Taking care of business

Written By Phil Pallen
 

If you are a successful songwriter it doesn’t just mean you write great songs. It also means that you take care of your business so you can be paid. When you co-write for a career (as Shelly Peiken has done her whole life), you have to be smart about making sure that you and your co-writers have each agreed on their share of the song.

Even in my workshops I witness co-writes in class and am always amazed at how very fearful people are of ‘saying the wrong thing’ or not 'offending the other person.' But this mentality means that you will end up sabotaging yourself.

Asking for clarity on song splits should be a routine discussion. You are only as powerful as your voice is.

For as long as I can remember, I have had a form that I made for my writers that made it very simple: Name of the song, writers and their info, splits, date and voila! You politely ask your co-writer to sign it before they leave the session and now you have proof of what transpired so 2 years later when the song is cut, memories don’t go south.

Talk about it.

 
Phil Pallen

I'm Phil Pallen, a brand and AI strategist who has spent 15 years helping small businesses figure out who they are, say it clearly, and show up consistently. About six years ago, I started creating content on the side as a way to teach strategy and tools to people who wanted to build their brands themselves. That side project now makes up 80% of what I do, and it has given me hands-on experience with hundreds of tools, partnerships with over 150 brands including Adobe, and a clear sense of what actually works for small businesses.

I have delivered keynote speeches on five continents, written AI for Small Business, and created Brandmasters, a private membership community for small business owners serious about their brand.

I am not just someone who talks about this stuff. I live it, test it, and teach it every day.


Find me at philpallen.co or @philpallen on social media.

https://www.philpallen.co
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Songs are your product
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