Cutting Edge Voices News

Daylle Deanna Schwartz e-mail Newsletter Issue # 29

I hope this cooler season finds you ready to rock and roll your career to the next level! The music industry is changing so fast that it can make your head spin and feel overwhelming. I advise you not to jump on each new flavor of the week. Be aware of what's going on and see if it flies. I'll try to report on some of them in this newsletter to help you decide where to put your energy.

Feel free to contact me about my fees if you need CONSULTING on how to make progress in your music career or need a shot of motivation by using my CAREER COACHING. I do it in person and by phone. You can email me at consulting@daylle.com for more info. I now give discounts for booking at least 3 sessions.

Please forward this newsletter to your mailing list or anyone you'd like. If this was forwarded to you and you'd like to subscribe, send me an email that says "subscribe" in the subject header with your name and city/state. If you'd like to post it on your site, please ask for permission and I'll give it. Read past issues at http://www.daylle/monthly.html If you prefer to be taken off my list, please say unsubscribe in the subject header of an email.

My other newsletter, Self-Empowerment Quarterly, for the body, mind and spirit is also free. This WON'T come to you automatically. If you don't receive it and would like to subscribe, please send an email to subempowernews@daylle.com with you name, city/state. Read back issues at http://www.daylle.com/daylle/newsletter-growth.html

Please visit my website, http://www.idontneedarecorddeal.com/ to take advantage of the many resources for developing a career in music. Also, please come and be my friend at http://www.myspace.com/daylle . : )

I just launched my BLOG, Lessons from a Recovering DoorMat. I'm posting 3-5 days a week. The main focus will be to create greater awareness of things that hinder self-empowerment. It will include observations about celebrities, people in the news and every day people I encounter. I included one of the articles about Britney Spears below. I give tips and mindsets for creating greater self-empowerment. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE and forward it to friends! If you like my newsletters, you should find the blog interesting.

You can subscribe by RSS or just receive the posts by email. It's that simple! Please check it out! If you like it, post a comment!

This issue has interviews with 2 interesting musicians-Ansel Brown, who has rocked MySpace and has almost 30 separate street teams around the country, and Jeff Kranze, a musician who's created a huge buzz on Second Life, an online site that allows him to do virtual tours. There's also an article about synchronization rights for licensing by music attorney Wallace Collins. The rest is written by me. Please feel free to write with suggestions and questions that I can include in future issues.

1. Increasing Your Value
2. Interview with Anson Brown
3. Daylle's Seminar & Books
4. Britney Spears Shows Fame Can't Buy Self-Respect 5. Interview with Jeff Kranze 6. Minding Your Music Biz: What's the Score with Synchronization Rights? By Wallace Collins, Esq.
7. Ask Daylle

1. INCREASING YOUR VALUE: Stores have markdown sales in order to move inventory or get rid of products that aren't selling. It's good business sense to do it at appropriate times. But the practice is self-defeating if you reduce your own value. Whether it's for business or pleasure, many of us give ourselves away in ways that reinforce being less worthy of receiving compensation or good treatment.

We devalue ourselves in many situations, and then wonder why we're never happy. Hello! How can you attract happy situations if you sell your value short? Why should people pay for your music if you treat it like it's not worth much? Many people have a dirt-cheap exchange rate. Creative people can be the worst.

* Is your desire to share you music so strong that you're happy to give it away so people hear it?

* Do you pass on taking production credit for music you helped with, because it's for a friend?

* Do you help write songs for others without getting a credit because you don't value your talent enough to give it monetary value?

* Are you managing an artist, putting money into developing his career without a written agreement for how you'll be repaid or what you'll get when they make money?

* Do you allow your music to be used in films for free, with no agreement for compensation if the film gets distribution?

If you don't accept you have value, you'll continue to give yourself away, taking crumbs instead of expecting to get the whole enchilada. Most of us are at least somewhat insecure. When you have even a little self-doubt or a lack of confidence, you're more likely to hesitate to give yourself and your talent and skills value, or not recognize it in the first place. That fuels keeping your price tag low!

Many folks just want to do their craft, badly enough to do it for free. So we compete against them. But when you own your value, people recognize it and you're more likely to make money! I'm asked to speak or write for free in exchange for selling my books, just as folks try to get musicians to perform in exchange for selling CDs or use their music for a credit instead of royalties. That's why I don't write often for music publications. Many folks write just to see their names in print or to sell books. I consider myself a professional writer and won't. But I get enough gigs that do pay fairly, by expecting compensation for my skills and passing on the ones for "exposure."

