BMI "How I Wrote That Song" L.A. Industry Panel With Cee-Lo Green, Chad Hugo & More

via BMI

BMI staged the annual Grammy-infused installment of its popular “How I Wrote That Song” panel on Saturday, February 12 at the Key Club (9039 West Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069) in Los Angeles. Panelists included multiple Grammy-winning rapper/singer/songwriter/producer Cee Lo Green; multiple Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Seal; Grammy award-winning songwriter/producer Chad Hugo (of the Neptunes) ; Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Claude Kelly; hit songwriter Bonnie McKee; and hit songwriter BC Jean.

BMI’s “How I Wrote That Song” participants discussed their roles in composing a jaw-dropping collection of contemporary smashes, including Beyoncé’s “If I Were A Boy” (BC Jean); Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” and “Teenage Dream,” Britney Spears’ “Hold It Against Me,” and Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite” (Bonnie McKee); Bruno Mars’ “Grenade,” Kelly Clarkson’s “My Life Would Suck Without You,” Britney Spears’ “Circus,” Fantasia’s “Bittersweet,” Chrisette Michele’s “Blame It On Me,” and Miley Cyrus’ “Party In the USA” (Claude Kelly); Goodie Mob's“Cell Therapy,” Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” and Cee Lo Green’s “F**k You” aka “Forget You” (Cee Lo Green); Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” Jay Z’s “Excuse Me Miss” and “I Just Wanna Love you (Give It 2 Me),” Ludacris’ “Money Maker,” Robin Thicke’s “Wanna Love You Girl” and Gwen Stefani’s “Holla Back” (Chad Hugo); and “Krazy,” “Love’s Divine,” and “Kiss From a Rose” (Seal).

Catherine Brewton, BMI Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Atlanta, moderated the conversation, while Grammy-winning producer Dallas Austin served as co-host. BMI’s “How I Wrote That Song” was sponsored by TW Steel.

Photo Links:
Film Magic
Corbis Images

Bei Major: Songwriter, Artist & Producer Interview

via the Seattle Post Intelligencer

SPI: Although you started producing at the age of 16, I found it very motivating that you were able to juggle this career during your time at the University of Michigan. How challenging was it to balance school work with your production work?

Bei Major: Well first, thank you, bro, for that. That means a lot. I'm working a lot on just trying to keep everything going, so it's cool just to have these opportunities. So thank you for that.

As far as the college thing, that was the best time of my life. It was just the craziest experience, because on one end, I was at the University of Michigan, which is a prestigious school with all of these kids coming from around the world to go there. Then I had a whole other life of doing music. So I literally would be coming off a plane from Vegas to L.A. and going to midterms. Like leaving after school, going and working with some pretty big artists. So that was cool. I had to practice in my dorm room. I had all of that. It was like two worlds meeting at once, which was amazing.

Honestly, I'm trying to think if there's anyone who has had that exact experience and I can't think of it, because it was just so weird. Not that I was on the top level of either side, but just doing them at the same time was really strange. College can be like a full-time thing, and then doing music can be also a full-time thing, so I feel like I probably didn't sleep at all for those couple of years. But it was cool. It worked out. I learned a lot about balancing. I learned a lot about discipline. I learned what it takes to really go after something that you want to do. That was the main thing, to learn from that and just being able to meet so many cool people all over, travel and just really be able to do it all. It's awesome.

Read the full interview HERE

Sean Garrett Talks With American Songwriter Mag

AS: You’re earned the nick name of “The Pen.” Do you actually write with pen and paper?

SG: Generally I don’t. Generally I don’t write with paper, I just go in the booth and start singing and record. It’s very seldom that I’ll write with paper, but Jay-Z named me “the pen,” so sometimes I have to use the paper. [laughs]

AS: What’s your songwriting process is like?

SG: It’s a very emotional type of process, depending on what my mood was like at the time has a whole lot do with where I come from with the music. Most of the time I’m in a loving mood, but if I’m feeling aggressive, if people have been pissing me off, then I’m going to make up tempos and make people dance. I love to make people dance, it’s how I take the energy if somebody gets me a little upset, or if I feel challenged or something like that — then I go in and really take time to find a really incredible up tempo beat and make a really great up tempo club record. I take all the emotions of negativity and turn it into something positive.

AS: When you’re writing, what do you draw inspiration from?

