get through.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

Hi Kellie, if you're reading, I have your next HIT single!  Contact me... mynameisaugust@yahoo.com  :)

DAY - 51

I've decided to stop wasting 2 days per weekend doing research on making contacts.  I only have 365 days to make an impact and I don't want to waste 2 days a week just doing "research"!  So unless I have something lined up for networking on Saturday and/or Sunday I'm just going to spend 1 day researching for the coming week and save 1 day for an extra networking day.   That being said, today I logged on to Music X Ray.com and found a brand new listing... Kellie Pickler is looking for songs for her new record....

Country artist, Kellie Pickler is in need of songs. She wants songs that are written from a position of strength. Nothing that makes her sound needy...No "doormat" songs. The lyrics have to be STELLAR and the music has to move YOU!! Selected artists will be offered an exclusive single-song publishing contract for a period of 6 months. If a placement is secured on the album, the term becomes perpetuity. Please be very selective about what you pitch and thanks!!


My 'Sweet Angeline' co-writers and I wrote this song that has Kellie Pickler written ALL over it!  We've actually been told by Dale Bobo (Major Music Publisher) that the song would be PERFECT for Kellie Pickler.  The only problem is... is it doesn't exactly fit what this listing is asking for.   This is usually grounds for getting your song returned, but I decided to send it in anyway. We'll see what they say...no harm no foul right?  


If you want to check out the song I'm talking about go to... www.sweetangelinemusic.com  (its on the music page)  its called  "Cupcakes & Wine" 

DAY - 50

Wow...50 Days!  Time goes by fast.  Today was a productive day.  I got together with my Sweet Angeline co-writers, Tyler and Liv, and we added the finishing touches to a brand new song and started making a demo today.  Hope to have at least an acoustic version up online for listening by next week :)

Well, I got an email back from Alex Torrez at Torrez Music Group (Refer Day - 46).  He said his schedule is too crazy busy to add any writers or catalogs at this time, but to forward him stuff through Musicxray when the opportunity arises.  Not the best scenario, but at least he wrote me back hah!  I wrote him back, thanking him for his time and let him know I will definitely keep a look out for the opportunities and hope to work together in the future.  TGIF let's have some fun!

Day - 49

Today I emailed pro songwriter, Brian White.  Brian White is an awesome hit songwriter with 13 number 1 hits in the Christian market and also a number 1 in the country market called "Watching You" recorded by Rodney Atkins.  www.brianwhitesongwriter.com

I came across his info because he is going to be a guest speaker and panelist at the Texas Songwriters Cruise.  I stumbled across his website and noticed he had a contact page so I decided to email him.  I figured I'd throw a line out, introduce myself.  He says on his site that he offers song critiques so I asked if he'd be interested in critiquing one of mine.  (I was thinking about sending over that upbeat, funny song that Eric and I just finished) I'm hoping this could be a decent ice breaker for possible future collaborations.

DAY - 48

So you'd assume by the amount of time I spend in Starbucks that I actually like their coffee.  And, you know, for a while I think I used to make myself believe that I did. Well, recently, it dawned on me... I really don't like Starbucks normal cup of coffee.  But I found a solution today...its called the Americano. Basically, its a few shots of espresso and hot water. It costs about the same as a cup of joe but tastes SO much better!  Apologies for this side note, but I had to vent, just in case anyone else shares my love of Starbucks but aversion to their coffee :)

Anyway,  Today I constructed a well thought out email and sent it to Lisa Johnson from Razor and Tie music publishing.  I sent Lisa an email a while back (refer to Day 6) but she never responded, so today I decided to write a better email and follow up.  Razor and Tie publishing is a cutting edge publishing company in NYC that is securing big cuts for their writers!  check it out... www.razorandtiemusicpublishing.com

I want to get a meeting with someone from Razor and Tie to review some of my catalog.  I met Lisa about a year ago in LA so I'm hoping she can help me get a foot in the door.  We shall see!