**WARNING: Don't fall for the line about how they can get others to do something for free. Let them! People who don't value themselves are often not as good or professional or determined to have a career. Your valuable talent will stand out more!

If you don't value YOU, why should anyone else? When you focus on how good you are, it's harder to let people take advantage of you or your skills.

People get their cues from you. If you walk into a room slumped, not making eye contact, and speak without conviction, you've lost respect at the gate.

Looking insecure or sounding apologetic helps people assume they can take what they want. Acting like you have no value attracts the buzzards, who see you as road kill to nibble on. When you act like you're a somebody-SURPISE!

To be happy and whole, nurture your value and make it a high one! Self-value begins in your head. Even if you don't feel super good about yourself, you can begin to do things to build yourself up:

* List all the good things about your talent and skills-all your good qualities. Ask friends and fans for suggestions. Write down what others say, what YOU love about it, and why you think it's good. Read it a lot to bolster your confidence. Go over any projects you've done to remind yourself that you're good at what you do. What sets you apart from others? If you can't think of things, hone your craft more before you try to market it!

* Repeat affirmations such a: "I approve of myself right now." "I have great value." "I deserve to get paid for my skills." Find more of your own!

The more you repeat, the more you'll believe and expect to get more. When you start to think about giving yourself away or negatives thoughts come into your head, substitute affirmations for them. It's hard to think negative when you're repeating a positive. Force them if necessary!

* Look in the mirror regularly, point at yourself and say, "YOU'VE got great value!" Play your music while you do it! It will put you more in touch with what's important in your career. You need to convince yourself that your talent is worth good compensation before others believe it. Look into your own eyes and convince yourself!

* Practice walking with good posture. It helps you feel better about yourself and makes a better impression. When folks see someone who looks confident, they're more likely to see you as someone with value. A confident stance will make people think twice about dismissing you as another creative who'll do whatever for free.

* Become more conscious of how you de-value yourself-worth. Nobody does that for you! It's YOUR choice! Letting people tell you you're not worth being paid is YOUR choice. You have to pay some dues at first but it's up to YOU to decide when it's enough. Set boundaries at a point where you've gotten good and feel ready to rock full steam ahead.

* Remind yourself that other people get paid for the work they do. Doctors, clerks, hair stylists, painters, etc. all get paid when they work. It's creative people who are expected to just give away their craft. Once you own your profession, whether it's singer, songwriter, producer, manager, etc., expect to get paid as anyone else would. Treat yourself like a business. It puts your head in a better place to charge for your services.

* Put everything in writing. If you agree to do something with your music, have a written agreement. That keeps your vision on a getting compensated course and reinforces that you're a business. If a club books you, get everything in writing. If friends ask for help, ask what their budget is.

People will promise compensation if the project makes money, like for using music in an indie film. Get it in writing! If they don't want to sign something, they will stiff you!

* Hang a sign prominently with your version of, "I intend to get what I deserve and that's A LOT!" If you see it often enough, you'll start to believe it. Say it out loud whenever you see it. Drill it into your head - "I have value!"

* Remind yourself that the Universe wants you to have abundance and to be treated well! Whenever I seek spiritual support, I get it. Always! Sometimes we forget to put it out there. By raising your consciousness with the tips above, you can put it out that you're expecting to get paid. That brings the spiritual support to achieve it.

No one has to believe your value at first-except for YOU. Once you accept it, others will too. It will show in how you carry yourself and your attitude. Your value begins with accepting yourself as a valuable person.

Otherwise you'll take a lot of crap from a club promoter if you're scared of not getting a gig or from a producer who acts like you're nothing or the artist you work with who feels it's your job to be dumped on for no financial return. NOT! That's the express track to being poor and unhappy.

Start slow and find ways to be more loving to you. One baby step at a time is all it takes to get to a place of value. As you hone your craft and get things done well, become more conscious of your value, incorporate it into your demeanor and expect to get back what you're worth. When you truly expect it, you'll get a lot more goodies! I used to see myself as useless.

2. Interview with recording artist, Ansel Brown: I met Ansel in his hometown of Charlotte, NC on my last book tour. I was taken with his great energy and felt his determination to succeed. A former advertising executive, Ansel chose to pursue his country music dream. Since meeting him, he's developed nearly 30 street teams across the country and an exceptionally strong presence on MySpace. A spiritual soul like me, Ansel also brings his music into hospitals to cheer up very sick kids. The law of attraction has definitely worked for him! I asked what he did to achieve all of this:

What's the new model you're following? The new model is all about the personal connection between the artist and the fan. With unparalleled access to our fans via the Internet, independent artists are in a better position than ever to connect and build relationships with them. If done with heart, it endears us to our fans in a way that artists of the past would have only been able to dream about. We can be as close to a fan that is half way around the world as we are to one in our own backyard. So, the new model is all about the artist/fan relationship and building long lasting, endearing relationships like never before. Finding something to connect you to fans beyond the music is also a great way to build on their love for your music.