SG: I draw from love, I draw from different people’s relationships, I draw from the things that I see. Sometimes it’s the things that I feel, and sometimes its the things that I think, and my songs are basically a perspective of something that I’ve seen and I give my opinion of it in the song.

AS: For your sophomore release, you’ve got this upcoming album, Courtesy Of.

SG: Courtesy Of is coming later on this year, right now we’re putting out my mixtape album which is called The Ink Well, it comes out and I’m really, really excited about it, it’s got a crazy amount of great features on it– Lil’ Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Yo Gotti, Bun B, Soulja Boy, Fabolous, and it’s hosted by my man DJ Green Lantern, it’s ridiculous, so I’m really excited about that. The Courtesy Of album is on the way as well, coming later this year. I’ve got a lot coming out, I’m doing a lot internationally as well, so I’m really excited.

Read The Full Interview Here

Bei Maejor - 'Gamez' Ft. Keri Hilson

From his upcoming free mixtape, uʍop ǝpısdn (Upside Down), Bei Maejor gives a taste of what we expect with new music featuring Ms. Keri Hilson on the track 'Gamez.'

Download Gamez here.

Urban Music Songwriters Offer Insight To Making Hit Records At ASCAP 'I Create Music' Expo

via Digital Music News

Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell, co-author of recent smashes "Umbrella" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)," was quite candid on the matter. Harrell told stories of painting houses to pay the bills, and only experiencing serious success more recently within his broader career.

Harrell has been active since the early 90s, and overnight success has never taken so many moons. "That's a long time, but I can look at a lot of people that have known me for years, and they always say the same thing: 'you never gave up, you kept going'," Harrell relayed. "But I was realistic that there were other things that I had to do. If that meant painting a house, I'd go paint that house."

Others told stories that shed light on a lifestyle that is anything but creative bliss. "A song a day keeps the IRS away," said Jane't Sewell-Ulepic, a co-writer behind the recent smash, "Empire State of Mind."

Still, some common themes emerged, including the importance of tapping into powerful emotions that listeners can relate to. Paul Williams, chairman of ASCAP and a well-known songwriter, joked that an artist emerging from a romantic break-up is "like a cornucopia" of creativity, while C. Tricky Stewart noted that great songs often carry an "emotion that strikes a chord with a lot of people."

Suddenly, everyday conversations can become the material for a great ditty. "Hit conversations lead to hit songs," Stewart continued. Tricky is a frequent collaborator with both Harrell and the Dream, an urban hit-making combination.

via Billboard.biz

(Tricky) Stewart said that when working with a recording artist, pre-conceived notions can be the death of creativity. When writing "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)," he was inspired by the relationship between Jay-Z and Beyonce before they were married. "I mean, it's Beyonce," he laughed. "Put a ring on it."

Makeba Riddick: The Songwriter Behind Rihanna's Number 1 Hit 'Rude Boy'

via US Magazine

UsMagazine.com: How did you get your industry start?

Makeba Riddick: When I finished Berklee, I moved to New York and I was interning for Columbia Records and Def Jam and working with every producer in the tri-state area because I always wrote songs just as a hobby. My demo got to Francesca Spiro, the head of publishing at Bad Boy at the time, and I signed my first deal when I was 21. I had my first No. 1 record when I was 22 -- Jennifer Lopez and LL Cool J’s "All I Have." And the following year Sean Combs signed me for his Bad Boy publishing through EMI and then from there it's just been off to the races.

Us: Do you have a favorite song/album that you have worked on?

MR: 'Live your Life' was probably my favorite. It was No. 1 in 2009 with T.I. and Rihanna off of T.I.'s Paper Trail album. We recorded the record in Italy so I got to go to Milan and Venice and we had a blast recording it. T.I. is one of my favorite artists so to be able to work with him was also a plus. That song is my biggest record that I've co-written to date -- it was No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart for 10 weeks.

Us: You have worked on all four of Rihanna's albums. What is it like working with her?

MR: I was there from the beginning from the week she got signed before she even had a record deal. I was one of the first people she went into the studio with. It is always a wild adventure with her. Rihanna travels a lot and she loves to have her people with her. We listen to music, we watch videos, we drink champagne, it's literally a party in the studio with her all of the time and it's fun.

Us: So you party inside and outside of the studio?

MR: We go to different clubs in different countries and cities and then in the studio our whole team will be there and we just we have a ball. We listen to music, we watch videos, we drink champagne, it's literally a party in the studio with her all of the time and it's fun.

Us: Rihanna seems to have a great sense of humor.

