PUBLISH AND BE DAMNED!

In recent years, Irish songwriters and composers have had phenomenal successes in the international music arena. In the past year alone, newcomers like The Cranberries and Eleanor McEvoy have had their work exposed and aired to millions all over the US, while other longer-established artists like Mary Black and Christy Moore continue to sell more and more records in markets as diverse as Japan and Australia. Add to this the continued success of U2, Enya and other relative newcomers like Therapy? and D:Ream and it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that music is the one growth industry in Ireland that seems destined to keep on growing.

The benefits accruing to Irish songwriters and publishers as a result of this success are considerable. We tend to think of our successful home-grown bands and musicians in terms of singing and playing music, of performing. Publishing and songwriting is very often considered secondary to the main business of music, whether it's recording or live work. But publishing is becoming increasingly important in terms of providing income and generating revenue, not only for performers and musicians but for non-performing songwriters and publishing companies as well.

It’s an often overlooked fact that songs and pieces of music are not only released on albums and singles and played on the radio. They are increasingly being utilised also in a variety of other media such as TV, film, video and advertising. To take an example, Clannad’s `Harry’s Game’ started out life as the theme from a British television series of the same name. It subsequently became a hit single, also appearing as an album track. At around the same time the song was featured in the opening sequence of U2’s concert video Under A Blood Red Sky. It eventually appeared on two Clannad compilation albums as well as on other `various artists’ compilations. More recently the song was featured in a major TV advertising campaign in the US for Volkswagen cars, resulting in the song being released on single in America – ten years after its initial recording! ‘Harry’s Game’ has earned income for the songwriters from its use in each of these media over the years and continues to be an important source of income. This is just one example of how a song or a piece of music can continue to earn revenue and provide an income long after it’s initial release. In effect, the piece of music has become an invisible export, though it’s rarely seen in that light in our narrowly focused economic system.

In many ways Irish songwriters have become the unsung heroes of the music industry. Every piece of music heard on the radio has been written by someone (not necessarily the performer) and Irish songwriters have made their presence increasingly felt in recent years. Remember, it was an Irish songwriter (Mick Hanly) who wrote the “most played country song on US radio” recently and it was an Irish songwriter (Paul Brady) who had one of his compositions featured on Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy award-winning Nick Of Time album. Even the King of rock and roll, himself, Elvis Presley recorded a song written by an Irish songwriter (Phil Coulter). And whatever you might feel about it, the Eurovision song contest has been won by Irish songwriters five times to date, including for the past two years in a row.

The message going out to the international music community has to be (to mis-quote a sentiment oft-heard on Irish radio for many years): If you do sing a song, sing an Irish song!

Credit is due too to Irish performers and artists for continuing to support the work of indigenous songwriters. Mary Black for example could easily have chosen to sing cover versions of already tried and trusted hit songs (as many Irish performers had done in the past). Instead, at the beginning of her career she chose to use material from Irish songwriters like Noel Brazil, Jimmy McCarthy and Mick Hanly. It has proved to be an inspired move on her part. Not only has she found quality songs which have become exclusively identified with her, she has also increased the standing and bolstered the reputation of Irish songwriters, something which will pay dividends for years to come.

There are, broadly speaking three different categories of songwriters. Bands like U2, and Hothouse Flowers, An Emotional Fish, Therapy? and Rollerskate Skinny who play original material, are songwriters in their own right. Normally band compositions are written by either one or two main songwriters in the band as in Lennon/McCartney or Jagger/Richards but often the whole band has an input and they collectively share the credit for writing the song.

Then there are the singer songwriters like James Taylor, Chris Rea and Phil Collins, performers who write and sing their own songs and who have an easily identified style. Van Morrision, Luka Bloom and Paul Brady would be well-known Irish operators. The third and often forgotten group are composers who do not normally perform but who write material for others.

Some of the classic pop songs were written by writers in this group and they continue to be an important source of hit tunes. Some people are born great singers and others have an inspired songwriting ability. Rather than have a great singer sing one of his or her own substandard offerings it makes absolute sense for them to seek out quality songs. Artists as diverse as Cliff Richard, Rod Stewart, Willie Nelson and Dusty Springfield – to name just four –have been doing this successfully for years.

SO YOU WANT TO GET PUBLISHED

How should a songwriter present his or her work to potential publishers and record companies? Clive Hudson who runs Round Tower Music receives quite a few tapes from potential songwriters, and based on his own experience he offers a quick checklist for anyone contemplating sending demos to publishers and record companies.

