Sunday, April 4, 2010

DSA E-News #106 April 2010

Hello Songwriter,

April finds us on stage at the Deep Ellum Arts Festival enjoying the Texas spring weather. We will also be at the Guitar Show at Market Hall the 21-22. This is the best event value with four stages full of great music for three days. Come out to the Guitar show and drop by our booth.


Back by popular demand is Extreme Co-writes at our April 13th Tuesday Meeting. For more details go to events. http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/

The DFW area SWRFA one day event for performing songwriters has been postphoned till the summer. Check out the details on our events page or at: http://www.unclecalvins.org/SWRFA

Quick SX Report: Picked up my friend, Allan McGowan at DFW on Tuesday and grilled steaks out that night. (Good beef is hard to come by in the UK) Wednesday, Don drove us thru the countryside way off the interstate, past the bottle trees in LLano to the Hill County for a gig at the Hill Top Cafe just north of Fredericksburg. Don and I were the featured performers at the Texas Songwriters in the Round event. Great food, fun and friends. Thanks to Jeri for asking us and giving us a night in Merlins Cabin. Nothing like a night on the Llano river for an attitude adjustment.
Austin has become the best place to spend your spring break because of SXSW and all the FREE MUSIC EVENTS. This year I really had problems tweeting my wanderings because twitter was jammed and impossible to get on. On Saturday, it was so cold that the evening found us huddled at the Hilton Bar.
Parties I did this year for free - ASCAP boat, GRAMMY Membership Meeting, Red Gorilla Music Fest, BMI Brunch, Bug Music, San Jose, Brenda & Dave's, Rachael Rays, german Party at the Texas Embassy, British Embassy.
Parties I MISSED for free because there was not enough time: British Bootleg BBQ, SonicBids Party, Bedford Party, Filter Magazine, Austin Town Hall Party, Buffalo Exchange, Canadian Blast, Lunch with the Germans, Sony Music Party, Berklee's Party, Levi's Fader Fort, Irish Breakfast, New West Records, Sonicbids, Spin Party, Vanguard/Sugar Hill/Paste Party, Village Voice. Best party name: South by So What.
Best acts I saw - The Effects - http://www.myspace.com/theeffects, (Very Led Zeppelin)
The Cringe, http://thecringe.com/ (Rachael Rays hubby)
Alejandro Escovedes - http://www.alejandroescovedo.com/ (Very retro R&B sound the year, with big girl choir for backgrounds.)
Shows I missed and regret: Kevin Welch, Buddy Miller, KGSR/Four Seasons breakfast showcases, KEXP Live, NPR Day Show
Best Place to hang: Driskel Hotel Lobby where I was introduced to John Andrews of Mother Earth by my friend, Claus (Sunset Marquis).
QUICK LOOK CALENDAR OF DSA MONTHLY EVENTS - put this in your bookmark.
http://calendar.yahoo.com/dallassongwriters

Hope you had a great Easter weekend.

Songcerely,
Barbe McMillen
Founding President Emeritus
Editor, Songwriters Notes
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Wow! Acoustic Music Camp! What a fun thing to do for the summer! Play music and brush up on your songwriting. Http://www.hcamp.org
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1. 2009-10 SONG CONTEST - Winners to be announced April 15.
Semifinalists were posted on the song contest website on March 15th.
Http://www.dsasongcontest.blogspot.com/

Entries are now in the judging process.

Important Dates

Submission Deadline:
February 15, 2010
Drawing For Free Ipod:
March 9, 2010
Semi-Finalists Announced:
March 15, 2010
Finalists & Grand Prize Winners Announced:
April 13, 2010

THANKS TO TRADITION GUITARS FOR GENEROUSLY DONATING THE GUITAR TO OUR GRAND PRIZE WINNER.

