The Nashville MUSE

The following contribution is from Gigi Swanson of M.G. Incentives, Inc., a company that specializes in promotional products. The company has worked with advertising firms and corporations for nearly 15 years. She started an entertainment division 2 years ago when she left her teaching and administrative duties as director of the music business program at McNally Smith College of Music located in the Twin Cities. She commutes between the company’s Minneapolis and St. Petersburg offices and is about to open a satellite office in Nashville early 2005. For more information go to www.logomall.com/mginc

When you think of tour merchandise you might conjure images of major label artists playing large arenas and selling everything from tie- dye T -shirts, bumper stickers, embroidered baseball caps and in the case of the Rolling Stone’s famed Voodoo Lounge tour—a custom motorcycle.

But even if you are an independent artist you can run your business like the big acts by utilizing an added revenue stream source—custom merchandise. As an artist/ performer you are selling an experience and fans will buy a souvenir of that experience in the form of a CD , a T- shirt, button, poster, etc. As music fans we have all come home

with something more tangible than a ticket stub and it’s usually something we can wear.

The custom wearables market has a lot to choose from but let’s focus on the long held wardrobe staple---the T-shirt.

What better promotion is there than a walking billboard to advertise who you are and what you do. It is a fairly inexpensive item and if made with good-quality materials it can last a very long time. But better than that, there is a healthy margin of profit in the sales of wearables that can at least offset or even cover your travel expenses. You can package CD’s with a T –shirt for an “added value” sales incentive such as offering them “half off” with a CD purchase. You can use them as door prizes or as a thank you for the sound guy or the waitress at the clubs you play. A small gesture of goodwill goes a long way in building relationships and fans in your career. The same applies for coffeehouse, church and house concert gigs. Even when you play for free you can earn money.

Don’t think selling T- shirts is for more visible and established acts. If you are playing out and selling CDs you can sell shirts. But before you jump in, here are a few pointers to make your promotional dollars work for you.

The most popular T- shirt is the basic crew neck. Not only is it low in cost it’s a style that people are familiar with . As far as color options- the sky is the limit with the least expensive being the standard white, then the heathers/naturals, then the darker colors. Besides the basic tee, you can branch out with different styles such as 70’s retro ringer tees, baseball raglan tees and new styles made for women such as scoop necks and baby-doll tees.

I prefer 100% cotton heavyweight Tees in the 6.0 oz range for long term durability. Brands such as Gildan, Hanes, and Jerzees have been common favorites for years. Heavier fabric is knitted tighter which enables a better screen print especially when using detail and 4 color process. Plus they are typically cut larger and hold up better with multiple washings. But you must think of the tastes of the end user and the image you are trying to promote . That’s where fashion often comes in. Knowing your audience is key.

For example, one of my Rap group clients goes for the large size heavier weight tees whereas a rock group client sells mostly light weight, smaller tight fitting “alternative”

tees. They cost more but the look they achieve supports their “brand image”.

What makes your T-shirt sell isn’t the style, it’s size or color but it’s logo design. Logo art needs to be readable and convey the image you want to promote but keep in mind that it should be something a person will want to wear.

When it comes to printing logos, you can opt for gel, sugar-glitter, suede, reflective, metallic, glow in the dark, and ink in 1 color or up to 12 colors.

Scree printing using one color ink in one position on the shirt is the most economical. You have to pay for an art screen with each color you use as well as for any extra handling of the shirt. That includes flipping it over to print on a different side. Some artwork may require added film screens to replicate more complicated designs. So keep it simple if you can. If you have to go with a certain “look” make sure you get a thorough quote before you proceed.

You should make sure your logo art is in a graphic format saved as an eps file. Imprinters charge an hourly rate to prepare art that isn’t standard. Most printers carry standard Pantone Colors but also offer color- matching inks for an added charge.

How many T-shirts should you buy? The real breakpoints in the industry occur at 144 units but that amount isn’t practical for everyone. You can find reasonable shirts at the 72 unit range or even less if you plan it right. Funds still short? I know of some bands that purchased co-op shirts with another band or with a sponsor such as a local nightclub. They basically sold space on the shirt to share or subsidize the cost and helped promote their partners at the same time.

If you can get your shirts for under $5 and sell them in the $10-15 range you will see a quick return on your investment. When I taught music business classes I use to illustrate the power of selling tour merchandise to my students in this way: A typical major label recording artist might make a little over $1 off the sale of a CD . He would have to sell 5 CD’s or more to make the same margin off the sale of one basic T- shirt. That’s why the majors own their own merchandise companies.

Tour merchandise can be incorporated in your overall marketing plan. It fits right in with preparing press kits, driving traffic to your website, getting people in the door and selling CDs.

OnLineGigs.com: Making Touring A Reality For Indie Bands, Booking Agents And Labels!

Your boss is a corporate conglomerate obsessed with sales figures and profit margins.

You report for work every day, spend hours in meetings and often stay up until dawn trying to put a new spin on an old cliche.

Your product has to grab the attention of consumers who are often too busy juggling kids, jobs and rush-hour traffic to listen to your three-minute spiel.

Amid the business chatter about ''unleashing creativity'' and ''finding the tipping point,'' The Tennessean decided to ask some of today's top creative people in the city's signature business ¡X music ¡X about how they have achieved success.

All of these working songwriters have produced songs that have climbed to the top of the charts.

Their main themes: Go out and take in new life experiences, listen more than you talk, use criticism to improve your skills and most of all, pursue passion over money.

With every major songwriting award to his credit, Tom Shapiro was a shoo-in for Nashville Songwriters Association International's Songwriter of the 1990s.

The Kansas City native grew up listening to Motown, The Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel and Burt Bacharach. So it's natural that he started out writing pop and R&B in Los Angeles in the 1970s. Never Give Up On A Good Thing appeared on jazz vocalist George Benson's 1976 album and opened doors for Shapiro when he moved to Nashville in 1980.

''At the time I came here Urban Cowboy was big and country was trying to cross over,'' Shapiro said. ''Anyone from L.A. who could write pop music was considered interesting. I was embraced right away.''

