Thoughts on how to collaborate

[Paulie]

After the 2015 Rally I declared 2016 to be my “Year of the Collaboration.” I kept my word and see at least 60 collaboration project folders on my laptop for the year. All of these were written for libraries and almost all of them have been signed by the libraries they were intended for.

Collaborating can be easy or a pain. If it’s not smooth or fun the collab will not succeed and the writers will probably not work together again. No problem, no hard feelings, it just wasn’t a good match. Other times it will run like clockwork and finished tracks will appear seemingly with ease. You will wish that you had no need to sleep or eat or work your day job because you could just crank out tracks all day with this person.

I’m no pro, that’s for sure, but I like to share what I’ve learned for people still working things out. Paying it forward, as they say. As mainly an instrumental writer here below are some things I’ve learned.

• Find someone that does things you cannot do. For me, I usually look for guitar players and singers.
• Find people already in a library and ask if you can collab to get you into that library. Once you are in you will complete their paperwork and then most likely you can submit to the library directly on your own.
• If you are in a library and know of a talented writer, invite them to collab to help them get into a library or two.
• Don’t be jealous of other collaborators and their success.
• Recognize that people have different work styles and schedules. Talk about project timelines and due dates early in the deal so that someone doesn’t get let down by missing a deadline.
• Get a Box.com or Dropbox.com account to share files. Or use WeTransfer.com.
• Agree on file formats, e.g. .wav at 48k instead of 44.1.
• Learn how to create stems in your DAW. Agree on how much space you should have before the music starts. (4 beats, 8 beats, etc.)
• If writing for a Taxi listing Figure out who will submit to the listing.
• Get your meta data in order, and be consistent. Keep a text file or some other source handy that has your full name, address, phone number and PRO affiliation handy. Make sure this is always entered into your mp3 before uploading to Taxi.
• Ask for feedback and don’t take it personal if a change is suggested. Be straightforward and honest when giving feedback. You both have the same goal, and you are talking about a music cue, not a child.
• Be organized. Keep track of your project files, and never delete them. You never know when a library will ask for something you wrote a year or two ago.
• Communicate regularly. If you have to travel or will be out of pocket, make sure your collaborator knows this so that no deadlines are sacrificed.
• Always backup your data. Storage is so cheap these days, it is very easy to have at least one hard drive dedicated to storing your project files, bounces and software library files. However, even that is not enough. What good are two copies of your stuff if you have a fire or robbery? So, figure out which online/cloud storage solution is best for you and then get your content uploaded. Hard drives will eventually fail, so plan ahead.
• Consider taking on new genres via collaboration. For me, collaborations are about getting into quality libraries and generating as much music for them as I can. Perhaps you can get into a library by working on a genre you may not “like” but can still create. Then, once you are in you can see what else they need and you will probably find things more to your liking.

I’m sure there’s more I can’t think of at the moment. I’d love to hear what other Taxi folks can add to this list.

[FredrikPark]

Thank you so much for your insight from experience, Paulie!

I resonate with a lot of these reminders, and look forward to do more TAXI collabs myself.

[LamarPecorino]

Paulie:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on collaboration. There is much wisdom in what you said. I have co-writing relationships that span over 30 years. Thankfully we discussed the mechanics of the relationship early on. This has become more important as one of my writing partners passed away over a year ago. It helped his heirs with the administration his catalog.

[funsongs]

[*]Get your meta data in order, and be consistent. Keep a text file or some other source handy that has your full name, address, phone number and PRO affiliation handy. Make sure this is always entered into your mp3 before uploading to Taxi.

Hi Paulie.
Likewise, since the 2016 RR, I've increased the number of song projects (only songs at this point) that involve a co-writer/collaborator; so pardon me if my Q's reveal my naivety about this:
I see in iTunes where the prompts are to list info about the song, but where & how do I enter the contact data you mention?
In advance, thanks... for the entire post, too.
Peace.

[Paulie]

Here's how I do it. If you click on the "Artwork" tab you can insert cover art so that your logo appears while playing.

[songstream]

Thank you for this. This will serve as my template with my beginning endeavor to co-write.

[sperljam]

Really helpful post, Paulie. Thanks for sharing. I've yet to co-write with anyone, but it is clearly a great way to grow & learn while making great music with other talented writers. I've heard several people say that you can often create better music in a collaboration than alone. Happy New Year!
E

[melodymessiah]

madonna said it once; surround yourself with brilliant people. easy for her to say

[Kolstad]

Great list, Paulie. Should be a sticky in the forum!

If we follow your pointers, a lot of the "chemistry" issues could turn less important. It's always latent, but once you've got some guidelines like these, you'll be too busy to mess a good collaboration up with rambling

[johncolumbo]

Hey Paulie,
As others have already stated, great post.

One question, do you have standard contracts you get signed between you and your cowriters or do you just put together an email with the questions like who's going to pitch or the % share and then just rely on that?

Thanks,