Welcome!
The Songwriter’s Network hosts an industry speaker on the first Wednesday of each month via Zoom, and a Showcase (live performances) on the third Wednesday of each month. Please see below for our 2024 events and in Archives for previous events and speakers. Both speaker presentations/song critiques and showcases are archived on our “SongNet LA” YouTube channel.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024, 7:30 pm Pacific, SongNet Showcase
Two songs or 10 minutes on one of the nicest stages & comfortable venues around! Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to reserve your spot! FREE! We will be broadcasting live on YouTube at our “SongNet LA” channel.
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, December 4, 2024, 7 pm Pacific, SongNet Presents Maat Hotep
Maat Hotep doesn’t wear a hat because he has too many.
He knows that in order to move forward in this industry sometimes one foot in front of the other takes too long and leaping forward on all fours is the only way to get things done.
Producer, promoter, lecturer, host, artist, A&R, consultant and more, he’s constantly learning and changing with the grooves of the business, while keeping a tab on the pulse of what works.
Based in Fresno, he’s in the right time zone while being just far enough away from the Hollywood hustle to avoid distraction. Maat is one of those behind-the-scenes guys that has been in the trenches with us, and still returns to help pull up those that need it.
As one of the guys that understands it’s not where you’ve been but where you’re heading, he’s always accessible & open to help, and doesn’t need the gold & platinum accolades on the walls to prove his credibility.
Maat will be listening to your work, and we will be discussing how to multitask & network, and why it’s CRITICAL to do & be more than just one thing in today’s music industry!
Free!
Maat Hotep @ SongNet
December 4th, 7PM PST
Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com for the link & to submit lyric & Mp3 files for the listening session.
Wednesday, November 20, 2024, 7:30 pm Pacific, SongNet Showcase
Two songs or 10 minutes on one of the nicest stages & comfortable venues around! Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to reserve your spot! FREE! We will be broadcasting live on YouTube at our “SongNet LA” channel.
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, November 6, 2024, 7 pm Pacific, SongNet presents Tess Taylor!
With nine chapters in major cities NARIP is the biggest music business network in the world. Promoting education, career advancement and good will among record executives, with an emphasis on becoming better informed and more effective, NARIP offers professional development opportunities, educational programs and seminars including Production, distribution international issues, publishing & rights, opportunities to meet and interact with peers, finding resources & building traffic, a job bank, a member resume database for employers, a mentor network, a newsletter and more!
Informal gatherings like their renowned brunches & mixers, along with excellent events with high level industry pros along with a well established industry job bank make NARIP an organization you NEED to know about, & Tess, being a respected musician herself, knows & understands all that artists have to deal with in today’s music scene, & is one of the BEST people to know!
This is one you cannot afford to miss! A truly priceless connection, FREE!
Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com for the Zoom link & to submit mp3 and lyric files for listening!
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 7:30 pm Pacific, SongNet Showcase
Two songs or 10 minutes on one of the nicest stages & comfortable venues around! Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to reserve your spot! FREE! We will be broadcasting live on YouTube at our “SongNet LA” channel.
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 7:00 pm Pacific, SongNet Presents Chuck Tennin and Col. Darryl Harrelson
Chuck Tennin
Chuck Tennin is the president of BIG FISH MUSIC and BIG FISH MUSIC PUBLISHING GROUP. a full-service music company that publishes, licenses, produces, develops songs, songwriters, and “creators of music”.
Currently, they’re developing an on-line digital music content site of “master quality original songs and music, in all genres, that no one else has” targeting people and companies in the Music and Entertainment Industry that have a specific need for something new and original for their projects. This includes T.V., Film, Commercials, Advertising, Videos, Documentaries, Games, Trailers, etc., as well as consumers that purchase and download songs and music for enjoyment. Chuck’s experience goes back many years having worked with artists like Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, Steppenwolf, John Kay, and others. Publishing under both BMI and ASCAP, being an “organizational” member of CMA, (country music association) and a member of ACM (academy of country music), with a wide scope of knowledge in multiple genres, Chuck’s career covers more than most. That’s why he’s called upon to be a judge in the American Song Festival, and provide insight & consultation for NBC & ASI for program development.
