EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Engineer, business manager, and artist manager, Mark Schulz, who currently serves as the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Recording Academy, discusses the survey results from the perspective of the percentage of songwriters who are and are not utilizing the many organizations, services, and opportunities available to help them on their career paths. He offers some thoughts and suggestions to service providers based on those results.
Susan Tucker and Kim Copeland, professional songwriters, authors, and publishers of the "Songwriters Connection" Internet magazine, compare songwritersą engagement with and perceptions of the music industry with their own journeys and experiences as teachers and mentors. They offer suggestions to the industry about presenting a realistic, holistic picture of a career in songwriting, as well as ideas for using the Internet to reach songwriters.
Professional songwriter, Janet Fisher, whose many credits include music supervisor, independent publisher, and lobbyist, wonders if the experiences and expectations of "on-line" songwriters differ from those more traditional songwriters whom she has known. What she finds in the survey results both fulfills and surprises her expectations.
Rick Beresford, professional songwriter, education, author and Kerrville Folk Festival Song School Director, analyzes the experiences reported by the survey with regard to song camps and schools. He develops a list of suggestions to the songwriting community to improve the song camp experience and invites other service providers to pick up where he left off.
Long time host of the prestigious Bluebird Café open mic and hit songwriter, Barbara Cloyd, reviews the survey with the intent of offering suggestions to songwriters based on their responses. She compares some of the songwritersą expectations of the music business with the realities of that business, and encourages songwriters to invest in learning the craft and learning technology, both of which can help create and foster opportunities.
Gilli Aliotti, independent recording artist and founder of the Songsalive! web resource for songwriters and artists, takes issue with both the traditional music business as well as the promise of the Internet, while calling for new support structures to assist independent songwriters and artists to forge their careers. These are just some of the issues that Aliotti grapples with as she explores the survey results.
Gary Talley, Grammy nominated recording artist and 35-year veteran of the music industry, finds that the survey results confirm his recent teaching experiences with aspiring songwriters around the country. He discusses the realities of pitching to publishers and artists and offers advise to songwriters who are taking steps to begin the pitching process.
Jim Melko, published songwriter and Dayton/Cincinnati regional workshop coordinator for the Nashville Songwriters Association International, tracks the answers of several sets of songwriters to discover how they are interacting with the music industry and what their perceptions are. Along the way, Jim finds a changing music business, but the same old frustrations!