2008 SONG CONTEST - WINNERS

Compare your songs against our winners last year.
http://www.dallassongwriters.com/songcontest/2008/2008winners.htm

Here is winning songs in a series of three podcasts at:
http://www.dallassongwriters.podomatic.com/
2008 SEMIFINALISTS
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/semifinalists.htm

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2. SONGS FROM THE SOUL OF SERVICE
http://www.songssoulservice.org

The Cd of the winning songs, Songs From the Soul of Service Vols. 1 & 2 are available online at:http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE&page=SSS4

If you missed the concert, you can catch the Tribute to our fallen soldiers from DFW at our Podomatic site:

You Know Me Tribute to Fallen
URL:%20http://dallassongwriters.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-05-21T21_14_44-07_00

Read the latest story about this years winners
http://songssoulservice.blogspot.com/

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3. DSA MEETINGS -

Thanks everybody for attending the 2nd Tuesday meeting in March. It was a fun meeting! I wasn't sure if our experiment with Skype would work, but we had no major technical issues.

Fett did an incredible job with his lecture about inexpensive recording techniques. I'd love to hear your feedback on the meeting if you have any.

Also our song contest was exciting and we had some great songs in the running. Here are the top three songs:
1st place: Deidre Thornell's "Destination Unknown"
2nd place: Brooke Malouf's "There's a Rainbow Somewhere"
3rd place: James Pappas' "Dream Girl" (which just edged out Hilary Roberts' "The Cure")

BIG CONGRATULATIONS Deidre Thornell for winning the DSA March Madness song contest! Deidre is the proud winner of a guitar/vocal demo at Nashville's Azalea Studios (http://www.azaleamu sic.com).

Our April meeting will be more low key but still informative and fun. Stay tuned for details!

Regards,
Bob Paterno


MONTHLY MEETING - http://www.dallassongwriters.com/meetingblog.htm

2nd Tuesday Extreme Co-Writing Roundtables - April 13

Have you listened to a song that you figured out before it was over? It's kind of a let down, isn't it? It's like reading a mystery book and knowing who did it by the end of the first chapter. Songwriters should strive to approach ideas from new perspectives.

If you come to our April meeting, you'll get the chance to gauge your own ideas against your peers. This meeting will be like other group co-write meetings but we're adding a twist: you've got homework!

Write a song called "Too New York For Me" at home. It's preferred that you finish the song, but if you just have a verse or a chorus, that's ok,
too. Print out your lyrics and bring a few copies with you.

At the meeting, you'll get to compare your lyrics and ideas with your peers. Your song might pair up well with a co-writer's song. You never know...

If you're a lyricist only, I suggest that you base your lyrics off of Easton Corbin's song, "A Little More Country Than That". You can even use the same music and melody to write the lyrics. Later on, you can go back and re-write your melody.

So come on out to our April 13th meeting and learn something about your perspective.
Join us at at 6:30pm at the Center for Community Cooperation 2900 Live Oak (Oak Corner Dallas, TX)

First we will ask volunteers to share their lyrics for everyone. Then we will break everyone up into smaller groups of no more than 4 people.

Hope you can make it out!!

Best regards,
Bob Paterno

NO Critiques this month

Sign in & Netowrking begins at 6:30
Announcements at 7PM
Program about 7:15 - No Guest Speaker

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DSA T-SHIRTS $10 at the meeting (you must ask me for the special) or online by mail $15

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MONDAY SONG SWAPS for peer critique
Song Swap Workshops
Monthly 7-10 PM
Free, Visitors Welcome
Where songwriters perform their songs for peer review. Bring your guitar and a few lyric sheets. This is like an old fashioned guitar pull with comments between songs.

http://www.dallassongwriters.org/2009/10/song-swap-workshops.html


FIRST MONDAY in East Dallas
Half Price Books, 5803 E Northwest Hwy Dallas, TX 75231-6519 (214) 379-8000
Roger Russell, Karon Hi & Jame Pappas coordinating.
We'll be in the Community Room at the back left in the building.

THIRD MONDAY in PLANO -
Tino's at Collin Creek Mall- Steve Sullivan, coordinator.
Tinos Mexican Restaurant Collin Creek Mall, Plano, Tx 972 2572

BEDFORD - Karon Hi has found a place, but need the bodies to form a group.

