Twin CITIES MUSE FOR WEEK OF MAY 5, 2008
Brad Dunse, Editor
brad@twincitiesmuse.com
www.twincitiesmuse.com
www.myspace.com/twincitiesmuse
www.braddunsemusic.com
715-760-0712


*** If you're having trouble viewing the MuseLetter here view it on-line at www.twincitiesmuse.com ***


"Inspiration comes of working every day." -- Charles Baudelaire

"Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat." -- Napoleon Hill

"The greatest composer does not sit down to work because he is inspired, but becomes inspired
because he is working." -- Ernest Newman


Quick Tip: Says you!
OK. You brought your latest, greatest, dang straightest best tune for critique. You pass the sheets around, sing and play your heart out, take a bow, puff out your chest, and strut back to your seat and then someone says… “You got some good stuff in here but…” and then your baby is torn to shreds or so it seems, ending with “… but it has great potential… nice start on a great idea!” So you take offense at the audacity to say it’s a great start… “It’s a great finish!!” you feel. You might find yourself being defensive, interrupting the feedback, making excuse for why you wrote what you did and so forth and so on. You’ll probably also notice that as feedback goes around the room folks will be less likely to say anything to avoid a debate. There’s been occasions where songs were brought for critique only to say “I wasn’t going to change anything on it anyway really”. Well? Then why bring it? Leave it in your writing bag and don’t waste the time and efforts of your peers. If you want an “ ‘at a boy”, play it for mom and dad, but a critique session is not the place. If you just want to show someone maybe afterwards when folks are chit chatting you can toss it at them if they are willing. That might seem harsh but it is important to respect those volunteering their time and thoughts to your song if you want to have continued feedback let alone possibly co-write with someone. So if you bring a song for critique, welcome it, realize it is opinion… some valid, some personal choice, be mature enough to know none of us are passed the point of helpful suggestion, any song can always be made better and you never know, they just might be right. A sign of a secure maturing writer is to take critiques with a nodding head and a few appreciative thank you's and perhaps even a rewrite brought back for critique the following week or two.


Grab Bag Giveaway: Congratulations to Susan West from Spring Valley, WI who was April's Grab Bag Giveaway winner. One copy of Lyricist software and a copy of Jason Blume's Six Steps To Successful Songwriting. May's giveaway is one tuition for the Bob Franke songwriting workshop coming up on June 14 and 15.

*** This month's Grab Bag Giveaway is a Bob Franke Songwriting Workshop sponsored by Bread and Butter Musician's Services and Twin Cities Muse.

June 14 and 15 is a rare opportunity to a limited amount of attendees to a songwriting workshop with Bob Franke. Bob has had cuts by Kathy Mattea, Peter, Paul and Mary, and many others. Two of his songs appear in the top ten of WERS-Boston's 1988 poll of all-time favorite folksongs. Folk songster Tom Paxton says this about Bob… "It's his integrity. I always think of Bob as if Emerson and Thoreau had picked up acoustic guitars and gotten into songwriting. There's touches of Mark Twain and Buddy Holly in there, too."… Don't miss your opportunity and tell a friend about this special opportunity. More information is at www.twincitiesmuse.com in the Special Events link. One person will win tuition for the workshop but sign up anyway, if you win, sponsors pick up the tab! ***
Featured Resource: I Write The Songs: http://www.iwritethesongs.com/

Mary Dawson is a published writer, producer, columnist and also an adjunct instructor in Dallas Texas besides the person behind I Write The Songs. I Write The Songs is a radio show plus more. On her site you'll find some article archives. She has a question of the week, links to the most recent radio show to listen on line if you do not get it locally; as well archive interviews with Michael McDonald and Craig Wiseman plus other interesting shows. You can sign up for a monthly newsletter as well. This is a nice resource and I found the interviews to be very enlightening… check it out.


*** Gig Dates ***
Send us your gig dates and we'll list them here each week as well on the web version of Twin Cities Muse… they won't come if you don't tell 'em, and we're hear to help tell 'em! Spread the word to your writer/performer friends, it costs them nothing for free plugs to their gigs… another no brainer! ***


Monday, May 5, 2008

Dunn Bros – Grand- 1569 Grand Ave., St. Paul, MN, 51.698.0618

8:30PM Joe Juliano


Acadia Cafe, 329 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 612-874-8702

9:00PM best friends forever

*** Professional Graphic Art/Design http://www.cartoonsbysketch.com

Cartoons By Sketch - Graphic Design: If you're in need of Customized logos, Web Design, CD Jacket Artwork, customized greeting cards; Thank You's; Invitations or any graphical art needs Sketch is the one to see!! Check out his animated portfolio in the above link... you'll agree he's plenty qualified. He has designed a few projects for me including TCM's logo. Call Sketch at 715-781-6167 with any questions or quotes. ***

