Songwriters’ News – Volume V, Issue 5
President's Message
The High Cost of Free Music
By Paul Nye, President – Minnesota Association of Songwriters
I recently heard about a local musician who played a paid gig at a senior care center. At the end of the night, he handed his check back, saying it was his gift to the residents. Heartwarming, right? But the next week, the same venue asked another musician why he charged anything at all. “The last guy gave his money back.”
That well-meaning gesture may have been generous, but it sent a message — not just to that venue, but to the community: music isn’t worth paying for. It’s a message I hear more and more. Younger artists fall into this too, often offering to play for “exposure.” But let’s be honest — you know the joke – “you can die from exposure.” When musicians regularly perform for free or give away their songs, it reinforces the idea that music is a hobby, not a profession. And venues start expecting that treatment across the board.
And this mindset isn’t limited to live performance. Many non-performing songwriters record albums, manufacture CDs, and release music online – sometimes at a great cost – and then give their art away. The motive might be noble: “I just want someone to hear what I created before I’m gone.” But when no value is assigned to the music, it’s usually treated accordingly. A free CD often ends up in a drawer. A free download gets buried in a hard drive. And meanwhile, songwriters who are trying to make a living from their art are undermined by the precedent that music should cost nothing. I was playing for a group of 2nd graders once, and a little guy said, “Mr. Nye, my mom has your CD.” I responded, “Oh, I bet she plays it all the time, eh.” He responded, “No. I think it’s in the junk drawer in our kitchen.” … Proving once again that you’re never too old to be “one-upped” by a 2nd grader.
Vince Gill once said, “The price of a single hasn’t changed since the 1950s — 99 cents in most cases. You can download a fart app for $4.99.” That pretty much says it all.
So what’s the takeaway?
Know the value of what you create. If you choose to donate a performance or share a song freely, do it with intention — not by default. Make it clear that it's a gift, not a standard. If you're releasing recorded music, consider setting a modest price, offering a donation option, or bundling physical product with live events or other experiences. You’re not just sharing music — you’re modeling its worth.
And remember: when you value your work, you make space for others to value theirs.
Let’s leave a legacy of creativity — and respect.
Meeting Dates By Mike Rudquist
Please Note: Going forward, all online Zoom events will use the same Zoom link. Here is a member-only link to our "Member Event Access" page which has the Zoom link:
https://mnsongwriters.org/activities/member-event-access/
Also Note: All monthly MAS online meetings will be held within the same time frame of 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. (This does not include the Minnesota Homebrew Radio Show. See the event listing below for times.)
Monthly Mixer with Doug Millaway
Wednesday, May 7, 2025, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
This meeting allows for all types of topics to be explored and discussed as it relates to songwriting – the writing process, production, inspiration, the music business – all topics related to the craft, production and business of songwriting. This is a moderated open discussion, and participants are encouraged to share their personal experiences and expertise.
Minnesota Homebrew Radio Show with Carl Unbehaun
Thursdays all month – May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Every Thursday evening from 6 to 7 pm, fellow MAS member and radio DJ Carl Unbehaun offers music written and/or performed by Minnesota musicians on his Minnesota Homebrew Radio Show. Radio station KSRQ in Thief River Falls (90.1 FM) streams Carl’s show via the Internet. On the FIRST Thursday of the month, Carl dedicates his entire show to music written by members of the Minnesota Association of Songwriters!
To submit your songs to Carl’s MAS-dedicated show or to have it played on any Thursday night, contact Carl at minnesotahomebrew@gmail.com.
To listen to Minnesota Homebrew on your devices, click here: https://mnsongwriters.org/activities/radio-airplay/.
Online Round Robin Song Share with Paul Nye
Wednesday, May 14 – 6:30 – 8:30
This is a laid-back, come as you are type get together with fellow songwriters to share your songs in a take turns fashion either performing live via zoom or with a recorded version of your songs. Just for fun and just to get together and play. Even if you want to just join in to listen, this is the place for you!
Song Review Session with Sally Barris
Thursday, May 22 – 6:30 pm
We are thrilled to welcome Minnesota native and Grammy-nominated Nashville songwriter Sally Barris to a special song review on Thursday, May 22nd at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom.