Are you interested in meeting in the Midcities? Let us know. Coordinator, Karon High would like to meet in Euless.

The Directors feel that DSA can support a number of these small area Song Swaps which are beneficial to attaining crucial feedback for developing your works in progress and as Annie Benjamin pointed out, works best in small groups of 10 or less. If you live in a suburb and would like to host one in your area, please reply to the group and ask for interested attendees in your area. Three people make a group for peer review or interested co-writers. I know several people who have attended the Song Swap in the past have developed beneficial co-writing relationships.
Please email DSA or talk to a board member if you'd like to start one in your neighborhood.
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4. SHOWCASES & OPEN MICS -
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/showcasesblog.htm

OPEN MICS

DUNN BROTHERS COFFEE HOUSE -
EVERY 3RD THURSDAY - 7:00pm to 9:00pm


TEXAS SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND at Hilltop Cafe, Castell, Tx 76831
Texas Songwriters in the Round is beginning its 10th year of songwriters series.
We are currently meeting at the Hill Top Cafe on Hwy 87 9 miles north of Fredericksburg, Tx.
The Showcase is every 3rd Wednesday with our Star.
The group also meets every wednesday on the patio for songwriters support, performance and sharing.
512-217-4596

Scott Sean White's Acoustic Songwriters Nights At Reflections

REFLECTIONS inside the Admiral Hotel at the corner of Brown Blvd and Hwy 360. 6pm-10pm each night. The best song each night wins $50 and the chance to compete for the $300 GRAND PRIZE on March 31st!
Here's how it'll work:
Email, text, or call me 972-741-3330 to sign up for one of 12 slots available each night. It'll be a first-call/text/email, first-serve booking policy. Each writer will share a half-hour on stage with another writer playing 3 songs each. At the end of the night - the judges will award the $50 prize and reserve your spot in the finals on March 31st. You can compete every week of the contest if you'd like. If you win with one song one week - you can compete with different songs the next week so you CAN win multiple spots with multiple songs in the finals!
I will be your host for the evening - along with a different "featured" co-host each week. We will perform a few songs as well but are NOT eligible to compete for the prize. If you win multiple nights, you could also earn yourself one of the paid co-host slots in future weeks!
Some basic rules, info, and requirements:
- ALL GENRES ARE WELCOME!
- Sound is provided.
- You must be able to perform your song live either by playing and singing yourself, or by singing and having an accompanist. No singing to pre-recorded tracks, sorry.
- There will be a keyboard provided.
- If you play guitar, you must bring your own.
- Unless you are booked in the 6pm or 6:30pm slot, you must arrive at least an hour before your scheduled slot. (The 6:30 slot can arrive at 6pm.)
- In order to win, you must be present at 10pm. Otherwise, the prize goes to the next best song who is still in attendance. $300 grand prize at the end of June. Here are the dates if the Arlington show is easier for ya:
Tues, April 27th
Tues May 25th
Tues, June 22nd
To compete, email or call Scott: profd2 at tx.rr dot com
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5. LYRIC CONTEST - Next deadline June 30th.

Winter 2010 is currently being judged

FALL 2009 WINNERS

FINALISTS

Winner _ When Lambs Become Lions by John Thomas Lane
2nd place_ The Knock by Charles David Risinger
HM_From A Distance by Akin Akintola

VIEW WINNERS, LYRICS & COMMENTS AT WEBLINK BELOW


LYRICISTS GAIN RECOGNITION THROUGH COMPETITION

Next Lyric Contest Deadline is March 30th, 2010 for Spring Lyric Contest
Entry fee is $10
Please see lyric contest webpage for details.
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/lyriccontestblog.htm

October 2009 Hardcopy issue of Songwriters Notes has the last two Lyric contest winning songs listed:
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=1520070&da=y
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6. MEMBER NEWS -


If you are not a DSA Member, you missed these tips sent out through our yahoo group:

* Publisher looking for Childrens songs

* Artists/Producers looking for original material for recording artists

* Major Brand X (To be disclosed at a later time) Seeks Independent artist for music campaign.