DAY - 47

Looonnngg day.  This is the first time all day I'm getting a chance to sit and chill.  Let's see, so a lot happened today....

 8am....Worked on a rough recording of the song we've been writing with Jason Blume so we could all sit back and listen to it as whole, see if it needs any tweaks or changes.

10am... Had a writing/recording session with my good friend and co-writer, Eric Schwank.  We got down a bare bones, rough recording of a beautiful new song Eric wrote.  So far Eric and I have about 4 or 5 new tunes we're planning to get professionally recorded in the next 2 months. yay!

3-10pm... Filled with classes and teaching private guitar/piano lessons.

I was able to jump online a couple times today.   Went over some pitching strategies with Jason Blume, regarding artists we might envision performing the song.   I heard back from Dana Parish...she's actually performing a show at the Tin Angel in Philly on Thursday!  Also, I ran into pro songwriter Scot Sax (He actually teaches a songwriting class at my school University of the Arts) and he let me know about a workshop he's running at his studio on Sunday's called "Songwriter Sunday's"... he invited me to join next Sunday or the following...add that to the list of something I can do networking-related on a Sunday!  : )

Goodnight y'all

DAY - 46

Hanging in Starbucks just doing some research on Torrez Music Group.  They manage bands and artists, but the founder of the company, Alex Torrez, is so well connected he pitches songs to major label artists, record labels and producers.  Apparently, they just had some success pitching a song to Carrie Underwood!   So anyway,  I found some contact info on the website and decided to reach out.  I wrote an email politely asking if they would like to review some of my song catalog.  We'll see what happens.

Also, sent an email to J Fred Knobloch, still trying to set up our Skype writing session...can't wait because the song is turning out really cool!

DAY - 45

Alright, now I'm feeling sick again... thought I kicked this thing early but the reading on the Thermometer proves me wrong.  Anyway, I've been fighting through it and doing some research today.  I came across a pretty cool contact. Kyra Larock, is a music manager.  Having worked for a ton of big music companies (19 entertainment, MTV, Artista Records) she has many connections to well-established artists.  That being said, Kyra also handles pitching songs to artists who are recording new albums... for example Adam Lambert, Britney Spears, Leona Lewis, etc.  I'm planning on reaching out to Kyra when I have a really strong and well-produced POP demo to pitch.  I have a couple songs in mind, but don't have the right recordings yet.

I also revisited the Music X Ray site and submitted to an opportunity to Torrez Music Group looking for songs to pitch to Tim McGraw.  I submitted a new song called "Love Takes Work" check it out http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/love-takes-work-demo

I will also be trying to find some other connections into Torrez Music Group.

DAY - 44

Sorry for the delay in yesterday's blog entry.  If you've been keeping up, I did actually catch a cold.  Loaded up on multi-vitamins and fluids and I'm feeling much better today.  I was actually supposed to play a gig in West Chester starting at 10pm last night but thank God it got cancelled. (Due to a boxing match)  I'm usually not happy about a gig getting cancelled, but trying to get through a 3 hour night of music while being sick is torture.

Anyway, I'll be making up for lost time today.  I'll be researching double the contacts to try and connect with this coming week. Stay tuned for another post later today :)

Oh and btw, I downloaded Skype...its amazing!  I know its been around for a while now but I never jumped on board.  I have to say, for songwriters, its an incredible tool for co-writing sessions when you can't be in the same room. Not to mention, the file sharing capabilities.   I highly recommend it. Cheers!

DAY - 43

I got an email from my good friend and co-writer Eric Schwank today with some lyric revisions to an old song I wrote.  Absolutely loved the new ideas so we jumped on Skype and just added finishing touches.  So many songs to record, so little time!

Today I emailed an amazing songwriter and long-time family friend, Dana Parish, to reconnect.  If you've never heard Dana, please check her out...she's amazing!  www.danaparish.com  Dana has had incredible success as a songwriter and as an artist.  I reached out to her today to say hi and to see if she'd be interested in doing a song collaboration.

