NSAI Pitch to Publisher Night in Nashville

Last night I decided to forgo eating dinner and go to the monthly NSAI pitch to publisher night. For this month the publisher was Bobby Rymer of Montage Music. Admittedly I didn’t know a lot about Mr. Rymer so before I went to the workshop I did a quick Google search just to get a picture of what he looked like to make sure I didn’t cut him off in the parking lot, and to see what kind of music he had published. More about Bobby Rymer later, who was awesome, but first let me talk about the pitch to publisher night in general for those that haven’t been to one yet.

Doors open at 6pm, but a line starts forming around 5 so get there early if you want to be out before 8pm. The listening starts around 6:30 so you do have some time to meet people or at least make small talk with the person your sitting next to. A single verse and chorus is listened to for 99% of the songs, which are alternated between in town and out of town submissions. In reality less than 2 minutes is spent on any song, even the ones that are chosen, which can be frustrating when you’ve sat through 60 songs to simply here the word pass after your hook hits.

I think I’ll Pass.

If you want to leave self-esteem still intact come in knowing that not only will your song have a 1.5% chance of getting picked for a second listen (1 song was chosen of the 64 that were played), but even the best songs only get listened to through the first chorus. So if your big twist comes in the bridge you may want to pick a different song for this event. Bobby made a great point at the beginning of the night; one may feel like its a competition between the writers in the room, but everyone at NSAI on any given day is competing with Rivers Rutherford and Craig Wiseman and everyone else on music row.

Why you should still go.

This ended up being the best publisher night I’ve been to so far because Bobby Rymer filled the occasional down moment, due to a poorly burned or scratched CD, to take questions and give some insight into what he is really looking for. So what is he looking for you ask?

In a word, original. One of his favorite titles of the night was “All over your face” which turned out to be about a blind man able to “see” the pain of  love lost on another mans face. When the title was read aloud before they played the song the room erupted because no matter how old everyone claims to be, we all act like were 11, myself included. Later he explained that he is always dying for that idea that is different. It could be rock, country, jazz or pop but a great idea is a great idea.  However he didn’t take the song because “even though the foundation of the house was great, the walls weren’t put up right”

After all 64 songs had been played there was some time left so he let the group throw some more questions at him, which prompted the most insightful, moment of the night.

Mr. Rymer let out that when he listens to a writer he wants to hear the songs that said writer would play or listen to when no one else is around. The new stuff. Also saying that he is never looking for the next Craig Wiseman or Jeffrey Steele, he is looking for the first Jimi Anderson or the first you. He isn’t looking for radio clone writers, hes looking for the people who are going to set the new standards.

Get Here.

Overall what I’ve come to realize about NSAI workshops is that there are a lot of reasons to go, but the guest speakers and publishers always end up dropping at least one great idea like the one above, and one like that alone is worth the $150 annual fee. So put on your thickest suit of armor and I’ll see you in August! (I’ll be the guy getting passed on right before or after you do.)

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