* Where to get your cd reviewed

* Music related job listing

* Cheap and free tickets

Wanna get involved? Become a committee member. It's fun!
To view a list of the 2010 Officer & Directors and Committees go to this link:
http://dsadirectors.blogspot.com/

2010 DSA Board of Directors

Met to Elect Officers on January 12th to elect officers. Click on the link above to view your officers for 2010.


WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: Krystal Pinkins, Adrienne Wetzel, Baylee Kuss, Nathan Alan Toon, Coy Poitier, Chris Rucker

THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP: Ken Golden, James Foster, James Pappas, Morri Hartgraves, Mimi Balkey, Scott White, Michael Roth, Donna Lisa, Roger Russell, Karon High, Sharon Pisors & Ann Cornelius

TIME TO RENEW: The following members owe dues:


YOU HAVE A TWO MONTH GRACE PERIOD TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP OR YOU WILL BE DROPPED FROM THE MEMBER GROUP
NOV: Ian Dickson, Joni Ringo, Don Townsley, Steve Ritter, Arek Religa, Blake Milton,
DEC: Jeremy Ellis, Tommy Byrd, Adrian Hall, John Hannun, RX Bertoldi, Randy Heavin, & John Tracy Wilson
JAN: Troy Werner, Annie Benjamin, Charles Risinger, James Guittard, Warren Lett, Ryan Galloway.
FEB: John Metz, Peter Robinson, Dennis Carlan, Emile Pandolfi, Marc McClure, Darren Speed, David Firman, Kate McGunnigle, Dan Morehouse, Richard Gardzina, Jose Gomez, Noel Cohen, Bryan Bryant, Casey Desmond, Trevor Dahlen, John Chandler, Allan Von, & Jack Hackworth, Natalia Pikoul, Michael Constiatineo, Sean Murphy, Brandi Sidoryk, MarkStepakoff, Jen Carter-Kelly, Frank Fulton, Kevin McSpadden, Lisa Simmons, Bill DiLuigi, John Mears, Joey Avalos, Niel Nasset, Garrison Doles, Steven Richards
MARCH: Kathy Nichols, Bobby Jo Chandler, Lisa Warner, Matt Pitcher
PLEASE RENEW THIS MONTH: Ed Williams, Janis McQuinton, Tom Thomas, Michelle Fosse, Gerald Patton

Renew your membership online,
You'll find the link to the store on the panel to the right
Or paste this link in your browser: http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE&&
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7. WORKSHOPS - DSA WORKSHOPS ARE SPONSORED BY BMI
(Each month we have a workshop at our monthly meeting on the 1st Monday, 3rd Monday and 2nd Tuesday. see item 3 above.) http://www.dallassongwriters.com/meetingblog.htm

Occasionally we bring in special instructors for songwriting, performance or music education special workshops. Look for Richard Leigh in May.
OTHER WORKSHOPS
From time to time will let you know about other workshops.
Collin College Music Buz Workshops on Monday Nights 7PM
April 12: Linda Hollar of Harder Beat Magazine will talk on Magazines for Musicians
Room L135 in Library building at Preston Ridge Campus
Public invited. FREE

May 14th: 2010 Wildflower! Songwriting Workshop with Buddy Mondlock.
http://wildflowerfestival.com/ and click on "Contests" then "Songwriter School." The deadline is May 1 so don't delay as the workshop is limited to 20 students. All students will receive a one-day pass to the Festival valued at $20.

