What's up world? I know it's been a while since the last post, but since we left for LA our life has changed TREMENDOUSLY...We were blessed to write (along with our musical brother Kyle Christopher, @KChristopher1 on twitter) a record for Universal/Motown artist London that the label heard that Wednesday we were in LA and loved so much that they had the artist come in 2 days later to cut it, and now will (barring any unforeseen circumstances) be the next single off his album! Due to this, and two of our artists signed to LifeLine Music being scouted by several major labels, including Atlantic and Young Money, free time has been non-existent with all the projects we're now working on. I have video footage from several of the sessions in LA, and will edit and post them all here as soon as I can get a second.
This year has been absolutely amazing...and it's still April...God is good is all I can say! Stay tuned; we've got a couple major developments in the works that I can't wait to share but until they're in the bag I gotta keep a lid on it!
For anyone reading this who's still chasing the dream, understand that you gotta work NON-STOP towards your goal, have talent, and be blessed to know the right people who can open the doors you can't open on your own! This is a constant grind, but it's worth it when you finally start gaining the financial stability and respect that you desire...
Let's GET IT!!!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
To Live and Die in L.A (Day 1)
JayTel and I flew into LAX around 11 PM on Saturday LA time, and didn't make it to our manager Nick Velo's crib until about 2 in the morning (Rental Car Issues, don't ask!)....slept till maybe about 7(!) Saturday morning, and were in the lab with Matt Velo and Kyle Christopher (a dopeee songwriter) by 2 PM. We knocked out 3 records just in that first session, one for Brandy called "Runaway", one for Jordin Sparks called "Sleeping With The Enemy", and a craaaaazy record for Flo-Rida called "Hit & Run!" Incredible session, and what a way to start this trip!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Gospel Greatness
Tonight (and most every Tuesday), we're in the lab with the great Mona Moore, working on her new album under LifeLine Productions....This woman never ceases to make us laugh with her wit and warmth, and I look forward to having her in the lab every week! We grind so hard, 2 and 3 sessions a day every day, that some of them actually SEEM like work, but hers never does! We usually go live on UStream with her to let the world have a peek at what we're working on with her. Stay tuned...we're aiming for the Stellar Awards this year as well as the Grammys! Love working with this woman!!!!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Networking 101
How many of you know someone who is extremely talented, but never made it because they never got the opportunity to be heard? How many people miss out on their opportunity to "make it" because they didn't know the right people in the music game who could open the door for them?
All of us do...but in this day and age, with the internet, and sites like twitter, facebook, and myspace (yes, labels STILL scout talent on myspace), not knowing the right person or being able to connect with people who can advance your career is no longer beyond your control.
First things first - before you start trying to link with people in positions of power in the music biz, you need to make sure your skills are up to par. Presenting something to an A&R that is subpar quality will only make them angry that you wasted their time, and will get a door shut in your face. In the music biz, once a door is closed, only GOD can reopen it. Don't wait to see if He will; get your skills up.
Once you've got product worth presenting to the labels, you need to develop an online presence. Our big break came from a site I'd never heard of, called pmpworldwide.com, where songwriters and producers can pay a (sizeable) fee, and post their material. A&Rs, artists, and label execs then can come to this site and scout for songwriting and production talent. Our manager, Nick Velo, an A&R at Beluga Heights (J.R. Rotem's label, home to Iyaz "Replay" and Jason DeRulo "Whatcha Say", and Sean Kingston) happened to be in the back room of Chalice Studios going thru pmpworldwide looking for talent, and by the grace of God, he found us. I'll never forget getting that message from him thru the site saying, "Here's my email. Let's build." Few words, but life-changing, especially considering all that's come from that one message.
