The Magic of Songwriting with Francesca de Valence

In the next few episodes we take you to the serene blue waters of Airlie Beach for the Whitsundays Songwriter Festival 2024. This year, Jude York joined the festival as one of the professional songwriters. Jude York is a fast-rising Australian star, whose self-produced pop delicacies have gone viral. Join us as we chat with Jude about co-writing, collaboration and more. About Jude: Jude York is a...

Welcome to Season 7 of the Magic of Songwriting Podcast. This season is all about collaboration and co-writing. Collaboration is an inherent part of being a musician, but is often a behind the scenes thing. To help shed light on this, I interview songwriters and artists of all experience levels about their co-writing - from multiple-ARIA winning artist, Wendy Matthews, to first-time co-writers. An...

For 10 years I Heart Songwriting Club has been helping songwriters around the world to write their best songs yet. With over 30,000 songs written by over 1500 songwriters from 30 countries around the world, it's no wonder entire albums have been written, ARIA awards have been nominated, film soundtracks have been created, and many careers have been launched from this simple writing club. I Heart S...

Living in Nashville as a songwriter is like being in the heart of the music industry. Just ask Sally Barris, a Nashville-based performing songwriter whose tracks have been covered by Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack, Trisha Yearwood, and Keith Urban, earning one of her songs a Grammy nomination in 2009. Sally’s journey and experiences offer a glimpse into the unique world of Nashville’s music scene...

Jackie Marshall is an independent songwriter, performer, recording artist and has starred in and composed music for the independent feature film " Three Chords and the Truth" . She is a shining light in the independent music and film scene. In this episode we follow Jackie’s unconventional journey to her golden opportunity and discuss how allowing the practice of songwriting lead her to unexpected...

In the music industry, everything you do with your songs revolves around copyright, and the effective exploitation of your copyright. One of the ways to exploit that copyright is to have your music synced to films and TV shows and ads. In this conversation with Music Supervisor, Tyler McLoughlan, we break down the key concepts of music copyright, sync, and how songwriters can make the most of this...

Ack Kinmonth is a seasoned composer with over a decade of experience in crafting captivating soundscapes for various media. From composing for blockbusters like 'The Wishmas Tree' to lending his talents to beloved shows like 'Bluey'. In this episode we discuss the interesting journey of a composer. We hope the light this conversation sheds will help songwriters bridge the gap between songwriting a...

Toni Childs is the powerhouse behind hits like "Don't Walk Away" and "Stop Your Fussin',". She isn't just a singer-songwriter; she's a force of nature. Listen to Toni's inspiring journey from open mic kid to international sensation. This episode is a testament to the transformative power of music. Thanks to the 2023 Whitsundays Songwriter Festival for bringing us this episode today.  Timestamp: 2:...

We chat with Vika & Linda at the 2023 Whitsundays Songwriter Festival, to shine a light on their journey as artists and songwriters - from singing with The Black Sorrows, to discovering their artistic sound as a duo, finding the songs to record for their first album, and how they started writing songs as established artists.  Timestamp: 2:27 - Exploring Song Selection for Albums 4:47 - The Evoluti...

Not every songwriter will get a publishing deal, so we pose some questions to Mark Sholtez that may help songwriters understand how they can succeed as a songwriter without a music publishing deal.  Having had success both as a published and self-published songwriter, Mark offers invaluable insights to this question. Timestamp: 3:00 - What is an essential element of being a songwriter? 5:25 - Tips...

Music publishing is an area of the music industry that is complex and hard to get a handle on so we ask publisher and 2019 Billboard International Power Player, Rachel Kelly all the hard questions: What is a music publisher? How do they support songwriters? And do you really need a publishing deal? This episode is a solid overview of music publishing and how they can support songwriters. Timestamp...

Welcome to Season 6 of the Magic of Songwriting Podcast. This season is all about songwriting opportunities - from publishing deals, pitching your songs to artists, co-writing, sync opportunities and more. By the end of this season, our hope is that you will have a greater understanding of how songwriters can grow their careers, networks, and opportunities.  Find out more and contact us at I Heart...

