Fuck it. This episode’s guest is, among other things, one of L.A.’s seven natives whose audiobook received a Grammy nomination, Mr. Elektra Records himself, the bearded wonder of music publishing, Tom Desavia. We met this badass at the SONGS Publishing office after Patty’s publisher, Kasey Truman signed her back in 2013. Apparently the night ended in several shots. (I have no memory of that. -Patty) Desavia did not go to college. He took time off after high school to “panic and smoke weed,” 🌲and then caught a lucky break in music journalism at the age of 19. This was the late 80s, a time when magazines were actually hiring writers. Patty (journalism major) is clearly jealous. Desavia believes that press sells records. Do you read album reviews? Much like his experience in A&R, Desavia took no joy in being forced to be critical within music journalism, especially on records he never felt qualified to judge. 🖕Dwight has a real problem with anyone from A&R (at a record label), or publishing company asking him to change his work. Desavia takes on the role of a fan. He’s attracted to musicians that are naturally great at their art, those that already know where they’re going. What are ASCAP and BMI, etc? What’s the difference between writing royalties vs. mechanical royalties? 💵 At what point should a writer sign up with a performing rights organization? Is it essential? It was a long road to music publishing for Desavia, but well worth it. A lot of knowledge is going to be dropped in the next episode, part two of our conversation Tom Desavia. Young writers should tune in!

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