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A service from 'The Serious Writers Guild' at MAKEHITS.COM Written by Dec Cluskey
This Email first mailed to all Members of 'The Serious Writers Guild' and
subscribers to 'One Minute With Dec' on 29.07.02
Member Dave Menzies has secured the gig of a lifetime for his band 'GLASS' ...Edinburgh Festival on Aug 9 at 6pm. Just toured Denmark.
"The first 100 CD's sold out in Woolworths in 3 hours - again thanks to you. We're a total success" David Payne [member no. NET054030W]
================================="One Minute With Dec"
"My Emails are written in good humour, and should be read with a smile"
I like to hear of guys working their socks off...and I don't mean by that working until four/five in the morning in their studio with cans of beer and smoking stuff....that is just 'passing time pretending you are busy on your career'
Are you out playing shows?
I like the guys that are out playing shows, making fans one at a time via their demos, and having fun. That gets people excited about the music. As the word spreads, so will their fanbase. It's a slow process, but it will be a great foundation to build on. You have to prove, every second of your career that your are producing a product that folk actually like and will buy. You should not be in this business to 'prove a point'...to convince the world that 'Britney is crap'...'Eminem is a joke', 'Enrique Iglesias is Middle of the Road granny rubbish.....just ask yourself: "How many did they sell last week?"...then ask yourself: "How many did you sell last week?". Then ask yourself who is right and who is wrong? They are actually up there doing it...are you?
What a compliment:
I often tell the story of Louise Welsh telling me that he was thinking of setting up a 'boy band', in Dublin, to do exactly what my band 'The Bachelors' did in the Sixties and Seventies...I told him it was a great idea..."go for it". And he did...'Boyzone' were born from that late night dinner chat in Leeds, UK [we were filming a TV show for St Patrick's Day, Yorkshire Television]
Last Saturday night, I am told that they actually confirmed that, in a Boyzone Special...they were called 'The Bachelors for the Nineties....nice compliment! And confirmation of the story.
The age old problem facing 'novices'
I still get demos from new Members - although I beg them not to send, until they have been with me at least seven months.
Most of the demos are well presented and well put together...BUT. And there is almost always a ‘but’. My ‘raison d’etre’ for ‘The Serious Writers Guild’ is to show guys in the music business how to make serious money from their songwriting / performing.
With that in mind, I have got to shut all else out of my mind...so.......
To make money the song has got to be sold...to sell it has got to be sellable...to be sellable it has got to be ‘chart potential’...to be ‘chart potential’ it has got to be similar, no, better, than the Number One and the Number Two this week, as bought by twelve to eighteen year olds.
The way I judge a ‘toon’ is simple...I just slot it between the Number One and the Number Three songs this week in the Chart....now, do you see the logic?
Most of these demos would have been a serious chart contender in the days of Jim Reeves, Val Doonican, Bruce Spingstein...but Jennifer Lopez? Eminem? S Club 7? Destiny’s Child? Liberty X? And don’t even think that there is an ‘adult’ record buying market...that is a figment of ‘tired’ writers’ imaginations.
This whole logic is addressed in the first releases of ‘The Serious Writers Guild’, where I advise writers to STOP writing, STOP recording, until they get about three months into the whole deal. They will then UNDERSTAND what a POP toon is, and know how to put it together. By the way, I advise NEVER to revisit old songs....you will always write 50 times better when you start to understand how the money is made.
So what's it all about?
If you are frustrated by 'no success', then I hope this helps.....it is not about getting the song to the right person or having the right star perform it...it’s about writing such an almighty HIT TOON that every star will be beating your door down to get that song!
Being cruel, most of the stuff I receive [and it is the same for almost all record companies and publishers], is 15 years out of date, and there is no one that would want material like this. It is ‘self gratification’, ‘vanity’ music which bears no relationship to what is required today to make money.
Ask yourself the magic question:
When was the last time you listened to the charts? I mean, REALLY listened to the charts?
There is so much ‘wrong’ and ‘missing’ on novice tracks that I never know where to start...oh yes, I do, start by joining 'The Serious Writers Guild' and reading and re-reading 'How To Make A $Million From your Music'.
Check out the new 'totally
secure' pages at: www.makehits.com
This is not a business of ‘getting to the right people’....that is a fallacy...it is a business of WRITING SELLABLE, HIT TOONS... Nothing more, nothing less.
The music business is not rocket science. You make a product, you distribute the product, you promote the product, and people purchase it. And never forget I keep saying 'You' .....And finally:
THE WINNERS:
With the launch of www.makehits.com and our totally secure encrypted secure payment service ['How To Make A $Million from Your Music' now completely available on PDF files] we had a wonderful response to our 'Dec's Silly Competition'. Here are the winners:
"I
don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to
please
everybody."
Bill Cosby
R
egardsDec
"Nobody is going
to care about your career until you start caring about it
yourself."
www.indiebiz.com
Tip of the week: Always wear a 'memorable' outfit to that special function/party/launch. No one ever remembers the guy in the 'ordinary' tee shirt and jeans, or worse still the 'ordinary' suit. And think of the photos? ============================================
Gag of the Week:
"ON MARKS & SPENCER BREAD PUDDING
- Product will be hot after heating
ON BOOTS CHILDREN'S COUGH MEDICINE
- Do not drive car or operate machinery
ON NYTOL (A SLEEP AID)
- Warning: may cause drowsiness
ON A KOREAN KITCHEN KNIFE
- Warning keep out of children
============================================
One Moment with Stuart Goldsmith
"An amazing web-site to give an idea of the scale of the Universe. Designed by the science department of Florida State University. You can navigate backwards and forwards on your own:
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/index.html
the website of my good friend - Stuart Goldsmith
=====================================================
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Heard enough, want to apply to join 'The Serious Writers Guild' and receive the award winning ten month program: "How To Make A $Million From Your Music" now?
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This is not only a guarantee - it's a personal promise. There's no catch, and there's no risk - I personally take ALL the risk.
We never advertise - I know and you know that songwriters/musicians tend to know a lot of other songwriters/musicians. If you sign up today and you introduce others to this program, I'm going to give you a full 35% commission on the $277 sale price for any of your friends who join. This means you could get the full cost of the program back AND make a profit within your very first month as a member - and thereafter it's pure profit for you. This money can help finance your music career, help pay off debts, or WHATEVER! I only want you to recommend this program to others if you seriously mean it.
When you sign up I'll tell you EXACTLY how to go about recommending this program to others and receiving your commissions - in fact, it's all a completely automatic process and I'll give you everything you need to get started!
Heard enough, want to apply now?
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To pay by any other method please check out the payment methods on the secure page. Any queries re payment just contact me directly. I'll get back in touch with you within hours: mailto:dec@makehits.com?subject=Urgent! Alternative Payment Request from MakeHits.com
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