How To Promote Songs Wrap-Up

insightful and entertaining commentary on how to promote songs from a distinguished group of panelists including Larry Batiste of Pure Delite Music (Al Jarreau, Patti Austin, Shanice, Lisa Fischer, the Yellowjackets, the Dramatics, the Chi-Lites, Lenny Williams, and the Dazz Band); Jeff Straw (Director Of Music Licensing, INgrooves); and Ritch Esra (Co-founder of the Music Business Registry and former West Coast Director of A&R for Arista Records (The Thompson Twins, Air Supply, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Melissa Manchester, Tanya Tucker, Jennifer Warnes and Jermaine Jackson).

NARIP Snapshots

Highlights of the program included Esra’s historical perspective on the A&R profession, Batiste discussing the elements of a great song in relation to how a movie unfolds, and Straw detailing the various types of licensing deals in television, film, and interactive games that enable copyright owners and artists to make money with their songs.

Some of the more memorable moments of the program included Esra’s message on how creative people should think of creative ways to get their songs placed. Batiste explained in detail how administrative deals work for self-published songwriters and how they can get the most out of such deals and free up more time to focus on the craft of songwriting. Straw’s overview of the licensing process and the mechanics of doing a licensing deal had the audience feverishly taking notes. He gave hip-hop artists a blueprint on how to become major content providers. Panelists were also given a list of licensing companies that facilitate song placement by Esra and Straw.

Attorney Heather Nelson Beverly gave an animated primer on the legalities of music licensing complete with examples of how a single song can generate multiple revenue streams from various uses. Her breakout session gave the receptive crowd practical guidelines to take home.

The event concluded with song evaluations by panelists who were joined by Niko Ellison of Laniko Music and drummer Anthony Beverly. They gave feedback on song structure, vocal performance, writing skill, production values, and song quality. The theme of the demo evaluation panel could easily have been: the value and importance of “the pay-off”: the portion of the song that we emotionally connect with which sticks in our memories.

Congratulations to Cindy Harvell for receiving great response to her song “Photographs,” and to The Diligentz for “Drop Top Space Ship.”

This NARIP event will be back by popular demand.

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