MR: She's very witty and definitely an easy person to work with. Although she's an international superstar, we've had a relationship for so many years now that it's like going in the studio with a cousin. It doesn't feel like work at all.

Us: Do you have a couple of fun anecdotes from working with her that stand out to you?

MR: We were in Hawaii last year and we were on these paddle-boards. Everyone we were with was falling into the water and it was hilarious, but Rihanna was the only one that was able to keep her balance. We're all soaking wet, drenched with water, hair all over the place and that really stood out to me because that was so much fun. Another time we were in London working on the Rated R album and there was a sushi spot we love that they shut down for us. Jay-Z and all his Rock Nation people were there and we turned that place into a club. It always just feels like family with her and her people.

Us: What's the inspiration behind the song "Rude Boy"?

MR: Rihanna and I both work with Stargate a lot -- the production duo from Norway -- and they had the track and started the idea with another writer Esther Dean. She actually came up with that concept but the song wasn’t done and there were things Rihanna wanted to change, so they brought it to me to finish. I was listening to the words and me and Ri and we were just laughing and talking about so many situations that have happened in the past and that happen to women everywhere. By the time we were done of course, we were laughing and giggling about the lyrics -- surprisingly everybody went nuts over the song.

Us: Where were you when you found out the song had hit No. 1?

MR: It’s always a very surreal feeling to have a No. 1 record. I have been there five times before, but it never gets old and it’s very exciting to know that everybody in the world is listening to your song. I found out about it on Twitter believe it or not. I had just come in from dinner and of course I’m on Twitter all of the time. I saw all these "Makeba congrats on your No. 1 record" Tweets. I knew "Rude Boy" was out and it was going to the top of the charts, but it jumped from No. 4 to No. 1 and I hadn't even seen the charts yet. Rihanna hit me up and was like "We're No. 1 today all over the world, congratulations." So it’s always, it's a real very surreal feeling.

Us: That’s so funny that you found out about it on Twitter.

MR: Yeah, Twitter is like the new CNN or something!

Jack Splash: Producer, Songwriter, Artist Interview

via Sheena Beaston

SB: So what are you doing down in Miami now?

JS: Um, I’m from LA originally and I moved out here I guess about 4 years ago now and it was only supposed to be a one year thing, like a working vacation type thing. But, I love it. I love the weather. I’m a beach dude, like that’s why I don’t love the snow. I just like the warm, tropical weather. Yeah, like this year’s been a little bit cold, but other than that, I love the weather and I’m a workaholic. And I live right on the beach so I can wake up and go swimming in the ocean, right on the beach.

SB: So you’ve been putting out some mix tapes in anticipation of the full length that’s coming out. Do you have a release date for the full album yet?

JS: Well, I had so many people on it that I had to get all the clearances, you know, all the label politics. But it’s coming out in May, I don’t have the exact date. The main reason I was putting out the free albums, and I call them the free albums because they’re really albums, you know what I mean, but the reason I wanted to do that, the first were more hip-hop based and on the new one I’m not rapping at all, it’s all singing, but I wanted my American people to know kinda where I come from so when the big album comes out or whatever, I didn’t want to come out of left field. I wanted the people to know, here’s my history, and it’s easier to tell those stories through hip-hop, you know what I mean? So, I’m not rapping at all on my real album. Lupe (Fiasco) is on it, and Missy (Elliott) and other people are doing the rapping part.

SB: That’s what I wanted to ask you. How much of the album then is you and your voice as opposed to the guests? Because I know you have a great lineup of people set to appear on the album...

JS: It’s still 90% me, you know? I guess the important thing is that I made the entire album on my own first. Our Plant Life stuff was like demos to me. I mean, to be honest and frank, I was drunk and just having fun and living life and documenting that in songs. So I didn’t really produce it, I wasn’t trippin out on how my vocals sounded, you know it sounded a little fucked up but it was supposed to sound a little fucked up. So I made the entire album on my own first, there was nobody on it. And it wasn’t until I finished and made this little animated movie with Cee-Lo and I was like, you know what, I really want to bring, I mean I know it sounds crazy, I hope this doesn’t come out as a bad quote, but I really wanted to kind of try and do what the Beatles did with Sgt. Pepper where it was all them but they brought in this really beautiful cast of characters to come participate in their little psychedelic world. So that’s really what I did.

