Lets talk about money

Travis Meadows is a good example of how it often works today. He didn’t just sit in the background as a staff writer — he first put out his own songs, very raw and authentic, and that got people’s attention. From there, other artists wanted to record his material or bring him in as a co-writer.

That seems to be the path nowadays: being an artist yourself creates visibility, and then opportunities for cuts or collaborations follow.

Funny enough, we used to do something similar back in my old metal/hardcore band — more with drop tunings though, like Life of Agony. You’d mostly play the bass strings and just lay one finger across for the power chords. After the third song it honestly felt like that finger was about to fall off 😁

Of course in country/folk the open tunings are more about resonance and atmosphere, or for slide playing — totally different vibe, but kind of the same trick in spirit.

A friend of mine actually did make a couple bucks with songwriting — but not in the “traditional” way. He was a well-booked studio and live bass player for about 30 years. At some point he started doing deals: play bass on an album, join a tour as a sideman… and in return get one or two of his songs placed on the album.

With one young artist (who wanted him as her bassist but couldn’t afford to pay), the deal was that one of his songs would be released as a single. A few weeks later his song was on the radio, in the Top 40, and he was out on tour as the support act for Lenny Kravitz.

Now, in his 60s, he’s bought a house, built his own studio, and actually makes a living from it.

That’s true. With everything going through Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music etc., there’s not much coming in from record sales anymore. Does radio airplay even make money these days? For most artists the real income comes from touring. Probably one of the reasons why the Beach Boys have basically been their own oldies-revival band since 1974.

So as I understand it, with SiriusXM it’s basically the fans paying the bill instead of the advertisers. Like Netflix for radio — you subscribe, they keep the lights on, and a slice of that goes back to artists and songwriters. No commercials, just your monthly fee doing all the heavy lifting.

Man common, pick up that guitar you mentioned awhile back, your voice has gotten wild honey sweeter over the years...in the end if you can't please yourself......

Please yourself buddy, your music, your music, your freekin music

Hey I like the potential Vet hook, can't remember did you do a Vet song before??

oh yeah, I'm still hung up on that Black Crow thing, dressed like Johnny Cash😉

Just a thought. But if we are to be realistic, we have to consider the possibility that those songwriters who are making money at it MIGHT just have some skills, talents, and other prerequisites that we (i.e. the songwriters NOT making money) might have in smaller measure - or don't have. In order to keep our expectations real, we have to consider that possibility. We don't have to accept it, but it's important to consider it just to stay grounded in reality.