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Dunn Bros – Grand- 1569 Grand Ave., St. Paul, MN, 51.698.0618

8:30PM Rachel Schroeder, Kelsey Wefale


Cedar Cultural Center - 416 Cedar Ave South, Minneapolis, MN, 55454

7:00PM Mirah and Spectratone International present "Share This Place"


318 Café, 318 Water St., Excelsior, MN 5531, 952-401-7902

7:30pm Carolyn Cruso


*** RE-fest

Sustainable Songwriting Competition. Submit a recording of your original environmental song and you could win cash prizes and the opportunity to perform your song on the solar stage at RE-fest in Austin, MN on September 20, 2008. There is a $10 per song entry fee. Deadline for entries is June 15th, 2008. View all the contest details at http://re-fest.org/sustainable_songwriting_contest.htm ***

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Dunn Bros – Grand- 1569 Grand Ave., St. Paul, MN, 51.698.0618

8:30PM Matt Larson


Whiskey Junction: 901 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, 612-338-9550

7:00PM Steve West


Gingkos Coffeehouse- 721 N. Snelling Avenue, St. Paul, MN -651-645-2647

6:30PM Open Stage

*** VSS Lyricist a wonderful system to keep your lyrics, sound files, charts and notes all in one place. Has support for Nashville Numbering, chord finder wizard, text formatting, rhyming dictionary, thesaurus and more… Go to the sponsors link at http://www.twincitiesmuse.com and click on their link for more info. ***

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 continued

Acadia Cafe, 329 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 612-874-8702

9:00PM Dan Newton


318 Café, 318 Water St., Excelsior, MN 5531, 952-401-7902

8:00pm Open Stage


Thursday, May 8, 2008
Dunn Bros – Grand- 1569 Grand Ave., St. Paul, MN, 51.698.0618

8:30PM Ben Tucker


Terminal Bar: 405 E. Hennepin Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN, 612-623-4545

9:00PM StacyK

*** Natural Sound Studio

Got a CD project in mind? Need a demo made, CD package designed? On-site recording at one of your gigs? Go to
http://www.naturalsoundstudio.com/ or call Steve directly at 612-670-9348 and tell him TCM sent you ***

Thursday, May 8, 2008 continued

Gingkos Coffeehouse- 721 N. Snelling Avenue, St. Paul, MN -651-645-2647

7:30PM Gregory Douglass, Kirsten Melrose


Coffee Grounds - 1579 Hamline Avenue, Falcon Heights, Minnesota 651-644-9959

7:00PM Roots Music Showcase


The Hazelnut Tree: 860 Main Street, Baldwin, WI, 715.684.4858

7:30PM CO2


Cedar Cultural Center - 416 Cedar Ave South, Minneapolis, MN, 55454

7:00PM Jeremy Messersmith with Johnny Hermanson (of Storyhill)


318 Café, 318 Water St., Excelsior, MN 5531, 952-401-7902

8:00pm Joe Demko Quartet - CD RELEASE PARTY!


Friday, May 9, 2008

Dunn Bros – Grand- 1569 Grand Ave., St. Paul, MN, 51.698.0618

9:00PM Allyson Road


Corner Coffee: 514 N 3rd Street, Minneapolis MN 55401, 612 338 2002

7:00PM Nigel Egg


Gingkos Coffeehouse- 721 N. Snelling Avenue, St. Paul, MN -651-645-2647

8:00PM Lou Bartholomew and Friends


Coffee Grounds - 1579 Hamline Avenue, Falcon Heights, Minnesota 651-644-9959

8:00PM Glory Muse


Betsy's Backporch Coffee: 5447 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, 612-827-8283

7:30PM PAUL RENZ JAZZ


Acadia Cafe, 329 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 612-874-8702

9:00PM The Nite Owls

*** Skip Ewing's Horse And Rider Invitational Workshop Scholarship

This is a rare opportunity to all songwriters. Hit writer Skip Ewing has helmed the Horse & Writer Classic program for eight consecutive years, and is launching the premier Invitational program this year in the week preceding the Classic program’s ninth run. From August 24 -August 30, 2008, 20 hand-picked writers, on the merit of their work, will be invited on scholarship to receive concentrated songwriting mentorship For more information go to http://www.horseandwriter.com/ ***

