ASCAP Writer's Roundtable gets an A-

In my last post I gave you over 30 different physical places to go to in order to network.

If you've been following my blog and reading my posts, you already know that I'm about to say: get out of the studio, start networking more, and attend some upcoming music conferences. In my last post, I showed you that music conferences are just one out of 30 places you can go to network! (Click here to read that post!) And if your networking skills need some help, learn how to do it! Read my blog posts on the do's and don'ts of networking at music conferences, the do's and don'ts of networking via email, and purchasing some of the recommended books on networking. Subscribe to this blog to stay on top of things!

Here's just one of the reasons why I say what I say: I recently went to ASCAP's Writer's Roundtable where several ASCAP songwriters discussed the music business and the music creativity process. The panel consisted of:

1. Manuel Seal who wrote "Always Be My Baby" and "We Belong Together" for Mariah Carey, and "My Boo" for Usher.

2. Johnta Austin who cowrote "We Belong Together" for Mariah Carey, "Be Without You" for Mary J. Blige and has written for Toni Braxton, Tyrese, Enrique Iglesias, Ginuwine, Aaliyah, Faith Evans, B2K, Ciara, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, and Mario;

3. Cri$tyle "The Ink" Johnson who wrote "Touch My Body," for Mariah Carey, "Angel" for Natasha Bedingfield, "I'm Grown" for Tiffany Evans, and "Hood Anthem" for Keke Palmer;


4. Atozzio The Hittwriter who wrote "Kryptonite" -Mario, "Friend Me Up" for Keke Palmer, "Mama" for Chris Brown, and "Holla At Ya Boy" for 2 Much;


5. RL who wrote Butta Love," "Too Close," "I Still Love You"


6. Lyfe Jennings who wrote "Never, Never land," "S.E.X." "Must Be Nice" on his own album.


My overall assessment: A-

1. Information: Great: relevant info since it was specifically dedicated to songwriters and songwriting unlike other music conferences that I've been to which are typically dedicated to the artist. Come back to my blog because I'll discuss more of what each songwriter said in a later blog.

2. Networking with the panelists: Great: We were given the opportunity to really talk to the panelists afterwards.


3. Networking with other attendees - Good


4. Ability to ask panelists questions: None. They had set questions that they asked the panelists. However, because we were able to speak to the panelists afterwards, we could ask our individual questions then so it worked out.


5. The quality of the panelists: Excellent: Look at all the heavy hitters that were brought in! I also like the fact that ASCAP chose both seasoned writers and new writers, older writers, young writers and both male and female writers.

6. The cost of the event: FREE!!!!!! Loved that!

7. Size of the seminar: Great: it was packed, standing room only. There was no RSVP required so they had no way of knowing how many people were coming to know how many chairs to set up but they needed more chairs. Lesson: get there early and you don't have to worry about that. (:-)

8. Location: Great: the venue was centrally located in the city. It was held at Clark Atlanta University's Robert Woodruff Library Exhibition Hall, which was a nice place to have it. Parking was horrible since most of it was dedicated to Clark students. Temperature in the room was good, the seats were adequately spaced, the spot was nicely decorated, and the building was secured.

9. Length of the event: Good: it was roughly a one and a half hour long panel. It started a little behind schedule as panelists arrived and were finishing up interviews.

10. Time of the event: Good: it was at 7:00 p.m. which is a good time when trying to travel in the city of Atlanta. BMI had an event the day before this one that started at 6:00 p.m. which is not the optimal time since most people are just getting off work.


11. Advertisement: I heard about this event via email and via MySpace so for me, it was well-advertised.

I'm glad I went and invested my time by going. And yes, I'd go again if they had the same event assuming the quality stayed the same. Sometimes, it's worth getting out the studio!


Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter

Hits A Million, LLC

myspace.com/hitsamillionllc

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