His first country cut was George Strait 's Every Time You Throw Dirt On Her (You Lose A Little Ground. ) And he's spanned the decades with hits like Joe Diffie's In Another World , Holly Dunn's Only When I Love , Rhett Akins' That Ain't My Truck and Sara Evans' No Place That Far .

''I go for the emotion ¡X I want to make you laugh or cry,'' he said. ''Lyrically, you've got to know your audience, and I'm writing for radio.''

Shapiro credits his consistency to ''an ability to feel the trends and winds of change.''

''In the 1990s, anyone who had a record deal was capable of going platinum,'' he said. ''Getting a cut was important. Getting a single wasn't totally necessary. It's not that way now. Every writer is aiming for that single.''

''Radio has always been formulaic. Name me one genre that isn't,'' Shapiro said.

''You're trying to write in a small box but the confinement can be freeing. The challenge is, how creative can you be within that box?''

For instance, John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote songs in the 2?-minute, 32-bar mold that fit the 1960s.

''They were trying to write hit songs in a certain form and they mastered it better than probably anybody else,'' Shapiro said. ''Those songs are still around today.

''I would love to write songs that live forever, but at this point I just try to do the best I can.

Jeffrey Steele has the looks, energy and charisma of a lead singer, and that's what he was when he moved to Nashville in 1994 after an earthquake hit his native Southern California and his band Boy Howdy broke up.

''I kept giving myself a deadline to have some sort of activity going on with my songs, and of course I kept pushing it back,'' Steele said.

Around 1998, things changed. LeAnn Rimes cut his song Big Deal , Kevin Sharp had a hit with If You Love Somebody , and Diamond Rio struck gold with Unbelievable .

''All hell broke loose. I can't explain it and I don't want to,'' Steele said. ''I just kept doing the same thing and working harder at it ¡K next thing I know I'm getting cuts.''

Steele writes with an edge. Tim McGraw's The Cowboy in Me portrays a man who is restless and ungrateful ¡X ''my own worst enemy.'' It echoes the gritty scenes Steele's observed over the 20-some years since he quit high school to play in bands.

''I got my education in the redneck honky-tonk bars around Riverside ( Calif. ),'' he said. ''I got so many stories out of those places that are now on the radio 20 years later.''

''I think it's really all a culmination of finding what worked for me and never forgetting stories from people I met, gigs I've played.''

Steele said his experiences as an artist helped him survive before songwriting started to pay off ¡X and still motivate him.

''You get put on a pedestal just to be put down again,'' he said. ''I really get turned on by being put off. That musician's fear never goes away.''

He performs frequently and just released his second CD, Gold Platinum Chrome and Steele . The real reward, he said, is hearing an audience sing ''a lyric about my life.''

''He said, 'Don't ever do it for the money,' Steele said. ''At the time I was like, 'That's all you're going to tell me? The greatest songwriter ever?'

Growing up in Shreveport , La. , Troy Verges never imagined he would write songs for a living. The musician didn't know songwriting was a career, but a lucky break during college got him an internship at Patrick Joseph Music, a small but influential publishing company led by veteran Pat Higdon.

Working in the tape room, ''I got an inside view of the town at a company that was really happening,'' Verges said. ''You meet people in a completely natural way that's not forced. I got an education there.''

Verges also found his writing voice. A month before graduation, Higdon offered Verges a modest publishing deal and stuck with him for the nearly four years it took to get his first big cut, Love is a Sweet Thing on Faith Hill's smash album Breathe .

''When you write song after song that doesn't work, it takes a toll on your confidence,'' Verges said. ''But after that was out, I started to get more of a favorable ear. They wanted to listen.''

At age 30, Verges has had 61 charting singles, including Trisha Yearwood's I Would've Loved You Anyway , Martina McBride's Blessed and Sara Evans' Backseat of a Greyhound Bus .

''I write almost every day,'' Verges said. ''You have to have a work ethic. You control your own fate and if you don't work you're not going to get cuts.''

Verges tries for a sound that's ''familiar, yet offers something new. I loved Strawberry Wine ,'' he said, referring to Deana Carter's 1996 breakout hit.

''It was a waltz, four and a half minutes long. It was a huge hit because it was different.''

When creativity wanes, Verges heads for a change of scenery or escapes in a movie or book. Recent favorites include White Teeth and The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith.

Brainstorming with co-writers such as Brett James, Hilary Lindsey, Angelo and Aimee Mayo also helps break a funk, he said.

''I have those times when I think I have nothing more to say but it always goes away,'' Verges said.

Craig Wiseman is like the Jerry Seinfeld of country music - a guy riffing on the smallest observations of daily life, only in song.

''I'm just Joe Regular Guy,'' he said. ''I assume if I felt it everybody else did too.''

Joe Regular Guy doesn't have four singles on the country charts right now. But Wiseman's songs are snapshots of America , like the sports fanatics in the Mark Wills anthem And the Crowd Goes Wild , or the check-your-troubles-at-the-bar crowd portrayed in Montgomery Gentry's Hell Yeah . Both were written with frequent collaborator Jeffrey Steele.

''We used to go to bars and there'd be these guys going up to the stage and going, 'Hell, yeah!' Wiseman said. ''We breathe life into these people.''

Young , a Kenny Chesney hit, was inspired by his high school reunion, Wiseman said.

''I'm not a songwriter. I'm just a writer. You observe the stuff everybody observes ¡K what makes people point at the radio and go, 'Exactly!' 'Man, that's just how it was.'''

The Hattiesburg , Miss. , native discovered his talent as an adolescent, rewriting lyrics and learning how to transpose songs into three chords so everyone at church camp could sing along.

''It all happened in a month. I'd stay up all night writing seven or eight songs, just hooking up words with music, play them for Mom at breakfast and then go to bed,'' he said.

A chance visit to Nashville showed him that he could earn a living at it. He arrived in May 1985 not worrying about whether he could ''write country.''

''You write whatever you listen to,'' Wiseman said. ''I grew up listening to everything ¡X Bob Seger, The Eagles ¡K I'm fortunate that a lot of country today is what pop rock was in the '70s and '80s.''

Wiseman said he could never make up stories like the one that inspired Faith Hill's When the Lights Go Down .

At a casino one night, he asked a card dealer what to play. The dealer replied that not only was he a recovering gambler, but also a recovering alcoholic who worked in a package store.