(a) Do not include more than four songs on any tape you send to a record company or publisher. This is important, as they simply do not have the time to listen to them. You should be able to make an impact and display your versatility on two or three songs so pick your best numbers and give it your best shot.

(b) Include a contact address and phone number on anything you send. This may seem blindingly obvious as advice but it's surprising the number of tapes that arrive without any contact number. Also please remember to include an SAE if you want the tape back.

(c) Try to present your demo in the best possible way. Sloppiness is not a good advertisement for your product. Usually, badly presented tapes contain badly presented music, although Clive Hudson admits that this is an unfortunate generalisation as some of the best stuff he has heard has been badly presented which, when you think of it, is even more foolish. Why would a talented musician or songwriter want to show their work in such a bad light?

(d) Lastly, study your potential market. Don't send a tape with heavy metal songs to a company or publisher who specialises in folk music or vice versa. Do your research and find out which companies might be interested in the type of music you play. You will save a lot of bother for everyone concerned and you will also save yourself time – and money.

DO THE WRITE THING!

A brief history of songwriting presented by COLM O’HARE

There are as many

different approaches to songwriting as there are varieties of songs. The supposed geniuses who can sit down and knock out a couple of instant classics of an afternoon are a rare breed indeed, if they ever existed in the first place. Although there have been great songs written in a very short space of time it's likely that the melodies of such songs already existed in the minds of the creators long before they sat down to put pen to paper.

On the face of it, songwriting appears to be an ideal way of making a living. You write a few songs, have them recorded by a superstar or two who sells millions of copies and you sit back and watch the money roll in. If only it was as simple as that! Most songwriters take years to perfect their craft and even longer to persuade others to record and perform their efforts.

Writing for others is a real skill. Not only do you have to try and cater for their particular tastes and requirements but you have to convince them that the song is worth singing.

Back in the days of Tin Pan Alley and Broadway musicals it was the songwriter who was the king, and who reigned supreme within the music business. Musicians and performers were often simply employees who were paid union rates to play what they were told. In those days, almost every middle class home in America had a piano in the front parlour and the publishing industry grew out of sales of sheet music of the hit songs of the day. Tunesmiths like Rogers and Hart, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin were hugely influential and made enormous sums of money for their efforts.

In the early days of rock and roll in the 1950's it was still rare for the artists and performers to write their own material. There was a steady demand for good original songs to satisfy the ever changing whims of the teen market and hit factories like the Brill Building in New York supplied the record companies with a constant stream of hits. In those days songwriters were often employed working in offices side-by-side where they composed songs to order.

If that sounds unromantic or

a battery-hen approach to songwriting, it certainly produced one of the periods when hits were at their most consistent in the brief history of pop music. Writers like Carole King & Gerry Goffin and Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil turned out hit after hit including classics like ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow’ and ‘You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling’. In its heyday The Brill Building team placed over two hundred songs on the pop charts during their reign – an astonishing achievement which remains unequalled to this day.

The music industry is far too diverse and fragmented for that particular era to ever return although there have been some mainly producer-led “hit factories” in latter years like Stock-Aitken-Waterman who dominated the UK charts in the mid to late eighties with their familiar brand of dance-oriented pop tunes. Nonetheless, some of the principles of the Brill Building philosophy remain true today, especially in places like Nashville – the main one being a disciplined approach to the craft of writing songs.

Songwriters shouldn’t wait for inspiration to strike. It usually doesn’t! The most successful writers have always adopted a workmanlike approach to their craft. Some even keep office hours, sitting down at the piano or with a guitar, trying out chord progression and riffs and combining them with melodies. A lot of what comes out will be unsuitable and subsequently thrown out but with perseverance something promising usually emerges.

Some writers also tape pieces of music and put them away for future use. Paul McCartney has confessed to having a sack of cassettes full of musical doodles and ideas which he turns to every now and then, to see if anything is worth following up.

Not so much recently, I suppose. Keep trying Paul!

AVOIDING THE PITFALLS

DISPUTES BETWEEN artists and record companies or between members of bands and their managers are sadly almost par for the course in the music industry. There’ve been some legendary disputes in the past like the acrimonious parting of the Beatles and the current one between George Michael and his record company.

When Eurovision winner Johnny Logan won the contest in 1982 he spent the following year in and out of court in an effort to resolve various contractual difficulties which arose after his win. At the time of writing, U2 are pursuing an action against the PRS in Britain for monies they claim are owed to them in respect of public performances of their work.