Sally’s songs have been recorded by Kathy Mattea, Martina McBride, and Lee Ann Womack. Her song, “Let the Wind Chase You”, recorded by Trisha Yearwood and Keith Urban, received a Grammy nomination for vocal collaboration in 2009.
Know for her clear, heartfelt lyrics, beautiful melodies, and expressive mountain soprano, Sally has performed at Mountain Stage, New Bedford Summer Fest, Wildflower Festival and Kerrville Folk Festival. Her new album, “Living in the Mystery”, was released this year.
Sally will review up to 10 songs submitted by MAS members. A link to submit a song will be coming soon. The deadline to submit is Friday, May 16. The Zoom link will be sent out the day before the event.
Monthly Online Song Review Session Hosted by Doug Millaway
Wednesday, May 28 – 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
This is our general information and song review meeting. You are welcome to play an original song in any phase of its development or completion for purposes of potentially improving it based on feedback received.
Please refrain from submitting songs you do not intend to change from feedback given. You’re welcome to share those in our Round Robin Song session above.
Our review sessions are one of the best opportunities to help you learn and improve your craft. Giving feedback on other writers’ songs, and listening to others doing the same, is a great teaching tool.
You may submit your song’s audio and-or lyrics only for review up to the time of the review session. Please note, we are limited in the songs we can fit in, so you’ll want to watch for the email announcement to submit them and get it in early. Please do not submit songs prior to the announcement to avoid missing out.
We will play an MP3 of your song directly in the room. While MP3s played digitally in the room are generally easier for people to hear, they are not required for feedback. We’ll also accept lyrics only.
Find more detail, go to our Song Review Meeting page on our website: https://mnsongwriters.org/activities/meetings.
You can check out all MAS events on our website calendar.
Editor's Note
By Mary Kealy-Falk
Time just keeps rolling along and here we are in May, with sunny days, no snow and lots of yard chores to keep us busy. But hopefully the nice weather will give us all a renewed incentive to be working on our song craft and maybe thinking about getting out there with some outdoor shows and performances.
We have the good fortune of having songwriter/performer Sally Barris joining us for a special MAS online song review session on Thursday, May 22. She has been a guest presenter and workshop leader for MAS in the past and shares not only her knowledge and expertise, but she is a genuinely lovely and delightful person to share our love of music and songwriting with.
Read up on all the doings of MAS members this month in “Putting it Out There” and catch Doug Millaway’s article titled “What I learned About Songwriting from the 1920s and the 2020s.” It proves the adage “There’s nothing new under the sun” but we can certainly learn and improve our songwriting from what was incorporated into great songwriting from the past.
MAS President Paul Nye also contributes his thoughts on keeping not only the artistic value, but also the monetary value of our songs and performances in focus as we venture out to gain recognition and engagement with the public.
Webmaster Updates
By Richard Schletty
Here’s a reminder that the articles you contribute to our monthly Songwriters' News bulletin get published in the MAS Blog for all the world to see.
Links to content posted on the MAS Website:
- All Songwriters' News posts: https://mnsongwriters.org/category/songwriters-news
- All blog articles: https://mnsongwriters.org/blog/
Note: We have the option of writing any kind of article separate from the Songwriters' News.
The nice thing about the blog articles is that they can be cross-posted on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/masrocks
And don’t forget our online Music Gallery. This is a feature that gives you the opportunity to post your original songs online on the MAS website. Please visit https://mnsongwriters.org/music-gallery
What Keeps The Songs Coming
By Tony Wentersdorf
Over the past few years, several people have asked me what inspires me to keep writing and recording songs. Some are impressed by the number of CDs of original songs and instrumental arrangements I’ve recorded over the past twenty-five years. The current total is eleven. That is, not including two compilation CDs of songs played by participants in the Walker Church Open Stage that I hosted for some twenty years, one of which was recorded by fellow songwriter John Bennett.
Yes! What inspires me to write songs and keep recording and performing them? That is a good question. There are many factors. For one thing, songwriting combines my love of singing and playing music with my love of the written word. Songs are the ideal blend of words and music. In many ways, songs resemble poems set to music.