''Who would ever believe that?'' Wiseman said, marveling at the true stories he's heard and turned into song.

During college, the Memphis native met legendary soul producer Chips Moman, who was working with country supergroup The Highwaymen.

Rutherford got to know the members ¡X Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson ¡X ''basically hanging out. Once I got into their catalog, I said, 'If this is country, I want to be part of it,' '' he said.

After dabbling in the music industry and even getting a cut on the Highwaymen 2 album, Rutherford left to attend law school. But on the first day he couldn't follow through.

''I got down on my knees in my chinos and button-down shirt and prayed, 'God, give me anything to do but this,' '' he said.

Rutherford never made it to class. Eighteen months later, in 1993, he moved to Nashville . He broke big about five years ago with a string of country hits including Chely Wright's Shut Up and Drive , Gary Allan's Smoke Rings in the Dark , Clay Davidson's Unconditional and Brooks & Dunn's Ain't Nothing About You , which spent six weeks at No. 1.

''I follow my gut in terms of pacing,'' Rutherford said. ''My instincts lead me toward things that are more commercial. I like the radio.''

The financial rewards aren't bad either. A No. 1 hit can pay royalties for a lifetime ¡X what songwriters call ''mailbox money.''

''You just never know when you're going to wake up and put your kids through school,'' Rutherford said.

Rutherford, who teaches a songwriting class, said he tells aspiring writers not to give up too quickly ¡X and to take criticism well.

''You have to learn to present what you have to say in a way that's palatable to the public. It's like being a professional athlete. It takes years of throwing that baseball to throw a 98 mph strike,'' he said, emphasizing that even great talent needs seasoning.

It took Rutherford eight years to reach this level. But he still puts in the time ¡X five days a week, when he's not producing or cutting demos.

''It's blissful. It doesn't matter how many cuts or hits I've written or what I've got on the chart.

Jeanne A. Naujeck writes about the music business and can be reached at 259-8076 or jnaujeck@tennessean.com .

Book Review: If You've Got A Dream, I've Got A Plan
Kelley Lovelace, Rutledge Hill Press

Title: If You've Got A Dream, I've Got A Plan
How to get your song heard by music industry professionals
Author: Kelley Lovelace, forward by Brad Paisley
Publisher: Rutledge Hill Press pages
Pages: 134 pages

The book is written by one of Country Music's most successful new songwriters. "If You've Got A Dream, I've Got A Plan" is very accurate and easy to read for songwriters - from the beginner to those that have been writing for a while - who do not really understand the business. Every new songwriter that is moving, or recently moved to Nashville , should be required to read this book before getting off the bus, moving in with a friend, or leaving their hometown to pursue their dream.

Kelley's experience of writing hit songs extends to such hits as "He Didn't have to Be," "Two People Fell in Love." "The Impossible" and "I Just Want To Be Mad" are two very recent hit songs on the radio, so this songwriter, and now book author, certainly has an understanding of how it really works.

The great thing about Kelley is he was like any aspiring writer who really had the "Want To" factor to be a hit songwriter: sitting in on NSAI seminars, learning, and networking on his journey of songwriting. In one of the chapters, Kelley talks about the importance of relationships, how he became friends with someone who eventually became a country star, Brad Paisley, and started co-writing with him.

The information in the book will save you many years and mistakes in the craft and business, the to do and not to do's on your journey of songwriting. The knowledge shared regarding co-writing, goals, priorities, making demos, open mics and locations & rules of these events are very helpful.

Kelley offers helpful tips in every chapter, such as, "write down every idea that pops into your head even if you think it is mediocre. What may seem to be an average idea today may be a prize tomorrow or even a few months down the road." Getting song cuts, even small independent cuts, are important according to the author.

Kelley covers what to do when you arrive in Nashville and the important steps to take, as well as things not to do upon arriving in town. This particular chapter covers what do music publishers look for and the two ways that a songwriter can be plugged into - having contacts or knowing people in influencing positions. He even covered major points in contracts for songwriters such as royalties, how they work and how much a number one song is worth.

One of the last statements from a story in the book is very important to all songwriters, "It's all right to dream about what you want to do, but there comes a time when you've got to do what you were meant to do."

If you feel that it is time to follow your dream for songwriting, it is now time to invest and read this book - a couple of times. Going to Nashville ? Then Kelley Lovelace's advice to songwriters is a must read.

Resource Review: The Songwriters Survival Kit-First Aid That No Songwriter Should Live Without!
Authors: Danny Arena, Sara Light, Nancy Moran and Fett

Title: The Songwriters Survival Kit
Authors: Danny Arena, Sara Light, Nancy Moran and Fett
What it is: Two instructional CDs plus support materials
Published by: the Azalea Music Group and the Songwriting Education Resource
Price: $40

This set of instructional CDs is one of the best resources I've found for songwriters at any level. ¡§The Songwriter's Survival Kit¡¨ is divided into four sections: Top Ten Musical Tips, Writing a Winning Lyric, Making the Most of Your Demo Dollar, and Tips for the Performing Songwriter. It offers over two hours of tips and practical, easy-to-follow suggestions that songwriters can use to write stronger songs, make better demos, and raise your level of song performance.

Danny Arena , who is a columnist for American Songwriter magazine and co-founder of www.SongU.com , (which offers songwriting courses online), begins the CD set. Danny offers his ¡§Top Ten Musical Tips,¡¨ including insights about: not taking too long to get to the hook or title; knowing how long your song is and why it matters; using different song forms; and using good prosody (tying melody and lyric together) in your songs.

Sara Light , a Nashville hit songwriter and co-founder of SongU.com, offers tips in the ¡§Writing a Winning Lyric¡¨ section, including topics such as: being sincere and writing what's real; finding an original angle: including visual statements and specific details; and, the tough one for songwriters: being willing to re-write.

As an aside, Danny Arena and Sara Light were recently nominated for a Tony Award, as several of their songs were included the Broadway play, ¡§Urban Cowboy.¡¨

The section about ¡§Making The Most of Your Demo Dollar¡¨ is authored by Fett , an independent producer and owner of Azalea Studios in Nashville . Fett is also the technology editor for Performing Songwriter magazine. Fett's top ten tips offer great advice such as: not spending a fortune to get a great demo; communicating with the studio staff and engineer; the importance of deciding your purpose in advance of going to the studio; and participating in the demo process.

