The year was – I think – 2000. The Backstreet Boys, formerly the leaders of the latest wave of boy band success, were being lapped by the younger N Sync and their double-diamond “No Strings Attached.” I headed into a writer room with Brian White (Holding Out Hope To You,… Read More
The smell of urine and Mr.Clean clogged the white tiled hallways. I dreaded visiting the home every Sunday after lunch. He lived in a place that smelled of ripe cucumbers and pine trees once. He was strong then. Six and a half feet of street boxer. Three and a half… Read More
When I was eighteen I read Carpe Diem, Seize The Day by Tony Campolo. It didn’t change my life immediately. It changed the way I thought about my life first. It began me wondering about what my life should be about. It gave me permission to dream of a life… Read More
I’ve added a few sections of scripture this week to the already long list of passages that confuse or chap me. It’s comforting – to me at least – to know I’m not the only who has this bad experience again and again with the “good book.” Last night, while… Read More
I started my life in the music business at a publishing company. Publishing companies own and administer the right to songs. A song’s ownership (and income) is divided into two equal parts: Writer share and Publisher share. Most writers can’t get a larger piece of the pie than this on… Read More
The Washington Post says Uncle Sam is cracking down on “word-of-mouth” marketing. The Federal Trade Commission yesterday said that companies engaging in word-of-mouth marketing, in which people are compensated to promote products to their peers, must disclose those relationships. In a staff opinion issued yesterday, the consumer protection agency weighed… Read More
Shaun Groves