You need a twitter, a facebook page, a myspace page, and I recommend a GMail account as well, as most of the A&Rs and producers I talk to on a daily basis on twitter also have GMail accounts and are often available to chat thru GTalk. If you sing or produce, think about starting a YouTube page to showcase your talent. Justin Bieber was discovered from the series of YouTube videos he made singing various cover songs, and now he is the hottest young pop artist next to Lady GaGa, and sold more than a million copies of his debut album in about 3 months, which rarely happens anymore. Make your pages look as professional as you need them to; i'm a writer and not an artist so I can pose with my shirt off because i'm not selling my look; if i was an artist, i'd have an artist pic and professional looking layouts. Develop relationships...this is the MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO. Don't just send a tweet or message about sending them your material, and then only contact them when you need them. Develop relationships with the A&Rs, producers, writers, artists, label reps, etc. that you are fortunate enough to connect with. They have so many people coming at them for what they do that you will get lost in the shuffle. Some of our best relationships, I only rarely even mention music. Treat them the way you'd want someone to treat you if you were in their position.
Also, learn to adopt new technology and networking sites early; myspace made quite a few artists very wealthy because they joined early and promoted themselves and their music tirelessly, and they got discovered from their buzz. That still happens now, but it's rare, due to the exodus from myspace to twitter, facebook, and other sites.
Once you've developed an online presence and have material worth presenting, start reaching out to the people you are interested in working with. Be concise, and honest with them. If you want to know if you can write to their music, say so. If you want to send them beats, say that as well. But understand that if they're established, hundreds, if not thousands, of people are doing the same thing. Be patient, and be respectful. With time and patience, you will start to build a network of powerful people with the keys to the doors you seek.
Finally, once they extend an opportunity to you, FOLLOW THRU! You are only as good as your word...if you can't write or record or produce, etc. what they are asking you to, say so up front. Once you prove that you are unreliable, that is a door that will be closed to you. Make sure you say what you mean, and mean what you say!
Good luck, networkers!
All of us do...but in this day and age, with the internet, and sites like twitter, facebook, and myspace (yes, labels STILL scout talent on myspace), not knowing the right person or being able to connect with people who can advance your career is no longer beyond your control.
First things first - before you start trying to link with people in positions of power in the music biz, you need to make sure your skills are up to par. Presenting something to an A&R that is subpar quality will only make them angry that you wasted their time, and will get a door shut in your face. In the music biz, once a door is closed, only GOD can reopen it. Don't wait to see if He will; get your skills up.
Once you've got product worth presenting to the labels, you need to develop an online presence. Our big break came from a site I'd never heard of, called pmpworldwide.com, where songwriters and producers can pay a (sizeable) fee, and post their material. A&Rs, artists, and label execs then can come to this site and scout for songwriting and production talent. Our manager, Nick Velo, an A&R at Beluga Heights (J.R. Rotem's label, home to Iyaz "Replay" and Jason DeRulo "Whatcha Say", and Sean Kingston) happened to be in the back room of Chalice Studios going thru pmpworldwide looking for talent, and by the grace of God, he found us. I'll never forget getting that message from him thru the site saying, "Here's my email. Let's build." Few words, but life-changing, especially considering all that's come from that one message.
You need a twitter, a facebook page, a myspace page, and I recommend a GMail account as well, as most of the A&Rs and producers I talk to on a daily basis on twitter also have GMail accounts and are often available to chat thru GTalk. If you sing or produce, think about starting a YouTube page to showcase your talent. Justin Bieber was discovered from the series of YouTube videos he made singing various cover songs, and now he is the hottest young pop artist next to Lady GaGa, and sold more than a million copies of his debut album in about 3 months, which rarely happens anymore. Make your pages look as professional as you need them to; i'm a writer and not an artist so I can pose with my shirt off because i'm not selling my look; if i was an artist, i'd have an artist pic and professional looking layouts. Develop relationships...this is the MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO. Don't just send a tweet or message about sending them your material, and then only contact them when you need them. Develop relationships with the A&Rs, producers, writers, artists, label reps, etc. that you are fortunate enough to connect with. They have so many people coming at them for what they do that you will get lost in the shuffle. Some of our best relationships, I only rarely even mention music. Treat them the way you'd want someone to treat you if you were in their position.
Also, learn to adopt new technology and networking sites early; myspace made quite a few artists very wealthy because they joined early and promoted themselves and their music tirelessly, and they got discovered from their buzz. That still happens now, but it's rare, due to the exodus from myspace to twitter, facebook, and other sites.