Nancy Moran , the final author of "the Songwriter's Survival Kit,¡¨ is a professional singer, songwriter and recording artist, and is a contributing writer for American Songwriter magazine. Nancy offers ¡§Tips for the Performing Songwriter,¡¨ including: knowing your purpose, your goals and your market; finding your own authentic voice; knowing the rules before you break them; and tips on recording your own CD.

Each of the writers of ¡§The Songwriter's Survival Kit¡¨ offers excellent examples to support their tips and suggestions. Another feature of ¡§The Songwriter's Survival Kit¡¨ that is very well thought out is that each tip is recorded on a separate track. And, they include a summary of each tip at the end of the track. This is great because you can select which tips you want to study without having to start at the beginning of the CD each time you want to listen to the CDs again!

"The Songwriter's Survival Kit¡¨ also includes printed materials to support each section's tips. This thoughtful feature may prevent auto wrecks for songwriters who like to take notes while listening and learning in their car!

I recommend ¡§The Songwriter's Survival Kit¡¨ as an excellent investment to all aspiring songwriters, and it is a great resource for songwriting workshops and organizations. You can use ¡§The Songwriter's Survival Kit¡¨ to teach your songwriting organization members how to take your craft, your presentation and performance to a new level of success.

As a coordinator for the local NSAI workshop in Charlotte , NC for six years, we were fortunate to have the local country radio station very involved in our workshop.

Our workshop had WKKT 96.9 Kat Country as a sponsor of "Music Row To Charlotte" in 2001 and 2002, with a total of over 250 :60 second radio commercials for the events, 400 :15 second live promotional commercials, 10 on-air interviews, web site presence, sponsorship to have the stations client provide lunch at No Charge for 125 seminar attendees at MR2C 2002, and host for the event.

The radio station has also helped promote local NSAI songwriting seminars over the past (6) years with live interviews with the hit songwriters in town for songwriting seminars. They also supplied tickets and backstage passes for myself and hit songwriters from Nashville at concerts in Charlotte .

WKKT 96.9 Kat Country worked to promote a local open mic in event that was part of a national NSAI open mic night this past fall, supplying judges, prizes, and having the contest winner play his song on the radio a couple days later on the morning show.

Local songwriters have performed original songs at several of the stations events in the past couple of years.

The station is currently running a (5) month open mic contest with the local NSAI workshop, promoting, judging and hosting the events at the station's client, The Alabama Grill in the Concord Mills Mall, located in Concord , NC . WKKT 96.9 is also supplying several prizes for the winners and attendees of the monthly events.

It starts with building a relationship with the station program director and music director. Invite the program director and/or the music director to speak to your songwriting workshop. Once the date is confirmed, call everyone that has ever attended your meetings and their friends. Send information to the local newspapers and entertainment newspapers, with the announcement that _____ _____ from Wxxx or Kxxx radio station is your guest speaker of the next workshop meeting - this is VERY important!!! Have the largest meeting turnout possible for the workshop event.

You need to build relationships with local media, in advance of your events when you need them. That article is coming in the near future!

How many songs do you listen to on an average week,
How many songs do you usually add to your playlist every week,
What determines if that song is added or not,
What can a local artist do to make it in the business,
How can a songwriter or artist from our market hope to have airplay in the future.
Ask the speaker to talk about themselves, how they got involved in radio and the challenges of their job.

Ask the program director how the local workshop (you may want to do this in private) can be involved with the radio station events, or how can the radio station be involved in the workshop on future events.

Follow-up is very important. After the guest speaker leaves, have a "Thank You" card signed by everyone attending the event. Send this the very next day to the program director. Enclose YOUR songwriting business card. THIS IS A MUST!!

If the program director speaks, ask if they can have the music director at a future workshop. DO NOT - hand the radio station guest ANY CD's from your workshop. STRESS to your workshop members in advance: Do NOT hand out CD's to the radio station (This is worth repeating).

Stay in touch with the radio station. Attend their live events, supporting the station, meet other people at the station. Do not ask them for anything, other that maybe, "Do you need help with anything" at the events. Casually mention that a couple of your workshop members are available to play at station events in the future. If that happens, send your best 3 or 4 members to perform original songs.

If you send newsletters from your workshop, include the program and music director on your list. Let them know what your workshop is doing in the community.

If your station has a website, ask, then include the radio station as a link from your site. Ask them to do the same. If your songwriting workshop has merchandise, send it to your friend at the radio station. If you are an NSAI workshop, as the NSAI office to send you a nice NSAI T-Shirt to give to your friends at the station.

Send your radio friends holiday cards signed by workshop members. If you find out their birthday, do the same! Advise them of upcoming songwriting seminars and ask if they would like to attend, or if they have a friend that would like to be your guest at the seminar.

Your local songwriting workshop will benefit tremendously by making friends with your local radio station. Please e-mail me your questions at doak@nashvillemuse.com

He currently works with BEAMS - Breckenridge Education And Music Seminars www.beamsonline.com to provide songwriting seminars in a unique environment featuring (4) day seminars with hit songwriters in beautiful Breckenridge, Co.

Tax and accounting seminar with Cathy McCormack, CPA and co - author of the book, Financial Management for Musicians.

Cathy McCormack is a Certified Public Accountants in Nashville, TN that works with several songwriters, artists and entertainment industry professionals with their financial and tax business. Cathy can be reached at cathy@cpacg.com or phone 615-322-1225.

Songwriters Guild of America hosted a seminar in the Nashville, TN office. Below are the highlights of the tax and financial management seminar.

A publisher came to Cathy and her partner at that time and asked if they would write a book for her clients, many of which are musicians and songwriters. Financial Management For Musicians is the title of the book, but she says it is really more about organizing your financial life for what she calls, this business of music. Going around the room, the attendees mentioned a couple of the topics they would like for Cathy to discuss. Here are excerpts taken during the Q&A.

