MAB Q&A

February 15, 2016

#4049

ASCAP or BMI

Around year 10 of my Nashville adventure, I had many appointments writing at ASCAP. I also would drop by BMI because several writers were involved there too, so I was in and out of those offices all the time. We used to have this place we called "tourist Row" which was one block off of Music Row, in direct sight of BMI and ASCAP. People would wander all around, dressed in the bright outfits, boots, cowboy hats, usually with the Minnie Pearl price tag still attached, and basically just tie up traffic. We would say "If it is tourist season, can we just shoot em'?" They always lumbered across the street and were always so SLOOOOOOOWWW!! So we didn't have a lot of patience for them. They were going in all these cheesy souvineer shops, cars of the stars museum, Barbara Mandrell's country and a bunch more places, that have been since replaced by a string of bars that mostly college kids hang out in.

One day I was coming into write at ASCAP, and there was a man and a woman, kind of loudly dressed, and another guy, apparently, their son (from their conversation with the receptionist) and they were trying to get someone who would "listen to his music because he was really good and Nashville needed to hear him!" The receptionist listened and then said, "Sir, we really don't do that here. We work with writers who are signed to ASCAP. But if you want to walk across the park there and talk to BMI, they will help you." The receptionist kind of looked sideways at me as she gave me my writers room number and we both kind of grinned.

A couple of hours later, I was at BMI to drop by and see someone, and they were over there, at the front receptionist. They were doing the same thing, saying the same thing. And the receptionist said virtually the same words, except said "If you go over to NSAI, they can help new writers...") An hour LATER, I was at NSAI, and the same three people filtered in there. And NSAI said "WE don't do that here without an appointment. If you go over to ASCAP..."

The reality is that NO ONE can help you at first. You have to build relationships, BEFORE any of these organizations come into play. It is like building your shelf to house your Grammy Awards BEFORE YOU HAVE WRITTEN A SONG!

Learn the craft of writing FIRST. Work with a lot of people on a lot of songs. Build relationships. Get some songs that people want to play. Get songs that people want to HEAR! Then worry about all that other stuff. It generally presents itself when it is time.

MAB