It is therefore vital that musicians, bands and songwriters ensure that they receive first class legal advice before entering into any agreements with record companies, publishers or management agencies.

David A. Reilly BA DLS provides a full legal service to the entertainment and music industry. He has acted on behalf of numerous well known artists and has been involved in several successful cases recently. He stresses the importance of good legal representation for musicians and artists. “Bands and musicians who are more artistically inclined may not feel the need for legal advice of any kind,” he says. “But it is in their own interest to become familiar with the legal side of the business. Failure to do so may cost them dearly in the long run.”

Reilly states that many disputes are settled satisfactorily before any court action is necessary. “Most disputes in fact don't come to court and are settled before they reach that stage,” he says, “which is always very desirable for both parties as court action can be very expensive.”

THEY WRITE THE SONGS THAT MAKE THE WHOLE WORLD SING

COLM O’HARE REPORTS ON THE SUCCESS OF IRISH SONGWRITERS.

Ain't no reason to stop now!

Mick Hanly has, after years in the business, become one of Ireland's most successful songwriters. His song “Past The Point Of Rescue’ was a number one hit in the American country charts and he has written songs which have been recorded by Mary Black and Moving Hearts. When writing songs he adopts the approach of sitting down with a guitar and a portable tape recorder from early morning to mid-day and working away methodically, in the hope that he might come up with something worthwhile.

“It can be frustrating,” he admits. “Especially when you spend a couple of hours working away and absolutely nothing comes out of it. I often envy other creative people like writers for example. When a novelist or writer sits down for a number of hours each day they'll probably have a few thousand words by the end of the week. Whether it's good or bad, they'll still have something to work with. I find with songwriting, the song is either there or it isn't.”

Unlike other writers, Mick is not inclined to be inspired while touring or out on the road. “I need to be ready with the guitar and the tape deck,” he says. “Tunes or melodies that might strike me at other times don't tend to sound as good when I get around to playing them or trying them out.”

He also confesses that songwriting doesn't get any easier despite his recent success. “I wish I knew the secret,” he laughs, “and I'd be able to run off hit after hit, although the one thing experience does is, you tend to recognise dross when you see it. If something just isn't working out you learn to scrap it fairly quickly and move on to something else.

“The worst feeling of all,” he admits , “is when a song is finished, a terrible feeling comes over you and you know you have to start from scratch and go through the same agonizing process all over again.”

Mick says that he doesn't try to visualise any particular arrangement when he's writing a song. “The song has to stand on its own for me,” he says. “If it doesn't seem complete when I play it, I wouldn't be too happy about anyone else doing it, whatever they might add to it during the recording process.

“One piece of advice I would offer to aspiring songwriters,” he concludes, “is not to be afraid to write songs that might sound like other songs. Music is generally derivative and let’s face it, none of us is saying anything totally new. Even if a song sounds vaguely like another song it'll soon take on a life of its own and that's the important thing.”

Asked which song does he often wishes he'd written himself, Mick chooses ‘Marie’ by Randy Newman. “It's a great song,” he says. “It's as near perfect as you can get, both lyrically and melodically, although there are lots of other songs I'd call favourites. ‘She's Leaving Home’ by the Beatles is another one that comes to mind.”

SOMETHING EXTRA

Jimmy McCarthy, composer of songs like ‘Katie’ and ‘As I Leave Behind Neidin’ for Mary Black and ‘Ride On’ for Christy Moore has a different approach when it comes to writing songs. He usually starts out with a central lyrical idea which becomes the main focus for the song. He then works on the melody.

“Sometimes I find I can box myself into a corner if I write a complete melody and then attempt to fit the words to it,” he says, “although it occasionally works.” He is in agreement with Mick Hanly in that writing a new song is like starting out for the first time. “I like to try a different approach everytime I begin a new song.” he says. “I tend to try and bring in all sorts of new influences – everything from sean nós to eastern music.’

Jimmy doesn't believe in sitting down and systematically working at writing the song. “If I don't feel it coming, all the perseverance in the world won't help. I'd rather leave it and come back to it later,” he says. “In fact I'd rather not finish a song too quickly, the longer it takes me to write a song the better it usually is for it. Sometimes even after it's been recorded, by myself or someone else, there is always the temptation to change something and make various adjustments and improvements to it.”

He doesn't record anything until it is more or less complete. “I like to work on the song quite a bit before committing anything to tape,” he says. “If I don't remember it, the chances are, it isn't worth remembering anyway.”

Jimmy McCarthy likes to think that his songs are genuinely original. “I write from a more folk background,” he says, “although I would consider myself as being a folk/pop songwriter. Within rock there are so many standard riffs and phrases which have been rehashed so much that they've been almost totally exhausted at this stage. I'd like to think that my songs are as original as I can make them.”

Bands tend to approach the songwriting process a little differently to solo writers. Usually one or two main songwriters emerge from within the group and work closely together. Sometimes it can be a match made in heaven as with Lennon/McCartney where two brilliantly gifted and inspired songwriters came together to write some of the greatest pop tunes ever written.

Tom Dunne is lead singer with Something Happens who are currently ensconced in the studio putting the finishing touches to their fourth album. He explains his own approach to writing songs with other members of the band. “Usually Ray Harmon (guitar player) comes up with the basic riff or chord progression and I try to put lyrics to it,” he says. “The song will normally go through a good few changes and alterations before we go into the studio to record it.

“Even in the studio the producer usually makes suggestions about parts of songs that need something extra. We normally know it ourselves but it sometimes takes another pair of ears to pinpoint exactly what a song needs.”

PARTICULAR ARTIST

Tom doesn't usually sit down and try to write a song from scratch without anything to go on. “I did try to write that way at one time,” he says “but it never really worked for me. I need to have some sort of basic melody or riff to work with, otherwise it tends to be a waste of time just sitting there waiting for inspiration.”

On the question of trying to be totally original he says that Something Happens occasionally come up with a sound or riff that might be derivative of another song. “It happened with ‘Hello, Hello, Hello (Petrol)’,” he says. “At the time, somebody suggested that the guitar riff sounded a bit like That Petrol Emotion, so we decided to add the word ‘Petrol’ to the song title as a kind of acknowledgement. But the connection is never made now, and I think the song is now recognised as being very much our own.”

Brendan Graham would describe himself as a non-performing songwriter and has had his songs covered by artists of the calibre of Hal Ketchum, Daniel O'Donnell and Sandy Kelly. He is also a regular entrant in the National Song Contest and has entered a song for this year's competition entitled ‘Rock And Roll Kid’.

He admits that it is becoming more difficult for the non-performing songwriter to get his or her songs heard and performed. He has been involved in various collaborations with other songwriters recently.

“Bands and solo performers are writing much of their own material these days,” he says, “and this lessens the opportunities for people like myself. Which is why I have been collaborating with other writers. I've been writing with Charlie McGettigan and I've also developed an important songwriting contact in Nashville which is a really big help in getting my work known.”

Does he tend to write a song with a particular artist in mind?

“Well, it's nice if I'm asked to write a song for somebody like Daniel O'Donnell,” he says. “I would know instinctively the kind of song he might require. Otherwise I make sure I put together a good demo of the song for potential performers to listen to.”

As current chairman of IMRO Brendan Graham is convinced of the benefits to Irish songwriters of an independent body in Ireland responsible for the collection of royalties. “I think it would make an enormous difference to the songwriting fraternity here,” he says, “and I'm certain that we will see some progress in that regard in the near future.”

MIXING DESK

Pulse Recording Studio offers full 24 track facilities and have recorded many successful demos recently. They also run training courses for aspiring engineers and anyone else who wants to learn how the recording process operates. Robert MacCloud of Pulse offers some very sensible advice to bands or musicians who are considering going into a studio to do either a demo or a full scale recording for commercial release.

“The main advice I would give bands is not to do it on the cheap,” he says. “Some bands who are well-rehearsed and who are proficient live think they can come in and record five songs in a day and stick it on CD. That usually doesn’t work. I would recommend a minimum of three days in the studio for two songs. That gives them a day for each song and a day for mixing and any other final adjustments.

“Another common mistake on the part of bands,” he continues, “is the fact that they tend to concentrate on their own individual instruments instead of looking at the song as a whole. This is where a producer comes in, but a producer will often have a problem convincing a particular musician to turn down the volume on their particular instrument.”

Pulse Recording have their own in-house engineers and they have a policy of meeting a band at least two weeks before they enter the studio in order to offer any advice, in terms of preparation for the recording session.

“It’s important for musicians to remember,” concludes Robert MacCloud, “that a studio is an artificial environment and bands should become familiar with how they work. Otherwise a lot of time can be lost – and a lot of money blown in the process.”