The attendance crossed genres and hometowns from LA to Maine, but when it came down to it, everyone in the room was a creator, a songwriter, a visionary. We all had voices in our heads. Melodies that woke us up in the middle of the night, and voice memos to prove it.

This is one thing I love about being a musician and a creator – we have this whole secret society slash community-at-large that follows us no matter where we are in the world. On vacation in Hawai’i last year, I ended up spending the week with a local producer and a singer-songwriter, in between surf sessions. In LA, in line for some club, I’m talking to the bouncer about how to honor the muse.

In any case, in addition to making several new friends and collaborators, I learned a few new things at the conference, and feel like sharing them with the music folks that read this here blog. We’ll start with Film/TV.

Contacting Music Supervisors

Music Supes are kind of the “it girls” (& boys) of the business for us songwriter/artists. No one talks about meeting someone from a label. Everyone wants to get their music licensed. Many want a publishing deal. And music supes are the gatekeepers to this promised land. The panel I attended that I found extremely honest and helpful was called, “Getting Your Music Licensed in Film, TV and Beyond,” presented by the Guild of Music Supervisors.

The speakers were all fantastic – and were really open about how they like to be communicated to, and what their jobs are like in 2012. Here are a few tips on communication:

• Connect with the various companies that are connectors to music supervisors. Some of them named: Lipsync, Talent House (more independent), Secret Road (more singer-songwriter), Zinc. These companies have established credibility with the supes and relationships – they know how to communicate and what might be good matches.
• MP3s are ok. Vocal only and instrumental versions of your songs are absolutely necessary. You don’t have to send them all at once, mind you – but you need them available for usage.
• Songs must be pre-cleared for publishing, and it is easier when you own your masters. Pre-cleared means that you are the administrator of the songs and/or have an agreement where all of the composers and contributors have signed off that one person can clear placements. Oh, and have a copy of those agreements! Need an affordable lawyer? Contact California Lawyers for the Arts.
• 90% of music received today is digital. This means supes have tons of digital files on their computers… and if yours just says “Track 1″ you’re out of luck. Label your MP3s metadata with all of the content related to the songs. Genre: Make description of all of the genres. Information: Include pre-cleared, contact information (email/phone/name/PRO/songwriters names and splits). WHAT? It was so helpful to hear this by the way… If someone has left the band that would still need to get clearance from, include their contact information as well.
• Communication Don’ts: Don’t send attachments. Don’t type your subject header as “following-up” or “checking in” in any correspondence. Don’t include photos or press kits. Don’t tell someone that your song would be amazing for X film when you haven’t seen X film. Never say you have the perfect song.
• Communication Do’s: Have appropriate metadata. Compose a brief, 3-sentence email with the kinds of music you are submitting, and where you are from. Don’t make it boring. Include a link to download that does not expire – preferably one where they can stream directly (Box.net was recommended). Be okay with the fact they may not listen to your songs for a month or two.

Here’s some other information I thought was interesting:

• The loss of the soundtrack format post-film changed the revenue model for music supervisors as well as artists.
• The amount of time to place music in a film vs TV is vastly different, and internet is all over the place. Knowing this helps understand the demands on the Music Supervisors. Films are in production for a year, in TV they have 2-3 weeks per episode, Internet is all over the place.
• Online content will likely be the next TV. Publishers are looking at this placement accordingly, and negotiating for more appropriate %.
• Hard ends are great – long intros and builds are as well. (You used to hear otherwise in a songwriting review session.)
• Music libraries are filling the gaps in between songs and dialogue – you can always pitch composition for them. In breaking as a composer, use your songs, create a reel, and show it to film folks to see how your music fits.
• Film and TV guide comes out with contacts every year through Hollywood Reporter.

Hopefully this helps other songwriters – time for me to get back to work!

Recently wrote an article on how to record a cover song. Not actually how to set up the mic (like Pomplamoose, pictured here)… but getting the permission/clearance to release it on iTunes, YouTube, etc.

It’s actually easier than you think – but costs around $100-150 on average per song, so if you’re planning a revival cover album, plan on a kickstarter campaign.

Anyways, here’s the piece!

When I’m not playing piano and jamming out with the Mr. Right Nows, I’m actually pretty serious at making children’s music. For the past several years, I’ve been working on a project called Alphabet Rockers.

I actually get to use my crazy rap skills that you never see in my shows listed on this site. Yea, that’s right. Drop beats, do dances, and even scratch the records. It’s pretty fresh.

We’re releasing a new album in just a few weeks here, so I’ll be posting updates on that for all you folks who want to bring some new tracks to the youngest generation. We have a cool booking video you can enjoy until you see us up close…

And stay tuned, because I’m going to be blogging about healthy food recipes here and on my other page, Eat the Rainbow Everyday. What?! Yes. Not skittles. Eating actual food that has different colors adds to a more nutritional life. Until then, rock on.

Stoked to be featured at a special fundraiser for the writers series “Lip Service West.”

I read at the series last May, a first for me. I began to rediscover my writers voice in September of 2010, when my friend Zach Clark posted a call for entries for his arts magazine Composite. When I told him I was interested, he first said, “This is not music-related, Kaitlin…” but he gave me a chance to put a narrative together for their inaugural issue. (You can read that here.)

