SongTown on Songwriting Podcast

By Clay Mills & Marty Dodson

Music

What's SongTown on Songwriting Podcast about?

SongTown on Songwriting is an honest look at what it takes to write a great song and navigate the music industry. This podcast is a celebration of songs and songwriters. Real pros who teach, entertain and inspire.

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What Do You Do If You Catch...

06.28.2022

Are you a songwriter dying to get a publishing deal? It might not be as magical as you think! Hit Songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson talk about their first publishing deals as well as the pros and cons of ...

SongTown on Songwriting Podcast episodes:

06.28.2022 What Do You Do If You Catch a Publisher? Are you a songwriter dying to get a publishing deal? It might not be as magical as you think! Hit Songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson talk about their first publishing deals as well as the pros and cons of ...
06.21.2022 Split Sheets Vs Sht Sheets What do you do when a songwriter split sheet turns into a sht sheet?! Hit Songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson give practical advice on how to handle co-writer splits as well as what an actual split sheet is used ...
06.14.2022 "Stay The Course" With Curb Recording Artist Hannah Ellis Curb Records recording artist and country music singer/songwriter Hannah Ellis joins Hit Songwriter Marty Dodson on the SongTown on Songwriting Podcast. Hannah talks about her journey in the music business, from networking and internships to publishing deals and eventually signing ...
06.07.2022 Sharks In The Water There are sharks in the music waters and Hit Songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson want to help protect you from them! Listen in as Clay and Marty talk real about the music business and share advice on how to ...
05.31.2022 How And When To Go "Beth Dutton" On The Music Business Hit Songwriter Marty Dodson talks about when you should go “Beth Dutton” and stand up for yourself when dealing with the business side of songwriting. Songwriters often don’t feel like they have a say in what happens to their songs, ...
05.24.2022 Multi Genre Hit Songwriter Michael Whitworth Hit Songwriter Michael Whitworth joins Hit Songwriter Marty Dodson in the SongTown Zoom Room to talk about his journey in songwriting. Michael shares about his experience writing with Mega Rap Artist Jelly Roll and gives tips and advice on how ...
05.17.2022 Do You HAVE To Write With Artists To Get Songs Recorded? Do you HAVE to write with artists to get songs recorded? Listen in as Hit Songwriters Marty Dodson and Clay Mills discuss two different viewpoints on this topic! Marty and Clay also offer tips and advice on how to write ...
05.10.2022 Cut the Cheese! Cut the cheese! (And we are not talking about the smelly kind!!) Hit Songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson share the things that can keep you from getting your song cut… sounding cheesy! They share from their experience what makes ...
05.03.2022 Why You Gotta Know How To Write To Tracks Why is it so important to know how to write to music tracks?! Hit Songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson discuss the way that songwriting rooms have changed dramatically over the last few years and what you need to know ...
04.26.2022 #1 Hit Songwriter Shane Stevens - "Fancy Like" #1 Hit Songwriter Shane Stevens joins Hit Songwriter Marty Dodson in the SongTown Studios to talk about his viral, #1 Hit Song with Walker Hayes “Fancy Like”. Shane also talks about his vast success in both the pop and country ...
04.19.2022 Darden Smith : Write Songs. Tell Stories. Move People. Acclaimed singer-songwriter Darden Smith joins Hit Songwriter Marty Dodson in the SongTown Studios to talk about his wildly creative new multi-media project, Western Skies. Darden also gives insight into how he has been able to sustain a 30+ year career ...
04.12.2022 Raw and Real Singer-Songwriter Kalie Shorr Artist/Songwriter Kalie Shorr joins Marty in the SongTown Studio to talk about her journey in the Country Music Market. Kalie has been on multiple tours opening for major artists, has her own Podcast supported by Bobby Bones and has been ...
04.05.2022 Does Writing A Great Song Even Matter Anymore? Does writing a great song even matter anymore? Hit Songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson weigh in on the subject and share things you can focus on in your songwriting instead of getting wrapped up in the negative.
03.29.2022 Writing WITH Recording Artists Writing WITH an artist can be a totally different experience than writing for/pitching songs to an artist. Hit songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson share co-writing tips from their combined 25+ years of experience of writing with recording artists. If ...
03.22.2022 Writing To Pitch To Recording Artists How do you write songs that major label or indie artists would want to cut?! Hit Songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson sit down to talk about things you should pay attention to and research you should do when writing ...