My first love was poetry which I started writing in college. I didn’t start writing songs until 1971 when I was living in Germany. I was inspired by singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, and Paul Simon, as well as classic rock groups like The Beatles, The Doors, The Moody Blues, and The Mamas and Papas. But it took me years before I gained enough confidence to actually write down my own songs, which I began in 1971 while living in Germany. Up to that time, I only played cover tunes. And for a long time afterwards, I still did mostly cover tunes.
One of the things that prompted me to start writing my own songs was hearing a songwriter from Walker Church named Howard Kranz perform his own material. I wanted to emulate him. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of Open Mics in my life. I’ve been attending them on a regular basis since the early nineteen-eighties. They provide me with a supportive community of other aspiring singer-songwriters like Howard.
Around this time, I also joined an earlier version of MAS, started by John Bennett, where I not only played my own songs but also got them critiqued by other songwriters. I’ll never forget some of the first comments I received. Someone told me all my songs sounded like children’s songs. Although I found that somewhat disparaging, it didn’t prevent me from continuing to work on improving my songs.
In 1990, I began recording my own songs which I wrote about in a previous MAS newsletter article. Although I enjoy recording songs and instrumental arrangements, I feel somewhat intimidated and overwhelmed by the ever more rapidly changing technology in the music scene. Just when I’ve become comfortable recording CDs, that technology has already become outdated since many musicians no longer make CDs. But I still like the solid feel of a CD that I can buy or play at home.
I think that I will always enjoy writing songs. I never seem to run out of material to write about, and I’ve become more confident in my songwriting ability. I keep several notebooks in which I jot down song fragments, hooks, and ideas. Often, I won’t write down the final version of a song until years later. Besides writing my own songs, I’ve also done some collaborating with other songwriters. In the past, the other person has usually asked me to compose the melody for the lyrics they’ve written. This is ironic because I consider lyric writing to be my strong suit. Reading books on songwriting has also helped me come up with new song-structures. I really like Pat Pattison’s Writing Better Lyrics as well as Paul Zollo’s Songwriters on Songwriting. There are many other books to draw from.
Two years ago, I taught a community ed class called Songwriting Workshop. Teaching not only prompted me to write some new songs for the class so I could practice what I preached, but it also got me to examine songwriting in a more deliberative way. I believe that the best way to learn something is to teach it.
Of course, I always look forward to the monthly MAS song review sessions where I can get my songs critiqued by my fellow songwriters. The thing I like most about writing songs is the opportunity to express my thoughts and feelings in a blend of words and melodies. I like to cover a wide variety of song topics, including socio-political concerns, friendship, my love of music, extra-terrestrial exploration, my love of nature, death and dying, animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits, and birds, and the wacky side of life.
I like to accompany my vocals on a wide assortment of instruments such as autoharp, guitar, banjo, fiddle, keyboards, piano, harmonica, tin whistle, and kazoo. Each instrument adds its own special flavor to the final musical mix. I think that one of the most important lessons I’ve learned about songwriting over the years is that it’s always better to be part of a songwriting community than to try and do it all by yourself.
Tony Wentersdorf © 5/25
Putting It Out There
Steve and Kim Wolf
Kim and I have hosted all our original music on our own website for years (and still do) – but eventually realized that it is so much easier for fans to follow you (or new listeners to discover you) if you are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music at least.
So, the past 10 months has been all about remastering our original recordings and making them available to all the major streaming services. Starting last June, we have released an original song almost every week and have 43 originals out there as of today. This summer, I'm going to slow down the release pace a bit as I focus on new writing and recording, but it has been really fun to revisit our past recordings and make sure they are remastered to the standards required by the streaming services.
To promote many of these releases, I have created short promo videos for Instagram and Facebook, which feature a teaser of the song along with a link to stream the whole song – usually on YouTube Music, since it is free for listeners. Here's an example: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBQ1HafvaJQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
On April 4th, we appeared once again on the Live Musicians Friday radio show on KCHK in New Prague. It was their 661st consecutive show of live music every Friday morning, and we always have a blast playing for that radio audience.
Here are the promo links for one of our recent originals, 'Temptation': https://artists.landr.com/056870345468
Steve and Kim Wolff – Temptation
Listen to Temptation by Steve and Kim Wolff.
artists.landr.com
And, of course, we try to keep our website updated with upcoming shows, videos, etc.: www.SteveandKimMusic.com
And our Facebook page, as well: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562160476064
Mary Strand
I’ll be playing (as Mary Strand & The Garage) at the Front Row Paul Fest at Palmer’s Bar
At 7:20 pm on Saturday, May 31. The whole festival runs Saturday and Sunday, May 31 and June 1, starting at noon each day.
