Left Of Nashville: A Music Documentary |DIY| Songwriting| Indie Music

The new intro for Season 3 of LON.

New Sound, New Stories, Same Struggle

Sometimes, we have to do other things to pay the bills until our dreams become a reality. If we have enough self-awareness, we might be able to make some "get by" money implementing the skills we have learned as we move toward our end goal.

 

Here is my first (paid) voice over project that I did for a customer in Luxembourg!

I created the music as well as doing the voice work. 

Even though this wasn't my intention, I was growing my skill set when I started Left Of Nashville. 

The moral of this story is to keep working hard. You just never know what opportunities will show up at your door.

 

Oh, and by the way, if you need anything like this done, hit me up at [email protected]

 

From the creator of Left Of Nashville: Teaser from the upcoming podcast Searching For Ghosts: The Disappearance Of Cayce Lynn McDaniel.

Milan, Tennessee is a town of about 8,000 people. It is located in the Western part of the state, about halfway between Memphis and Nashville. And It's 25 miles north of where I grew up. In 1996, West Tennessee was shaken to its core, when fourteen year-old Cayce Lynn McDaniel disappeared from her home. She hasn't been heard from since.   According to reports, Cayce's mother came home to find the clothes her daughter had worn to a church social earlier in the night, laid out on the bed. There was a bowl of cookies and milk on the floor, illuminated by the glow of Cayce's television,  as the back door of the house stood wide open.   The first call by Cayce's mother to find her daughter was made some ten hours later.   This year marks the twentieth anniversary of her mysterious disappearance, and while network television is airing special after special about another case from that year in Colorado, the disappearance of Cayce Lynn McDaniel, seems all but forgotten.     National Center For Missing and Exploited Children   WBBJ-TV 7 Twentieth Anniversary Report   Milan Mirror Exchange Interview With Amber Hansen (Cayce's Best Friend)   Milan Police Department: 731-686-3309

Aubrey Preston is a musician,philanthropist, business man and developer from Leiper's Fork. You may know him best as the man who saved RCA Studio A in the eleventh hour. He has brought back the town of Leiper's Fork and made it a destination for musicians and music lovers. He also played a vital role in saving the Franklin Theater.

But his latest endeavor is why he was the keynote speaker in Downtown Jackson for the monthly First Friday Forum. This latest project is the Americana Music Triangle.

The Triangle is a website that maps out the points of interest in the American South where the best music in the world was created. Nine genres got their start in this patch of land that forms a nice little triangle on the map. 

Jackson, TN (home of Left Of Nashville) is a destination on the triangle, and Preston was in town to impress on the city that it is up to us to capitalize on our rich musical heritage.

USA Today Article on AMT

Nashville Scene Article on AMT

Deep South Magazine Article on AMT

 

Carl Perkins

Sonny Boy Williamson

Eddy Arnold

Tina Turner

Jackson, Tn

In this episode, we hear from Bart Herbison, the Executive Director of Nashville Songwriters Association International or (NSAI). NSAI is a not-for-profit trade organization for songwriters with chapters all over the world.   Bart talks about the recent DOJ ruling concerning PROs and what this will mean for the music industry.   I start by asking Bart about the 100% licensing ruling and what spawned it.   It's quite obvious who this ruling hurts, but I wanted to know who it helps. Logic would dictate that this has to help someone. There is talk that Google has the most to gain by this ruling, (we intend to address this in a future episode) but Bart has a different take on the matter.   So why make this ruling now? This seemingly caught everyone by surprise, so what was the rationale of adding this ruling on top of refusing to update the consent decrees?   The official written ruling was made on August 4th, a week after this interview. I asked Bart what was next on the agenda to fight it.   What's mind boggling to everyone I've spoken to is what was the logic in this 100% licensing ruling that essentially transfers the burden of distributing royalty money from the PROs to the songwriters.   Being two hours away from Nashville, I was curious as to the feeling of songwriters on the ground in and around Music Row after this ruling.   As mentioned earlier, the official ruling came down on August 4th.  NSAI Board President Lee Thomas Miller immediately issued a scathing statement to the DOJ.    BMI and ASCAP also released statements explaining they were joining forces to fight this ruling, with BMI challenging the ruling in Federal Court, while ASCAP is leading the charge with legislative reform.     But now is not the time to take our foot off the gas. As songwriters we need to support this effort and make our voices heard.   As I mentioned last episode, I can't stress how important it is that you share this podcast series and leave a review in iTunes. Reviews affect the search engine algorithm immensely. The more reviews that we get, the more people can find the show.   So in the immortal words of Karen Carpenter, "We've only just begun."   NSAI Board President Lee Thomas Miller's Response To Ruling   ASCAP and BMI Join Forces To Fight DOJ Ruling   US Copyright Office Director Maria Pallante     Music in this episode: Brandon Barnett-Man Who Tries