The idea of playing your music on a stage at a key industry event somewhere in the world can sound alluring, but showcasing can be a big financial investment and should be part of a much bigger picture growth strategy for you as an artist. How do you know if the time is right for you to showcase and what’s involved?   Want Professional Development mentorship to guide and support you to release you...

To shed light on the intricacies of the PR landscape, the potential impact of publicity on your release, and what you can realistically anticipate, we spoke with a PR expert, Genna Alexopoulos. This episode offers valuable insights for artists navigating the complex PR decision-making process and the impact of the multifaceted PR world on the artistic journey. Want Professional Development mentors...

Viv Mellish, founding partner from GYROstream, shares how independent artists can best use their digital distribution service and power up their digital marketing game to make the most of release day and reach as many people as possible. Viv mentions Every Noise At Once as a tool to help you get clear on your genre.  Want Professional Development mentorship to guide and support you to release your...

In this industry conversation with Michael Parisi, we look at how he took Celia Pavey from a third-place finish on The Voice to Aussie pop sensation Vera Blue. If you’re still developing your artistic sound and look, or evolving it to the next level, check out this conversation for some practical and inspiring tips to create your unique artist brand.  Want Professional Development mentorship to gu...

In this industry conversation with music media stalwart Stephen Green, we tackle the question of what marketing is from a macro viewpoint as well as best practices for pitching to media outlets and radio, and how artists can focus their marketing efforts on where it counts most and for maximum impact.  Want Professional Development mentorship to guide and support you to release your songs to the w...

It’s not what you know, it's who you know. If you struggle with networking at music industry events, then be empowered and guided with a few simple tips to help you to stay grounded, present and balanced so that you can build quality relationships for your career. Want Professional Development mentorship to guide and support you to release your songs to the world? Find out more about Level Up Club...

What does a record label do? How do I get a record label deal? And what are some ways that I can get my songs out to the world without a label? To answer these questions, we chat with Sweetie Zamora, Head of Labels & Promotions at Remote Control Records. Sweetie shares about the role labels play in an artists’ career and what artists should be focusing on regardless of having a label deal or not....

Do I need a music manager? When do I need a manager? What does a manager really do? And until I have one, how can I effectively manage myself as an artist? To answer these questions, we chat with Simone Ubaldi, co-director of Sundowner Artists and co-manager of internationally acclaimed, three-time ARIA award winning band, Amyl and The Sniffers. In this conversation, Simone clearly articulates the...

How do you fit into the music industry as a songwriter and artist, and how do you build your music industry team? These music industry conversations will offer you a deeper understanding of what support exists in the industry, how you can build your team, what roles different people play to help you take your career to the next level, and how you can take some of those steps yourself. Want Profess...

17 year old queer singer songwriter, Kaiyah Mercedes has gone from writing their first song at eleven years old to their debut album being streamed over 200,000 times, just a handful of years later. In this Club Conversation, Kaiyah shares her clear artistic vision and how they manifest this into tangible form with the support of their creative community, and as well as their discovery of sexual i...

Many artists go quiet when they don’t have a release to promote, but when they do this they miss out on opportunities to continue to develop and build their audience. In this episode, we outline some commonly used and out of the box ways to develop your audience when you’re not promoting a release. Want Professional Development mentorship to guide and support you to release your songs to the world...

In this club conversation with UK singer songwriter and producer, Kwun, we talk about the magic of channelling music, sound frequency and light language, and recording music in 432 Hz, juxtaposed with the big blocks that come up for artists when it comes to releasing and promoting music. Want Professional Development mentorship to guide and support you to release your songs to the world? Find out...

What do I do after releasing a song? How can I promote my music by myself? How do I attract listeners to my music? How do I increase the number of streams on Spotify? If you’re asking these questions, listen in as we offer up ways that you can take a professional approach to your music business. Get tips to promote and market your brand and music so that you can optimize your reach and grow your a...