Once you've developed an online presence and have material worth presenting, start reaching out to the people you are interested in working with. Be concise, and honest with them. If you want to know if you can write to their music, say so. If you want to send them beats, say that as well. But understand that if they're established, hundreds, if not thousands, of people are doing the same thing. Be patient, and be respectful. With time and patience, you will start to build a network of powerful people with the keys to the doors you seek.
Finally, once they extend an opportunity to you, FOLLOW THRU! You are only as good as your word...if you can't write or record or produce, etc. what they are asking you to, say so up front. Once you prove that you are unreliable, that is a door that will be closed to you. Make sure you say what you mean, and mean what you say!
Good luck, networkers!
To Live and Die in L.A....the Prequel
My songwriting partner JayTel and I leave Houston next week heading to Los Angeles/Beverly Hills/Hollywood to hook up with our manager, Nick Velo, to get in to write with several established producers, and to take a few meetings with publishing companies...God has blessed us, and we have worked hard to put ourselves in this position so I'm very excited about it!
Nick's booking all the sessions...I know a couple of the producers we'll be working with, but I'ma keep them under my hat till next week! I'll post the pics from the studio sessions and meetings at the various labels here for you guys to see, and keep you posted on as much of our progress as I can!
Here are some pics from our last trip to LA...the first pic is MdL, a dope 17 year old producer from right outside LA...when we met him, he was working out of the back room at his parents' crib, and now he's PLATINUM...peep "Down To Earth" off Justin Bieber's MY WORLD album! MdL is part of Midi Mafia, and co-produced the record. Congrats to him! We did a dooooope record with him called "Voicemail" that the world will be hearing very soon.
The second pic is Greg Ogan, a member of The Writing Camp, whose most well known member is Evan "Kidd" Bogart, who wrote "Halo" for Beyonce, among many, many other smash records! We'll be working with Greg when we get back to LA.
The third pic is of Harvey Mason Jr's studio, one of the dopest spots i've ever been in. Harvey was one of the founding members of The Underdogs, who produced "No Air" for Jordin Sparks f/Chris Brown, and the music from the movie "Dreamgirls", among many, many other hits! We went there with Touch from Def Jam to meet Mansur, an up and coming producer in Harvey's camp, who we wrote records with for Shonie (Slip N Slide), and Khalil (Def Jam).
The fourth pic is of my partner in music, JayTel, mixing vocals on a record we wrote at Chalice Studios. It was 2 or 3 in the morning, and the air conditioner had been on in the room all night so he lost his voice from this session and could barely sing the next day! I believe we were working on the record we did for Lupe Fiasco with J.R. Don't know if the song made his album, but it was a great record!
The last pic is of Chalice Studios, Jonathan J.R. Rotem's studio. We worked there for two nights during our last visit, and wrote songs with J.R. for Plies, Lupe Fiasco, and took a shot at Leona Lewis' last album. Wait till part two!
Stay tuned!!!
48 Laws of Power, redux
On my twitter page (@billydlyrics), I started sharing the 48 Laws of Power as they relate to the music business (but it ate up my follower's timelines!)...Every successful person I've been blessed to speak with in this industry swears by it, and when i got the book and my team (LifeLine 360 Music) started applying the principles, we started to achieve success in the game. We give all praise to God for our success and for the opportunity, but success is about more than blessings; it's hard work, discipline, and above all, having a plan, and EXECUTING that plan...the 48 Laws of Power provide the blueprint to that plan. I want to share what we've learned about the Laws and how to apply them to your career with anyone interested in learning. Stay tuned....
First Post....of many!
What's up world? My name is Billy D with LifeLine 360 Music, and I'm a songwriter and producer based in Houston, TX. I'm managed by Nick Velo for NickVeloManagement, and have been blessed to write songs for many of your favorite artists and work with some of the greatest music producers of today. I started this blog to share my thoughts, as well as to provide a forum for up and coming writers, producers, and artists to network and gain information to help them on the grind. My philosophy is: put God first, put your heart into your craft, and let's GET IT!!!!
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