Songwriters: SongTown.Com Offers Learning, Support and Connections
Today marks the official launch of a new website and songwriters’ community, SongTown.com.
Run by hit Nashville songwriters Clay Mills and Marty Dodson, SongTown.com provides webinars, classes, retreats, video tutorials, advice and more for aspiring and professional songwriters of all genres.
The SongTown project began as a Facebook group, which currently has nearly 12,000 members. Now with the launch of SongTown.com, the pair hopes to create a self-contained community of mutually creative and supportive members.
Co-Founder Clay Mills shares, “Our goal is to help artists and songwriters grow their craft and pursue their dreams. Marty and I felt there were a lot of folks out there calling themselves ‘experts’ or ‘gurus’ and charging songwriters and artists for their advice. The only problem was that many of these ‘experts’ had never succeeded at what they were teaching. They were making their living off aspiring writers and giving a lot of wrong, useless information. We wanted to have a place where folks could get the real deal from people who were walking the walk.”
SongTown also plans to aid its members with opportunities to connect and improve with pitch to publishers, mentoring sessions, member forums, tip sheets, educational opportunities and more. Dodson explains, “If your music needs to be better, we tell you. We don’t sugar-coat the truth. But, we give you the tools to improve. If your music is great, then we will do our best to direct you to the people that can help you get your songs heard.”
Both Dodson and Mills have written multiple number one charting hits. Their achievements include Dodson cuts like Billy Currington’s “Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right” and Kenny Chesney’s “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven,” and Mills hits like Darius Rucker’s “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” and Diamond Rio’s “Beautiful Mess.” The two have had nearly 200 songs recorded between them with cuts on artists as diverse as Darius Rucker, Joe Cocker, Carrie Underwood, Kimberly Locke, Rascal Flatts, Diamond Rio, George Strait and The Plain White T’s.
Mills and Dodson launched the SongTown Facebook group in January 2012 and post daily advice and tips for their followers. They plan to keep the Facebook group alive but offer even more support and priceless opportunities via SongTown.com. Admission to their series of fun and informative live online webinars is part of every membership. Mills concludes, “We are a big creative family at SongTown. Finding the support of like-minded friends and collaborators changes lives.”
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Acoustic Nation is written by Laura B. Whitmore, a music industry marketing veteran, music journalist and editor, who has contributed to Parade.com, Guitar World, and others. She has interviewed hundreds of musicians and hosts the She Rocks Podcast. As the founder of the Women’s International Music Network, she advocates for women in the music industry and produces the annual She Rocks Awards. She is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Positive Grid, making the world safe for guitar exploration everywhere! A guitarist and singer/songwriter, Laura is currently co-writing an album of pop songs that empower and energize girls.
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