Read the full Jack Splash interview here:
Sheena Beaston - The Royal Reign of Sir Jack Splash

Songwriter Rico Love Explains Hit Making Craft

via the Associated Press

Rico Love, who's produced tracks for Beyonce and Usher, talks about working with the R&B sensations and his hopes to produce for country artists like Taylor Swift and Keith Urban.

Earth, Wind & Fire: Songwriters Hall of Fame To Honor Legendary R&B Group

via the press release

NEW YORK, Feb. 16 -- Leonard Cohen, Jackie DeShannon, David Foster, Johnny Mandel and Earth, Wind & Fire's Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Larry Dunn and Al McKay will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year, SHOF Chairman/CEO Hal David announced today. The organization, which is dedicated to recognizing the work and lives of those composers and lyricists who create popular music around the world, returns for its highly anticipated 41st annual induction and awards dinner, scheduled for Thursday, June 17 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Special award honorees will be announced at a later date.

"Our 2010 inductees are truly representational of the heart and soul of the world's Popular Music soundtrack," commented Chairman/CEO Hal David. "We are looking forward to another memorable evening where we honor their extraordinary accomplishments."

For more info visit here:
Songwriters Hall of Fame website

Kevin Cossom: Songwriter & Artist Video Interview

Part 1 of interview with Grammy-nominated songwriter of Keri Hilson's - Knock you down, Kevin Cossom. He talks about how he got to where he is now, and also gives pointers to up and comers in the music business. New artists, songwriters, and producers pay attention.

Download Kevin Cossom's Hook vs. Bridge EP here:
kevincossom.com

Kevin Cossum yet to be titled album on N.A.R.S./Jive Records coming soon!

Sean Garrett: Singer, Songwritter & Music Producer Interview

via Blog Critics

Blog Critics: In addition to being a singer and songwriter, you are also a producer. At what particular point did you start playing the keys?

Sean Garrett: You know what’s so ironic about my production — my production was probably the last thing that I started doing. Production was the last thing I did because I was always studying music. And as an artist, I kind of did things backwards. I was an artist first, and then my songwriting started to just really flourish, and then fooling around with being a producer and being an artist was coming along at the same time. So, I think the first thing was definitely my beginning as an artist and knowing that that was my calling — was the point of me knowing that I had a big career as a songwriter, artist, and producer.

Blog Critics: Why do you think that your evolution followed that path?

Sean Garrett: I think because of the passion that I have for music, period. Some of my favorite artists were singers, songwriters and performers — like Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Elton John — they’re people that actually performed the music they wrote. So, that’s definitely the route that I’m taking because that’s what my passion is. I write songs that I feel are great songs, but I feel like only I can perform them and pull them off the way that I feel like they should be performed or written or actually sung. Sometimes it’s a little difficult when you have a song you want to try — you’ve got to try different things. I’m always trying different things. Sometimes it’s a little difficult to push a new artist or an artist that’s been in the game for a long time to do things that they’re not usually used to doing.

Blog Critics: Within the industry, you are known as “The Pen,” which is a nickname that Jay-Z gave you. Was this nickname given in response to a particular accomplishment?

Sean Garrett: Oh, wow! It was a number of things, when I think about it. Yeah, it definitely spoke to my accomplishments, but I’ve also worked really, really close with his wife, Beyoncé, and I’ve written quite a few big hits for her. So, I think it would have a combination of us, our relationship, in each other all the time. I would always look for his approval when I did a job for her that was crazy. The first hit I ever did for Destiny’s Child was “Soldier.” That record was kind of hood, you know what I’m saying? Something that Jay-Z could respect. And overall, I contributed nine songs to Destiny Fulfilled, which was really huge for me. And after that, I wrote six for Beyonce’s B’Day album.

Read the full interview here:
Interview: Sean Garrett – Singer, Songwriter, and Producer

R. City: Artist and Songwitting Duo Interviewed

via BallerStatus

BallerStatus.com: You guys were songwriters before you own careers started taking off. How did you become involved in writing for other artists?

R. City: We got into the songwriting thing about three or four years ago because we wrote a song called "The Rain," back in seventh grade and we re-recorded it because everybody back home told us how good it was when we put it back out in the Virgin Islands. So we played it for Akon and he was working on his second album and did it. After he did it, everybody was coming up to us asking if we're songwriters, so we said "Yeah." Because at the time, we were broke.

BallerStatus.com: How did you get signed to Konvict Music?