Friday, May 9, 2008 continued

The Nova of Hudson - 236 Coulee Rd - Hudson, WI 54016 - 715-386-2545

7:00PM Tim Brown


Boonedocks: 2448 State Highway 55 SE, Buffalo, MN, 763-684-0300

9:00PM Shane Wyatt


Celt's Irish Pub: 14506 South Robert Trail, Rosemount MN, 651-322-7995

8:00PM Michael Loonan


Dulono's: 607 W Lake St Mpls, MN, 612-827-1726

8:00PM MBOTMA Fundraiser


Coffee Bené, 53 Cleveland Ave South St. Paul, MN 55105, 651-698-2266, http://www.coffeebene.com/

8:00PM Fairlanes


Cafe Juliahna: 879 Smith Ave, West St Paul, MN, 651.450.7070

7:00PM Jenny Perelstein


*** WikiRhymer http://www.wikirhymer.com/
Check out this self-building free rhyming dictionary used by pros as well beginners! Find out how to have it be the default search tool as well! ***

*** Dave Isaacs Performing Songwriter Workshop

Friday, May 9, 2008 continued

Crossings at Carnegie brings you yet another songwriting workshop featuring Dave Isaacs. A seasoned road musician, solo performer, songwriter, with two degrees in guitar performance, Dave brings you techniques he teaches at home in his Nashville studio. Great performers are able to simultaneously reach audiences on multiple levels: in their gut, ears, and heart, as well craft the messages and melodies that make that connection possible. This workshop will explore the ways we as performing songwriters can make the most impact on stage, in a way that fits our own personal and musical style. For more info go to http://www.crossingsatcarnegie.com/page0004.html#DaveIssacsMasterClass or call (507) 732-7616 ***

318 Café, 318 Water St., Excelsior, MN 5531, 952-401-7902

8:00pm Pickin' Up Steam with Joe Cruz


The SPACE: 156 High Street, New Richmond, WI, 715-246-3180

8:00PM Justin Roth

*** Natural Sound Studio Monthly Song Circle

Come out to Natural Sound Studio for a gathering of pickers, players and singers for an evening of swapping stories and tunes. Join the circle and play covers or original tunes. We've had folks from California to northern MN show up and yet it always is a quaint good time jamming to each others tunes. Bring your instrument and/or your voice and come out and join in! For more info see http://www.twincitiesmuse.com Special Events section ***

Saturday, May 10, 2008:

Dunn Bros – Grand- 1569 Grand Ave., St. Paul, MN, 51.698.0618

9:00PM Tony Glover


Coffee Grounds - 1579 Hamline Avenue, Falcon Heights, Minnesota 651-644-9959

8:00PM James Curry


Cedar Cultural Center - 416 Cedar Ave South, Minneapolis, MN, 55454

7:00PM New Riverside Ramblers


Cedar Cultural Center - 416 Cedar Ave South, Minneapolis, MN, 55454

10:30AM Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players


Betsy's Backporch Coffee: 5447 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, 612-827-8283

8:00PM NEAL SWANGER


Acadia Cafe, 329 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 612-874-8702

9:00PM Gabriel James


Blue Moon: 427 West 3rd Street, Red Wing, MN, 651-385-5799

7:30PM Trapper Schoepp and Cam Waters

*** Minnesota Association of Songwriters

Looking for a group of like-minded individuals… songwriters? Perhaps some educational opportunities in songwriting? Have your songs critiqued? Opportunities for showcasing your songs? Discounts at local businesses? Join MAS for that and more. Go to http://www.mnsongwriters.org/ for more info. ***

Saturday, May 10, 2008 continued


The Nova of Hudson - 236 Coulee Rd - Hudson, WI 54016 - 715-386-2545

7:00PM DB Rousch


Trobec’s: 1 Central Ave S, St Stephen, MN,

9:30PM Shane Wyatt


Dulono's: 607 W Lake St Mpls, MN, 612-827-1726

8:00PM MBOTMA Fundraiser


Cafe Juliahna: 879 Smith Ave, West St Paul, MN, 651.450.7070

7:00PM An Answer in the Ecco


318 Café, 318 Water St., Excelsior, MN 5531, 952-401-7902

8:00pm Michael Monroe


Unitarian Universalist Society of River Falls: N8010 State Hwy 65, River Falls, WI,

10:15Am Sue West


University of Wisconsin River Falls: Knowles Center, Main St, River Falls, WI

8:00PM Nathan Miller Band, Craig Morgan


Crossings at Carnegie: 320 East Avenue, Zumbrota, Mn, (507) 732-7616

8:00pm Justin Roth & John Hermanson


*** Nashville Songwriter's Association International - NSAI

The local NSAI workshop meets twice monthly-the 1st Tuesday and 3rd Wednesday of each month. Meetings start at 7PM held at Natural Sound Studio-989 Selby Ave in St. Paul. For more information about NSAI see the Writer's Resources page at www.twincitiesmuse.com ***

