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!

DAY - 27

Another great day for music.  Kicked it off bright and early (for a musician) with a recording/writing session featuring my good friend and long time co-writer, Eric Schwank.  Eric and I have been through 2 bands and written 3 albums together for 'Fire by Night' and 'My Name is August'.  Over the past year,  we've been getting into writing and recording Country music... we both pull from different influences so when we collaborate we each have something interesting to bring to the table.  Today, we were initially  planning on finishing a demo recording of a tune Eric has been working on but instead got caught up writing something new all day!  The song is called "Are You Picking Up What I'm Putting Down?" Its an upbeat, country rocker that will definitely make you smile... can't wait for you to hear this one! :)

Big thanks to my friend Laura for introducing me to a new contact today!! Thanks to Laura, I emailed Steve Kline from 10th Street Entertainment.  Steve has been a player in the music industry for a long time, having worked at Columbia, Sony and J Records he is now the senior VP of marketing and promotion for 10th Street Ent. in NYC.  I sent Steve an email telling him a bit about myself and my goals and let him know that I'd love to meet or speak more in detail and also give him some music.  If he likes what he hears, Steve is the type of guy who can open doors... (saying my prayers)

***Note:  If you're reading this and know someone that I should contact please let me know!! email me...mynameisaugust@yahoo.com... and I'll contact them tomorrow!  

DAY - 27

Another great day for music.  Kicked it off bright and early (for a musician) with a recording/writing session featuring my good friend and long time co-writer, Eric Schwank.  Eric and I have been through 2 bands and written 3 albums together for 'Fire by Night' and 'My Name is August'.  Over the past year,  we've been getting into writing and recording Country music... we both pull from different influences so when we collaborate we each have something interesting to bring to the table.  Today, we were initially  planning on finishing a demo recording of a tune Eric has been working on but instead got caught up writing something new all day!  The song is called "Are You Picking Up What I'm Putting Down?" Its an upbeat, country rocker that is sure to make you smile... can't wait for you to hear this one! :)

Big thanks to my friend Laura for introducing me to a new contact today!! Thanks to Laura, I emailed Steve Kline from 10th Street Entertainment.  Steve has been a player in the music industry for a long time, having worked at Columbia, Sony and J Records he is now the senior VP of marketing and promotion for 10th Street Ent. in NYC.  I sent Steve an email telling him a bit about myself and my goals and let him know that I'd love to meet or speak more in detail and also give him some of music.  If he likes what he hears, Steve is the type of guy who can open some doors... (saying my prayers)

***Note:  If you're reading this and know someone that I should contact please let me know!! email me...mynameisaugust@yahoo.com... and I'll contact them tomorrow!  

DAY - 26

Great day for music!   Got together with my fellow 'Sweet Angeline' co-writers, Liv Devine and Tyler James, for a killer writing session.  I'm really pumped about the new tunes we've been working on.  Can't wait to demo some of the new stuff.

Today I followed up with Downtown Music publisher, Jeremy Yohai (refer to Day 3) thanking him for his advice about Nashville and basically just keeping in touch.  Once again, Jeremy is a super nice guy who goes above and beyond to listen and offer his expertise.

I also decided to follow up with Rob Chiarelli. (contact I made last November at a convention in LA)  Rob is an insanely successful producer and mixing engineer in LA with credits like (Christina Aguilera, Leann Rimes, Will Smith, Madonna) just to name a few!  Check him out here www.finalmix.com.  At the convention,  I was lucky enough to get my song (Half the Girl) pulled to be screened in front of a panel of judges...Rob ended up really digging the song and asked for a copy!  So today I followed up and sent him some new stuff I've been working on.

Listen to 'Half the Girl'  http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/half-the-girl

Stay tuned!

DAY - 25

Emailed a company called Sharp Objects Publishing www.sharpobject.com today.  I was referred to this company by a promoter in Nashville named 'Big Al'.  We met Big Al at Renegade Radio.  He seemed like a nice enough guy and pretty well connected.

Sharp Objects acts as a middle man b/t the songwriter and publishing companies.  They act as a representative and 'pitch' your songs to artists, tv & film and other bigger publishing companies.  The street name for this is called 'song plugging'.

I was told to be weary of certain song pluggers but this company came highly recommended. We'll see what happens!