Col. Darryl Harrelson
Commissioned a Kentucky Colonel in 2002 because of his work with up-and-coming independent Artists, Col Darryl Harrelson’s industry foray began as a weekly talent judge at the world-famous Palomino Club in North Hollywood. He’s worked with many talent organizations holding National Music competitions in Las Vegas, Pigeon Forge, TN, Beaumont, TX, and produces demos and tracks for Indie artists and labels.
His positions include: Executive Director for the California County Music Association, Vice President of the North America Country Music Associations, Intl. (Tennessee), Board Member of the Nashville Music Festival, American Karaoke Society (Nashville), and the Best of Texas Music Awards Show.
Awards include Producer of the Year, and the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Lone Star State Country Music Association (LSSCMA). He is consulting & doing workshops specializing in Studio Recording, Music Production, FOH Mixing, Mastering, CD Design / Production / and Duplication, The Colonel also provides Live Sound Reinforcement for Music Shows and Theatrical Productions, Live and Studio Recording techniques at live venues, Wireless/RF MIc Rental and wrangling, and Video and Live Streaming Event production.
Before his move to Arizona, The Colonel & Chuck worked together and were very active in The L.A. scene. So now through streaming, they can share their knowledge & experience all over the world, AND YOU GET THE CHANCE TO BE PART OF IT FREE!
Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to get the Zoom link &/or submit your lyric file and mp3 for feedback!
Col. Darryl Harrelson & Chuck Tennin
Wednesday October 2nd, 7PM PST for SongNet ONLINE!
Seeya then!
Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 7:30 pm Pacific, SongNet Showcase
Two songs or 10 minutes on one of the nicest stages & comfortable venues around! Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to reserve your spot! FREE! We will be broadcasting live on YouTube at our “SongNet LA” channel.
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, September 4, 2024, 7:00 PM Pacific, SongNet Presents Daniel Liston Keller
Producer, composer, digital marketer, strategist, artist, musician, educator presenter, moderator, videographer, host and communicator Daniel Liston Keller, has spent most of his adult life involved in the music and professional audio industry. From performing, engineering, and music production to promotion, marketing, video production, and education, Daniel’s focus is on creating content and community.
His “Insights In Sound” podcast showcases the best and brightest creatives behind the scenes in music and pro audio, while he works behind the scenes creating video and written content for countless manufacturers, artists, non-profits, and others.
He founded “Get It In Writing” in April 2002 which features longer form interviews with music industry professionals on YouTube to help provide insight into what’s really needed for all flavors of success.
He’s one of those guys that’s truly done it all & has the stories & stuff to back it up! He also offers consulting and coaching for companies and creative individuals and works with start-ups and entrepreneurs to help build their brands, and with artists and creatives to help develop and bring their ideas and their work to fruition.
And he wants to HEAR YOUR STUFF!
Free! On zoom Sept 4th, 7PM PST
Emal songnetshowcase@gmail.com for the link and to submit mp3 and lyric files for listening.
Please DO NOT just send links, send in mp3 files so we can be sure it works ahead of time.
Seeya then!
Wednesday, August 21, 2024, 7:30 pm Pacific, SongNet Showcase
Two songs or 10 minutes on one of the nicest stages & comfortable venues around! Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to reserve your spot! FREE! We will be broadcasting live on YouTube at our “SongNet LA” channel.
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, August 7th, 2024 SongNet Presents Music Placement Specialist JOANNE LEDESMA
Hope you’re havin’ fun!
This coming Wednesday, August 7th Music Placement specialist JOANNE LEDESMA will once again be our guest speaker, and it’s FREE!
One of our more popular industry guests, we’ve known her since her days at other companies programming music for airlines, businesses, Presidents and more, and her starting up & developing one of the largest music libraries in the world. Joanne knows this business like no other, and produces projects and events that also help keep her in touch with the real world too. She is the only guest speaker we have twice a year for sure because she is so popular and provides up to the second information!
Any other questions you can hit us directly @ songnetshowcase@gmail.com
YES THIS IS A PITCH NITE SO PLEASE FOLLOW THESE SUBMISSION DETAILS IF YOU WANT TO BE HEARD!