Saturday, May 10, 2008 continued

MIDWEST COUNTRY MUSIC THEATER, SANDSTONE, MN 320-245-2429

3:00PM Red Johnson
5:00PM Red Johnson


Sunday, May 11, 2008

Dunn Bros – Grand- 1569 Grand Ave., St. Paul, MN, 51.698.0618

7:30PM Open stage with Gary Lumpkin


Cedar Cultural Center - 416 Cedar Ave South, Minneapolis, MN, 55454

7:00PM Sara Thomsen CD release and Mothers' Day Show

CD Listings


Sue West "Wash Me Up On The Shore" http://cdbaby.com/cd/suewest3
Sue West "Wild Fruit" http://cdbaby.com/cd/suewest1
Sue West Field And Wood http://cdbaby.com/cd/suewest2
Wayne Hamilton "The Present" http://www.waynehamilton.com/Records/newCD.htm
Wayne Hamilton "Lucky That Way" http://www.waynehamilton.com/Records/ltw.htm
John Bennett "True Satisfier" http://tcmusic.net/musician948.html
John Bennett "Whole Heart" http://tcmusic.net/musician948.html

--End

One Thing A Day For My songwriting Journey

Tour Merchandise and Promotional Products


Songwriting and Tax Accounting








One Thing a Day for My Songwriting Journey

By Doak Turner Associate Writer





If I told you that you could do 300+ things between now and this day next year – you would think that I am crazy! However you can do 300+ things – just
“One Thing A Day” over the year is how many? That’s right – 300+ things on your journey in the next year!

As a songwriter who lived outside of Nashville until 2002, I would follow a plan that really helped me stay focused and stay on my songwriting journey.
I called it simply, "Do one thing a day for my songwriting." Those "things" have enabled me to develop a great network in Nashville of friends and industry
professionals, to be prepared when I moved to Nashville with the craft and business of songwriting, to write better songs on my songwriting journey, and
to really keep my songwriting goals focused over the years prior to moving to Nashville. Whether you are planning on moving to Nashville or another music
community – these tips can help you stay on your journey and learn something every day!

One thing a day includes making a phone call or e-mail to a songwriter to set up a co-write session, or an industry professional to ask a songwriting business
question, or someone in the workshop to discuss an upcoming event. Or, I might make plans for my next trip to Nashville , plans for an upcoming workshop
meeting and guest speakers for the local events, or contact the media for those local songwriting events. Sometimes I would talk to a couple of out-of-town
or out-of-state friends who are on the songwriting journey to share ideas, goals, challenges and successes. Sometimes a call would be needed to say hello
to someone whom I haven't spoken to for a while, who always encouraged me in life, and to share what was going on in my life, even thought that friend
was not a songwriter. They are (and still continue to be) great, positive friends who believe in me.

Other kinds of one thing a day include opening my hook-book to write a hook that I had just found reading a book, a conversation overheard during the day.
Or, I might find a hook from watching a movie or TV, from the preacher's sermon, a newspaper, or magazine. Sometimes, the hook "came to me from the sky,"
or wherever those hooks come from, and seem to find our songwriter's antenna, move into our head, and then down our arm onto the paper. I also open the
hook book to review ideas I've written in it, to see if I could write another verse or chorus to something I had started previously, and maybe even complete
a song in my hook book.

I might play the guitar or keyboard - even for a couple minutes a day - which is another excellent thing to do that may inspire an idea. I learn another
melody that can lead to a song, learn a new chord or strumming pattern, or work to improve a song that I've written. If I have more than a couple minutes,
then I play the instrument and visualize myself playing my songs to an audience, a concert hall, one of our local venues, or playing live in the venue
of that is my ultimate goal.

One thing a day also includes reading just a chapter - or even one or two pages - of a songwriting book a day to increase my songwriting skills. Hey, folks
- we all know what our favorite room to read is - so go ahead and have a songwriting book in there at all times! If I read a little before going to bed,
I often make it a songwriting or industry publication for my bedtime stories. I read the "how to" songwriting books, biographies about people in the songwriting
or music industry, or any book or industry magazine that enables me to learn one thing per day. It's is a great investment for my songwriting journey.
One of my favorite books to read for my songwriting journey is “The Craft and Business of Songwriting Third Edition” by John Braheny and available at any
book store or
www.johnbraheny.com .