Cathy: Let’s talk about the myths. The definition of a hobby has several factors and includes, but is not limited to, a test to determine whether there has been a loss in three of the proceeding five years. But loss determination is just one of the criteria in determining whether or not you have a hobby. There is a lot more criteria to consider, and one important and very significant issue is whether you have profit motive. Most people who launch into something that takes eighty percent of their time obviously has a profit motive. Your job is to prove that you have one by keeping good records and substantiating how much time that you spend on the business. Keep your calendar in outlook or a manual calendar or in a journal, whatever is convenient for you, to document your schedule and time spent doing research, etc.

Cathy: This is something that you should have for every year you are in business. Often times, when writers first get started, they may have a different career or "day job" and tend not to keep good records . Then, hear the myth about taking losses for do not even bother with keeping good records. I encourage you to keep track of your expenses from inception. Keep a good calendar and track of everything that would help your accountant to support what you are doing for your song writing career. You can show losses your entire life. Many people fear of getting audited and will not deduct their expenses . Don't lose opportunities for fear of the audit myth.

I have had a few clients get audited because they have taken losses over a period of years . Fortunately, they had kept good records and the audit was closed without any modifications to the return. In addition, we referred to a court case of the IRS against a painter. The painter won, as the judge ruled it was a proven fact that many artists did not become famous until after they died.

Cathy : You need a calendar to prove the amount of time that you spent on your craft.

Cathy: No. It’s more important to reflect your activities, such as memberships of organizations that support your efforts, keeping brochures and pamphlets of seminars that you have attended, keeping records of your co_writing appointments or interviewing people to get ideas. Your calendar is support for the other things that you do with your song writing career.

Cathy : No, the profit motive is to prove your song writing is not just a hobby. It shows you are very serious about it and you want to make money at it.

Question : What happens if you have many years of no income in the songwriting business?

Cathy : That happens and that is OK. You deduct it on schedule C of tax return and show your losses against other income that you make during the year.

Question : Is there any rule about how much money that you can make and still have a loss on your taxes?

Question : What about forming your own publishing company for business and tax issues?

Cathy : The type of entity is very important and heavily debated. When you incorporate or form another entity, you are complicating your financial life but adding a layer of protection for your personal assets. If you are in a risky business or have accumulated substantial wealth, you will be a good candidate to consider a corporation or LLC. Also, joint relationships may require a separate entity. Whenever possible, it is best to keep the business simple by not incorporating or forming other types of entities. There is this myth that it will save you taxes if you incorporate and it is absolutely false in most cases. In fact, it will cost you more money! In addition, you would have to prepare more tax returns to prepare. It’s nice for the accountants, but it is not always in the best interest of the clients.

Question : Years ago I started getting royalties in about 1990, was doing my own taxes, filed my royalties under schedule E. I even called the IRS and the agent said what I was doing was OK. Later when I hired an accountant, they said that was wrong. Could you explain a Schedule E?

Cathy : Schedule C is where you report self-employment income, an activity that you are involved in such as a business like your publishing company. Schedule E is for passive activities such as activities that you are not actively involved in such as rental properties or passive ownership of an oil well. Items reported on Schedule E are not subject to self_employment tax (Social Security and Medicare.) If you are a songwriter, you are actively involved with the production of royalty income, and as a result, is taxable on Schedule C and subject to self-employment tax. You will not win in an audit if you put your royalties on Schedule E. However, if you inherit a song catalog from someone and you were not the one who generated that money , then it is correct to report royalties on Schedule E.

Question: Can I use my credit card record as proof that I purchased this equipment or do I need the original receipt?

Cathy: You have to have a receipt. A charge to Circuit City does not prove the purchase of equipment. It could have been a refrigerator. Therefore, the government needs more proof than a credit card statement.

Question: What about using your computer to keep track of your records for the year?

Cathy : Quicken is a wonderful program for keeping up with your personal or home business. It is a wonderful tool to track your checkbook and credit card activity. Quickbooks is a great program for tracking more complicated business arrangements such as partnerships, LLC’s and Corporations. Many people prefer spreadsheets which is fine as well. However, these programs do not replace the need to keep receipts. The programs are a tool to organize the data but the receipts are still needed to substantiate information on the computer generated reports.

Cathy: If you deduct something on your taxes, you need the receipt. However, there are certain cases where a receipt is not possible. Parking meter and tolls are deduction, but you rarely get receipts for them. Therefore, you need to write it down somewhere in a log to document cash expenses. Your calendar will show proof that you went somewhere that caused the expense. Also, some mileage logs have a space to write parking and tolls if you keep a pocket log in your car.

Cathy: The better your records are, the less the cost because it is less time for us to prepare. However, sometimes we have to find court cases or other information to defend a position we’ve taken on a return. We don’t have much control over that. So, the cost will vary depending on the complexity of the return. But remember, CPA fees are tax deductible! You will also get what you pay for. I don’t recommend ever representing yourself in an audit because you will not have the knowledge you need to negotiate or know what to look for when dealing with the IRS. I had a client recently whose agent required that royalties be moved from Schedule E to Schedule C. The agent proposed an increase in tax of $25,000. However, the agent missed important carryforwards that the taxpayer had not been able to use when the income was reported the other way. Therefore, when I calculated it accurately, the taxpayer owed $1,000 instead. My fee was nominal in comparison to how much I saved him in the audit.

Question: Auto expenses, what should we know about them and the records that we keep for them?

Cathy: That is probably one area that most people are the weakest in keeping records. Everyone

hates to keep mileage logs. Unfortunately, mileage logs are the only perfect way to support automobile deductions in an audit. You do not have to write down your odometer reading every time you are in and out of the car __just the business miles for the trip. You do need to write your odometer reading on January first and December 31st to determine total miles driven for the year. For your business miles, use your trip count to track the daily miles. If you are going to 10 places in one day, just write the list and your total business miles for the day. Write down where you went and the business purpose of the trip. I keep my business purpose written in my calendar and where I went in my mileage log. There are two ways to expense your car. You can use the standard mileage rate in effect for that year or your actual expenses times your business percentage usage. The problem is you still have to keep a log either way, because you have to calculate how much you are using your car for business.

Question: Working out of your home office, what should we look for in writing down expenses?