How did you attract so many people on MySpace? I look at MySpace as my conduit to the world and to music lovers in particular. I call them my "TRUE Friends" a term one of my best friends came up with a while back when he said I was being TRUE to my Friends on MySpace. I look at MySpace as part of my job as an artist, so I spend a lot of night time hours answering my messages from every friend. This little bit of effort has turned into what some would even call a phenomenon on MySpace-but it is simply connecting at the friend/fan level, almost face-to-face. I cannot tell you the number of people that can't believe I would actually write them and listen to them-they become instant TRUE Friends when I do. I also, found that my blogs on my children's work helped me connect in a very genuine way with my friends-my TRUE Miracle Blogs get a lot of traffic and they are spoken from my heart, so, my friends see more in me than just the music.

How did all the attention on Myspace initially help your career? I seemed to have a "busy" looking site because of all of the comments I was getting and the fast surge in song plays on my player all started getting me attention.

At that point I started to actually communicate with other artists that had already been to the top of the music charts-they seemed to be intrigued by my quick success. Then, publications, country music internet sites and radio stations all started regarding me as an up-and-coming artist. It was amazing to me-the only thing I had done was start the page, give it a good professional "branded" look and I was suddenly legit. I think the level of production quality with my songs also caught people by surprise. My Producer, Cliff Downs, did an amazing job with my first set of songs and that seemed to get attention on MySpace as well.

How have you developed and maintained so many street teams? Wow! What an incredible development the Street Teams have been for me on MySpace. I was asked by Charlotte out of Texas if I wanted her to run a Street Team page for me and I said sure! It had a little traffic and was neat, but nothing significant. I had been asked by other friends on MySpace if they could start one in their states. Then it hit me-Street Team State Divisions could be a cool way to get more help and allow others to REALLY participate in this dream of mine! So, we started asking for volunteers and BANG! Before you knew it we had people from almost ten states step up and start their divisions. It has grown to nearly 30 today. I was looking for leaders-not just fans! Boy did we find them! The street team leaders began collaborating and working with one another to really have impact! They have even gotten me radio interviews and other opportunities. They even started a Blog Talk Radio Show that airs every week on BlogTalkRadio.com. My job is to keep them growing and contributing-that way they stay on board and grow the whole thing with me. A little TLC and a faith in them goes a long way! I absolutely adore all of them!

Is there anything you did to run with success on Myspace once it got rolling? Yes. My TRUE Miracle Blogs have led me to create the Bigger Heart Tour, which will be sponsored by The Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, NC. This tour will go out to hospitals in the Carolinas to begin with and then to other hospitals across the country. We will have a TRUE impact and really change lives-One hospital and One Heart at a Time!

Why have you done hospital appearances? I almost quit doing it because industry folks were telling me that I would be looked at as a "Charity" guy and not a TRUE talented singer! However, because the hospital work is so real for me and those I work with, I persisted and am glad I did! I realized that if your music stands on its own you can do anything you want to do.

Someone might see me doing a hospital appearance and wonder how good I might be. When they get to listen to my music, they instantly know that I am a legitimate singer. Once I figured out that, I never looked back. Plus, on the hospital side, they know when someone is just doing something to get attention. They all realized from day one that this was a TRULY wonderful thing between me and the kids! It has served to inspire me like you would not believe. Those kids are the most amazing people on our planet - bar none!

What's your best advice for a musician who wants to make a living from music? Don't do this half way! If you believe this is what you should be doing, put everything you have into it. It is very similar to the NFL.

Hardly anyone makes it to that level. The ones that do make it, for the most part, have sacrificed a lot to get there. Invest in yourself, don't cut corners, do it from day one as if you are there already and NEVER give up because it seems like you might not make it. Your fans, the industry and other artists will all take note if they see you doing this professionally.