Sarah Schuberth, Esq. (Music Law Chick)   Jonathan Singleton-The Getaway   Brandon Barnett-Your Everloving Arms   Department Of Justice Contact Page     Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution reads as follows: "To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries."   I've decided to fire up the podcast in between seasons. You know why? Because I can. See, that's what's so liberating about creating something yourself. You can do with it whatever you want. There are no special committees or board members to vote on whether or not you can move forward. If I want to walk away from this podcast thing right now, I can. If I want to put out two episodes a day, that's my prerogative.   Creative control is a beautiful thing. And the concept of intellectual property rights is just downright gorgeous. I can create something out of thin air and own it just like you own your automobile or your puppy dog. No one person or government can just come in and take that away from me, legally. That's what the framers of the U.S. Constitution thought anyway.   But on June 30th, just two days before the Independence Day weekend, the United States Department Of Justice not only refused to change outdated consent decrees concerning Performing Rights Organizations (or PROs) that have been in place since the second world war, it also issued new regulations that would make 100% licensing with one PRO mandatory on co-written songs.   So what the hell does all this mean? Well, by refusing to update the existing consent decrees, songwriters do not have the right to pull their songs from streaming services if they so choose. The government sets the rate and songwriters have to live with it. And that rate is fractions of a penny on the dollar.   But evidently that wasn't enough for the DOJ. The new ruling concerning 100% licensing is an entirely different can of worms, that evidently, no one saw coming.   Long-time listeners of Left Of Nashville will be familiar with Jonathan Singleton.  Jonathan is a hit songwriter out of Nashville. Some of his hits include "Watching Airplanes" by Gary Allan, "Red Light and Let It Rain" both by David Nail, "A Guy Walks Into A Bar" by Tyler Farr and the GRAMMY nominated "Diamond Rings and Old Barstools" by Tim McGraw. Here's his explanation of the new ruling:       Speaking of lawyers, Sarah Ruth Schuberth, esq. is an attorney as well as a songwriter. Why you slacking Sarah? Why not a doctor too? Oh yeah, that's what she was studying before music law caught her eye. Sarah is going to serve as Left Of Nashville's in house counsel for this series. You can see what she's about at facebook.com/musiclawchick. I'll have it linked up in the show notes.   I must admit, I'm somewhat surprised at the lack of outrage coming from the music community about this ruling. I believe that one reason many are not speaking out is because of a lack of empathy for those "millionaire" songwriters whining about their gravy train being derailed.     But I believe by and large the reason more are not speaking out is because they are artists. It's the nature of the beast. Either they don't know what is happening or they don't want to know. Most figure that someone else will take care of this. And because we have an artist's heart, we are easy pickings. Sarah Schuberth esq     And the ones who do know what is going on are having trouble concentrating on anything else.     We have one year before this new ruling goes into effect. And this podcast series isn't just going to ring the bell on the problems. We are going to look for solutions.    Like I said earlier, we have a year before this ruling takes effect. But we can't rely on others to fight this. We as songwriters, musicians, podcasters, bloggers and anyone who cares about music and the rule of law must unite. You might think that this doesn't  even affect you. Hell, the two licensing deals I currently have in L.A. are solo writes. I wrote the State I'm In with Jonathan and we are both ASCAP writers. So technically, this doesn't even affect me…YET. Well, not that I know of. But this decision will have a ripple effect that will impact everyone. It is my feeling that even if you could get every songwriter to move to the same PRO to bypass this logistical nightmare, there will be even more anti-trust legislation put in place. That was the whole reason for the consent decrees in the first place back when ASCAP was the only game in town.    This will impact the entire music industry and then spread to others. What do you think will happen to Nashville's booming real estate and tourism markets over the long term? What will happen to the quality and quantity of songs when writers who have that magic are no longer able to write together because of junk regulations?   So I'm asking you to join the fight. Share this podcast series with anyone who will listen. Leave a review in iTunes to help make it more visible. I want to have people in the industry on this show who have the power to stop this thing dead in its tracks and reverse the regulations put in place over seventy years ago.     

