Sam Hollander, Toby Gad, and Brian Kennedy dish on their evolution from writer to publisher
There is a new phenomenon in the music industry where writers are signing other writers. Moderated by Sue Drew (ASCAP's Vice President of Pop/Rock) The New Publishers: Writers Signing Writers panel focused on writers that have become publishers. Drew asked Toby Gad (Songwriter, "If I Were A Boy") why a writer would decide to sign with another writer's publishing company rather than a large publisher such as Universal Music Publishing or BMG Chyrsalis. He responded that the advantage is that they get his full attention. He helps them with the process, gets them other projects, and helps them grow. Other large publishers may have 500 writers and a writer may get lost in a large entity and their bureaucratic structures.
While other panelists did not seem to have a method to their madness, Brian Kennedy (Producer, "Disturbia") tends to sign people that compliment his skills and are great producers/writers in different genres that he may not specialize in. Additionally, signing with him may be better than signing with a large publisher because he does not like to micromanage his artists. Some of his sessions with his writers may consist of dropping off the skeleton of a track and then leaving the studio because he doesn't like looking over an artist's shoulder while they are in the creative process.
Overall, it seems that writers are becoming more entrepreneurial and are creating their own structures for additional revenue once they obtain more notoriety.
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