Send an MP3 FILE with a lyric sheet FILE to songnetshowcase@gmail.com No later than Tuesday the 5th. Anything else will NOT BE USED. This is because we need fast standard formats & though we know there are better sounding ways to do this, time is more important in this context, and if our industry guests like something they will contact you directly.
We will not have live performances for this one because for placement purposes, material is always needed “yesterday”, and if you can’t have it here and now, oh well. 300 others will.
When you log in on Wednesday, be sure to pay attention to the chat box, because if there is a problem that is where information will appear, and of course you can have running commentary with other attendees there, great for collaboration!
The event is free but the information is PRICELESS!
Placement specialist Joanne Ledesma @ SongNet
August 7th 7PM
Sign up to songnetshowcase@gmail.com
CHECK YOUR SPAM FILTERS IF YOU DO NOT SEE A LINK BY TUESDAY August 6th!
Wednesday, July 17, 2024, 7:30 pm Pacific, SongNet Showcase
Two songs or 10 minutes on one of the nicest stages & comfortable venues around! Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to reserve your spot! FREE! We will be broadcasting live on YouTube at our “SongNet LA” channel.
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
July 3rd , 7:00 PM Kenji Nakai & Jimi Yamagishi
Once again, Kenji & Jimi will be on ZOOM to answer your questions & listen to your work.
Kenji will be speaking at another workshop earlier in the evening, but really wanted to hear your work AND invite friends from all over the world to see what SongNet is about so he’ll be logging in a little late & staying on a little longer!
Jimi will be leading off the first half of the event. With over 50 years in the industry and directing SongNet for half of that, he’s also got credits on 67 albums, toured up & down the west coast, done product development & consulting for several companies, done session work on countless projects has around 300 of his original songs posted online and more. Though he’s always said he doesn’t have the accolades & awards to prove his credibility, the artists he’s worked with and his years still in the game prove otherwise. He’s currently mentoring several artists at a couple of specific venues in the L.A. area, and is verifying how the industry has changed, working with “Still, A Round”, Songwriters in the round with a focus on great writing and personal stories. Though he’s always available to talk to, this is a chance to share in discussion with other artists & get a lot of other information & valuable commentary until…
Kenji Nakai will start off the listening session around 8PM. Besides starting a publishing company with Jimi a few years ago, Kenji is a very popular lecturer & educator and spends a couple of weeks in Tokyo every year teaching mixing & production. So hopefully some of his Japanese followers will log in for “lunch” (Tokyo time) to join our discussion.
Besides discussing YOUR finished projects & commenting on production & sound, we’ll also discuss your rough tracks too, for directions to consider as you move along.
Of course Kenji DOES have all those awards & accolades mentioned previously, with Grammy nods for work with many major artists (look him up, too much name dropping here messes with the algorithms) and recording credits with many more.
This is sure to be an interesting night, and a great way to prepare for next month’s PITCH NITE!
Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to get the link and send MP3s and lyric files for listening and feedback.
Please do not send links to load or stream, as we’ve had problems with that in the past, thanks.
And of course it’s all FREE!
SEEYA THEN!
Wednesday, June 19, 2024, 7:30 pm Pacific, SongNet Showcase
Two songs or 10 minutes on one of the nicest stages & comfortable venues around! Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to reserve your spot! FREE! We will be broadcasting live on YouTube at our “SongNet LA” channel.
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, June 5th, 2024, 7:00 Pacific, SongNet Presents Andy Kahn
Andy Kahn is a manager of artist relations with Sixthman.
Since 2001, Sixthman has set the stage for moments that make life rock, serving over 300,000 guests on over 150 unforgettable vacations on sand and at sea with their favorite artists, athletes, actors, comedians and brands. These carefully curated, intimate events bring non-stop performances, artist collaborations, in depth panels and Q&As, fan-artist activities, museums and overall truly immersive experiences that celebrate community and change expectations of what a vacation can be. Sixthman’s domestic home port of Miami brings escapes for guests to dream destinations in the Virgin Islands, Belize, Honduras, Mexico, and The Bahamas, and recently expanded into Europe.
Andy has hired and onboarded their largest artist relations team to date, managing the day-to-day of each team member to help them and their events thrive and succeed, and created automated onboarding workflows that are used company wide by all new hires and iterated processes to help teams manage higher volume in a more efficient manner.