There will be panel discussions at the SWRFA one day event on June 26th 9AM-6PM
http://www.unclecalvins.org/SWRFA


http://dallassongwritersworkshops.blogspot.com/
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8. Events -

Featuring local and worldwide events of the songwriting community including, seminars, conferences, & showcases. Click on the link #8 to the right or copy and paste this link in your browser.
http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/


APRIL
2-4 Deep Ellum Festival http://www.meifestivals.com/
14 Grammy Advocacy Day in Washington DC
16-18 Dallas Guitar Show http://www.guitarshow.com/
17 - North Texas Musicians Meeting, Dallas Public Library
20 - California Copyright Conference, Sherman Oaks, CA www.theccc.org/reserve.php
22 - 24 I Create Music ASCAP EXPO http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/events/expo/
25 - 28 MuseExpo, LA http://museexpo.com/
24 Alhambra International Guitar Competition, South Side Dallas MusicaForTheWorld.com
28 - Song Hall Writers Workshop A, New York, NY www.songhall.org
23-24 30-May 1 Sync Up Conference, New Orleans

MAY
9-16 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat
14-16 Wildflower Festival http://www.wildflowerfestival.com/

JUNE
2-6 Hill Country Acoustic Music Camp http://www.hccamp.org/



OCT
11-16th Texas Songwriters Cruise http://www.txsongwriterscruise.com/
For more details visit the events page.
Also, hear the song contest winners podcast from this page.

http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/


TEXAS CONCERT LISTINGS
http://www.dirtylinen.com/special/dl-states/TEXAS.html

Comprehensive VENUE LIST - compliments of Uncle Calvins
http://www.unclecalvins.org/OtherVenues.aspx

DALLAS TEXAS CONCERT LISTINGS
http://mojam.wolfgangsvault.com/concerts/city?city=Dallas,TX

Dallas Morning News Guide Live Music Listing ( hit search after opening the page)
http://listings.guidelive.com/portal/page?_pageid=33,97314&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
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9. Featured Articles:

VIDEO: Music in The Heart Is a Drum Machine

Review: Science Trips Out on "Music in The Heart Is a Drum Machine"
By Scott Thill -- What is music? It's a simple question, but it leads director Christopher Pomerenke in many complicated artistic and scientific directions in his documentary The Heart Is a Drum Machine on
DVD. It's an expansive, inviting film, which embraces everything from Voyager's Golden Record and aboriginal funeral chants to brain-music therapy and pop music branding

Jazzman Turns 80, Pondering Music's Metaphysics
By Corey Kilgannon --
Ornette Coleman, who helped revolutionize jazz more than a half-century ago, when he appeared at the Five Spot in November 1959 with his quartet, is slim and spry and a clear-headed thinker who cares little about nonmusic logistics. He speaks as he plays, in a probing way disdainful of assumptions and clichés. He enjoys rigorous discussion on art and knowledge and pulls you into the intricacies of the metaphysics of musical truths. AUDIO: Ramblin'

God Bless America, Land That I Love
By Richard K. Hayes -- In the days and weeks that followed the horrendous events of September 11 ... God Bless America that was on the lips of Americans everywhere. ... Today's younger generations may not be familiar with the origin and history of the song
Irving Berlin considered his most important composition. It was written during the First World War, for an army camp show where Berlin was stationed: Camp Yaphank on Long Island. The show's producers rejected it as too jingoistic, so Berlin placed it in a trunk of rejected manuscripts. There it lay for twenty years ... [VIDEO: Kate Smith sings "God Bless America."]

MUSIC BUSINESS

Bob Paterno's blog Making Music Making Money
http://www.makingmusicmakemoney.blogspot.com/

Bob Paterno interviews former CEO of the mega-successful Gaylord Entertainment company, Terry London.

MySpace Outlines Makeover after Exec Shake Up
By Ryan Nakashima - Long-ago lapped by Facebook in popularity and with fast-growing Twitter on its tail, social networking site MySpace is planning a series of updates over the next months that will link its users' posts to those sites more easily and carve out its niche as an entertainment hub more clearly

LONDON: Pink Floyd Battles EMI in Online Royalties Case
Reuters - Pink Floyd on Tuesday launched legal action against record label EMI in a case that centres around royalty payments and how music is sold in the digital age. The group, which signed with EMI over 40 years ago and whose back catalog has been outsold only by that of the Beatles, is disputing how online royalty payments and the marketing of their music are calculated. [Thanks to Jimmy Webb for the link.]