Cathy: You can deduct a percentage of your home expenses calculated by determining the percentage of square feet for your office/studio to the total square feet of the home. You must have a room that is designated 100% business, cannot be multi_use, and cannot have a bed in the room. You may write off the business percentage of your utilities, insurance, homeowner’s association fees, repairs, security system, and rent. Those items are what we call operating expenses and are limited to the profits shown on Schedule C. A percentage of mortgage interest an property taxes are also deductible as home office and are not limited by profits. Expenses limited by profits are they are carried forward to be deducted in future years. With respect to your telephone expenses, they go right on your schedule C for business deduction. The first phone line in your home is considered personal and is not deductible regardless of whether it is used for business. Any features that you add to the phone for business purposes are tax deductible 100%. Your cell phone may be considered a second phone obtained for business and written off entirely. If you do not have a land line phone, just your cell phone, you will need to allocate it, based on business and personal calls.

Cathy: Yes, the amount representing business percentage usage is deductible. In addition, many people in the music and entertainment business write off a percentage of cable TV as research.

Question: Are CD purchases of other artists deductible and if so, where do you list them as expenses?

Cathy: Yes, as research expense. A musician’s CD collection is ten times that of an average consumer and is most definitely used for research. Write CD purchases off on the second page of Schedule C under other deductions.

Question: Demo costs are astronomical and I list them as professional services. What do you recommend that I list demo cost in what category?

Cathy: If they are not much money, I write them off as demo costs, under other expenses. However, there is a rule that demo costs are supposed to be capitalized and amortized over the revenue stream. In many cases, there is no revenue stream or no determinable revenue stream. Therefore, it makes sense to use a Safe Harbor election to amortize demo costs over a three_year period. You get 50% of the demo costs in the first year, then 25% and 25% the following years.

Question: What is the category “Professional Services” used for in the tax forms?

Cathy: They are used for a lawyer, accountant, song plugger or consultant that you hire for your business. If that number becomes substantial, you should split some of the expenses into other categories.

Cathy: You are actually supposed to 1099 your accountant, lawyer, song plugger and any other professional that you hire for business purposes and pay $600 or more in a given year.

Question: If I go to lunch with a co_writer, can I deduct our lunch off my taxes?

Cathy: Yes, you deduct half of it, but keep the receipt and document the person you had the meal with and the business purpose. The only time you do not have to have the receipt is when you use the per diem rate for meals during overnight travel. Travel days are included; if it takes you overnight to get to your destination. The IRS website has downloadable per diem amounts for you to use. Some city’s have a higher per diem amount than others. Hotels are fully deductible and meals are only 50% deductible.

Question: I have events for songwriters at my house. What do I need to show that this is not ordinary household expense for the extra food, paper supplies and beverages?

Cathy: Keep a record of your guest list, print out of the invitations and take notes on how many you are planning on having for the events. Get a receipt for all the expenses of the event as they are fully deductible as marketing, not as entertainment.

Cathy: Not keeping good records and asking me to pull deductions out of the air. The most effective way to get clients to receipts is to deliver bad news of a large tax due. By then, it’s too late. You need to develop good habits and keep records of you expenses. Seek qualified advice to make your decisions. Peers are good to help conjure up questions, but make decisions from advice of a professional.

gilli moon, recording artist, songwriter, author and entrepreneur, gave a presentation in March 2004 to songwriters and artists at the Songwriters Guild of America in Nashville .

Here is a transcription, kindly offered by celebrated writer Doak Turner, of her talk, which she called MPWR – The Path to Artist Empowerment. As this is an interpretation of her colloquial and informal spoken word, taken by Doak in an effort to capture the message, rather than her direct written prose, please keep this in mind as you read. More information on her MPWR seminars and her book, I AM A Professional Artist- The Key to Survival and Success in the World of the Arts, at www.gillimoon.com and www.warriorgirlmusic.com.

gilli moon:

The discussion will be focused on Artists today. I am an artist/singer/songwriter, performer, author who grew up in the wilderness in Australia . I started performing in bands playing cover songs. I wanted to be surrounded by people who were as passionate about original music as I was. I went to New York and got into theater, moved to Los Angles trying to get a record deal, the representation, to be heard, and told you had to be the right age and all those types of details. I was signed to an independent label and got out of that deal because of bad dealings with the label. I started my own company, Warrior Girl Music and started the path of least resistance and in my own CD’s. I released 3 CD’s and now the fourth one is getting international distribution. I have toured all over the country with a keyboard and tour manager, small bands and just got off a tour with Eric Idle of Monty Python Fame. He does comedy and music. Most notable I have become noted as a Warrior Girl, taking control of my own success and enjoying the journey. This is my 2^nd trip to Nashville as last year I spoke at the 2NMC conference last year and singing on a CD for a friend in town this week, Jeff Young who played guitar for Megadeth. He has a new CD to be released soon called The Unmaking of Me.

I am going to share how I see what success and goals are, the path that is a life journey and going through tips on touring and marketing.

Being independent does not mean you have to sign “The Deal” and trust others will work for you. It is a good thing to know you can work with all companies. If you hold out waiting for the big deal it may not happen for you. The music business is all about the business. Music is the catalyst. I feel many artists look for happiness as commercial success, the big money and things. That does not mean happiness to everyone. The business changes, there are fewer and fewer openings to get your songs heard, to get the shelf space in the record retailers. Even if you do get the shelf space, they are rented out by the majors, the posters and exposure takes a lot of money to compete with the majors. Why not give it a shot as an independent artist? It may not give you the big dollar, but this is a big company with a lot of holes to fill. I look at wealth as not how much money you earn, but how much you spend and are able to save. We spend money on silly stuff that we do not need.

I wrote a book called. “I Am A Professional Artist”. I am going to discuss a couple things that are in the book. I believe that it is important to define your strengths, to work at what you are good at for the business. Spend the time on your strengths making those your competitive advantage. You as an artist needs to find your strength. Uniqueness plus talent equals your competitive advantage. My favorite term is “Commenceaphobia”. Get something done! Self doubt, fears wondering when someone else is going to do it for you – why not take that step on your path? A small step leads to large steps. You have to be passionate or do not do it. Rejection, criticism, negativity from family and friends can take your positive energy. It is a choice to choose to be an artist. People complain about it is not happening for them and they use it is a crutch. You made the choice, if it is not happening, move on, go find your way in the world. It is about you finding your way on this two way street.

