Hello and welcome to the website for women and girls in music. We are a non profit to help women in music at all levels and ages.

Now is the time to submit your song for our song writing contest. Deadline for entries is Sept. 15th, 2010. For only $25, you can have your song critiqued by industry professionals and get some feedback on how you are doing. We will accept CDs, MP3's, you tube links, cassettes and just about any format you can get the song to us. There must be at least one woman on the song writing credits. Don't worry about production, because our judges are listening for content and understand how to hear a great song. Submit your song today! Don't wait until the last minute. Go to this link: Minnesota Song Contest   and get more information.

Our annual song writing discussion and forum is Tuesday October 12th at McNally Smith Music in College in St Paul, MN. It's at 7pm. We will announce our winners there and broadcast live on the internet as well.
This is your chance to ask questions about making a great song and network with other women song writers just like you. This event is free and all ages.

Be sure to sign up on our mailing list so you can be updated about other events we have coming up. We are currently looking for volunteers for our annual fundraiser called Women Reign.

For any questions or concerns, please contact me at rebekkafisher@comcast.net

Thanks for checking in and check back in a week for more updates. Keep the music in your life!

Questions? Leave a message on the hotline: 651-649-4877
rebekkafisher@comcast.net
Rebekka Fisher

Yes, I know it’s summer.  But did you know that this is when recording artists are looking for songs for their Holiday and Christmas albums?  Even artists who write their owns songs, don’t seem to spend enough time writing holiday music.  The beauty of this creates opportunities for songwriters.  This could be your “in.” June and July … the big search for holiday music. So dust off your Christmas spirit and get to work.

A friend of mine got a cut with Sting this way.  Yes, Sting! A guys who normally only records his own material.  It led to Sting recording another one of her compositions.  That was her “in.”

What makes a great holiday tune? 

• Memorable
• Makes you want to sing along
• Universal appeal
• Musically entertaining or extraordinarily beautiful
• Heartfelt message or fun lyrics
• Fresh new idea

Think about some of your favorite holiday songs.  Why are they your favorite? What writing qualities stick with you the listener?

A publisher I used to write for was always hounding me to write Christmas music. He felt that having one Christmas song was as good as gold since nearly every artist is looking for them, and the window for sales for one holiday CD comes around every year generating royalties year after year.  One holiday song cut by a high profile artist can set a songwriter up for life financially.  Plus, having millions of people world-wide singing your song isn’t such a bad perk.

Where to start?  How about a great hook?  Find a title, write the chorus around your title/hook, then find the quintessential story to fulfill the chorus.  If you’re a great melody writer but short on Christmas lyrics, you can use lyrics that are “public domain.”  There are two musical versions to “I Heard the Bells On Christmas Eve.,” a poem by Henry Longfellow.  Both lyrics are identical, however, the melodies were written by two different composers.  Both melodies are beautiful but one is more memorable.

What is public domain? When you copyright your songs with the Library of Congress, you are entitled to collect royalties on any recorded version of your song, 75 years past the date of the death of the longest living writer of the composition.  So, 76 years past the death of the last surviving writer, the song becomes part of public domain and any one can record the song and not pay royalties to the composers.

So, jingle while you can!

© 2010 Jill Holly