Starting to feel like I'm getting a cold...not cool.

DAY - 42

Woke up super early this morning because I realized today was the last day to register for the Texas Songwriter's Cruise song contest.  Check it out... www.txsongwriterscruise.com .  While cruising the beautiful Caribbean, a crew of pro songwriters and industry folks hold workshops, panels and performances. Basically, I'd be stuck on a ship with EVERYONE I want to know! What more could you ask for?!  So this morning I submitted a couple songs to the contest.  The winner gets to cruise and attend everything for free!  This is worth over $1,000 in value.

I've heard so many stories of no name songwriters finding success through this cruise.  Think about it, everyone that has the ability to help your career is within the confines of a cruise ship!  The competition of this contest is pretty fierce so wish me luck and say a prayer :)

DAY - 41

Long day...need sleep.  Lets see, started off the day with a little writing. Then,  I emailed yet another contact from EMI music publishing.  Thus far, no one has responded on the EMI front.  Also, worked on some re-writes with the song we're doing with Jason Blume. I think I pulled the trigger a bit early yesterday when I said it was done. (always have to make time for re-writes)


Also, started researching some music networking events in New York City.  The big apple is a hop, skip, and a jump away from me so to head up for a day or so is not bad at all. (except for the traffic)  Found a couple cool events that happen monthly.  Also, there's another ASCAP headquarters right in the city that I have yet to take advantage of...I smell a NYC networking trip in the near future.  Enough hiding behind the computer screen, sending emails... I need to get out there, shake things up, get in people's faces!

Stay tuned :)

DAY - 40

Great day so far.  Finished the song we started writing with Jason Blume! (refer to DAY 36)  I have to admit, I really feel good about this tune.  Its so catchy it should come with a warning label :)  Can't wait to get this song demoed.

Also, I've been making some good headway on the song I've been writing with J Fred Knobloch.  We emailed more ideas, lyrics and melodies back and forth today and stumbled on something really special.   We're going to be setting up a Skype writing session  (J Fred lives in Nashville, I live in Jersey) to try and finish the song!  Feeling very blessed today.

Also, putting in double time today researching more contacts.  Its actually harder than I thought to keep a running surplus of people to reach out to.   If you know someone for me to contact, shoot me an email and I'll do it tomorrow!  mynameisaugust@yahoo.com

www.mynameisaugust.com

DAY - 39

I decided to double up today and email both Greg James from EMI publishing and Dave from Expressive Artists.  Both are contacts that I got by researching different companies that have to do with film and tv licensing as well as publishing.  Now, contacting these people blindly (basically like cold calling) is not typically the best way to get in the door.  This is called unsolicited, which all major publishers do not except unsolicited material.  The fact that I don't know anyone that could connect me to them is the reason I decided to contact them directly.  I did not try to push my material on them either, I kept it casual and merely asked if they may have any advice about how to get my music noticed.

Also, I contacted a brand new recording in studio in Williamsburg Brooklyn that offers professional studio time for FREE if they like your music and see you're doing a great job at promoting it!  They're called Rubber Tracks and the studio is owned by Converse the shoe company! http://www.converse.com/content/landing/index.aspx?command=Rpp:36,Ns:P_Title%7C101%7C1%7C,Up:US_user,Nrc:id-3022%7Cid-100000,Nea:True,N:3064-100056

DAY - 38

Lazy Sunday...chilling out, recovering from the wedding extravaganza last night (my best friend's wedding...absolutely beautiful) doing some research on who I want to contact this week.  I have a couple other contacts from EMI publishing I dug up but that's about it so far.  Let me know if YOU know someone I should contact!   mynameisaugust@yahoo.com

Getting ready for another BIG week of writing and networking.  Hopefully I'll have some rough demo samples you can hear by the end of the week.  Cheers!

DAY - 37

Today is 9/10/11, and my best friend is getting married!  Today I will be playing the roll of best man at his wedding so I'm up super early getting some work done.