That doesn't mean doing gigs at the local tavern. It means build your career as if you are national from day one! The internet allows us to build that image more effectively than ever before. Take out a second mortgage, invest in yourself first. Don't go out looking for everyone else to invest in you if you have not invested in yourself first. People want to know that you're not going to quit if the road gets hard (and it will get hard). If you have not personally invested in yourself to make your project the best that it can be, don't expect others to come out of the woodworks to help you. Also, if you are a gigging band doing a lot of local stuff, do more than a garage band recording. If you want people to listen to your music, be inspired and put you at a high level, do the production right. Interview producers to find someone with good credentials and bring them on to take you to the next level, even before you are there everywhere! It can be done and people will believe in you if you believe in yourself enough to RISK IT ALL!

Ansel is a true inspiration for being able to make something happen with determination and hard work. His efforts prove the strength of fan power.

3. DAYLLE'S SEMINAR & BOOKS: I've been doing seminars for over 10 years but my time is getting tighter. From now on, I'll only speak when someone puts an event together and brings me in for it. If you want more info about booking me to speak, please email me at booking@daylle.com. I'll keep you posted on my speaking gigs that are open to the public. I do music industry and self-empowerment workshops.

I've re-opened Revenge Records to re-release some of my old tracks digitally. Two songs I wrote and recorded are the sound tracks of my videos for my book, Straight Talk with Gay Guys. http://www.youtube.com/wryterdds You can hear samples of the songs or download them on iTunes at http://tinyurl.com/yw5ahb

GIRLS CAN DO - my first rap record. It was endorsed by N.O.W. and put me on the map as the Rappin' Teach. I wrote the lyrics and music.

SENSUAL POWER - The artist was called Heart On but I confess, it's me! It got great reviews, charted in Japan and was spun at clubs around the world by some of the top DJs. I was compared to Donna Summer and Samantha Fox and actually got offered an artist deal from BMG in London but my lawyer at the time dropped the ball on it.

My book I Don't Need a Record Deal! Your Survival Guide for the Indie Music Revolution, focuses is on making money from musical talent. It guides you to creating as many income streams as possible and has specifics on how to pursue the variety of opportunities. It's the only book I know of with so many specifics on how to tour and license music in international markets.

People are surprised to find chapters on taking care of your physical and mental health too. But part of surviving and thriving includes taking good care of YOU.

You can order this book from me by sending $25 ($20 + $6 priority mail return) in check or money order (made out to Daylle Schwartz) with your name, address, and email address. My other books, The Real Deal: How to Get Signed to a Record Label and Start & Run Your Own Record Label are also available from me at the same price. Please specify if you want it autographed. Send it to:

       Daylle Schwartz
       PO Box 8016, FDR Station
       New York, NY 10150

4. Britney Spears Shows Fame Can't Buy Self-Respect: This is a post that appeared on my Lesson From a Recovering DoorMat blog on 8/30/07. So many people envy celebrities. As a musician, you need to be careful about not falling into the trap that many artists are finding themselves in. Fame is no substitute for self-respect. Learn from the young celebs that seem to have it all but aren't happy.

BRITNEY SPEARS SHOWS FAME CAN'T BUY SELF-RESPECT Britney has looks, tons of money, enough talent by her fans standards to make more money, and two healthy kids. Seems like she has most of what she said she wanted. But she can't buy respect, from others or from herself. And she's doing everything she can to prevent herself from earning it. When the public begins to regard K Fed as the better parent for the Britney pups, you know she'd better start swimming upstream fast!

Too many young, hot stars jump into adulthood in the limelight of adulation and tons of money. The press and their fans put them on pedestals. People kiss their butts. They believe they're all that. And their worlds revolve around what they wear, who they sleep with, and dodging the paparazzi who chase their superior derrieres. But arrogance doesn't lead to self-respect.

We tend to treat others the way we view ourselves under the layers of fa�ade and attitude used for self-protection. When you love yourself, you're much more likely to be loving to others. People with sincerely good self-esteem have much less or no need to demean others or do nasties. When you respect yourself, you're much more likely to respect others.

Britney's behavior shows her true self-image. She disrespected her appearance when she shaved her head. Her lack of self-respect endangers her kids. It doesn't take much to know you don't drive with a child on your lap, for any reason, or be so lax you almost drop one. Now she may lose custody of them. Brit pushes people who care away. She hires and fires based on mood. People with self-respect work things out, not cut everyone off. While no one is perfect, this has become Brit's pattern.