Some of you know friends who have found great careers playing for cruise lines. Most of you know about specialized “event” cruises and full-package entertainment events on land as well. Andy is a big part of that and will be answering your questions about how that is done and more! A great performer & songwriter himself, he recently booked a full night with his father, also a great artist, @ Kulaks Woodshed that you can watch online! He’ll be listening to what you do, commenting and helping you get the specifics on what it takes, FREE
Sixthman’s Andy Kahn
June 5th, 7PM on Zoom!
Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to submit & get the link!
More about Sixthman:
https://www.sixthman.net/about
Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 7:30 pm Pacific, SongNet Showcase
Two songs or 10 minutes on one of the nicest stages & comfortable venues around! Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to reserve your spot! FREE! We will be broadcasting live on YouTube at our “SongNet LA” channel.
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, May 1, 2024, 7:00 Pacific, SongNet Presents Jeff Weber
Jeffrey Weber has produced over 185 CDs with two Grammys, seven Grammy nominations for artists like Nancy Wilson, David Benoit, Steve Lukather, the Utah Symphony, Jackson Browne, Marcus Miller, Tom Scott, Chick Corea, Stanley Clark, Etta James, the Count Basie Orchestra, Ritchie Blackmore, Pat Boone, Buddy Miles, Billy Preston, with at least seventeen top ten albums, two number one albums releases on almost every major label and more.
His books, “We’ll Get Back To You! Even Bigger Lies Of The Music Business” and “You’ve Got A Deal! The Biggest Lies of the Music Business” reference some of his thirty-five plus year career in the music industry, from A&R, Music Supervision, Production, Sales, Business Affairs, concert management and more.
He’s produced shows for the Atlantis Resort, NASCAR, the Breeder’s Cup, Chicago White Sox, Cystic Fibrosis, KTLA, Netflix, and helped give back to the community producing The Band From TV, comprised of famous television actors who travel the country raising money for their selected charities.
He’s re-defined the business model for a record label ranging from contracts to innovations in sales, marketing and promotion, to re-invent and re-energize relationships between artists and labels, and artists and consumers, with format-breaking levels of transparency and unique partnerships in all label/artist/fan relationships. His innovative concepts were the operational foundations for two labels distributed by Fontana (Universal).
THIS is a guy you NEED to know!
May 1st 7PM PST on ZOOM
email songnetshowcase@gmail.com for the link & to submit your mp3 and lyrics (txt file please) for listening!
Wednesday, April 17, 2024, 7:30 pm Pacific, SongNet Showcase
Two songs or 10 minutes on one of the nicest stages & comfortable venues around! Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to reserve your spot! FREE! We will be broadcasting live on YouTube at our “SongNet LA” channel.
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, April 3, 2024, 7:00 Pacific, SongNet Presents Chris “Hot Rod” Long
One of the most popular mentors at TAXI, CHRIS “HOT ROD” LONG began his career as a music journalist and concert promoter in 1989. By 1991 he had his first A&R job at Chameleon Records under producer Chuck Plotkin (Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan), and was responsible for signings of Kyuss and Ethyl Meatplow. Through the years, Chris worked with such bands as the Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine, and Ice T’s Body Count, and served as an A&R marketing consultant for The Los Angeles Times, Delicious Vinyl, and Fuel 2000 Records –– working with Jethro Tull, Julian Lennon, and Ian Hunter.
Chris also managed Platinum-selling band Crossfade (Columbia)- whom he found through TAXI – and co-managed Jonah with legendary music attorney Alan Mintz. He was the first person to shop Christina Perri to major labels, currently manages Ed Sloan (Crossfade) and Trent Rush, and serves as a consultant for several labels, publishers and Paris-based playlist/blog curation company, Groover.
As always, email songnetshowcase@gmail.com for the ZOOM link. To submit your song, send us your mp3 and lyrics files.
Free!
Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 7:30 Pacific, SongNet Showcase
Two songs or 10 minutes on one of the nicest stages & comfortable venues around! Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to reserve your spot! FREE! We will be broadcasting live on YouTube at our “SongNet LA” channel.