My friend and co-writer, Tyler James made a connection with a very established producer (who has to remain nameless at this point). I can tell you he's worked with some HUGE acts like Britney Spears, and used to be a full-time producer for Jive Records!   We sent him 2 pop songs that we've been working on to see if he wants to possibly collaborate.  He got back to us already and said he would take a listen this week!  Keeping our fingers crossed.

Alright, time to get moving...gotta practice my speech :)

DAY - 36

HUGE day today. Incredible news to share!  I've been holding this in for 2 days now but I had to make sure it was really happening... I am officially writing a song with major hit songwriter (and one of my biggest mentors) Jason Blume. (Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Jesse McCarntney, Colin Raye, etc.)

 Its hard to express emotion through a blog, but if you could see my face, I've been smiling ear to ear for the past 2 days.   A couple weeks ago, (Read Day - 20)  I sent Jason an email with a chorus / song idea I was working on...asking him if he would like to write it with me and my co-writers Tyler James and Liv Devine.  Now obviously, I thought this was a long shot because he's a major songwriter and I'm a no name at this point.  Low and behold, he wrote me back 2 days ago letting me know he loved the chorus and song idea and wanted to write it with me!  Long story short, he sent me some lyric ideas yesterday and we sent some back today and the game has begun :)

More cool news to report on tomorrow so stay tuned!

DAY - 35

Sticking to my usual Thursday routine, I'm kicking back in the local Starbucks, getting some work done and enjoying a Venti bold pick of the day.

I just emailed film and tv licensing expert and owner of Studio 51 Music, Dave Trotter.  I was introduced to Dave back in November by my long time friend, Anj (who happens to be an incredible songwriter) http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ANJ3  Dave has been in the film and tv music licensing industry as well as publishing for a long time. (He handled all the songs that used to be placed on Oprah!)

I just emailed Dave to re-connect and share with him my goals of a music publishing deal and my interest in the film and tv licensing of my songs.  Simply, let him know I was looking for advice and/or suggestions.  Hopefully he remembers me.

Now that I've downed an entire venti bold coffee, I am WIRED!  Time to eat something :)

Stay tuned until tomorrow!

DAY - 34

"Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." (Ben Franklin)

So that's why I'm out of shape, poor and dim-witted...well, I'm turning over a new leaf :)  As it is, a musician's life doesn't always comply to Mr. Franklin's well known quote. However, I've been taking our great forefather's advice this past month (unless I have a gig of course) and I have to admit... I feel great and not to mention, very productive... now how 'bout the wealthy part!

Today, I used a couple of the contacts I made over at EMI publishing www.emimusicpub.com and emailed Maggie Martin who works in the creative department and Joe Rangel who's VP of something.  I let them know my goals and was hoping they could steer me in the right direction.  Let's stay tuned!

DAY - 33

Today was pretty productive.  I emailed Arthouse Entertainment. (refer to last couple days) Getting a foot in the door there would be amazing!  I emailed J Fred Knobloch with a couple more ideas for the song we've been tossing around.  This song is slowly coming together...kind of like a stew...its gotta simmer a while before it tastes just right :)

  I also enlisted in a company called You License www.youlicense.com .  They, like musicXray post listings for people and companies looking for songs.  I came across this listing and thought I'd submit to it...

Serve Music, a music ventures firm working in London, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, is looking to build relationships and business partnerships with truly exceptional new and established music artists and writers. We provide access to various high level music-related business opportunities, from our clients and international business network. These opportunities include licensing for film/TV, and major brand advertising. We're also developing an artist-friendly, new model publishing business, and looking to build long-term relationships with a select number of writers/artists. Music Brief: Simply put, we’re looking for great songwriters and artists, in all popular music genres, including rock, pop, hip hop, country, electronic.

DAY - 32

Chillin' and grillin'.  Labor day is bittersweet...nice to have the Monday off, but it makes you realize Summer is pretty much over.  This Summer flew by!  I don't mind too much though because Fall happens to be my favorite time of year.  Can't wait to start smelling those burning fireplaces.  