03.15.2022 Mizer and Moore - Songs From The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Emmy-nominated songwriters Thomas Mizer and Curtis Moore join Marty in the SongTown Zoom room to talk about their most recent project, creating the music for the hit Amazon Prime Video series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Mizer and Moore share more ...
03.08.2022 Multi-hit Songwriter Billy Montana Multi-hit songwriter Billy Montana (Garth Brooks, Lee Brice, Jo Dee Messina) stops by the SongTown Studios to chat it up with host Clay Mills about his career, his approach to writing, and drops some killer advice for aspiring songwriters.
03.01.2022 Hall of Fame Songwriter Byron Hill Marty sits down with Hall of Fame Songwriter Byron Hill who has penned hits such as “Fool Hearted Memory” George Strait, “Nothing On But The Radio” Gary Allan, “Born Country” Alabama and many more! Byron shares his journey through the ...
02.22.2022 Chris Wallin : #1 Hit Songwriter Marty sits down with Hit Songwriter Chris Wallin who has topped the charts with songs such as “Don’t Blink” by Kenny Chesney, “I’m Tryin’” for Trace Adkins, “Something To Be Proud Of” and “Speed” by Montgomery Gentry and many more. ...
02.15.2022 Mistakes Lyric Writers Make Can songs sound good AND make sense? Hit Songwriters Marty and Clay sit down to talk about the common mistakes they see lyric writers make and share lyrics hacks that you can apply to your own songs to instantly make ...
02.08.2022 Shelby Kennedy - Award Winning Songwriter & Industry Executive Marty talks with award winning songwriter and industry executive, Shelby Kennedy. Shelby talks about his long successful career in the music business as well as where he thinks the music business is headed in the future. He gives advice for ...
02.01.2022 Mistakes Melody Writers Make Writing an impactful, memorable melody can be the difference between writing a good song and a GREAT song! Hit Songwriters Marty and Clay sit down to talk about the common mistakes they hear melody writers make and share some melody ...
12.28.2021 SongTown Year End Message 2021 As we come to the end of 2021 we celebrate a year of SongTown successes! We are so proud of our members and all the hard work they have put in this year! We look forward to teaching, mentoring and ...
12.21.2021 Sara Davis : Mega-Hit Pop Songwriter and SongTown Alum Marty sits down and talks with Mega-Hit Pop Songwriter Sara Davis. Sara’s song “abcdefu” sung by GAYLE is currently #1 on the Spotify World Chart with more than 160 million streams! Sara shares her journey of songwriting, being a member ...
12.14.2021 Can You Teach Songwriting? Can songwriting really be taught or do you just have to have “it”? In this episode Clay and Marty debunk the myth that songwriting can’t be taught and give examples of how they themselves have learned songwriting from mentors who ...
12.07.2021 Launching Your Songwriting Into 2022 Launch into 2022 with a solid songwriting plan! Creating a plan is an important part of achieving your goals! Marty and Clay sit down to talk about how you can organize your songwriting to progress towards the goals you really ...
11.30.2021 Handling Song Feedback Constructively Getting feedback on your songs can sometimes be very overwhelming. Then, once you get the feedback you have the questions of “should I re-write this song, leave it as it is or just write another song completely?” In this episode ...
11.23.2021 Eliminating Distractions For Songwriters & Artists With a combined 50+ years of songwriting experience, hit songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson have seen and experienced their fair share of songwriting distractions. In this episode Clay and Marty talk about the most common distractions that keep songwriters ...
11.16.2021 #1 Songwriter Lee Starr / The Power Of A Great Song Hit songwriter Lee Starr just celebrated his first #1 Billboard hit (“My Boy” sung by Elvie Shane) and the birth of his first child. SongTown’s Clay Mills chats with Lee about his journey and his approach to writing. Lee offers ...
11.09.2021 What Keeps Songwriters from Succeeding? Hit songwriters Marty Dodson and Clay Mills sit down to talk about what they feel keeps people from succeeding in the music business. With a combined 50+ years of songwriting and music business experience, both Marty and Clay have seen ...
11.02.2021 What Makes People Give a Crap About My Songs? What makes people take notice and really care about your songs?! Writing from the truth. Hit songwriters Marty and Clay sit down and talk about writing from truth by taking a universal emotion and turning it into a song that ...
10.26.2021 Smithfield - Making Your Own Way In The Music Business Marty talks with Smithfield, a modern country duo successfully making their own way within the music business! As independent artists, Smithfield shares about the highs and lows of their career as well as the pros and cons of record labels. ...
10.19.2021 Natalie Taylor - Building Your Brand On TikTok / Finding The Heart Of A Song Marty talks with TikTok Country Superstar Natalie Taylor from the band Taylor Red. Natalie shares tips and tricks to help you succeed on the TikTok platform as well as Instagram. Plus Clay shares a songwriting tip on finding the heart ...