After that, another friend demanded I write for Lip Service, convincing me I had a unique point of view to share. But I felt like I had nothing to say. Every few weeks he would nudge me. Eventually, in May 2011, I read a piece after a month of writing and deleting, called “Lessons from a Beatdown.” The piece is not for the faint of heart, but reading it gave me a sense of closure to an event in my life, and gave me the writers’ bug. Which is not a cockroach, FYI. Since January 2012, I’ve been working on a narrative/memoir, inspired by the brilliance of my friend Tony DuShane (published writer and contributor to LipService West). Until I get a draft done on my book, it will just be my exploration to enjoy and be challenged by; a true compliment to the musical journey.

Tonight I’ll perform songs at the fundraiser for LipService West. Tony will read. Joe Clifford, the founder and rockstar behind it all, will I believe read and sing. He gets it – he uses both the guitar and the pen.

See you tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Lip Service West.

Earlier this year, I interviewed a few of the go-to experts in the Bay Area on house concerts and songwriting careers: Ian Crombie from West Coast Songwriters, and KC Turner from KC Turner Presents. It takes a lot to take your career to the next phase, and they inspired me to start booking more house concerts instead of always going into venues! The last house concert I performed was after my first album was released, when I did a show just for industry friends in San Francisco. I’m overdue!

Check out the article here.

Here’s a clip from that show.

Proud to announce the release of “Everybody’s Gone to the Moon” – available on iTunes and here on my shop page (www.kaitlinmcgaw.bandcamp.com).

The song features the same cast of characters from Christmas Without You… We recorded at Tiny Telephone Studios, San Francisco, in November, 2011. The song was Produced, Engineered and Arranged by Enrique Gonzalez Müller, who really made my vision his vision as it came to life.

This was one of the most intense songs I’ve written in my life and singing at the end in particular accessed a part of my heart that was just absolutely free and expansive. Life is so challenging, sometimes, in what it presents us… The moments of freedom are so precious.

Vocals: Kaitlin McGaw. Piano/Rhodes/Hammond B3: Greg Sankovich. Guitar: James DePrato. Bass: Jesse Cafiero. Drums/Percussion: Kyle Caprista. Cover Art: Zach Clark.

It’s a bit more sassy than other pieces I’ve written, probably because I am no longer employed in the business and can laugh at the way people talk to you when you’re in an industry position. It’s good times, believe me.

The artwork from the online edition:

Read the full article here.

Though initially I had talked to Enrique about arranging and recording a Christmas song I wrote, “Christmas Without You,” I realized we might be able to squeeze in two songs in a marathon session. So we started with the Christmas song, and then tracked “Everybody’s Gone to the Moon,” a song I wrote earlier this year. It was an interesting compliment of two songs with very different places in the heart, but both very much connected to how we need one another in this world. “Christmas Without You” will be released in early December, followed by “Everybody’s Gone to the Moon” in January.

Sara Koulouris, photographer extraordinaire, captured images of the session – see more here.

Before we went into the studio, I talked to the band about where each of these songs came from. When you hear the way they play – I think you’ll see the emotions they were able to share, whether on drums or bass or B3. Kyle Caprista played drums for the session (and jingle bells) – this guy plays straight from the heart. When you hear “Everybody’s Gone to the Moon” you will be crushed by his performance. It’s on point. James DePrato played guitars, and we got to bond from the lovely hours of 10 p.m.-2 a.m. as he laid down slide, electric and lap steel for the songs. It was an intimate recording, as he sat next to myself and Enrique with the amps in the main room, and talked, played, and recorded by the board. Jesse Cafiero played bass for the session, and when I arrived they were dialing in a gorgeous tone for him in one of the iso booths in the studio. He’s got a great ear and really made the songs shine. Greg Sankovich – now he’s a gem Enrique found for me. I didn’t want to play piano in the sessions, just wanted to sing and tell the stories through my voice. Greg absolutely cherished the songs I’d written and was able to bring the piano lines I had written to life and scope the songs across all the keyboards (Rhodes, Piano, B3). When we finished the tracking day, with the midnight oil long burned out, we had magic already. I went back just a few days later to track vocals and harmonies, and found that the music was so powerful – I had to just stand tall and sing at the top.

My response to the amazing editor was,  ”Is a one word article too short? If not, how about ‘Don’t.’”

I used to work for the GRAMMY Awards in San Francisco (for about six years). I watched a lot of folks come through our city with hopeful eyes and dreams and plans for the gold of music. These were plans both for the golden GRAMMY award, but also for the fortunes of gold records and gold in pockets. Everything changed in the last ten years and there just isn’t the same kind of roulette $ of selling a record turned tape turned CD turned download. As a songwriter and entrepreneur in the business, I still believe in opportunity, so I decided to write a different angle to the piece. I drew from the many lessons I’ve learned (from googling questions, asking experts, calling the information lines at companies, making mistakes and fixing them, and ultimately, finding what I’m good at – inspiring people to get involved in projects and making them come to life.)

If you’re interested, check out the piece on starting your own Media Company in music.  Master Class: Choose Your Own Adventure.