Anyway,  my friend and co-writer Tyler James got a call today from this guy named Goose (a really cool studio musician we met in Nashville, who seems very helpful and very connected).  Goose loved our set at one of the writer's nights and asked us for a couple CDs.  Apparently, he called Tyler today and let him know that the producer of a hit reality show is interested in 'Sweet Angeline'. (Sweet Angeline is my Contemporary Country side project www.sweetangelinemusic.com )  We don't know many details, but who knows, it might be cool!  Will be following up on this.  Looking forward to a big week of songwriting and networking.  Cheers!

DAY - 31

Researching EMI music publishing. EMI is a major music publisher, in fact its one of the biggest in the world.   I dug up a couple contacts today from EMI.  Got some some email addresses.  Will be contacting them come Tuesday morning.  If anyone know someone from EMI Music Publishing, let me know!

I also got a call from my friend Matt who said he knows someone at CBS who is well-connected to the music industry.  Like the awesome person that he is, Matt, offered to introduce me.  Cheers to Matt! Will be following up this week as well.

Smelling burgers cooking on the grill, distracting me...time to eat.

DAY - 30

I've decided to allot my weekend networking time to researching and digging up more contacts. Then, during the week, I'll double up a couple days.   I realize that most industry folks are not in the office over the weekend so most of my efforts go unnoticed and buried in someone's inbox or voicemail.

That being said, I found 2 companies and contacts today that I plan to connect with this coming week.  The first is a very well-established boutique publishing company called Arthouse Entertainment. www.arthouseent.com  One of their top writers is American Idol's Kara Dioguardi.  She is one of the top songwriters in the industry right now with over 300 songs placed on Major Label releases!! (That's insane! I believe it too because I just saw her house on HGTV... it is also insane)

The second company is a small independent publishing company called Expressive Artists. www.expressiveartists.com  Looks like they're just getting started but they have a nice roster of writers and producers.

Other cool news...  Got an email from pro songwriter J Fred Knobloch (refer to Day 14) about a song idea that we're going to start writing together. Amazing...Let's do it!

Have a great labor day weekend!

Day - 29

TGIF! Just started learning how to use a professional networking site called 'Linked in'.  If you're not familiar with the site, its a place where business professionals create their own profile's with the sole purpose of networking and meeting other professionals with common industry goals.  check it out www.linkedin.com 

Via 'Linked In' I was able to contact Michael Laskow today.  Michael is the founder/owner of the biggest A&R company in the world, called TAXI.  www.taxi.com  He is a genius business man who happens to also be a musician / recording engineer with an amazing passion for music. (And a really nice person to boot!) He is connected to sooo many major players in the music biz its ridiculous.
 I met Michael last year when I was at the Taxi convention in LA.  I played an open mic at the convention and just so happens his daughter was in the room watching.  She came up to me after I was done to let me know she "loved my song!" (At the time, I had no clue it was the owner of Taxi's daughter)  So I ended up giving her my CD and thinking nothing of it.  The next day, I see Michael Laskow in the lobby of the hotel and he said, "Hey, your CD is sitting on my nightstand, my daughter really likes the music." I was blown away.

Long story short, I emailed Michael today to say hi and send him/his daughter some links to my new music.  We'll see if it leads to anything exciting : )

DAY - 28

Crazy busy day today.  Just managed to duck into Starbucks for an hour to grab a bistro box and get some networking done.  Today I emailed Cathy Ross.  Cathy has been booking acts for SXSW (south by southwest, huge music/film festival in Austin) for a while now.  I've been interested in performing at SXSW for the past 2 years.  The networking potential for the TV & Film market is endless!

Speaking of Starbuck's, I also followed up with Kyle Shearer. (pro-songwriter we met in Nashville @ Starbuck's) He is a master at creating and producing electronic beats and productions and was signed last year to REBEL ONE.  I have a song that would be absolutely perfect to work with him on! We'll see what happens.

Cheers!