Plan on attending songwriting seminars to learn and network in the business. There are several seminars in Nashville each year. Subscribe to the Nashville
Muse at
www.nashvillemuse.com
to find out about hit songwriting seminars.

There are several websites – check out one a day – maybe google songwriting and see what comes up and read the articles –just one a day!
www.musicdish.com
is an excellent resource,
www.americansongwriter.com .
www.performingsongwriter.com
and go to the hit songwriters that you love their songs – several have songwriting tips and read how the hit songwriters persisted on their journey.
www.patpattison.com
contains songwriting tips, many guitar players have sites with songwriting tips –
www.garytalley.com
has tips of the week.
www.acousticguitar.com
and
www.about.com
and click guitar has a weekly on-line newsletter that is beneficial to songwriters. Another great site is
http://songwritersconnection.com/
as they have songwriting tips and you can sign up for a weekly newsletter The Songwriters Connection that is full of songwriting tips and ideas!

Some other things that I did while still in Charlotte , and you can to, is to attend and get involved in the local songwriting community. I was the Nashville
Songwriters Association International (NSAI) coordinator in Charlotte , North Carolina , from 1996 - 2002. I was fortunate to have two great co-coordinators
for the last year in Charlotte , as I had my condo on the market and was making plans to move to Nashville . I know from personal experience that it's
great when songwriters ask what they can do to get involved with the local songwriter workshop.

I highly recommend networking in your local community by attending the music events and singer/songwriter nights. This is an excellent place to meet new
co-writers and friends that have the same interests as you and inspire new songs. Help build your songwriting community – get involved or start a group
of songwriters and musicians organization to bring music people together. Start a newsletter in your community that lets everyone know who is playing where
and other music happenings! An example is the Nashville Muse that is sent to 10,000 readers every Monday. You can go to
www.nashvillemuse.com
and see “This Week’s Edition” and do the same type of e-mail newsletter for your community and be a resource to that community!

One thing a day should include time to review your goals. I wrote my goals down and placed them where I could see them every day. I still do this. That
way, I can pause for a minute, look and make sure I have done one thing that day for my songwriting journey. Visualize your goals happening with your songwriting.
But, the most important thing for you to do each day is - Have Fun on Your Songwriting Journey!
Back To Top







Tour Merchandise and Promotional Products

Contributed by Gigi Swanson and Doak Turner and Nashville Muse. Be sure to check out Nashville Muse for other resources and up to date songwriter gigs and events in Nashville.





Tour Merchandise and Promotional Products

The following contribution is from Gigi Swanson of M.G. Incentives, Inc., a company that specializes in promotional products. The company has worked with
advertising firms and corporations for nearly 15 years. She started an entertainment division 2 years ago when she left her teaching and administrative
duties as director of the music business program at McNally Smith College of Music located in the Twin Cities. She commutes between the company’s Minneapolis
and St. Petersburg offices and is about to open a satellite office in Nashville early 2005. For more information go to
www.logomall.com/mginc

The “T” in Tour Merchandise Stands For T-shirt

When you think of tour merchandise you might conjure images of major label artists playing large arenas and selling everything from tie- dye T -shirts,
bumper stickers, embroidered baseball caps and in the case of the Rolling Stone’s famed Voodoo Lounge tour—a custom motorcycle.

But even if you are an independent artist you can run your business like the big acts by utilizing an added revenue stream source—custom merchandise. As
an artist/ performer you are selling an experience and fans will buy a souvenir of that experience in the form of a CD , a T- shirt, button, poster, etc.
As music fans we have all come home

with something more tangible than a ticket stub and it’s usually something we can wear.

The custom wearables market has a lot to choose from but let’s focus on the long held wardrobe staple---the T-shirt.

What better promotion is there than a walking billboard to advertise who you are and what you do. It is a fairly inexpensive item and if made with good-quality
materials it can last a very long time. But better than that, there is a healthy margin of profit in the sales of wearables that can at least offset or
even cover your travel expenses. You can package CD’s with a T –shirt for an “added value” sales incentive such as offering them “half off” with a CD purchase.
You can use them as door prizes or as a thank you for the sound guy or the waitress at the clubs you play. A small gesture of goodwill goes a long way
in building relationships and fans in your career. The same applies for coffeehouse, church and house concert gigs. Even when you play for free you can
earn money.

Don’t think selling T- shirts is for more visible and established acts. If you are playing out and selling CDs you can sell shirts. But before you jump
in, here are a few pointers to make your promotional dollars work for you.

The most popular T- shirt is the basic crew neck. Not only is it low in cost it’s a style that people are familiar with . As far as color options- the sky
is the limit with the least expensive being the standard white, then the heathers/naturals, then the darker colors. Besides the basic tee, you can branch
out with different styles such as 70’s retro ringer tees, baseball raglan tees and new styles made for women such as scoop necks and baby-doll tees.