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, March 6th, 2024, 7 pm PST, SongNet Presents Ben McLane
How often have you heard “Get it in writing”, followed by “GET AN ATTORNEY”? if the wrong things are written, getting it in writing isn’t enough! Ben McLane is one of the most active attorneys in the music industry. His website has some of the best free FAQ resources around. He gets it, & gets it done. As the former head of business affairs/CFO for JWP-USA/BMG Records, working legal and business affairs at Rhino Records, Priority Records and as a talent scout for Sire Records, Ben is one of the few attorneys who know both sides of the table well. His book, Music Business in 10 Easy Lessons is an informative and fast read about the basics of this industry.
With Attorney of the Year & more gold & platinum record awards than any wall can handle, his cred list reads like a Billboard top 40 chart. With clients like Gilby Clarke, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Marty Balin, Ralph Tresvant, P.O.D., LL cool J, Brian Austin Green (yeah, he produces too), The (Dixie) Chicks, the soundtrack for “Above the Rim” & many more. His site: www.benmclane.com, is an amazing resource unto itself, & a great place to start your professional journey into the industry, where his posted articles provide more information than some PRICEY seminars we’ve been to!
Anyone that can afford to give this much away is someone you NEED on YOUR side! He’s coming to share his knowledge, answer your questions & listen to your stuff… FREE! We suggest reading the articles on his site prior to coming so you don’t ask redundant questions, Then, you’ll have some serious specific questions to bring. The kind that usually cost money. Submit your demos & lyric sheets too. If he likes what he hears, you might be next on that client list!
Ben McLane @ SongNet
March 6, 2024, 7PM ON ZOOM! FREE!
Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com for the Zoom link & to submit your mp3 and lyric sheet files for a listen!
Wednesday, February 21, 2024, 7:30 Pacific, SongNet Showcase
Two songs or 10 minutes on one of the nicest stages & comfortable venues around! Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to reserve your spot! FREE! We will be broadcasting live on YouTube at our “SongNet LA” channel.
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, February 7th, 2024, 7 pm PST, SongNet Presents Fett
If you’ve been to the TAXI road Rally, you know Fett! One of the most popular mentors & speakers, Fett is an independent music producer and engineer, author, music career coach, and co-founder of the Azalea Music Group in Nashville. He helps artists and songwriters reach their fullest sonic and emotional impact with the recordings he produces, and also teaches them how to do it themselves.
Fett is the author of the popular book Fett’s Mixing Roadmap: A Step-by-step Guide To Mixing Music In The Studio (available at Amazon.com), founder and host of EmpoweringWomenInAudio.com, and teacher of hands-on recording and production clinics for women. He is the former Technology Editor for Performing Songwriter Magazine. His diverse list of clients includes Davy Jones of the Monkees, Grammy-winning songwriter Don Henry, and international guitar virtuosos Tommy Emmanuel and Muriel Anderson. Although he works with folks of all stripes, Fett is particularly known for working with women, and people who are 50 and over.
Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com for the Zoom link & to submit mp3 and lyric files for review! FREE!
Wednesday, January 17, 2024, 7:30 Pacific, SongNet Showcase
Two songs or 10 minutes on one of the nicest stages & comfortable venues around! Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to reserve your spot! FREE! We will be broadcasting live on YouTube at our “SongNet LA” channel.
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday January 3rd, 2024, 7:00 PM Pacific, PITCH NITE
with Joanne Ledesma!
Joanne Ledesma will be coming online to find new material to place, publish & promote for a couple of companies she has acquired & partnered with recently. Joanne’s placed composers and producers with key writing positions & signed numerous artists in to film & TV music agreements which can be heard on South Park, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, CW network, Tri-Star Pictures and more.
She has said many times “SongNet is one of my first go-to organizations because the quality of work and PEOPLE are the BEST!” Many of you have done pitch nights before. submit your best work, as well produced as possible with a copy of your lyrics and make sure you have all your clearances from those that worked on the project with you. If you’re looking to polish your music, market your talents, sell your songs, create a demo, or educate yourself on the music industry, or just hear some GREAT stuff you’ won’t hear anywhere else, You’ll be here!
Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to submit your mp3 and lyric sheet files and get the zoom link for the event! And as always, it’s FREE!