I used to have the wrong producers who did not know or understand what I really wanted to say. It is about communication, developing relationships that nourish, not zap you! My three O’s – Optimism, being positive and surrounding yourself with positive people + Organized, learning time management and planning your day and how you want to live as well as the business side sending your e-mails, mediation, playing or whatever you have to do. Optimism plus Organized equals Opportunity! If you have a positive outlook, you just smile and endorphins get released to give you a natural buzz of energy and enthusiasm. Loving what you do, plus what you do in your business and creating. Opportunities come when you least expect it. If you sit on two chairs, you will fall between the cracks. Choose what you are going to do! Do not spread yourself too thin, or you won’t get much done. You can work for a publishing house in Nashville , while you are developing networking, developing websites and get more computer savvy that will help you. Diversifying is a key. You start somewhere and make your journey towards your destination; you can have turns on the way. But eventually find where you are going. Being a businessperson as well as an artist is also important.

Find the people you want to work with on the journey. This is YOUR career. We have heard the stories about things that happen to artist, they get screwed because of bad deals. We can change what happens with our careers. The industry is right in this room! You never know what project can happen with someone in this room. The best way to do it is to “un-network”, that means, don’t think of yourself and your needs first when meeting people. See it as an opportunity to create relationships. The word “networking” has such a bad connotation these days. Some people go to events to meet people that can do something for them, so they can move up the food chain and become famous. It is so me, me, me. Life is about giving to each other, coming together and helping each other. The WOW Factor is working together and seeing things happen – that is what it is about. Not wanting that quick fix.

Let’s educate the youth of today what time and energy goes into a record, - the passion, and the people that make the music to work to touch people and create a reaction. We can do it at the grassroots level and create your own groundswell. Do your thing and take care of your art; the people will come to help you in your life. It will come.

Knowing that everything is in abundance is important! I am very much an “I AM” Girl. “I AM a professional artist”. I AM who I want to become, write it down for yourself. It is OK to have ambitions, but success is not necessarily commercially driven. Your goals are different from others. Finding your own goals can make all the difference to finding what you really want. It can take a lot of work and it is a lifelong journey. It is about waking up every day and enjoying what you do every single day. Telling yourself at night that you love your life and art! If you do this, you have succeeded! It is not all about playing the game to get in bed with Clear Channel to get on the radio and spend millions of dollars! The radio is so manipulated. Janet Jackson goes #1 before anyone has heard her song. Does that tell you anything? Hey maybe one day my label may work with a major label, but the right relationship at the record company is so important.

Learning the business – education is so important. Developing relationships is so crucial! Being the businessperson is the biggest thing right now. We all just want to sing, but you have to be in control of what you do. Artists have had to sue labels, managers, CPAs to get their money. The right people will come to you in time. It is a group effort, no one makes it on their own, and every artist needs the right team. Why not share a little of the profits with the team around you? There’s enough for everyone.

You need contracts. You need to learn contracts. I have my own contract that my attorney drew up for my business. I learned how to write a contract, my attorney checks it. Why not pick up the phone yourself instead of asking people to make phone calls. Find the right people; find the right rewards for them. Define success on your own terms. Enjoy what you are doing. Know not just spin your wheels. Personal achievement is what it is about. People will tell you that you cannot do it, ignore them! There is a place for every single person to shine.

On page 143 in my book, there is a great amount of information on goal setting. I do goals backwards. I envision myself by closing my eyes. Envision where you are in 10 years time. Think about it, it is not too far way, where are you, what city, who are you surrounded by, what are you about to do, what have you just done, who are you married to, or not, … it is about living, family friends, and finding balance. Write it down what you want in 10 years. Once you finish it, completely written everything that you want, the money and stardom, laying on the beach (hah ha!), and then bring it back to 5 years away and do the same thing. Then 2, then 1. All of a sudden, you’ll have worked out a way to reach your dreams. Just by putting it out there. Then put that little piece of paper away.

It is your own voice, your music and your goal,… find your own place. My music is not Brittany Spears, it is totally different. Find that for yourself, what you want in life. Age does not matter for what you want! Age does matter because you would not have known what you know today. We have all had hardships, struggle relationships and it is all part of you.

How to do it the indie way? Number one- get started – get into the studio, record, get something on tape, let people know what you are doing! This is such a refreshing town to see so many people have such passion for their music. Recording – these days everyone it seems to have a studio, the CD burners, recording at home, it is so amazing what is out there and is now affordable. Finding other songwriters or producers to record and write with that has their own studio. Work together to make it happen. Art programs on computers make it easy with programs such as PhotoShop. I did it this way! You have to learn do it. Cheap printing and CD duplication are out there in every city. Study the bar code options. Short run CD’s like $150.00 for 200 CD’s and a 4-page booklet with the CD. www.mixonic.com have short runs. Type in short run CD in www.google.com and they will give you a list of places for these CD’s. CD Baby is an on-line store for CD’s. www.americasprinter.com has posters, fliers, and postcards. You get 2,5000 fliers for about $125.00. Discmaker.com offers free CD booklet and designs. My non-profit organization www.songsalive.org is a great resource for songwriters.

Making the CD does not mean that the world wants to hear it, we all thing everyone wants to hear our songs. So many bands spend 10 years together, and then they get a break and then they tour and have hardships during the first tour or recording the big first record. You have to be in it for life, it is not a quick thing for success. You will be going on so many journeys. It is not about blaming the radio and the labels; it is about looking at choices. The radio promotion is important. Bryan Farrish is located in LA. He has a place called Brian Farrish Radio and they talk about payola, under the table and bad stuff that has happened in the business. Brian is very proactive for indie artists’ rights in radio. Good guy to know!

