The J. Paul Getty Center in West Los Angeles is much more than just the most richly endowed art museum in the world.  It is a cultural oasis with spectacular resources for the community. One of them is a free lecture series in the Harold R. Williams Auditorium.

Do you well, learn how to get your name in the papers, and maybe someday, you’ll be an even bigger star than Lady Gaga, who, y’never know, could be sitting on the edge of her egg, gobbling peanut M & M’s, shushing the cattle from which she derives her wardrobe, so she can hear your new song.   

I met Chester on a hiking vacation while travelling with a tour group headed for Prince Edward Island, Canada…

Surely if a little blade of grass can survive and even thrive on Wilshire Boulevard, you can make it through the sea of "no's" and "no way's" you've been navigating through the music business.

Your new project is finally finished.  Time to switch into marketing mode. 
But you don’t know anybody.  Sleezeballs, maybe, but no one legit.

Many of my clients have asked me why I think certain artists were nominated for Grammys, and others weren't. Some of my clients even suggested it was all about PR and hype. While I understand the value of publicity, there still has to be something worth publicizing, and even in the music business, hype alone cannot get an artist a deal and certainly not a Grammy nomination.

To find the publishing company that's right for you, read Billboard Magazine. If you write country songs, look on the country chart. If you're a pop writer, look on the pop chart. But don't be a gospel writer looking for a music publisher on the rock ‘n roll chart. Music publishers are very specialized and so are their connections.

This appeared in Barney Brantingham’s column in the Santa Barbara News-Press before the publisher went ballistic and fired everybody. I hung this special column on my fridge, and want to share it with all of you.

Many songwriters tell me that melodies flow out of them like beer from a tap, but writing lyrics make them ache all over. I tell them they are in good company. Almost every other client shares their problem when they contact me