DAY - 24

I heard back from one of the listings on MusicXray already! (refer to day 23)  They did not select my song.  "This is not quite what we're seeking"... was the automated response.  Aahh the bitter sting of rejection.  As tough as my skin has become over of the years, 'NO' still feels a lot worse than 'YES'.

What do you do when you fall off the horse, take your bruised ego and go home? Absolutely NOT...you get back on!  So today I submitted to another listing.  This one was for a Publishing/Licensing firm in LA looking for songs for TV, Film and Advertising.  I submitted the song I wrote and recorded for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America called 'Start of Something Good".  I have a deal set up with BBBS so that a % of all sales from the song will be donated back to the company. Any exposure of this song will be great in more ways than one!  If you haven't heard it you can take a listen here... http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/start-of-something-good

Anyway, I was just finishing a new song called, "Love & Rock n' Roll' gonna get back to it while the creative juices are flowing.  Hopefully I'll have a demo to show you in the near future.  Cheers!

DAY - 23

Batten the hatches, pull in the porch furniture and make sure there's plenty of food and booze in the fridge...Hurricane Irene is a coming!  In light of the approaching storm I figured I would get my networking done earlier today.

I did, in fact, check into MusicXray.com.  I spoke with some knowledgeable sources, did some research of my own and from what I gather it is a pretty legit operation.  So here's how it works... Music industry professionals (i.e. Label A&R reps, Publishers, Licensing Firms, Songwriters) post listings on the site looking for something specific. For example,

Songs For Artist on Epic Records 
I will be assisting Epic to search for songs for a young artist who sounds somewhere between Ke$ha and Shakira. Must have attitude! Submit your best and if it's right I will share with the VP of A&R at Epic.


I decided to take a chance so I submitted to a few listings today.  One was for a Warner Chappell published songwriter looking to collaborate and the other was a country label called Show Dog (founded by Toby Keith) looking for songs and new artists.  I should hear back within 2 weeks so I'll keep you posted!  


If your on the east coast like me...STAY SAFE!

DAY - 22

So still in the spirit of contacting artists/management directly,  I contacted Mission Management today.  Let me properly explain... Mission Mgmt represents country stars Danny Gokey and Darryl Worley.  I've written a song I think would be a great fit for Darryl Worley's voice, image and personality. (In other words, he would kill it!)  The song is called "Love Takes Work".  You can listen to my acoustic demo here  http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/love-takes-work-demo

Since there's no direct contact for Darryl himself, I'm attempting to get the song to him via his management. I've heard this tactic works sometimes (studies show that 60% of the time, it works every time) We shall see :)

In other news, I've stumbled across a new company called MusicXray www.musicxray.com It seems as though they post listings for professional publishers / songwriters / labels looking for songs.  I'll be looking into this site some more tonight to see if its legit.

DAY - 21

Took a long shot today and emailed big time hit producer Chris Lindsey.  Chris Lindsey has produced HUGE acts such as Rascal Flatts, Adam Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, Kenny Chesney...and the list goes on and on. (he's incredible just google him)

I've written a couple songs that I think would be perfect for acts such as Kellie Pickler and Adam Lambert... so I was doing some research trying to figure out how I might go about getting these songs to them. Low and behold I found that Chris has produced BOTH of them!  It must be fate lol.

  I decided to give it a shot.  Told Chris about the tunes and my intentions and politely asked if he could listen / offer any advice.  I'm waiting patiently for his reply ; )

DAY - 20

Made it to day 20!  Only 345 days left to go.

Just sent an email out to major hit songwriter Jason Blume (Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Collin Raye, Jesse McCartney, etc.) telling him about a brand new song idea/concept that I would like to write with him.  

Now this is a long shot considering I am technically a 'no name' songwriter (unless we're counting family and friends, to whom I'm the biggest thing since sliced bread) and Jason Blume is a published writer with major hits!  Nonetheless,  the song idea is absolutely perfect for him to co-write on so at the risk of being rejected or ignored I'm throwing it out there.

Also emailed Steve Goodie from Pitch Perfect recording in Nashville.  Steve is a super-talented songwriter/recording engineer who also happens to run the 'writer's night' at Bluebird Cafe.  www.pitchperfectrecording.com 


***If you are reading this and think you may have someone I should contact...please let me know and I'll do it tomorrow!  mynameisaugust@yahoo.com