R. City: We've known Akon for about six or seven years as of now and we're all good friends. At the end of the day, we did the deal Konvict because it made the most sense. He let us have full creative control because so many people would try to change us and put us into this box. We just rolled with Kon because he was friend for about two or three years before the deal and he was one of the few people who truly understood who we are, what we do, and what we represent.

BallerStatus.com: Do you feel that there's pressure to succeed because of all the success that the label has had so far?

R. City: We don't really get caught up in all the hype of clicks. Although we're signed to Konvict, no disrespect, but if Konvict were to start beefing with G-Unit or Ruff Ryder or whatever, we're not apart of that.

Read the full interview:
BallerStatus - R. City Explain Problems With Being Boxed In Musically — Talk Akon, Songwriting & Long-Term Goals

Sean Garrett Runs Through The Hits On Power 98 Radio Interview Charlotte, NC

Sean Garrett's new website:
I Am The Pen

Sean Garrett's MySpace:
Sean Garrett's My Space

Sean Garrett on Wikipedia:
Sean Garrett Wikipedia

Related:
Sean Garrett And Bangladesh In The Studio

Songwritter Claude Kelly In Two Separate Interviews

via BallerStatus

Songwriter, Claude Kelly, has been in a long relationship with music since his day of birth. Singing at an early age, enabled Claude to venture into the Neverland of music, and segue his way into songwriting. Penning for the likes of Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Akon, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson and more, has allowed Claude to develop a love that not too many have with their day jobs.

In this one-on-one interview with Ballerstatus, Claude revealed his love for music, writing in different genres, writing for the late Michael Jackson, and whether he's ready for a music career of his own.

BallerStatus.com: Can you give the readers some insight, as far as who you have worked with in your career?

Claude Kelly: Sure. I've worked with Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis, Akon, R. Kelly -- just to name a few.

BallerStatus.com: Being able to write for different artists of different genres today is such a rarity. How important do you think it is to be versatile when becoming a songwriter?

Claude Kelly: I think it's the main part of being a songwriter. If you don't know how to flip, and work with different sounds, then that could be a disadvantage. It's been special for me to work with Britney Spears, and then, a couple days later, work with Akon. Just being able to jump genre to genre is real important today, especially when you know your homework.

via Singersroom

Singersroom: How did you get into songwriting?

Claude Kelly: I wasn’t one of those songwriters that started writing at three or four years old. I kind of stumbled on it by accident. I was a singer and I played the piano and a couple of other instruments. After I graduated college I was trying to figure out a way to make some money so I said “let me try to figure out something and make things work.” I got in the studio with a friend of mines and wrote a song and it just clicked one day. From then I just have been writing and getting better and better.

Singersroom: Why do you love R&B?

Claude Kelly: R&B is heart music…its soul music! I think it’s the genre that best presents the emotions the best. It’s where you can be the most dramatic and pour your heart out in a record while telling a great story.

Read each article here:
BallerStatus - Songwriter Claude Kelly Talks Writing For Michael Jackson, Working In Different Genres
Singersroom - Claude Kelly: Bridging Music

Learn more about Claude Kelly here:
MySpace
Twitter

BMI Urban Awards Honors Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Kanye West And Others

via press release:

U.S. music rights organization BMI saluted the world's premier R&B, rap and hip-hop songwriters, producers and publishers tonight at its annual Urban Awards. BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Catherine Brewton, Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Atlanta, hosted the ceremony at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th Street, New York City.

Hip-hop titans T-Pain and Lil Wayne shared the prestigious Songwriter of the Year prize, as trendsetters Polow Da Don and Kanye West both earned Producer of the Year titles. Song of the Year honors went to Jordin Sparks' "No Air," written by Erik Griggs, while Universal Music Publishing Group garnered yet another Publisher of the Year crown.

The capstone of the night's festivities was the presentation of the BMI Icon Award to George Clinton, whose achievements were celebrated with an all-star musical tribute, featuring performances by Cee-Lo Green, who delivered "One Nation Under a Groove"; Parliament/Funkadelic's Bootsy Collins, who performed "Atomic Dog"; Janelle Monáe who performed "Flashlight"; and Dallas Austin, Big Gipp and Outkast's Big Boi, whose medley of "(Not Just) Knee Deep," "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)" and "Up for the Down Store" was the jaw-dropping conclusion.

Photos:
BMI.com
Getty Images
Wire Image
Wire Image - After Party

A complete list of nominees and winners here:
2009 BMI Urban Awards: BMI Award-Winning Songs