3 years ago today I was in Limehouse Stuidos in London, recording songs with a well known producer. (Thank you Timehop). I was living the dream.
I was there with Sony Records, recording a couple of demos with (still can't believe it) Mark Ronson. I'm not a singer, I can't play any instruments but I can write a good song. I've had a few people ask about what happened or what I did over the last few weeks (thanks again Timehop), so I thought I'd just tell the story.
In late 2011 I received a phone call from secretary at Sony Records, asking me whether I'd like to come in for a meeting about the songs I'd sent in. I had no clue I'd even sent them to Sony, all I'd done was sent them to a few bands to see if they'd want to use them. A former friend had taken in upon himself to send demos of my tracks to a lot of A&R departments.
When Sony got in touch, I though it was a joke. But, I went. I didn't tell anyone at all, I told my mum I was going for a job interview for some company in London. (My family didn't really know I wrote songs, I found it embarrassing). I went in with an open mind and a few nerves. I was greeted by an A&R man called Mike. He sat me down, and basically asked whether I was interested in forging a career within songwriting, as I had a good knack of telling a story. We agreed then to them taking me on a trial. This was odd, I'd never written on-demand, I just did it because I loved it.
I only started writing when I couldn't sleep, I used to have a slight insomnia and would be awake for hours. I was told writing what's on my mind would help. That went from a small diary, to poems and then onto songs. So being told when to write would be strange. The agreement was, they'd send me artists to write for and I'd have to produce whatever they wanted, but it wasn't real. If you follow? They wouldn't give the song to the artist, but they just wanted to see what I could do.
I was given 11 months to produce around about 15 songs for various artists and genres, I thought I done OK. During those 11 months I was able to work with session artists and one producer, which was an amazing experience. Mike, the A&R guy, was helping/mentoring me through all of this. A man who had worked with Pink Floyd to the Sex Pistols, he knew everyone.
In mid 2012 I got an email to go to a record studio, which was going to be odd. I got the train to Charing Cross and was picked up in a car (felt like a celeb), and driven to Limehouse Studios in London. Mike met me and said he'd organised a one off session with a well known producer, Mark Ronson. I couldn't believe it, I was going to meet Mark Ronson and he was going to read some of my songs. We were in there about 4 hours, and all I did was sit in awe. He took two of my songs, started playing guitar and came up with a brilliant melodies. He recorded 2 songs within the space of 4 hours, and from a guy who comes from Welling, I couldn't believe what was happening.
He was such a nice guy and very down to earth. He asked whether he could take my notebook with him to see if there was any songs he could build on. I was never going to say no. We exchanged emails (which I still have somewhere) and that was that. I heard from him a few more times, but nothing major. There was talk of him working with The Last Shadow Puppets, and potentially I could work on it too. But nothing materialised.
Then in September of 2012, it was the day I found out if I had got a deal with Sony. After numerous cancellations, I finally got a deal as a freelance songwriter. Apparently I was a stones throw away from getting a full contract with a nice salary, but with an unproven track record they didn't want to take a chance. The deal was pay as you play. Any songs that got released, I'd receive a fee and royalties etc. Things got real. I was actually going to write for REAL artists this time.
My first artists was Girls Aloud. I received a call saying they were making a come back and were taking songs, so I was given the opportunity to throw my song into the hat. I sat for hours on Spotify listening to them, trying to get to grips of what kinds of song I needed to do. It was hard, I write band type songs, not pop. Anyway, I did it within a few days and gave it into the label. Unfortunately I didn't hear anything for months. I then heard their comeback single on the radio, a clear message!
Then came The Wanted, another pop group. Something I really struggle with. They a new single, but wanted extra tracks on the single. I wrote a song, which I was half proud of. After months of waiting and a lot of emails, they decided not to release anything at all. I was gutted, nearly half way through my contract and nothing. At that time I was signed to Simon Fullers management company, XIX Entertainment. They were fantastic and try to help me out, by setting my up with a band called F.U.S.E, who had just been signed to them and Sony. It seemed great, they were a bit more of what I liked. Rocky, not poppy.
I worked with them once, they were quite good. They seemed happy with the songs, I was happy and then they just disappeared. Apparently, it hadn't worked out with the label and band so they went there separate ways.
Things didn't get any better. A few months after signing I managed to bag a couple of VIP passes to Glastonbury. The year with Arctic Monkeys and Rolling Stones. It was so exciting, we was dreaming of watching the best bands at the side of the stage. Then on 25th June 2013, 2 days before Glastonbury I got a call from my manager to say Sony didn't want to carry on with my freelance deal and I could not represent them at Glastonbury. I got dropped and booted out from Glasto on the same day. I was devastated. They had only given me 3 artists to write for, because nothing was successful I was out the door.
Looking back, I did so much towards something I loved. Met some amazing people, but learned that the industry is dog eat dog. You can't produce anything of a low standard, if you do, you're out. I don't really write songs anymore, the whole experience put me off. Goes to show though, if you put your mind to it, you can achieve amazing things.
Mac
(I haven't double read this, it's too long. Sorry for any typos or grammatical errors)
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