I prefer 100% cotton heavyweight Tees in the 6.0 oz range for long term durability. Brands such as Gildan, Hanes, and Jerzees have been common favorites
for years. Heavier fabric is knitted tighter which enables a better screen print especially when using detail and 4 color process. Plus they are typically
cut larger and hold up better with multiple washings. But you must think of the tastes of the end user and the image you are trying to promote . That’s
where fashion often comes in. Knowing your audience is key.

For example, one of my Rap group clients goes for the large size heavier weight tees whereas a rock group client sells mostly light weight, smaller tight
fitting “alternative”

tees. They cost more but the look they achieve supports their “brand image”.

What makes your T-shirt sell isn’t the style, it’s size or color but it’s logo design. Logo art needs to be readable and convey the image you want to promote
but keep in mind that it should be something a person will want to wear.

When it comes to printing logos, you can opt for gel, sugar-glitter, suede, reflective, metallic, glow in the dark, and ink in 1 color or up to 12 colors.

Scree printing using one color ink in one position on the shirt is the most economical. You have to pay for an art screen with each color you use as well
as for any extra handling of the shirt. That includes flipping it over to print on a different side. Some artwork may require added film screens to replicate
more complicated designs. So keep it simple if you can. If you have to go with a certain “look” make sure you get a thorough quote before you proceed.

You should make sure your logo art is in a graphic format saved as an eps file. Imprinters charge an hourly rate to prepare art that isn’t standard. Most
printers carry standard Pantone Colors but also offer color- matching inks for an added charge.

How many T-shirts should you buy? The real breakpoints in the industry occur at 144 units but that amount isn’t practical for everyone. You can find reasonable
shirts at the 72 unit range or even less if you plan it right. Funds still short? I know of some bands that purchased co-op shirts with another band or
with a sponsor such as a local nightclub. They basically sold space on the shirt to share or subsidize the cost and helped promote their partners at the
same time.

If you can get your shirts for under $5 and sell them in the $10-15 range you will see a quick return on your investment. When I taught music business classes
I use to illustrate the power of selling tour merchandise to my students in this way: A typical major label recording artist might make a little over $1
off the sale of a CD . He would have to sell 5 CD’s or more to make the same margin off the sale of one basic T- shirt. That’s why the majors own their
own merchandise companies.

Tour merchandise can be incorporated in your overall marketing plan. It fits right in with preparing press kits, driving traffic to your website, getting
people in the door and selling CDs. Back To Top






Songwriting and Tax Accounting




This article graciously provided by Doak Turner and Nashville Muse. Check out Nashville Muse for other resources and for up to date songwriter gigs in Nashville.




Tax and accounting seminar with Cathy McCormack, CPA and co - author of the book, Financial Management for Musicians.

Cathy McCormack is a Certified Public Accountants in Nashville, TN that works with several songwriters, artists and entertainment industry professionals
with their financial and tax business. Cathy can be reached at cathy@cpacg.com or phone 615-322-1225.

Songwriters Guild of America hosted a seminar in the Nashville, TN office. Below are the highlights of the tax and financial management seminar.

A publisher came to Cathy and her partner at that time and asked if they would write a book for her clients, many of which are musicians and songwriters.
Financial Management For Musicians is the title of the book, but she says it is really more about organizing your financial life for what she calls, this
business of music. Going around the room, the attendees mentioned a couple of the topics they would like for Cathy to discuss. Here are excerpts taken
during the Q&A.

Question: What are Myths vs facts about money management and audits?

Cathy: Let’s talk about the myths. The definition of a hobby has several factors and includes, but is not limited to, a test to determine whether there
has been a loss in three of the proceeding five years. But loss determination is just one of the criteria in determining whether or not you have a hobby.
There is a lot more criteria to consider, and one important and very significant issue is whether you have profit motive. Most people who launch into something
that takes eighty percent of their time obviously has a profit motive. Your job is to prove that you have one by keeping good records and substantiating
how much time that you spend on the business. Keep your calendar in outlook or a manual calendar or in a journal, whatever is convenient for you, to document
your schedule and time spent doing research, etc.

Question: Do you keep records after your first two years of losses?

Cathy: This is something that you should have for every year you are in business. Often times, when writers first get started, they may have a different
career or "day job" and tend not to keep good records . Then, hear the myth about taking losses for do not even bother with keeping good records. I encourage
you to keep track of your expenses from inception. Keep a good calendar and track of everything that would help your accountant to support what you are
doing for your song writing career. You can show losses your entire life. Many people fear of getting audited and will not deduct their expenses . Don't
lose opportunities for fear of the audit myth.