John Bennett
I’m excited about a new album I’m currently working on. Over the years I’ve had many songwriting heroes. My current album called STUFF is in the style of Gordon Lightfoot, one of the songwriters who inspired me greatly. Other future albums that follow will be in the styles of Dan Fogelberg, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and James Taylor. I’m also recording another FOLK HERO 2 album in the style of Bod Dylan. All my albums are at this playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB8kZ_1SeK4wsNtEoYwlEzCbGVt0XA6ny&si=9aiz-6CByauvs-R6
Greg Connor
If you are looking for an activity that offers immediate gratification, try volunteering. There are plenty of opportunities to make a difference. I play music with a keyboard player who volunteers at a food shelf. I do sing-a-longs and one-hour concerts for residents in an assisted living facility. A friend of mine accompanies me with percussion once a month.
I know of several people who offer music for money, and I say more power to them. They’re offering a service and earning a small income while doing something they enjoy.
Please share your story if you are a volunteer. I suspect a common theme is that you get more out of it than you give.
WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT SONGWRITING FROM THE 1920s AND THE 2020s
I’ve had conversations with many of you about avoiding getting stuck in the past when writing music, but at the same time, remembering to learn from it. This often ends up in spirited conversation, so I thought I’d explain myself further.
When I really started digging into songwriting — like beyond just messing around with ideas — I realized I kept getting caught up chasing whatever was happening right now. New sounds, new trends, new whatever. You know how it goes. But the more I wrote, the more I felt like something was missing. It’s like I had all these cool tools in front of me, but I didn’t know how to build anything with them.
That’s when I got curious about what was happening way before any of us were even born — all the way back in the 1920s. And man, it was a wake-up call.
Back then, there was no hiding behind production. If your song didn’t have a strong melody — one that people could hum the second they heard it — you were dead in the water. Writers like Gershwin and Irving Berlin didn’t have Pro Tools or 808s or auto-tune. They had a piano, a lyric sheet, and the raw emotional weight of what they were trying to say. The lyrics were sharp — clever without being cute, emotional without feeling overcooked. And the structures? Dead simple. No wild detours, no endless bridges. Just clean, emotional storytelling with music that pulled you along.
But when you flip into what’s happening today — especially in the 2020s — you see a whole different kind of magic. Now, production is part of the songwriting. The sound of the beat, the way the vocals are treated, even the silence between sounds — it’s all baked into the emotion. Lyrics aren’t trying to impress anyone anymore. They’re trying to feel like your best friend is sitting across the table, spilling something raw and real.
And let’s be honest — if you can’t grab people in the first 15 seconds these days, you’re toast. Songs now must be immediate, or they just disappear into the endless scroll.
The more I’ve studied both worlds, the more I see what each one has to offer.
The old stuff taught me that a strong melody and a good story will always matter — no matter what decade it is. These are the bones you build everything else on.
The new stuff pushed me to be fearless — to treat the production as part of the emotional engine, to be way more honest in the way I write, and to not be precious about getting to the point quickly.
But here’s where it gets interesting: the real power is in blending both approaches.
Taking that timeless, unforgettable melody… and giving it a modern edge.
Taking that raw, honest lyric… and pairing it with a structure that actually works.
When you do that, you’re not just chasing a trend. You’re building something that can last.
And if you want a perfect example of how to pull it off, listen to the song "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. When you strip away the production, you’ve still got a killer melody — something you could play on an acoustic guitar around a campfire and people would feel it.
But listen closer, and you’ll hear how modern the whole thing is as well — the way the production swells, the way the emotion builds, the way it grabs you right away without wasting a second. The lyrics aren’t dressed up to sound fancy — they sound like two people trying to claw their way toward something real.
So, here’s my challenge to you: Next time you hear "Shallow," don’t just sing along.
Ask yourself — where does this feel like the 1920s? Where does it feel like the 2020s?
And what would happen if you tried to write something that pulled the best out of both worlds too?
Doug Millaway
Mill Away Publishing
Blind Owl Studio
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