Industry Insider | Q&A Ian Crombie

Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Michael A. Aczon

           
 

HELPING SONGWRITERS NAVIGATE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND THEIR CAREERS

Ian Crombie is the executive director of West Coast Songwriters, a group that offers its members song critiques and networking and performance opportunities.
Courtesy Ian Crombie

“It starts with a song” is a phrase that is often heard in the music business. But writing those songs and surviving as a songwriter is not always an easy task. You face intense competition and a changing market, not to mention the creative challenges that come along with writing music. Luckily for songwriters, support organizations are out there that offer help in a variety of ways. I had the opportunity to speak with Ian Crombie (see Fig. 1), executive director of West Coast Songwriters (westcoastsongwriters.org), a not-for-profit songwriter organization based in California. Crombie talked to me about what WCS and similar groups around the country are doing to help songwriters.

How does WCS support songwriters?

By offering education and connections — those are the two main things. Networking is a pretty cool part of songwriting. Not just the business side of it, but the equally important creative side. You're also networking to find collaborators, because most songs are cowritten.

WCS offers song critiques, or “screenings.” How do those work?

The song screenings are for members only. Members can attend the event and get direct feedback from the industry guest. I have seen members of our group grow significantly by opening themselves up to industry critique. You don't have to agree with everything the guest says, but if you can walk away with one thing that makes your song stronger, it's worthwhile. We've had a number of placements directly from screening.

What other support services does WCS offer for songwriters?

We have Works in Progress, a peer-to-peer song-critique night. We have songwriting classes taught by hit songwriters. In the office, there's reference material including books that members can borrow. We also have a monthly newsletter and a Web site. We send out requests for songs if the industry is looking for them. I am available to answer questions. There are nine performance events a month, from Sacramento to Hollywood. We also have one-off events like the Palo Alto Promenade of Film and Music, where WCS was responsible for the music stages and the Redwood City Plaza performances. Our annual conference, always the second weekend in September, is our largest event. More than 1,200 songs are reviewed, and it's a three-day networking event with many performance opportunities.

How many songwriters attend?

Between 200 and 300 people. On top of that, there are the industry guests, which number around 50.

Are there other organizations like WCS around the country?

There are similar groups across the country, such as the NSAI in Nashville. Ours is one of the most active organizations in the country. If you go on the Web, you could find some other support and networking organizations like ours by region or through sites such as lyricists.com and songwriteruniverse.com.

Has WCS had any success stories that you're willing to share?

Over time, we've had a number of them. TV and film placements have been the strongest successes for us over the years. Members have gotten record deals with independent labels and majors; writers get single and album cuts on recordings; an NCSA [Northern California Songwriters Association] writer just moved to Nashville six months ago and now has a single coming out — all of these writers made their connections through WCS.

Does WCS collect any broker's or finder's fees for generating these connections?

We have no financial ties. We just set up the opportunity, and then it's up to the songwriters themselves to do the rest. Setting up the opportunities is the key thing. We leave the responsibility of follow-up to the writers.