I have had a few clients get audited because they have taken losses over a period of years . Fortunately, they had kept good records and the audit was closed
without any modifications to the return. In addition, we referred to a court case of the IRS against a painter. The painter won, as the judge ruled it
was a proven fact that many artists did not become famous until after they died.

Question : So you are saying that you need a calendar to prove a profit motive?

Cathy : You need a calendar to prove the amount of time that you spent on your craft.

Question : Is there a minimum amount of time to prove you had a profit motive?

Cathy: No. It’s more important to reflect your activities, such as memberships of organizations that support your efforts, keeping brochures and pamphlets
of seminars that you have attended, keeping records of your co_writing appointments or interviewing people to get ideas. Your calendar is support for the
other things that you do with your song writing career.

Question : The point of the profit motive is for your taxes?

Cathy : No, the profit motive is to prove your song writing is not just a hobby. It shows you are very serious about it and you want to make money at it.

Question : What happens if you have many years of no income in the songwriting business?

Cathy : That happens and that is OK. You deduct it on schedule C of tax return and show your losses against other income that you make during the year.


Question : Is there any rule about how much money that you can make and still have a loss on your taxes?

Question : What about forming your own publishing company for business and tax issues?

Cathy : The type of entity is very important and heavily debated. When you incorporate or form another entity, you are complicating your financial life
but adding a layer of protection for your personal assets. If you are in a risky business or have accumulated substantial wealth, you will be a good candidate
to consider a corporation or LLC. Also, joint relationships may require a separate entity. Whenever possible, it is best to keep the business simple by
not incorporating or forming other types of entities. There is this myth that it will save you taxes if you incorporate and it is absolutely false in most
cases. In fact, it will cost you more money! In addition, you would have to prepare more tax returns to prepare. It’s nice for the accountants, but it
is not always in the best interest of the clients.

Question : Years ago I started getting royalties in about 1990, was doing my own taxes, filed my royalties under schedule E. I even called the IRS and the
agent said what I was doing was OK. Later when I hired an accountant, they said that was wrong. Could you explain a Schedule E?

Cathy : Schedule C is where you report self-employment income, an activity that you are involved in such as a business like your publishing company. Schedule
E is for passive activities such as activities that you are not actively involved in such as rental properties or passive ownership of an oil well. Items
reported on Schedule E are not subject to self_employment tax (Social Security and Medicare.) If you are a songwriter, you are actively involved with the
production of royalty income, and as a result, is taxable on Schedule C and subject to self-employment tax. You will not win in an audit if you put your
royalties on Schedule E. However, if you inherit a song catalog from someone and you were not the one who generated that money , then it is correct to
report royalties on Schedule E.

Question: Can I use my credit card record as proof that I purchased this equipment or do I need the original receipt?

Cathy: You have to have a receipt. A charge to Circuit City does not prove the purchase of equipment. It could have been a refrigerator. Therefore, the
government needs more proof than a credit card statement.

Question: What about using your computer to keep track of your records for the year?

Cathy : Quicken is a wonderful program for keeping up with your personal or home business. It is a wonderful tool to track your checkbook and credit card
activity. Quickbooks is a great program for tracking more complicated business arrangements such as partnerships, LLC’s and Corporations. Many people prefer
spreadsheets which is fine as well. However, these programs do not replace the need to keep receipts. The programs are a tool to organize the data but
the receipts are still needed to substantiate information on the computer generated reports.

Question: What kind of receipts does a songwriter need to keep?

Cathy: If you deduct something on your taxes, you need the receipt. However, there are certain cases where a receipt is not possible. Parking meter and
tolls are deduction, but you rarely get receipts for them. Therefore, you need to write it down somewhere in a log to document cash expenses. Your calendar
will show proof that you went somewhere that caused the expense. Also, some mileage logs have a space to write parking and tolls if you keep a pocket log
in your car.

Question: What does it cost someone to get audited fees for an accountant?

Cathy: The better your records are, the less the cost because it is less time for us to prepare. However, sometimes we have to find court cases or other
information to defend a position we’ve taken on a return. We don’t have much control over that. So, the cost will vary depending on the complexity of the
return. But remember, CPA fees are tax deductible! You will also get what you pay for. I don’t recommend ever representing yourself in an audit because
you will not have the knowledge you need to negotiate or know what to look for when dealing with the IRS. I had a client recently whose agent required
that royalties be moved from Schedule E to Schedule C. The agent proposed an increase in tax of $25,000. However, the agent missed important carryforwards
that the taxpayer had not been able to use when the income was reported the other way. Therefore, when I calculated it accurately, the taxpayer owed $1,000
instead. My fee was nominal in comparison to how much I saved him in the audit.