The OK! magazine interview illustrated her lack of self-respect. The magazine went the distance to accommodate Brit by arranging the photo shoot, paying her a huge fee, and getting expensive designer clothing for her to wear. Did Brit show appreciation? Nahhh! Her actions-wiping greasy hands on a designer dress while her dog pooped on a Zac Posen gown valued at $6,700-reflected a lack of self-respect and self-love. She got grease and dog poop on her reputation. Does she think she's much better than us? Not at all. She poses like that but her actions give the true picture. By disrespecting folks who try to help her, and the props like designer clothing, she expresses how little she respects herself. You can't buy self-respect. It must be developed within.

People who love themselves don't sabotage their careers or do blatantly stupid things that they know will cause a negative media frenzy. Young celeb types like Britney and Lindsay don't learn to love themselves for who they are inside or look beyond getting love and attention from fans, and press attention. Their actions show what a superficial level of happiness they have-basing self-image on the accoutrements of being a celebrity. Money, expensive possessions and career success don't translate to happiness. It begins inside and radiates out. The material stuff is just extras!

I've been happy even when I didn't have much money, because I love me, not what I have. My compassion for Brit is deep. She had too much attention, too early in life to develop good self-esteem. Fame tainted her outlook.

Everything focused on her image. I'm sure she's a nice girl who truly wants to be a good mom and be happy. But she doesn't know how. Nor can she doesn't trust herself, so she doesn't trust people who want to help her. That makes it hard to grow into a happy woman.

Meanwhile, many girls and young women look to Brit, et al, as examples of being cool. But they're not cool. Britney is stone cold self-disrespectful.

The grass on the other side may seem greener but some of these young stars in the public eye are hurting inside. Those who look to them as role models set themselves up to also have low self-esteem by valuing the external. Feel compassion for these young women who don't know how to behave and self-destruct because of it. Envying their money and fame is also envying their dysfunctions and unhappiness. Happy in your own skin is much more fun!

5. INTERVIEW WITH Jeff Kranze (AKA Hep Shepherd on Second Life): Jeff is an indie artist who has been able to successfully create a huge buzz on Second Life, an online site that allows him to do virtual tours. I asked him about how he was able to develop so many fans and end up on Newsweek without leaving his apartment.

Why did you quit your job? I left my job because the path I was going down just didn't feel right. I was selling high end properties from behind a desk and started noticing that I was becoming more cynical and angry, totally unfulfilled and felt that I was waiting in line to live a life that was wrong for me. Though I left my office job to pursue music, I continued to work as a real estate agent in NYC. Almost immediately I started getting a lot of great referrals (almost as a gift for taking the plunge) and now earn enough to support my music career by working with select clients.

What is Second Life? Second Life < http://secondlife.com > is a virtual, online world, run by it's own users. It's a giant digital universe where you can do almost anything you can do in real life, but in a virtual form. I have used Second Life as a way to connect with people from all over the world and develop a fan base in the tens of thousands who come to listen and watch my live, virtual performances.

How did you get yourself going on Second Life? I sat in front of my computer and spent hundreds of hours learning just the basics. Second Life can be overwhelming but after you get a hold of the essentials it gets a little easier. Second Lifers choose their character's first name but must select a last name from a list. Mine is Hep Shepherd. I met a woman named "Through Thesewalls Moody" who was buying herself a virtual cocktail dress. We started talking and she wanted to hear my music so I sent her to myspace.com/jeffkrantz. She fell in love with my song Last Goodbye and immediately offered her help and support. We consequently developed a friendship in Second Life and she took it upon herself to get me my first virtual show. Since then ( 7 months ago) I have played almost 200 virtual shows and Moody has never missed 1! She promotes me, communicates with my fans and books me gigs ( She also nags me constantly so she got the title "Mom-ager"�Lol..sorry Moody). I've spent hundreds of hours networking and developing relationships with other people in Second Life and was just featured in full page Newsweek article, covering my music and performances in Second Life.

Second Life has offered me the ability not only to stream live performances to people but also to keep communication lines open with fans and venue owners in a way I never could before. Tens of thousands of people from all over the world have come to my shows and have contacted me directly about my music all though the in-world IM system. It has helped move me beyond the standard musician-fan model as I have developed real friendships with a large number of supporters. It's like having 10,000 friends calling you and asking "Dude, when is the album coming out!" They are so supportive and really feel like they are a part of my success. I am releasing my debut album this fall and already have a HUGE amount of pre-orders just from my SL friends.

What kind of opportunities did it bring? Just by talking to people about Second Life has opened doors that were previously closed to me. The music industry is thirsty for any viable way to distribute and promote music so people want to hear more what Sl offers in those ways. After I was featured in Newsweek a few months ago, loads of opportunities opened up for me when people in real life actually went and listened to my music. I've booked top showcase spots, been contacted by major labels, managers, agents and even received a letter from Cat Stevens who told me he enjoyed my music was "meaningful and clear."

