Jana:
If you knew then what you know now... how would you guide your career differently?
Steven:
I wouldn't change much. I have had a great life and really never done anything
that wasn't music related in some fashion. Now I write some commercial spots in
LA for some companies…something I thought I would not be interested in at all…but
it is great. I work on something, it is accepted, released and I hear it on the
radio in about a week…immediate satisfaction…oh…did I mentioned I get paid too?
As you know, not everyone is eager to pay the writers and publishers these days
for songs and downloads. It is a fight on a good day. If there is one thing I
would change, I would have learned the business more before I jumped in….it might
have saved a few lumps and bruises…but on the other hand, I might not have learned
all the lessons I needed to learn. I have been blessed…so to change anything really
would be petty.
Jana: If you were asked to teach a course on songwriting What would
be your top 3 do's and don'ts.
Steven: Well..that is a tough one.
I guess a DO would be to listen to the classic writers…the great ones. Learn structure,
and understand the marriage of a lyric and melody. The don'ts….watch out for clichés,
don't make the song too long…remember a great song should be told in a reasonable
period of time. Just because Hey Jude was 8 minutes long doesn't mean your song
should be. Tell the story as precisely as you can. And never accept the first
thing out of your mouth without really picking it apart…the rewrite is usually
the making of a better song. Of course there are exceptions…but not usually.
Jana: Is there anything you would change in the music industry if you could
and why?
Steven:Yes…I would pay the writers better…I know
SO MANY talented writers that do not work in the business anymore because they
can't make a living. I love the business side…so I can work. But for some people,
all they KNOW is songwriting…they don't manage, or produce or publish…they just
write songs. It is terrible that they cannot make a living anymore. Record companies
have always forgotten or over looked the fact that the SONG is everything…without
it we just have a bunch of blank disc or blank cassettes. It all starts with the
song….to quote NSAI in Nashville.
Jana: I know a great many artist say their favorite song is the one
they just finished, which means, they believe, they get better and better...If
you looked back at your earlier writing , how would you critique ?How would you
change it or would you?
Steven: My early writing was crap…really
was. I think I had concepts and inspiration but I didn't have discipline. Once
I moved to LA and signed up with Island Music in 1978…I began to understand what
songwriting was all about. 2% inspiration and 98% hard work….simple as that. I
would have NEVER signed me to tell you the truth. Obviously Lionel Conway saw
something…but man it took some vision. Looking back, I think I had MAYBE one song
out of the 20 I turned in on my schedule A that was really complete. One song…
Now I quickly came to the table…a year later I got my first cut with Juice Newton
and my first top 40 song….I am a quick study!
Jana:
What song would you want at your funeral and why? ( I know it's kinda cryptic
pun intended, but its an odd insight)
Steven: Hard one…I think
maybe a couple…Whiter Shade Of Pale by Procol Harem is one…it is so haunting and
timeless to me. Another might be the Lord's Prayer…it is so powerful and demanding….I
love it and it always brings a tear to my eyes. Another classic is I'll Be Seeing
You by Sammy Cahn…couldn't die without that one being sung. If I had to pick one
I wrote…I think it would be All This Time…."the heart forgives, the heart forgets…but
what will I do now…with All This Time." Can I die a few times so I can have more
music at my funeral? Jana:
You mentioned earlier about your love of the music business? Can you
tell us how you are able to separate that creative from business?
Steven:
No….I really wish I could understand why I am able to do that…I guess I just GET
IT..I understand that there is MUSIC and there is BUSINESS…and really they are
mutually exclusive. Early on I loved BOTH things..I started a recording studio
back in 1980 that I just sold last year…after 27 years. It was a commercial studio
and very successful with acts recording there like No Doubt, Tiffany, Bill Medley,
Juice Newton, Shiny Toy Guns and hundreds more. I just loved the whole process
of making a record or getting a great demo finished. I also would use one thing…like
the studio…to support other habits… like my OWN song demos. Without having a studio,
I would have never been able to put out the amount of music I did during the 80's
and 90's. I cut 19 scores for films and wrote over 250 plus songs during that
time. Jana:
How did SongCatalog.com come about?
Steven:Well…it was really
the brainstorm of my partners and I…Chris Whitworth and Suj Subasinghe. I was
working for Sony ATV in Nashville as a staff writer when we first started discussing
it. I was frustrated by the fact that when I went on tour with Victoria Shaw overseas
in 1998, my publishers could not seem to get material sent off in a timely manner
to projects requesting it. I lost a film placement because there was no follow
through…the tape was still on my publishers desk when I got back 4 weeks later.
I missed the placement because no one got back with them. I thought…wouldn't it
be nice to have a system for music delivery that I could handle myself from anywhere
in the world? It was a novel, innovative idea at the time. Now we wouldn't know
what to do if we had to depend solely on traditional music delivery…Fed Ex, post
office etc. Our concept was to be able to send MP3's along with all of the info
about the song to the potential buyer while also offering them a place to come
and view music ideas for their projects. Of course there was much more to it than
I am telling you..but that was the basic idea. Now SongCatalog.com is one of the
leading companies for discovering and licensing music worldwide with clients such
as Ralph Lauren/Polo, A&W Root Beer, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Lexus, American Express
and more.
Jana:
Aren't you tired?
Steven: Yes…I am ….but if I slow too much…I might
miss something. Wouldn't want that now would I? I still love the seminars and
programs where I get to speak about my work ….I love the teaching side of it all.
I have been lucky enough to speak in Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Canada, New Orleans,
New York, Las Vegas and dozens of other places either solo or on panels. I even
met my Canadian wife while on a music trip to France. I love to share what I have
learned and I am truly excited about the music business. We are in such a incredible
time of growth with wonderful music happening worldwide. I have to take it all
in…embrace it. It is just too much fun….besides…what else would I do? Thanks
Steven for your candid answers! I'm sure everyone gleaned something from your
interview! Wishing you all the best with www.songcatalog.com
Read the first part of Steven's interview.
Read
previous Songbridge interviews. | 
