Words and Music

I found this interesting and easy to follow article on Facebook today, and thought to share it here as there are some really useful titbits of information in there. It discusses the various differences in synch licensing contracts, from different sources, plus clear examples of what is a good thing for a songwriter to sign, an OK contract, and a simply terrible contract so far as the songwriter is concerned. There is also some in depth description of just what a synch license is, what it is for and who it affects. This is useful information for any songwriters, and/or artists, starting out in the tv and film music business, as well as some extra detail for those who have a little more experience too. It is just one in a series of articles, the third I think.  I'll share any others that are equally as informative here also. Click here for the article in Digital Music News: 'A Simple Guide to the Best Synch Deal Possible'

A 'Taxi friend', Dave Walton, asked me last year if I'd like to write some lyrics for his daughter's wedding, to be precise the father/daughter dance song for the wedding reception.  Naturally I said yes, as I am ever the romantic and this was a wonderful gesture. The song grew and developed, and we asked Steve Collom to collaborate with us on melody and to sing the song.  Eventually the finished track was used at the wedding - so romantic ! Post wedding, we have tweaked and edited a bit, and are now ready to let the track loose on the world !  It has been purposely written to suit romantic contemporary  film & tv uses, rather than a radio friendly hit song. It's currently still non exclusive, and all licensing inquiries are welcome. Listen to Blanket Of Love on SoundCloud HERE or here...

Just found out that I have a placement on NBC, on the golf channel !  It's my first placement on one of the big three USA channels, so it feels like I've taken the next step up in my career path. This track is a collaboration with my good friend Robbie Hancock.   It's an instrumental piece from one of our songs called "From This Burn".  It starts at 30:53 if you want to check it out here ---> NBC Golf Channel and here is our full song --->   "From This Burn" on Soundcloud The song "From This Burn" is also on Robbie's latest album "Shine", which is available in iTunes, Amazon etc. Hard work and never, ever giving up, works !

I am really happy that Canadian singer/songwriter Robbie Hancock has included 2 songs that I co-wrote with him on his newest album/EP, released just yesterday, entitled " Shine ". The songs are " Our Side Of The Sun " and " From This Burn ", both of which were great fun to write. The album contains five other tracks of modern indie folk music at it's best, and is available from Robbie's website , as well as iTunes, Amazon , Apple Music, Spotify, and Google Pla y. If you would like to listen to snippets from the album tracks, or maybe buy some of the music, here are a couple of links... "Shine" on Robbie Hancock's website: Click here "Shine" on Amazon: Click here

The following is an article written by Diona Devincenzi , a songwriting acquaintance of mine I met through the A&R company TAXI.  It is taken from her website blog, which can be found HERE.   I wanted to share it as I feel it's not only practical and informative, but well written and inspiring. OPPORTUNITIES IN MUSIC LICENSING Part 1 Five platforms where music can make money PLATFORM #1:  Film & +TV There are five platforms where songwriters can make money with their music. In Part 1 of this series, we’ll explore the first platform:  Film & Television. The following is an excerpt from my e-book,  How To Explode Your Income By Licensing Your Songs .  You can download the complete book  here . Let’s look at some of these opportunities in a little more detail. MAJOR NETWORK TELEVISION These are the dramas, comedies, reality shows, entertainment, sports, news programs, news magazines, daytime soap operas, infomercials ca...

Did you know that under USA copyright law, if you give your recording of a cover song away for free (either download or hard copy), you are liable to pay the copyright holder/publisher the statutory 9.1c copyright fee for every single copy you sell or give away ? As per a quote from the IMRO website: "Copyright is an intellectual property right. It allows the creators of original works to control how their work is used and to benefit financially from its use. Copyright in Ireland is regulated by statute ( The Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 )." If you live in Ireland, like myself, the copyright on your music will expire 70 years after your death.  It will then go into the Public Domain, meaning anyone can record it in any way they please, with nothing owing to the original composer/publisher. So if you cover a great hit which is not yet in the public domain, and it goes viral on YouTube, the copyright holder can, and usually will, get YouTube to 'monetize...

I was recently lucky enough to co-write with  Robbie Hancock  of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. The amazing result was " Our Side Of The Sun ", a sunny summer love song to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The song was originally written for the Facebook  GYAWS song-writing group , but as we liked it so much we decided to produce it fully  for film & tv licensing .  I also have to say that Robbie is a sheer joy to work with - very easy going, encouraging and positive at all times.  Hopefully there will be many more songs where this one came from ! If you are interested in licensing this song, please contact Robbie Hancock Productions at  robbiejhancock@gmail.com ,  or Amanda Anderson at  sheeaunmusic@gmail.com The  lyrics  are posted after the SoundCloud widget. LYRICS Verse 1 I like the way you nestle in to my mind Your smiling eyes they draw me in so tight So here we are with all this warmth in our hearts...