Run To You

[adrienne]

Jun 10, 2009, 4:41pm, matthoggard wrote:Jun 10, 2009, 4:28pm, claire wrote:You can't go by what you hear on the radio. How far do you think any of us would have gotten if we'd written "River of Love" that George Strait recently recorded? The writers laughed that they'd done Harlan Howard one step better and only used two chords...and the song went to number 1.I keep getting forwards to Lady A, Montgomery Gentry, et al. through SongU. It's a nice pat on the back but any group that writes their own, isn't looking for me.We keep writing, we keep writing better. This past week I was approached by someone who had reviewed some of my very early songs for another writing organization and had torn them to shreds - now the same person is interested in pitching one of them. We keep writing, we keep writing better, we keep networking, and we write what we want to write and not what we're told to write. There's where the joy lies.ClaireAmen to that!!I second that Amen!

[ontariolightning]

If you don't know the songs on country radio then you do not deserve to get any of your songs cut

[claire]

who said they didn't know the songs on country radio?

[ontariolightning]

no one did claire?

[ontariolightning]

its a statement for anyone that wants to write country but doesn't take the time to learn what songs are currently being aired, like the people pitching rodeo songs in 2009, I've heard quite a few of those recently and said it was going to be pitched and I was confusedYou said You can't go by what you hear on the radio. How far do you think any of us would have gotten if we'd written "River of Love" that George Strait recently recorded? The writers laughed that they'd done Harlan Howard one step better and only used two chords...and the song went to number 1.I say you're wrong there because if you don't go by what's on the radio then you're going to pitch a she's country song to jason aldean in half a year but guess what, if you (you in general) went by what was on the radio then you wouldn't have spent 400 dollars on a song that no one can cut because that angle has been overplayed 6 months priorno disrespect or anything but this is the exact reason why amateur songwriters stay amateur songwriters, they just don't pay attention to the radio cause all of the songs suck according to themSmart songwriters know what types of songs are out so they write in accordance to thatProbably more than half of the songwriters write the same one dimensional song every time and you're not going to standout or get a hold or cut that wayBe prepared, write a ballad, a few uptempos of a variety of subjects and angles, write an aabathat's not just about love, be prepared for when you notice there are too many songs about giving lessons or country boy girl songs that inundate the radio right nowwrite the opposite so you're prepared for when it changes direction half a year from nowthat's how you get noticed

[ontariolightning]

Jun 10, 2009, 7:20am, jwebbinspired wrote:





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Is it just me or is this song the opposite of what we are always told to write? There's no story, there's no detail, it's so vague. Strange.Andy here are the writers: (Dave Haywood / Charles Kelley / Hillary Scott / Tom Douglas)When you're Tom Douglas you can break any rule you wantwhen you're trying to break into the business you have to play by the rules

[jwebbinspired]

Jun 10, 2009, 4:28pm, claire wrote:You can't go by what you hear on the radio. How far do you think any of us would have gotten if we'd written "River of Love" that George Strait recently recorded? The writers laughed that they'd done Harlan Howard one step better and only used two chords...and the song went to number 1.I keep getting forwards to Lady A, Montgomery Gentry, et al. through SongU. It's a nice pat on the back but any group that writes their own, isn't looking for me.We keep writing, we keep writing better. This past week I was approached by someone who had reviewed some of my very early songs for another writing organization and had torn them to shreds - now the same person is interested in pitching one of them. We keep writing, we keep writing better, we keep networking, and we write what we want to write and not what we're told to write. There's where the joy lies.ClaireVery well put Claire. What I have realized over the past couple of months is that, yes there is a "formula" to writing hit songs. That formula is just statistically what is successful. But if we always follow rules then it's not art, and if we create art without structure then no one can appreciate it. The business side of the music industry is mostly looking at the formula. But a great song will transcend all those rules such as "The Gambler" or "River of Love" and yes "I Run To You" they are all great songs. And that is the key.And of course it's always refreshing to hear something that breaks the mold on the radio. It's like the sun breaking through the clouds.Andy

[claire]

You said You can't go by what you hear on the radio. How far do you think any of us would have gotten if we'd written "River of Love" that George Strait recently recorded? The writers laughed that they'd done Harlan Howard one step better and only used two chords...and the song went to number 1.I say you're wrong there because if you don't go by what's on the radio then you're going to pitch a she's country song to jason aldean in half a year but guess what, if you (you in general) went by what was on the radio then you wouldn't have spent 400 dollars on a song that no one can cut because that angle has been overplayed 6 months priorno disrespect or anything but this is the exact reason why amateur songwriters stay amateur songwriters, they just don't pay attention to the radio cause all of the songs suck according to them-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------LOL - is that what you got from what I said? What I said was that we as writers can't go by (and "go by" means we can't base what we write by what we hear on) country radio. Sugarland writes all their own material. Lady A cowrites a lot of it. Many of the songs you hear on the radio have been written or cowritten by the artists. What I said was that if any of us wrote a song with two chords in it, George Strait wouldn't record it. If pro writers did it, they went to number 1.As to your quote above, do you realize how many hit songs got to be hit songs after being pitched around Nashville (and passed on) for 5-10 years? One of the biggest guidelines you hear around here is to NOT write what's on the radio today because those songs are mostly several years old. You cannot write a song for Jason Aldean based on what you hear him doing today - by the time he cuts again he'll undoubtedly be going in a different direction. I repeat - you write what you write and what moves you, and you don't "go by" what's on the radio today.For what it's worth, I loved "Stay" by Sugarland. The song was roundly criticized for being whiney and making the woman look like a floor mat. For what it's worth, I am constantly impressed with Sugarland because they can write the poop out of an idea (sh...it happens). For what it's worth, I think there are some amazing songs on country radio - I probably like more of them than most people. And more power to folks like Jamey Johnson for "In Color" and Trace Adkins for "Arlington", two songs that broke the country radio mold (an artist who sings about being dead? Trace? how could you? tell us you're not really a dead soldier...)I didn't say the songs suck. I said that WE wouldn't get a song that had two chords in it cut because WE are expected to outwrite the pros. You gotta read more closely. No disrespect and all.Claire

[ontariolightning]

As to your quote above, do you realize how many hit songs got to be hit songs after being pitched around Nashville (and passed on) for 5-10 years? One of the biggest guidelines you hear around here is to NOT write what's on the radio today because those songs are mostly several years old. You cannot write a song for Jason Aldean based on what you hear him doing today - by the time he cuts again he'll undoubtedly be going in a different direction. I repeat - you write what you write and what moves you, and you don't "go by" what's on the radio today.I said that basically and if george strait heard an awesome song from songu with 2 chords and it fit his album he would cut it

[Casey H]

One thing I noticed songwriters of all genres do (including myself) - is reference songs that were successful despite defying conventional advice for newbies-- type of story, lyric style, structure, etc... It's easy to pick one of those to justify our not wanting to change what we are writing.The way I see it, it comes down to probability. When you follow the "rules", your odds are better than if you don't. Maybe it's 1 in 10,000 if you do it all by the book and 1 in 1,000,000 if not. That doesn't mean the 1 in 1,000,000 is impossible.Somewhere out there are folks who smoked 4 packs of cigarettes a day and drank a pint of Jack Daniels for breakfast each morning AND lived to be 104. But I wouldn't advise that for someone who says they want to live to be 100. Casey