Special episode with outtakes of the birth of Left Of Nashville. Including never heard footage of the co-write with Jonathan Singleton where we almost made the chorus the verse.

 

Left Of Nashville

Here's a bonus episode featuring my latest recording, 'Make Believe.' Enjoy!

 

Left Of Nashville

As creative entrepreneurs, we are blessed with many ideas. We have project ideas pop into our heads while we are in the shower or mowing the yard. This can be a beautiful thing. But it is also a double edged sword.   Sometimes, we get "shiny object syndrome" and start chasing so many things that we don't get anything accomplished. Or we at least don't live up to our full potential in one area. Our blessing then becomes a curse.   I still completely stand by my theory of trying to have multiple income streams and not putting all of my eggs in one basket. But I realize where I've gone wrong with this. While it is necessary to have a backup for my backup, i need to focus on one thing at a time and reach minimum viable income before moving on to the next thing. Minimum viable income is simply the amount of money one needs   to make in order to support yourself.—emphasis on minimum.   And it's quite possible that I would be at my minimum viable income level with my music if one or both of the two publishing companies that I've signed with had gotten my songs placed. But that hasn't happened. Not yet anyway.   So let me tell you what I WAS going to announce in this season finale episode. I was planning on starting a podcast network. I was going to launch another podcast this summer that was to be a documentary on music that was birthed in and around my hometown. For those of you who are not familiar with all of the game changers that were spawned from this patch of land between Memphis and Nashville, the names would astound you.    But this thing was going to be a money pit if I couldn't secure funding for it. The music licensing alone was going to wear me out. I mean, Paul McCartney has the publishing on some of the music that I needed to use, for crying out loud. But for a couple of weeks, I had convinced myself that I could pull this thing off and still work on my music career.   But then, one morning I woke up and asked myself, "What the hell am I doing?" This is the same damn thing that I did at the end of Season One. Why do I keep chasing all these things?   And after a couple of days of real soul searching, it hit me: I don't have enough faith. I still don't think that I'm good enough to make music for a living. I mean, I say that I am but what else would explain me getting so close, then, jumping onto some new project. I think it's fear of both failure and success.   So I'm getting back to basics. I'm going back to 2014 before I even thought about doing a podcast. Hell, I'm even going back further than that to when I wasn't even considering Nashville as a possibility.   The writing is on the wall and it has been since I signed that first licensing deal last summer. My music is taylor made for sync licensing. That's what I do naturally. Jonathan Singleton has even told me that. And I've got two legal documents with my signature on them that back him up. The writing has been on the wall for some time now and I've just refused to read it.   With sync, I can write and record my stripped down songs myself. And I already have an open door to submit my music anytime I want. There was a time that I would KILL  for that opportunity ALONE and I realize that I've been taking it for granted. I'm also going to reach out to music supervisors with my music. This is something that I should have been doing all along.   And there is no that wonder that nothing is happening for me in Nashville. I mean, I've only set foot in that town once in a year's time. I've half-assed it the whole way. And to be honest, I could've found a way to make more happen there, even as broke as I've been. But my heart's just not in it. Where my heart lies is in creating these quirky acoustic based songs from scratch and having total control of how they sound. I love the limitations that I have because of the lack of help and money.    But I believe that everything happens for a reason. i have learned so much with all the dabbling that I've done. The biggest takeaway that I've received from my flirtations with Nashville is to be able to write, whether the muse shows up or not. I believe that this is essential. And the song a week experiment was a test to take that Nashville model of writing songs on a schedule and apply it to my singer-songwriter tunes. And for the most part, it worked. This experiment helped push me to the point where I realized that I need to have a Music Row writer's work ethic then write and produce as many songs as possible for sync licensing.   So instead of trying to do both L.A. and Nashville, I am taking what I have learned from Nashville and going 100% in on sync. So, in one way, I'm glad that I was so scattered, because without doing this and spreading myself too thin, I wouldn't have had this epiphany.   And if something happens in the meantime with "The State I'm In" that causes doors to open in Nashville, you can bet I will walk through them. And I do eventually want to develop a podcast network. But first things first. I need to walk through the doors that have been opened for me in L.A. with my music and double down on that.   So where does this leave Left Of Nashville? Well, there will be a Season 3. But we won't be doing the season featuring LOLO as once planned. I have to put all my attention on my career at this point and season 3 will document what happens after attacking sync licensing with my full focus. I am not going to close the door behind me, I want to share everything that I learn that may help you guys. That was the promise I made when I started this thing to begin with.   Somewhere along the way, this thing got flipped on its head. I found myself in a position where I was writing songs in order to put out an episode of the podcast instead of making an episode to document all the music I was making. And that may sound like I am splitting hairs here, I mean, at least I was writing songs, right? Who cares about the motivation?   But I wasn't being to true to who I really am. Look, I love making this podcast. This is so much fun. But I am a singer-songwriter first. Without the songs, I have no reason to make Left Of Nashville. We have to become what we are.   So, I want to thank you guys for coming along with me for this season, I've had a blast. And I hope you come back for Season 3. There are a few thoughts that I want to leave you with: The path to doing what we are meant to do isn't going to be a straight line. There are going to be some dead ends along the way.   But the most important thing is to try things. Always be sending up trial balloons. But just as important as doing this, is being self-aware enough to realize what works  and what doesn't.   The whole damn thing really is a learning experience and you will gain knowledge from these so called "failures" that will lead you to success. I truly believe this. So get out there and move things around. Then hone in and put a dent in the universe.  