Question: Auto expenses, what should we know about them and the records that we keep for them?

Cathy: That is probably one area that most people are the weakest in keeping records. Everyone

hates to keep mileage logs. Unfortunately, mileage logs are the only perfect way to support automobile deductions in an audit. You do not have to write
down your odometer reading every time you are in and out of the car __just the business miles for the trip. You do need to write your odometer reading
on January first and December 31st to determine total miles driven for the year. For your business miles, use your trip count to track the daily miles.
If you are going to 10 places in one day, just write the list and your total business miles for the day. Write down where you went and the business purpose
of the trip. I keep my business purpose written in my calendar and where I went in my mileage log. There are two ways to expense your car. You can use
the standard mileage rate in effect for that year or your actual expenses times your business percentage usage. The problem is you still have to keep a
log either way, because you have to calculate how much you are using your car for business.

Question: Working out of your home office, what should we look for in writing down expenses?

Cathy: You can deduct a percentage of your home expenses calculated by determining the percentage of square feet for your office/studio to the total square
feet of the home. You must have a room that is designated 100% business, cannot be multi_use, and cannot have a bed in the room. You may write off the
business percentage of your utilities, insurance, homeowner’s association fees, repairs, security system, and rent. Those items are what we call operating
expenses and are limited to the profits shown on Schedule C. A percentage of mortgage interest an property taxes are also deductible as home office and
are not limited by profits. Expenses limited by profits are they are carried forward to be deducted in future years. With respect to your telephone expenses,
they go right on your schedule C for business deduction. The first phone line in your home is considered personal and is not deductible regardless of whether
it is used for business. Any features that you add to the phone for business purposes are tax deductible 100%. Your cell phone may be considered a second
phone obtained for business and written off entirely. If you do not have a land line phone, just your cell phone, you will need to allocate it, based on
business and personal calls.

Question: I you have a DSL line or cable internet, can you write those off?

Cathy: Yes, the amount representing business percentage usage is deductible. In addition, many people in the music and entertainment business write off
a percentage of cable TV as research.

Question: Are CD purchases of other artists deductible and if so, where do you list them as expenses?

Cathy: Yes, as research expense. A musician’s CD collection is ten times that of an average consumer and is most definitely used for research. Write CD
purchases off on the second page of Schedule C under other deductions.

Question: Demo costs are astronomical and I list them as professional services. What do you recommend that I list demo cost in what category?

Cathy: If they are not much money, I write them off as demo costs, under other expenses. However, there is a rule that demo costs are supposed to be capitalized
and amortized over the revenue stream. In many cases, there is no revenue stream or no determinable revenue stream. Therefore, it makes sense to use a
Safe Harbor election to amortize demo costs over a three_year period. You get 50% of the demo costs in the first year, then 25% and 25% the following years.


Question: What is the category “Professional Services” used for in the tax forms?

Cathy: They are used for a lawyer, accountant, song plugger or consultant that you hire for your business. If that number becomes substantial, you should
split some of the expenses into other categories.

Question: Do you 1099 the song plugger and your accountant?

Cathy: You are actually supposed to 1099 your accountant, lawyer, song plugger and any other professional that you hire for business purposes and pay $600
or more in a given year.

Question: If I go to lunch with a co_writer, can I deduct our lunch off my taxes?

Cathy: Yes, you deduct half of it, but keep the receipt and document the person you had the meal with and the business purpose. The only time you do not
have to have the receipt is when you use the per diem rate for meals during overnight travel. Travel days are included; if it takes you overnight to get
to your destination. The IRS website has downloadable per diem amounts for you to use. Some city’s have a higher per diem amount than others. Hotels are
fully deductible and meals are only 50% deductible.

Question: I have events for songwriters at my house. What do I need to show that this is not ordinary household expense for the extra food, paper supplies
and beverages?

Cathy: Keep a record of your guest list, print out of the invitations and take notes on how many you are planning on having for the events. Get a receipt
for all the expenses of the event as they are fully deductible as marketing, not as entertainment.

Question: What are the most common mistakes songwriters make for their taxes?

Cathy: Not keeping good records and asking me to pull deductions out of the air. The most effective way to get clients to receipts is to deliver bad news
of a large tax due. By then, it’s too late. You need to develop good habits and keep records of you expenses. Seek qualified advice to make your decisions.
Peers are good to help conjure up questions, but make decisions from advice of a professional.