“I worked 17 years for overnight songwriting success.” – Tim Hicks
There’s often a misconception when someone in the music business succeeds. It’s easy to think that an artist became and instant sensation or overnight songwriting success. So, I thought I’d share a story of how it most often happens here in the real world…
Several years ago, at our publishing company’s Christmas dinner, I ran into an old friend, Denny Carr who told me an amazing story. Four years prior, he and I were in Hamilton, Ontario Canada for the Canadian Country Music Awards. While we were there, Neil Sanderson from the rock band “Three Days Grace” called Denny and told him he needed to go to a tiny hole-in-the-wall bar to hear a great performer.
Denny didn’t really want to go hear an unknown artist, the cab fare to see the show was going to be $35 and he was really tired…
But something inside him said he should give it a try. So he paid the cab fare and went to the show. When he got to the bar, the performer was stuck way over in the corner on a tiny stage.
Denny watched the show and was blown away!
After the show, he approached the singer to find out his story. The performer, Tim Hicks, had been playing at this bar non-stop for 17 years. You read that correctly. 17 Years! Also, he only made $300 per night. And his wife was expecting a baby. They were barely getting by and he’d lost all hope of making it in the music business as a singer songwriter. Incredibly, he was 33 years old and way past “music business” prime.
Denny asked Tim if he would be interested in coming to Nashville to talk to the label that he worked with…
Tim accepted and the rest is history. Last year, Tim was the biggest selling country artist in Canada. He makes more than his previous record yearly salary EVERY night that he plays a show. Denny says that he likes to jokingly remind Tim that he was one $35 cab ride away from making $300 a night.
The moral of the story?
In this business we are ALL “one $35 cab ride away” from something good happening with our music. If we don’t give up. If we keep on putting out good work and getting better at what we do, someone will notice someday. I believe that.
Will you become an overnight songwriting success?
Not usually. But, don’t be discouraged. You could be one listen away from that first cut. One phone call away from your big break and perceived overnight success. It happens to real people. We’ve had SongTown members work hard and land major artist cuts, chart hits, staffwriter deals, and sync placements. It can happen to you. Keep believing. Keep doing your best work. And keep getting better. Your best chance is to buckle down and write on. ~Marty
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Author: Marty Dodson
