CleverJoe and I go back. Way back. I guess we've known each other a
good seven or ten years, at least. (Although he'd probably tell you it
feels like longer.) When he asked me personally to contribute to this
site, I, of course, was happy to oblige. After all, it's not everyday
that a guy gets to do something like this for, well, a cartoon character.
Now, I know that this site is primarily about gear, and it's a place
for musician/performer types to network and gather information about the Canadian and International music scenes. A sort of, 'cyber hangout,' if you will. Anyway, Clev suggested that, when writing this column, I shouldn't come at it from a strict
musician-type angle per se, but rather I use it to talk about music
industry type stuff that could potentially be of interest to people
visiting the site. More specifically, he thought it would be interesting
to have my take on things, because, while I am a singer and a musician, my
most recent area of employment has been songwriting.
Professional songwriter. I guess I can call myself that. I mean, am I
one of the fortunate few who have been paid to write songs? Yes. Have I
had any songs recorded by recording artists? Yes. Would you know any of
the songs I've had recorded? Probably not. To date, they've all been by
artists on smaller, independent record labels. But, hey! I'm in the
game!
I moved from my home in my native Canada to Nashville, Tennessee four
years ago. My plans were:
Mission 1: within the first year and a half, to
sign a publishing deal, and
Mission 2: within the next year and a half, to
sign a record deal.
Well, so far, Mission 1 accomplished. Mission
2...we're workin' on it.
In these columns, I'm going to talk about a variety of things.
Most of them musical. (Although, I did have a really cool piece on bungee
cord weaving prepared...)
Throughout, I'm probably going to reference
stuff that I've done along my musical journey, (as sordid as some of it
is), and talk about things like live performance, music publishing, being
'on the road,' where to find guitar strings at 9:29 p.m. in Manitouwadge,
Ontario, etc.
Maybe you'll find similarities between my trek and yours.
Really, we're all on the same road.
Scroll down to continue...
Next Article: How Music Publishing Works
Austin tells you what you need to know about music publishing, copyrights, and salsa stains.
Austin Smith is trekking down the songwriter's path
in Nashville, Tennessee. Austin will be contributing regular articles to Cleverjoe's until
he finally gets that elusive recording contract, at which point we hope he won't forget
the little people.
Cleverjoe's Musician's Resource Centre
A sort of, 'cyber hangout,' if you will. Anyway, Clev suggested that, when writing this column, I shouldn't come at it from a strict
musician-type angle per se, but rather I use it to talk about music
industry type stuff that could potentially be of interest to people
visiting the site. More specifically, he thought it would be interesting
to have my take on things, because, while I am a singer and a musician, my
most recent area of employment has been songwriting.