From  March 15, 2005 - Tuesday:

Ok. If you are a songwriter looking and or chasing down that dream of success, read this:
Some years back, after I had lived in Nashville for 2 years and learned the hard way about songwriting, promoting your music and banging on the doors of publishers and producers; I moved back to New Orleans and fell victim to one of those 'songwriter's workshops,' wherein you first pay the fee (yep, there's always a freaking fee), then you attend while bringing in 2 or 3 of your songs to have these advertized, 'expert' and 'successful' songwriters and producers/promoters tell you what all you are doing wrong and what you should be doing. You know? Sure you do.
I paid the fee, but after having attended a few in Nashville (none were free there either); I had learned a few things, so I came prepared to expose these Rip offs for what they are: a paid disappointment for you, money and ideas for them. Period.
I went with 2 songs: 1 of my own, which Willie Nelson's people were considering for his daughter's debate album, and a little know number 5 song out of England from the Rock genre. It came time for me to hand the panel my tape and sit back down while they played them to everyone there (there were about 18 other paid suckers there with me), then set about ripping the songs apart. One 'successful songwriter' out of Nashville (no name given, coz the guy has since passed away) just stopped the song (which I had recorded myself) out of England, the ..5 song, telling us all how the 'hookline' was, "all out of focus and pointless" (that song went on the be .. 1 on the Rock charts: The Who). Then the other panelists agreed and fast forwarded to my song. I was about to jump out of my skin when they stopped the song about 12 seconds into it, and said about the same thing as the 1st song. And I paid these jokers $35.00 for this insult! Well, you see my point, I hope, that these guys don't give two poops about you or if you will succeed, or not. They were only 'fishing' for ideas, because the one song from England went to number 1 (I figured because they were 'country music' people, they hadn't heard that Rock song. I was right), and my song was selected out of 1,550 songs by Willie Nelson's people, my Agent at that time had informed me. Well, my song didn't fly, as if you may recall the history of it; Willie's daughter's husband was killed in a car wreck, and the album project was shelved.
Now, that song of mine was well liked by the Coffee House and College Folks I had been playing it for. That's your true ticket: let your public and friends be your judges. Don't pay these rip offs to rip your good songs apart and charge you a fee to do so, when all along; they aren't going to help you one bit. They are doing the program to make money; not to help you out. Nashville people don't like new songwriters coming in to possibly take away their claim to fame. All you will learn will be a loss of direly needed funds and a major disappointment in your desire for success of your songs. Fact: if you work hard and write the best you can without stealing ideas from other songwriters; you will succeed in how YOU define success. But please; if you really don't have what it takes, don't stoop to stealing ideas from those who are working just as hard as you. Some can get real pissed and seek you out in a dark alley somewhere down the road. I had a song ripped off from me in Nashville that went to ..1 and won a Grammy for 'Best Song of the Year,' and even, 'Best songwriter of the Year,' from an established and well known Nashville dude who still lives in fear that a dark alley may find him in trouble, as we had some of the same friends who knew me and my song, but knew him better, because of his fame, famous wife and close ties in Nashville; so they wouldn't help me prove he stole the song. But thank God for copyrights! Mine was 1.5 years before his. I was living the life of a starving artist while he was shining MY Grammy Award and making tons of money, thinking I was too poor to do anything about it. He was right about that part--back then. To see him now: he is on death's doorstep with cancer, so maybe there is some justice after all, if we let God handle it.
Be well, write well and write your OWN songs!!!
Jason 'Greywolf' Leigh
http://jasonleigh.org/greywolf1.htm