Are We Being Conned?

I recently entered a song competition. It was expensive in that you had to pay £15 a song but it seemed to be offset by getting 6 month’s free entry to Broadjam.com and songU.com. I’ve heard nothing about how my song did in the competition and suspect that I’m unlikely to. However, I got my free subscriptions to both sites. Having googled Broadjam there seems to be a lot of discussion about whether or not it is a scam. When you log in it looks exciting with publishing companies for films, tv companies and unnamed recor d companieslooking for songs. However, you have to pay $5 for every song you submit with no guarantee , of course, that you will be successful.

I recently read an article about Reverbnation which alleged that you have to pay $40 to leave Reverbnation and that they still retain the rights to your song. Of course these are only unsubstantiated allegations. I don’t know how true they are but I wondered if anyone at SongwriterSundays has had any experience of these or similar sites?

The Music Industry has always had more than it’s fair share of sharks of course but are we getting into a false sense of security by thinking that the internet has arguably lessened the power of established record companies, publishers etc and increased opportunities for a more DIY approach. Has it simply increased the feeding opportunities for more sharks?

Are There Any More Like Us?

Fantastic Songwriter Sundays yet again. The calibre of each artist at all three events has been of an exceptionally high standard. When Loz and I started out with the idea of Songwriter Sundays it was motivated by a desire to provide a platform for original material to be heard. In too many venues we went to, covers seemed to be the thing. Even at folk clubs, where traditionally they have encouraged original artists, Loz and myself would go to open mics and come away realising we were the only artist that evening to play original songs.

To be honest when we did the first Songwriters we thought perhaps there wouldn’t be many artists out there. However, so far we have had over 20 different acts from all genres of music.

My question is: there must be other places like Songwriters Sundays where original music is welcomed. Perhaps we could use this blog post to share ideas of great places to play?

Can We Turn Songwriter Sundays into the New Glastonbury?

The festival season is upon us. I really enjoyed watching Glastonbury from the comfort of my armchair. However, trying to get onto these festivals is really difficult, almost impossible for unsigned acts. The quality of the acts we have had so far at the first two Songwriter Sundays has led me to believe that we could easily carry off an event showcasing the talent in perhaps a local festival such as the Moseley Festival. I think it would be a great idea. How do we go about it? I’d love some ideas from artists out there.

Songwriter Sundays Birmingham

Hi all songwriters,

This blog aims to give details about Songwriters Sundays Birmingham which is held every third Sunday of the month at the Urban Coffee Co in Church St Birmingham B23. It’s a chance for songwriters to play their songs to an appreciative and supportive audience in stylish surroundings together with great food and coffee. Have a look at our facebook page songwriter sundays birmingham to see  more of what we are about. You can also find us at www.urbancoffee.co.uk