Recommended Songwriting Books

Read DSA's Current Book Review
TELLING STORIES, WRITING SONGS
An Album of Texas Songwriters
WRITTEN BY KATHLEEN HUDSON
Reviewed by Beverly Egan Houston


Music, Money, & Success
by Todd and Jeffrey Brabec

Have you ever wondered what you could earn if you had written the theme for at hit movie or TV series? This book shows you how you can make money in the multi-billion dollar world of music.... Click here for review.

 

Harriet Schock
Becoming Remarkable

 Harriet Schock is a songwriter (Grammy-nominated “Ain’t No Way To Treat A Lady”), a recording artist with five solo albums, a performer, a songwriting consultant, teacher and lecturer as well as an author.    Her songs have been recorded by such diverse artists as Smokey Robinson, Roberta Flack, Helen Reddy, Lee Greenwood, Johnny Mathis, The (new) Supremes, Nancy Wilson, Manfred Mann, Carl Anderson, Vesica Pisces, and the Little Mermaid.   Her feature film and TV song credits include “The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking,” “Delta Force II,” ABC’s “The Secret Garden,” Motown’s “The Last Dragon” and “The Real Life Adventures of Santa Claus”.

“Rosebud, ” produced by the legendary Nik Venet,  is Harriet’s fifth solo album as an artist.

As a songwriting consultant, Harriet teaches and consults with professional and pre-professional songwriters in person, privately and for the Songwriters Guild Foundation in Los Angeles,  in seminars and over the internet, worldwide.



Pat & Pete Luboff
88 Songwriting Wrongs & How To Right Them 
 

Fun, informative book covers all aspects of songwriting....
This book is written in 88 bite-sized chapters that cover the songwriting process from inspiration to royalty collection. We have received feedback from many songwriters on how much this book has helped them and how much they enjoyed reading it. Each chapter illustrates a songwriting "mistake" - either by using our experiences or songs brought to our workshops - then explains how to avoid those pitfalls in your songwriting. Written in a friendly, fun, accessible style.

 

Pat Pattison
 Writing Better Lyrics

Writing Better Lyrics is a terrific tool book of techniques that will help bring a writer to the peak of his potential, while maintaining his style and identity. Chapter by chapter there are examples and exercises -- from creating metaphors to finding uncommon rhymes to diving deep into the senses for lyrical gems that enable the writer to produce words that speak for him in his most creative individual style. And, it will be in a way that spotlights the most important words and phrases, positioning them so they are easily sung by the artist and understood by the listener. Just what we're looking for in a book about writing better lyrics.
-Beverly Houston, Dallas Songwriters Newsletter

 

Sheila Davis
The Craft Of Lyric Writing

The Craft of Lyric Writing" is a self-study lyric-writing course, complete with exercises, and songwriting assignments.  It provides 40 strategies to try and get the creative juices flowing. Rather than short anecdotes, it goes into depth on each of the ideas presented, including giving well-known examples that fit the model and student lyric examples.

 
The Complete Guide to Internet Promotion for Musicians, Artists, & Songwriters - by John Dawes & Tim Sweeney

An in-depth look at how to use the Internet to gain more exposure for your music, further your career, and sustain a strong online presence.

Don't even think about putting your music online until you've read this book! It has never been easier or more inexpensive to put your music online and promote it. With a strong online presence, you can gain more exposure for your music than ever before. The Complete Guide to Internet Promotion for Musicians, Artists, & Songwriters takes you step-by-step through the web design and promotion process, to covering everything you need to know to succeed on the Internet:

  • How to get music on the Internet and protect it.
  • How to get airplay on Internet radio.
  • What a successful Web Site should look like.
  • Marketing your Web Site online and offline.
  • How to get free advertising and exposure online and offline.
  • How to write effective promotional material: releases, bios, & announcements.
  • The secrets to submitting your site to all of the major search engines.
  • How to grow your Web Site's traffic and keep fans interested.
  • How to effectively use email.
  • How to track your royalties online and offline.

In this book, John Dawes & Tim Sweeney show you that you can compete with industry heavies. You will be able to reach a global audience, get noticed by the industry, and sell your music, twenty-four hours a day, year round.

Plus, a bonus section has been added that contains a full index of Internet Resources to help you get started promoting your music online today and a comprehensive checklist to help you chart your progress. The system in this book will lay the groundwork for a successful career in the fast-paced music business. CGIP is a unique and extremely valuable book to have in your personal library! Don't delay your success any longer. Order today.