Pandora: In the Middle of the Music
By Claire Cain Miller -- How will we listen to music on the Internet in the future? Record labels have resisted licensing their full music catalogs to free, ad-supported Web sites that play specific songs on demand. Subscription services like Mog are getting more traction. But one of the labels' biggest concerns remains: If people can listen to whatever they want online, why would they buy music?

What's the Future for Songwriters and Publishers?
By Donald Passman. -- Passman is an entertainment lawyer at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown, Inc., Beverly Hills. He is also the author of
All You Need to Know About the Music Industry.

Three Steps To Inexpensively Winning The Search Engine Game
By Bruce Warila -- Sites that are interlinked together are subwebs (subsets) within the World Wide Web. Search engines rank and score websites by measuring the authority and the authenticity of every subweb on the Internet. The question every marketer should have is: how do I strengthen my subweb?

YouTube Sets its Sights on Independent Musicians
By Alex Pham -- YouTube wants to rock MySpace. The video website is expected to announce plans to entice musicians by offering to share ad revenues

Songs in Movies, TV Shows, and Ads: How the Licenses Work
By George Howard --I get asked this question (or a variant on it) more than just about any other music business related topic. I get it; it ain't easy to understand, but it's not that hard, and, understand it you must.

Protecting The Art Of The Album
By James Poulter -- How Pink Floyd may have saved the LP from digital extinction.

10 Great Ideas for Bands and Musicians to Increase Online Sales
[I'm not endorsing any of the products suggested here - I haven't tried any of them ... but, the general gist of what new artists should consider to advance their careers makes this worth a read. DK]

Music Licensing For Dummies, Smarties, and The Rest of Us.
By Nikki Lynette -- A few weeks ago, I did a blog discussing a phone call that I got from MTV. They called me (unexpectedly) and asked to license my music. That rocks. ... After discussing my licensing agreement on Twitter I soon learned that a lot of independent artists don't know what music licensing is or how to get their music licensed. While I can't give you a definitive answer on the best strategy for you to take to get placements for your music, I can give you my point of view as somebody who has been doing commercials professionally and licensing music for the past 5 years. I hope this helps.

Glossary of Terms Used in the Music Industry
Compiled by Mario F. Gonzalez, Esq.

CRAFT OF SONGWRITING
Barbe McMillen's blog, The Craft of Songwriting
http://craftofsongwriting.blogspot.com/

LITERARY DEVICES - Part 2 Similes
Let's look at some tools and formulas help you build similes.


Online Thesaurus & Rhyming Dictionary

http://www.rhymezone.com//


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10. Song Contests
See contest details at:
http://songcontests.blogspot.com/


BW Stevenson Performing Songwriters Contest Deadline: April 12

4TH ANNUAL TRCOA UNSIGNED ARTIST COMPETITION
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11. Songwriting Resources

Links to websites about songwriting, performance, music industry.
http://songwritingresources.blogspot.com/

DSA Book Store - reviews, links, lists of recommended reading, and what's in the DSA Library.

http://dsabookstore.blogspot.com/

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12. Best Songs of the 2nd Tuesday Meeting

JAN 2010
Man Card by Brooke Malouf
By Myself by Nancy Rynders

FEB
This Love by Bob Paterno

MARCH MADNESS - no critiques this month


Download a pdf hard copy of the Oct 2009 Songwriters Notes with 2008 best songs of the meeting winners announced.
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=1520070&da=y

To view past winners go to the Best Songs blog. http://bestsongsofthemeeting.blogspot.com/
To hear the winners go to our myspace page.

Did you know that A&R reps from labels and music publishers are listening to our Myspace page each month?

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I've talked about the musical that I've been working on for it seems like an eternity.

You can listen to the musical numbers from the show at:


Thanks for reading this far. If you have any suggestions for the newsletter, please let me know. Follow me on Twitter @barbemcmillen. Give me a tweet.



Songcerely,
Barbara McMillen, Editor
Songwriter Notes
Founding President Emeritus, DSA

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