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 2026 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, May 6, 2026, 7:00 Pacific time, SongNet Presents Lenise Bent
Lenise Bent is an artist. As an audio engineer and producer who has put her creativity and talent on many iconic records including “Aja” by Steely Dan and “Breakfast in America” by Supertramp, she uses the brush strokes & colors found in recording gear to help those on the other side of the glass realize their vision.
She is the first female engineer on record to receive a platinum album for Blondie’s “AutoAmerican” album, which features a wide range of sounds & music from the Caribbean groove of “The Tide is High” to the danceable rap-infused “Rapture”.
Lenise is also a post-production audio professional, specializing in recording and editing foley sound effects for many films and animated series and has traveled the world for Dreamworks supervising the foreign dialogue recording and producing the vocals for such animated features as “Shrek”, “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” and “Shrek 2”.
She also archives and repairs audio, instructs, consults and holds workshops for audio students and singer/songwriters. She is a long-standing member of many audio organizations including the Audio Engineering Society, SoundGirls and the Producers and Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy.
Currently exploring spatial/immersive audio recording for music and sound healing, Lenise knows audio. Lenise knows awesome. So you should know Lenise. For more info and discography please go to her website at: www.lenisebent.com.
Then be sure to get the Zoom link & join us online May 6th, 7pm PST.
Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com for the link and to send in your mp3 an lyric sheet (preferably word file) files for listening and feedback!
FREE!
Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 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!
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, April 1, 2026, 7:00 Pacific time, SongNet Presents James Kocian
Award-winning writer/producer, VP of A&R for Street Lamp Records, song coach, and music mentor, James Kocian has enjoyed commercial success with artists in multiple genres, including the recent Country/Inspirational #1 “Keep Your Eyes On Me” which he co-wrote, produced, and mixed. An assistant engineer on the 2023 Grammy winning song, “Fear Is Not My Future”, his song “New Kings” is the featured end credit song for “HighRollers” starring John Travolta.
His songs have been featured by Ralph Lauren, Inditex (H&M, Mossimo, etc.), Bosch, PGA, X-Games, NBA Championship, Love Is Blind, The Today Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and many more.
His song, “This Changes Everything” was the theme for the ELCA Mass Gathering in Houston, TX where he performed live at NRG stadium for over 36,000 people.
Founder of Northwoods Songwriters Retreat, and creator of the life-changing “WECIB” method, his leadership style is to share the lessons he’s learned along the way – areas of hardship and hurdles he has stumbled on to help others navigate both the industry and life’s journey more smoothly.
When James is not in the studio, he can usually be found mentoring young creatives or serving at CRE8 Church – the church he and his wife Jill founded in January, 2024. He’s also a state rep for Celebrate Recovery and leads a weekly meeting for scores of people finding hope in recovery.
And as always, he’ll be listening to your work & answering your questions FREE!
Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com to get the link & submit your mp3 and lyric files for listening!
Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 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!
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, March 4th, 2026, 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
Wednesday, March 4, 2026, 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 18, 2026, 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!
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, February 4th, 2026, 7:00 pm Pacific, SongNet Presents Matt Vander Boegh
If you’ve seen the TAXI ads. You’ve seen this guy & heard his story. He’s the real deal. And he will be our gust speaker, listening to your stuff & answering your questions…
AND IT’S FREE! This is a do-not miss one -on-one for YOU!
Matthew C. Vander Boegh is a full-time composer for film and television. Looked up to as an industry heavyweight, Vander Boegh’s music is in high demand and plays somewhere on TV, somewhere in the world, every hour of every day.
In his 15 years of making music for TV, Vander Boegh has amassed a staggering 35,000+ placements on over 1,200 TV programs, including various major sporting events, Hollywood movies, high-profile reality TV shows, soap operas, commercials, and daytime & evening talk shows. He has nearly 5,000 cues and hundreds of full-length songs signed to oodles of high-end music libraries.
Vander Boegh received his Master of Arts (MA) in Communication at Boise State University, minored in Music at Boise State, and has taken a variety of music production courses through Berklee School of Music. His college education was mostly paid for with a trumpet scholarship, where he learned to both love and loathe marching bands.
He is a regular presence at multiple music conferences, songwriting retreats, and film festivals, where he is typically a panelist, mentor, teacher, and speaker.
In his past career as a university professor, Vander Boegh taught audio production and music engineering courses at Boise State University. He currently mentors many composers and songwriters in his home state of Idaho, guest lectures at colleges & universities around the country, and contributes material to various online music education courses. He even has his own YouTube channel, where he shares his thoughts & approaches to making music for TV.
Email songnetshowcase@gmail.com for the Zoom link & to submit your mp3 and lyric files to listen to!
Wednesday, January 21st, 2026, 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!
The Urban Homestead
631 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA. 91103
Near Orange Grove & Fair Oaks off the 210 freeway
Wednesday, January 7th, 2026, 7:00 PM Pacific, SongNet Presents Song Placement Specialist Joanne Ledesma
Hope you’re havin’ fun!
This coming Wednesday, January 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 at 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 (please send FILES, not links or lyrics in email) to songnetshowcase@gmail.com No later than Tuesday the 6th. 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
January 7th, 2026, 7PM Pacific
Sign up to songnetshowcase@gmail.com, and
CHECK YOUR SPAM FILTERS IF YOU DO NOT SEE A LINK BY TUESDAY January 6th!