I am currently working on putting together a US-UK tour for next year with the help of my Second Life contacts. I am hoping that with the release of my Debut album, even more opportunities will open up!

Any advice for other musicians? The key is still in the music. If your songs are good then people will want to hear more. Second Life doesn't guarantee you fans,but it does put you in front of 10 million people who are usually willing to find out who you are and what you are all about. Whatever happens after that is up to you!

Jeff says he's happy to help to any of you who want to learn more about Second Life and get involved. You can contact him by joining his mailing list at http://www.jeffkrantzmusic.com . He sends out monthly newsletters discussing different tips and ways to make Second Life a viable source of extra income and an effective tool to promote your music career.

6. MINDING YOUR MUSIC BIZ: Seems like everyone is trying to get their music licensed in film and TV. It can be a great source of income, IF you know your rights and insist on having them honored. My friend, attorney Wallace Collins, shares a legal point of view for making money from synchronization rights. Understanding them helps you to mind your music biz!

As a songwriter, you own 100% of the copyright and all related rights in your work from the moment you create the work and "fix it in a tangible medium" unless and until you sign those rights away. This includes any rights in music which you may be used in the soundtrack of a film or television score.

When music is used in synchronization with visual images, whether it is created especially for the score or whether it is a pre-existing song that the director wants to use in a scene in a TV show or film, this is referred to as "synchronization" of music with visual images. Permission in the form of a "synchronization license" must be procured by the makers of the production.

Such a license may take various forms. A songwriter may be specifically employed to write incidental music for a film. Such an arrangement may be structured as a "work made for hire" whereby the songwriter is employed to write specific music which may ultimately be owned by the producer of the film. There is no set fee for such an arrangement - it can range from a few thousand dollars for a small budget project to hundreds of thousands for a blockbuster film score.

If a film's producer, director or music supervisor decides that a certain song is right for a particular scene in a film, then a "synch" license would be requested. Depending on the length and prominence of the use, if limited solely to use in the film the price can range from a few hundred dollars to several hundred thousand dollars. If the movie company also wants rights to include the music on a soundtrack album, then a mechanical license would be required for that use which would pay royalties for each record sold. Also, the song should be registered with one of the performing rights societies so that revenues from performances in foreign movie theaters (U.S. movie theaters do not pay performance royalties) and from television broadcast can be collected.

Since this is a complicated area the details of which are beyond the scope of this column, I would suggest that if such an offer is made to you, a music lawyer would be a good investment.

Wallace Collins is an entertainment lawyer with the New York law firm of Serling Rooks & Ferrara, LLP. He was a recording artist for Epic Records before attending Fordham Law School. Check out his website for more articles on your legal rights! http://wallacecollins.com

7. ASK DAYLLE: I want to get a publishing deal for my songs but some say I should start my own publishing company. Should I bother or just wait for the deal?

Publishing deals can be as hard to acquire as a record deal. Waiting for one can hold you back. IF you have something going on with your songs--you released your own CD, are marketing songs to be licensed, etc.--register as a publisher with whatever PRO you're affiliated with as a songwriter. A publishing company allows you to collect your publishing royalties. As a songwriter, you collect the songwriting half of royalties. The other half gets paid to the publishing company that represents the songs. So if your songs are earning income, you need a company to collect that half. You can still go after a deal if you'd like one, even if you have your own publishing company.

I am. Keeping up with emails and text messages, phone calls and requests can feel like a lot of pressure when you have other things to do. Preessure mounts when you have a an overfull plate in your attempt to book a tour, get press, radio play and TV appearances, and are trying to do what you're told is necessary on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, etc. All of this takes a lot of time. When you run out of it, pressure builds more.

Baseball manager Tommy Lasorda, "Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it's because you've started to think of failure." But you're not a failure if you can't have the 48-hour days I always wish for! Do what you can. Seek to find the most important things. If possible, get others to help. Fans can be helpful when asked.

Think about what you've accomplished, not just what needs to be done. You're one person and have limits on what you can do. I push myself hard but sometimes must remind myself I'm doing the best I can. Feeling pressure increases stress and doesn't feel good. That makes you less productive and unhappy. I prefer to feel good. My strong spiritual beliefs help me always feel supported. Then I pick the most important task and try my best to get it done, then another one. Be kind to yourself. Your career will blossom as long as you stay on track and don't get bogged down with beating yourself up!