WE are dealing with finding the crumbs to get airplay. I am not looking at those major stations. I believe in target marketing, certain areas. I micro-market by planning my years and target that market one fan and one step at a time. I will give you example, the Northwest region of the country. Great place for the summer. Sleep on the beach; do not spend all our money in hotels. We would book the gigs, call a friend of a friend, call the colleges, get on the yahoo groups such as www.indiegirl.com and www.gogirls.com to network, create my own groups through www.warriorgirlmusic.com www.musicthoughts.com run by www.cdbaby.com and there are so many groups to help each other in the towns. Call the venues, as I have an assistant to help me that used to work at Clearchannel. She works very hard and takes on A&R, management, whatever is needed to make the phone calls. Call the community radio stations in those towns. Send the stations a CD and let them know you are coming to town to see if they will play your songs and interview you. If I have my songs on the radio, you have to be out there and working it, it is a 100% job. I get the gigs lined up. Some gigs pay for the gigs that did not pay. You have to believe that it is a good opportunity. I have met amazing people on the tour. Promoters have been very good, they refer others to me. When I went to New Orleans , I called the local CBS affiliate. They liked the fact I came all the way from Australia and wanted me on their local TV station. When I play with my band, I paint on stage, which is a unique performance that separates me from other artists. I call it Sensuart, bringing the music and art together. Dynamic energy on stage is what it is about. Community TV can also work in some markets. Sell your CD’s out of your trunk to the audience. Pass out fliers to develop one fan at a time at the venues. Have a great relationship with your PRO such as BMI, ASCAP and SESAC; let them know stations are playing your songs. I would encourage you to join one of these affiliations. 70% of your income is likely to be able to come from your PRO’s. TV royalties will get paid by one of these groups. Always get a cue sheet if you get a song in a movie so you can keep track of where it is played. You can down load it in the sites of ASCAP, BMI and SESAC.

You want to find income from various levels that will help you keep doing what you want to do. Do not be so narrow in one area. I have songs in many areas, to be recorded by others, pop, some for movies. We talked about the Northwest. Sometimes you can be out there too much. Create an image and what you want to represent yourself, That can be your dress, your website, what you say, your business and through publicity, reviews, Find quotes to help you form your own image. My CD’s are a concept of what is going on with me.

A lot of songwriters get together in their community. In LA we play songs for each other, but I still need to get out of my town to play. Get out of your own space with short run tours can help your career. Every time you perform make it in a way that you are showing your best songs and performance. You never know who is going to be there in the audience. Think about managing how much you go out, how many songs you put on your CD. Sometimes you want them to know you as an artist and person, other times the mystery speaks best. My Woman CD has 18 tracks. The new one has 14. You want to show a dynamic range and have people get to know you. The first 3 songs have to hit them right between the eyes, have your best 3 songs, show them what YOU do, not someone else, find you in the CD, not someone else. The listener wants to feel what you are feeling in the production.

Radio play can be done in small steps, whom can you call to get lists of radio stations. The Indie Bible – www.indiebible.com/sa then you can get a discount through songsalive. Get the local press in that market. Send specialized e-mails to the targeted market. Be very direct and give them what they need for their article, sometimes line for line. Put a link to your site in the article so readers can learn more about you. Publicity is excellent. On the website www.artisttoolbox.net you can click on “getting reviews” and it will walk you through of how to get distributed, to get on the web and other aspects that you will need for publicity.

If you can find a publicist it can help your career. You want to know you are going to get the best attention from that person. I had a company that promoted Ani DiFranco and thought it would be good for me, as they know how to talk to the stations every week. They would always promote Ani, and I would get lost in their talk to the stations. They cared mostly about Ani, obviously. Money can be spent in a better way. I have to target each territory. I had success with a song in Phoenix . I went there 12 times and opened for the group “Simple Minds”. It was a 2,000 seat audience and had the performance of my lifetime, had people in line to sign my CD, they signed up for my e-mail list. Develop a community on your site. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com and find out how to start your own yahoo group for your own community. Mine is a newsletter called “Warrior Girl eNews” http://enews.warriorgirlmusic.com and Artistlivingroom an interactive discussion board for all artists http://artistivingroomwarriorgirlmusic.com. I also have Songsalive! Enotes http://www.songsalive.org/enotes that is an interactive group for songwriters.

Publicity – public awareness and press, that is media, on-line e-zines to get your name out. You need to back it up with talent. I use my website that attracts people to the site, I have a diary and the people feel like they know me. Bios, photos and performances and a touring schedule keep everyone in touch. Oh yeah – there is a CD at the site for sale. Of course! The website is a big key to getting your name to the people and is YOUR store front. Use it, promote it, bring people HOME to you.

Some servers limit you to how many e-mails that you send at a time, it is not your outlook or outlook express. You need another program such as Go Sender and you can send a million transactions a year. It passes your ISP to send your e-mails. A million e-mails are about $99.00 a year. Bulk mail by e-mail. There are other programs that you can research to help with your efforts.

Marketing – how to get the attention of your audience.Use street promotion tools such as posters, postcards, flyers for gigs and cd launches, stickers, cool swag and merchandise, little things that draw people to you to buy your cd and get to know who you are as an artist. Learn about branding your name, your cd name, your website name, getting into people’s minds. I love postcards. When I receive a postcard it’s hard to throw it out. I have to put it somewhere, like my fridge, or on my desk. The paper is solid cardboard and I feel people have spent money on it so I hang on to them.

Distribution – use CDbaby.com (etailer), Amazon.com/advantage, TheOrchard.com, 101distribution.com, local distributors for mom and pops. Anything you find to get your music out there. But your website, again, is your home. Always link back to your site. Distribution is changing from being the hard core bricks and mortar to online downloads. Soon, consumers will be able to go into a store and have your cd music and cd booklet (skins) downloaded from your site, whereupon you will get immediately paid electronically by the retail store for your share of the profits… instantaneously. No more shipping and storage issues. In fact, no more duplication costs! Distribution is changing and artists can be ahead of this game. Artists to consumers direct. That’s what I’m talking about!!!

We live in a world of change. Don’t be intimidated by it. Embrace it and get on with it. What else are you going to do?!

- gilli moon

www.gillimoon.com

Doak Turner is a songwriter in Nashville , the editor of the Nashville Muse www.nashvillemuse.com and the correspondent for www.musicdish.com in Nashville .

He can be reached at doak@nashvillemuse.com

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Book Review: If You've Got A Dream, I've Got A Plan
Kelley Lovelace, Rutledge Hill Press

| Links | Articles | Interviews | Archives

Book Review: If You've Got A Dream, I've Got A Plan Kelley Lovelace, Rutledge Hill Press

Book Review: If You've Got A Dream, I've Got A Plan
Kelley Lovelace, Rutledge Hill Press