288 Pages / ISBN: 10929378-01-7
$29.95 US
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Tim Sweeney's Guide to Releasing Independent Records

An in-depth look into effectively using artist development, radio promotion, record distribution, publicity and retail marketing technique to furthering a career in the music industry.

Ask any major label executive and they will tell you: The best way to develop your music career is to release your own record. What they won't tell you is how to make your release a success. Tim Sweeney's Guide To Releasing Independent Records, an International Best Seller, is packed with hundreds of money saving tips, helpful hints and never-before-revealed secret strategies used by industry insiders. This informative guide will teach you how to:

  • Properly set up your own record label
  • Make a great sounding recording without spending a lot of money
  • Get quality distribution into major retail chains and indie record stores
  • Design a winning promotional strategy for your release
  • Convince college and commercial radio stations to play your record
  • Use the exposure generated by your release to bring yourself to the attention of a larger label

150 pages / ISBN: 0-9651316-0-2
$24.95 US
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Audio Workshops:
Tim Sweeney's Living Room Sessions

An in-depth three and a half hour music business workshop presented by the music industry's most sought after expert in the areas of artist development, radio promotion, record distribution, publicity and retail marketing.

This 3 1/2 audio workshop is PART 2 of TIM SWEENEY'S GUIDE TO RELEASING INDEPENDENT RECORDS. Inside this workshop, Tim Sweeney reveals the secrets that major labels have been hiding! He will teach you how to do your own market research, develop a strategic marketing plan and show you the tricks that he actually has used to develop over 1,500 artists. You will dramatically move your career forward by learning:

  • How to conduct your own market research
  • How to convert your press kit into an Artist Profile
  • How to create your own strategic marketing plan
  • How to capture commercial radio airplay
  • How to acquire national distribution
  • How to get articles about your music in the press
  • How to sell 10 times the amount of CDs at your next live show

3.5 Hrs / 4 Cassettes / ISBN: 0-9651316-2-9
$39.95 US
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Tim Sweeney's Guide to Successfully Playing Live

an in-depth two hour music business workshop presented by the music industry's most sought after expert in the areas of artist development, radio promotion, record distribution, publicity and retail marketing.

As any artist or musician knows, your ability to effectively perform your music live is the key to your future success. Whether you are trying to sell CDs and Cassettes or trying to attract the attention of a major record company, an artist's/musicians' ability to play their music live is critical. Now for the first time ever, Tim Sweeney, the music industry's leading expert, shares with you, the hidden industry secrets and strategies he has used, to develop the careers of more than 1,500 artists in the last 18 years. Including some of the most successful of all time. Find out the secrets of how you can:

  • Decide which clubs and venues are right for you
  • Where to find your potential fans in each market
  • How to get the club bookers to pay you what you want
  • How to double and even triple your audience at the next show
  • How you can sell more CDs and Cassettes at your performances then ever before
  • How you can make enough money playing live to quit your day job

2 Hrs / 2 Cassettes / ISBN: 0-9651316-1-0
$29.95 US
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Tim Sweeney's Guide to Succeeding at Music Conventions

Tim Sweeney gives you the benefit of his 100+ music convention experiences over the last 18 years. This handy little guide is an in-depth look at when you should go to a music convention and when you shouldn't, how to cut the costs associated with going and why it is better not to play at one. You'll learn everything you need to know to succeed at a music convention with this book in your arsenal.

  • How to decide which conventions to attend
  • How to save money on registration fees, travel costs, and hotel reservations
  • How to promote yourself before the convention begins
  • How to meet key decision makers at major labels (and what to say to them when you do!)
  • How to develop the relationships you make at the convention to propel your career forward!

Pamphlet
$9.95 US
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Don't sell yourself short! If you are really serious about your music career, get the complete MusicPromotion.net library. With it, you will have EVERY facet of the music business covered! Starting a label, getting your record made, releasing your record, promotiong your record, playing live to make a living, how to use the Internet to leverage tons of exposure, and more! Every book and audio workshop is in plain-English. Step-by-step, you will be shown how to succeed in the fast paced music business by Industry professionals, Tim Sweeney and John Dawes. Stop delaying your success, order now!

 
$99.95 US 
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