10.12.2021 Hit Writer & Producer Jeff Cohen / DADGAD Guitar Tips Clay talks with Multi-Award Winning Songwriter, Producer and Publisher Jeff Cohen. Jeff shares his journey through the music industry and how he traded in being a lawyer for his real passion of songwriting. PLUS Clay shares an alternate guitar tuning ...
10.05.2021 How To Sustain A Long-Term Songwriting Career With a combined 50+ years of songwriting experience, Hit Songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson sit down and talk about what key elements every songwriter should pay attention to if they want to sustain a long term career in the ...
09.28.2021 Mental Health In The Music Business/Al Andrews Marty talks with Al Andrews, licensed counselor/therapist and the founder of a wonderful organization called Porter’s Call which provides mental health therapy to touring artists. Creative people often struggle with mental health issues because we tend to feel things more ...
09.21.2021 Developing The Hit Writer Mindset With a combined 50+ years of songwriting experience and multiple #1 hit songs to their names, hit songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson have learned a lot about songwriting and songwriting mindsets. In this episode, Clay and Marty have a ...
09.14.2021 Rockstar Speaker Jim Knight/Bringing Hard Rock Culture To Your Co-Writes Marty talks with renowned keynote speaker, author, and training/development expert Jim Knight. Jim shares from his 20 years of experience as director of training at Hard Rock Cafe and tells us how he helped cultivate the successful culture of Hard ...
09.07.2021 Ellie Holcomb, Artist/Songwriter / 2x Dove Award Winner / Best Selling Author Marty talks with hit singer/songwriter/artist Ellie Holcomb, 2x Dove Award Winner and best selling/award winning author. Ellie talks about her journey through life, music and talks about her New Album “Canyon” and the stories behind the songs.
08.31.2021 Why Do I Need A SongTown? Clay and Marty share the story behind why they started SongTown and what SongTown is all about! They also talk about the benefits of joining a community of passionate songwriters from all over the world and the importance of surrounding ...
08.24.2021 Who Needs A Stinkin' Co-Writer? Clay and Marty talk about why co-writing is so important for your songwriting success. Figuring out who you are in the songwriting room is one of the BEST ways to level up your songs and launch you forward toward your ...
08.17.2021 Women In Today's Country Music: Three Hit Writers Perspectives Clay & Marty talk with hit songwriters Tia Sillers, Jesse Lee, and Jennifer Hanson for a real-as-it-gets discussion on the challenges and rewards of being women in today’s country music scene.
08.10.2021 Legendary Songwriter Bill Anderson Marty talks with legendary hit songwriter Bill Anderson whose hits span through the decades. Bill shares stories of his journey to becoming a hit songwriter and gives inspiration to songwriters from all walks of life.
08.03.2021 Mastering Melody Writing / What Keeps Songwriters From Succeeding Marty talks with Hit Songwriter Clay Mills about his brand new book, “Mastering Melody Writing” written with Bill O’Hanlon. This book breaks down the mystery of melody writing to give your songs an edge with the PRA method! PLUS Clay ...
07.27.2021 Hit Producer & Publisher Mark Bright / Writing to Your Title Clay chats with legendary producer/publisher Mark Bright (Carrie Underwood, Shakira, Rascal Flatts) about his work with top artists and what he looks for when choosing songs to record. PLUS Marty gives a songwriting lesson on how to “write to your ...
07.20.2021 Legendary Writer Don McLean / The Importance of Your Opening Line Marty talks with legendary singer/songwriter Don McLean (American Pie). Don shares some great legal advice that all songwriters should consider as well as how finding the emotion of a song can have more impact than perfect lyrics. PLUS Marty talks ...
07.13.2021 Legendary Songwriter-Guitarist Steve Cropper / Why Aren't Publishers Interested In My Songs? Marty talks with Legendary guitarist, songwriter, singer and performer Steve Cropper. Steve talks about his history in music and the amazing projects and artists he has worked with through the years. PLUS Marty answers the popular question, “Why aren’t publishers ...
07.06.2021 Songwriter Ava Suppelsa and Hope On The Row Marty talks with songwriter Ava Suppelsa about her journey as a songwriter and also about her non-profit organization called “Hope on the Row”. Hope on the Row is an organization that helps the homeless in Nashville. Listen and learn how ...
06.29.2021 The Journey Of The #1 Hit SongTown Song “I Will” Scott Hodgin interviews two SongTown members, Randy Morrison & Jan Edwards, who just got a #1 hit on the Texas Country Charts with a song they wrote at a SongTown Retreat! In this episode you will hear this hit song ...
06.22.2021 How To Connect Better With Your Songs Marty and Clay share their insight from a collective 50 years of songwriting experience and answer the popular question, “How can I better connect with my audience through my songs?”

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