The following is an interview with Mike Pinder (yes, THE Mike Pinder), founder of Songwars and founding member of the legendary band The Moody Blues (“Nights in White Satin”, “Tuesday Afternoon”). Besides being the man that introduced The Beatles to the mellotron, Mike has started “Songwars” to nurture emerging songwriters with the help of the pros. Songwars is a quarterly contest with annual and quarterly prizes worth over $50,000.
Having awarded prizes to the first set of winners, Mike talks about the contest, his experience reviewing and much more.
1. Tell us about the contest.
SONGWARS was created to help songwriters refine their songwriting skills and to provide recognition for those artists that have written notable songs.
All of the SONGWARS team has a personal passion for music and the desire to see talented creative songwriters succeed and get recognized for their musically ability. It is a way for me to cultivate the art in tangible way.
2. Who won the last round and what did they receive?
Our Grand Prize winner, Allister Bradely, will receive 2 Days Studio Time, Boss BR 600, Cash, Dunlop, Nady, Boulder Creek, Davel, Disk Makers products and many more great prizes. We have the overall winners and various levels of achievement available to the songwriters.
3. What did those artists do to capture your attention or stick out from the crowd?
It is all about the song: Is the melody strong? Is the hook strong? Is it original? Do the lyrics engage the listener? Is the imagery and metaphor clever and is the story interesting? Is the composition good? Is the song creative?
These are things we have our judges look for.
4. What makes Songwars different?
We have critiques for every entry. This is what sets SONGWARS apart from other contests-and what I am most proud of. The songs are often listened to more than 20 times through the judging process. We give detailed feedback in thoughtfully written reviews which often include suggestions and judge’s ideas. Primarily we try to encourage songwriters to reach and to take it up a notch. We try to give specific advice to each songwriter. Also there are finalists, semi-finalists and honorable mention certificates for those songs that place higher in the judging process. I feel that the affirmation is really important– that is what our feedback from our entrants is telling us.
5. Most Memorable EPK?
The most memorable EPK I can remember was from a young girl, 12 years old. She has already written quality songs, one of which was in our finalist level. It is exciting to know that there are young songwriters creating quality art at such an early age, and to envision what a bright artistic future she may have.
6. What are some common mistakes you see artist making when they’re submitting to you?
Sometimes we will get a song with an intro that is too long or the overall song might be to long. But we try to point this out in our critique. We don’t take production into account when we do our judging. But often the artist needs help in the arrangement. I have the ear of a producer, as I did all of the arrangements for my old band the Moody Blues. I would like to add critiques some day that focus on production and arranging. I heard many songs that had a good basic structure, and because of that, they scored high anyway, but could come to life with a good production/arrangement.
7. Why do artists pay a submission fee to be considered and how is it used?
We use the submission fees to develop the website, advice page, pay staff, prizes, and provide a critique to each entrant, advertising etc.
8. What does your typical day look like?
I am in the studio each day working on my own material and SONGWARS. I also try and listen to many of the song entries myself and I will do many of the critiques myself. I really enjoy listening to the songs. We have song entries from every part of the globe. I really love the sense of connection to the musicians I feel when I hear the music and read the bios.
9. What do you wish bands knew about the time and effort that goes into the selection?
First we listen to the song all the way through. Then we bring up the lyrics and listen again with the lyrics in front of us. Then we listen to the verse and chorus again. (At this point if the melody is strong and the hook is good) we should be singing along. We will write the critique and score the song at this point. The song will be scored and the judge will decide if the song should progress to the next stage of judging. If the song has several qualities we look for and the songwriter has achieved a certain writing level, it may be placed in Honorable Mention or advance to Semi-Finalists etc. The song will be listened to several more times in the process and by multiple judges. Our judges listen to each song multiple times during the course of selection.
11. What do you like about Sonicbids?
I really like having all of the information at my disposal instantly. Sonicbids gives me the background of the artist and I can get a good sense of where the artist is coming from, their current experience, style and where they are heading. It is a journey for every songwriter and the EPK of Sonicbids allows the artist to share this with me. It creates a sense of community with fellow artists that love music as much as I do.
12. Do you have any advise you wish to share with the bands/artists?
If you love music, just keep improving your playing, your writing and your production/arranging. Some of the most talented people I have known in the music business are not necessarily the most famous. As most artists know, you don’t necessarily get rich being an artist/musician, but you do it because you love it.
We hope we can continue to help people who want to hone the craft of their songwriting.