It's been about four weeks since I last released an episode of Left Of Nashville. So What happened? Well, the short answer is Everything and nothing. I had to get my taxes done. I live on nine acres and it's mowing season again. I finally got a phone with the internet at my fingertips. And I was writing an upbeat song, which for me, is a struggle. I guess you could say that life happened.   But I still could've found a way to make it all work. But I made excuses. It takes a full day to mow my yard, so there was a day off work that I didn't spend writing. I got caught up with friends on my phone. I stayed on social media. Basically, I procrastinated.   Then I hit the resistance. This is what Steven Pressfield calls the thing that causes writers to procrastinate. Read his book "The War Of Art" for his brilliant take on the resistance.   And procrastination breeds more procrastination. And then self-doubt shows up. It didn't matter that I've churned out nineteen episodes, I suddenly lost faith in my ability to write songs and put out a compelling podcast. I was in another dip.    I lost my mojo and felt like a failure. But a funny thing happened: I kept working. Little by little. I gave myself a little grace. I remembered what I read in a business book once about stretch goals. Setting stretch goals is a way to force yourself to get out of your comfort zone. If you set a lofty goal, such as writing and recording a song a week, say, you will achieve more than you would otherwise even if you do not meet your goal.   So I sat my ass down in the chair and wrote. A little here, and a little there. It was a slog. I hated it. But I was making progress. And after week seven of my experiment, I have three new songs. Granted it's not seven new songs, but it isn't zero new songs either. It's three more songs than I had written in the PREVIOUS seven weeks before starting this experiment, so I'm satisfied. I didn't fail. Not at all.       Hey guys, I am about to attempt another project that I will explain in detail in an upcoming episode of Left Of Nashville. So I need you guys to do me a favor. For those of you who listen on iTunes, would you be so kind as to leave a review? This is something that I have neglected to ask people to do, but it is very important.   It helps this podcast rise in the rankings, which makes it visible to more people. I need this to happen in order to help launch this other project. It would mean the world to me. Thanks guys!   Steven Pressfield-The War Of Art   Ben Rector   Ben Kweller   Maddy And The Groove Spots