Mechanical Licensing Collective ( MLC) is a new nonprofit organization designated by the U.S. Copyright Office pursuant to the historic Music Modernization Act of 2018. Starting in January 2021, The MLC will administer a new blanket mechanical license available to eligible streaming and download services (digital service providers or DSPs) in the United States.
The MLC will be responsible for collecting the mechanical royalties due under those licenses from the DSPs and then distributing you to music publishers, administrators, and self-administered songwriters, composers, and lyricists.
Over its 23 year history, The John Lennon Songwriting Contest (JLSC) has recognized the talent of entries from several people who have risen to stardom – Meghan Trainor, American Authors, MAGIC!, Gaby Moreno and more. Now, in response to the Covid-19 crisis, the Lennon Contest has created weekly ‘Stuck At Home’ opportunities for songwriters to win studio gear to improve your songwriting experiences at home. The first deadline for entries is Sunday, March 29 at midnight EST with the winner announced on Monday, March 30.
The John Lennon Songwriting Contest (jlsc.com) announces a special “Love Song” contest to celebrate Valentine’s Day. It’s a short window so go to the website and submit your original compositions before February 13 and the winner will be announced on Valentine’s Day.
Prizes will include products from Audio Technica, Copperpeace, Focusrite, Genelec, K&M, Mackie, Neutrik, OWC, Reason Studios, Sonicbids, and Yamaha.
John Lennon Songwriting Contest Announces Love Songs Contest for Valentine’s Day was last modified: February 7th, 2020 by John Pape
You are an experienced artist; you know how to start your work, know how to find inspiration, the importance of editing, and all the other things you need to do to create great pieces of art. But sometimes, no amount of experience or knowledge can make it easier to finish your creative works. Stepping away from a project and calling it “done” can be one of the hardest things to accomplish as an artist. In this guide, I will share my three easy steps to completing your creative pieces, using the process of a songwriter as an example. (more…)
How to Finish Your Artistic Project Like a Songwriter was last modified: December 19th, 2019 by John Pape
There is more to becoming a songwriter than just writing lyrics. Lyrics are just one of many elements that make a song. A well rounded songwriter needs skills to compose melodies, create chord progressions as well as the ability to write lyrics.
When a songwriter wants to write a song, what is the first thing that comes to mind?
Is it the words?
The melody?
The rhythm?
A great songwriter knows that it is none of these things. It all comes down to the spirit of the song. The reason why the songwriter is writing the song in the first place. The purpose or meaning behind it. The message it communicates. The feeling it cultivates. What I hope to present to you today are 7 smart ways to integrate mindfulness into your songwriting
These are the drivers of a great songwriter. He or she knows that everything exists in the mind and heart. Most of the great songs you hear today would not come to existence if they had no meaning or purpose behind them. This is the reason why as a great songwriter, you need to cultivate mindfulness into your songwriting. Cultivating mindfulness means being aware of what is around you. Once you do this, everything about the song just falls into place. (more…)
7 Mindfulness Skills That Will Boost Your Songwriting was last modified: January 22nd, 2019 by John Pape
We all have a favorite singer, whether it’s from this decade or another. There are a few artists, though, that everyone seems to fall in love with. From Elvis, to Diana, to Whitney there are stand out singers that made entire generations stop and listen.
Whether you’re a fan of R&B, country, or rock there are singers on this list you’re bound to love. You might even discover a few that you weren’t familiar with. So take a look and listen to some of the best singers of all time. (more…)
Best Singers of All TIme was last modified: December 3rd, 2018 by John Pape
Writing songs is a creative act. Here are some valuable lyric writing tips you can use when writing songs. As with most creative activities it does require a certain level of skill. In order to write better songs there are certain thing you can do to improve your skill. To improve your skill can try some of these exercises. (more…)
Lyric Writing Tips – Exercises to Improve Your Songwriting was last modified: August 1st, 2018 by John Pape
As a songwriter you probably come up with ideas for songs quite often. These ideas float around in your head until you take the time to start writing. Going from the head to paper can sometimes be a challenge for many songwriters. Some of biggest of songwriter challenges is deciding what to do and when to do it.
Basic Ingredients of a Song
A song consists of two basic elements. These elements are lyrics and music. The music is the melody of the song and the lyrics are words. A good song will take both elements and meld them together into one cohesive unit. (more…)
Songwriter Challenges – Putting Thoughts Into Words Into Music was last modified: August 1st, 2018 by John Pape
Today we are going to look at behaviors that create your character. Understanding these elements will help you become a successful songwriter. Your character is essential to who you are and how you act. It is a combination of certain attributes. Even though these things are really about the whole person, nurturing them will increase your level success. (more…)
5 Key Characteristics of a Successful Songwriter was last modified: July 27th, 2018 by John Pape
Is it helpful to try to write lyrics for an existing popular song motif?
I really appreciate the chance to answer readers questions. One think I believe is helpful is many questions are never asked. Since that never are asked there is no opportunity to answer them. That is why I like reader questions. Many times the question asked could be the one that will help you with your songwriting efforts. (more…)
Using Popular Song Motifs to Write New Songs was last modified: July 27th, 2018 by John Pape
I really appreciate the chance to answer readers questions. One think I believe is helpful is many questions are never asked. Since that never are asked there is no opportunity to answer them. That is why I like reader questions. Many times the question asked could be the one that will help you with your songwriting efforts.
There are several ways to start writing lyrics. I will do my best to explore each one. Hopefully it will inspire you to write many songs. (more…)
What is the best way to start writing lyrics? was last modified: July 27th, 2018 by John Pape
Tonality based ear training makes up the core of the approach at Ear Training HQ. It’s the approach I strongly advise every musician to focus their attention on until they’ve mastered it. I believe every musician should know at least the basics of what tonality based ear training is and how it works.
I’m having problems creating of a “happy” song. My songs always end up as a ballads and I don’t know, how to change that. Do you have any ideas, how to combine chords to get a “good mood” song?
This is a great question that plagues many songwriters. The core of this question I believe is how to set the right emotion for a song. Of course there are several factors that the songwriters needs to consider.
To begin, the songwriter needs to start out knowing what mood the song will portray. In simplest terms that are “Sad” or “Happy” songs.
Creating the right emotion in songwriting involves two factors working together. These two factors are the lyrics and the music. Both elements together can produce powerful emotions. Now, let’s take a look at how lyrics and music create emotions in a song. (more…)
Songwriter’s Question: Getting the Right Song Emotion was last modified: July 27th, 2018 by John Pape
The best way to improve your songwriting ability is to constantly and persistently study what hit songwriters do. Learn from the best. Listen to the radio and take notes on what hit songs have in common. What is their structure like? Do they end verses on major or minor chords? Do they have a bridge? How many bars are in the intro? Try to figure out what the hit songs in your genre have in common.
When a songwriter wants to write a song, what is the first thing that comes to mind?
Writing songs is a creative act. Here are some valuable lyric writing tips you can use when writing songs. As with most creative activities it does require a certain level of skill. In order to write better songs there are certain thing you can do to improve your skill. To improve your skill can try some of these exercises.
As a songwriter you probably come up with ideas for songs quite often. These ideas float around in your head until you take the time to start writing. Going from the head to paper can sometimes be a challenge for many songwriters. Some of biggest of songwriter challenges is deciding what to do and when to do it.
Today we are going to look at behaviors that create your character. Understanding these elements will help you become a successful songwriter. Your character is essential to who you are and how you act. It is a combination of certain attributes. Even though these things are really about the whole person, nurturing them will increase your level success. 
One of our readers asked the following question:
One of our reader’s asked the following question:
