Special From mrJack

First off I'd like to say that, as expected, we are hearing great work...you people are really good. Many of you have things, songs, that are truly professional and are simply looking for a home, a use, a license. Kudos to you!

Secondly, WWAHM is a good contest. Many great things are happening as a result of directly putting Durango-affiliated writers into some even taller cotton — it's a positive career move for all. Kudos to Jim and this TEAM of people who are, if nothing else, a good thing for music!

Finally, WWAHM is more than a contest. We have been evolving the contest into an ever-growing searchable database of great songs for the purpose of promotiing your indie work and making it available long after the contest is over. It's an added value, and it could be an important one for you to consider in deciding whether or not to enter, and which song(s) to enter.

Check out wwahm.com and you'll see what I mean.

Email jack@durangosong.com if you have questions. Come out to That's Cool on Wednesday night the 15th!

More About WWAHM

Write With A Hit-Maker, or WWAHM, is more than a songwriting contest. Yes that is the grand prize, getting to write with a bona fide hit songwriter, but we've added a lot of extra value!

WWAHM is also a database of all songs that have been entered into our contests. (Unless the entrant specifically opts out of that feature.)

When the contest songs are entered, we collect relative keywords (and the list will always grow) for the purpose of archiving the songs for others to find and listen to (and perhaps license). If you have written a song about cars, and NPR's Car Talk is looking for a song about a corvette, they will be able to find it here. Even if your song was entered in a WWAHM contest years before. In most contests you are one and done.

Over time, WWAHM.com will become a well-known song bank for anyone looking for music in a particular genre or a song about a particular topic.

Write With A Hit-Maker contest ENDS NEXT WEEK! (see below for details).

Big DURANGO NITE FEB 15th!

SPECIAL REQUEST TO NASHVILLIANS!

We're going to have a GREAT night of music next week at our Durango Nite at a little showcase club called That's Cool on Franklin Pike not far south of Douglas Corner (on right, kind of hard to see).

Danny Myrick, Bridgette Tatum and Amy Dalley headline. (Others will play too, maybe you?) As many of you know, Danny has been a huge advocate for the Expo and he and Mark Brown and Bridgette Tatum at Root 49 Music are a vital part of this year's SB Expo. And Amy is coming to the Expo in March -- she has a new record!

Come on out and give us a great send-off (last show before the Expo), see some old Expo-ite pals, and enjoy TWO FOR ONE FAT TIRES! That alone is worth the price of admission ($5 which goes to the club for production costs).

Please mark Wednesday, February 15th 8PM at That's Cool on your calendar. Come to Durango Nite!

Special Offer From Larry Beaird!

IMPORTANT: Please read this note about Larry's "Arranging The Hit" special offer!

While great songwriters focus on lyrics and melodies, professional arranger and producer Larry Beaird thinks about intros, tempos, solos, grooves, unique chord progressions, modulations, dynamics and musical hooks that will make those lyrics and melodies sound like hits. Twenty years of experience have taught Beaird the value of great arrangements, and how successful songwriters benefit from that value every day. In his workshop, you’ll have the opportunity to observe how techniques of skilled arrangers can be used to enhance the sound of your songs. Writers can submit songs in advance, which may be possibly included in the class discussion. Please send mp3s to larry@beairdmusicgroup.com.

WWAHM Public Portal Live

WWAHM! Who wants to write their next song with Shawn Mullins (writer and performer of the #1 "Lullaby")? Or how about writing your next song with Bridgette Tatum (co-writer of Jason Aldean's #1 "She's Country")?

Or maybe your music is more suited to Film and TV projects. Want to work with LA's Riptide Music, one of the premier placement/licensing firms in Hollywood?

Here is your chance! Act now, deadline to enter is February 17th, 2012.

(The cost? Just $45 for one category, $30 for each additional category - enter up to two songs in each category.)

Reserve Your Room!

Congrats Meghan!

Do you have an update for us? Post it here.

About the Durango Songwriters Expo: We connect musicians with industry to create placements, relationships, music and a better understanding of the contemporary music biz. Since 1996.

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